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My gaze shifts to Gavin, where he's standing at the stovetop, about to start making breakfast. He is American. I suppose women find him attractive, and some might even like his hard-as-nails attitude. But no, Jamie won't set her sights on him. He is not the sort of man she likes. Is he? Not sure I know enough about my sister's preferences to say for sure. What if she does like Gavin?
She won't. They're strangers. I'm being paranoid, that's all.
But Calli and I were strangers on the night we met, when we kissed and came very close to shagging right there in that velvet-covered booth.
What if Jamie and Gavin…
No, that will never happen.
Chapter Twenty-Four
I throw the front door open, and my sister tumbles into the house while oohing and ahhing as she spins in circles, traveling across the floor without paying any heed to the obstacles in her path. That's Jamie. Carefree and impetuous, which means she's nothing like me. No, nothing at all. When she veers toward the end table, I take hold of her shoulders to bring her to a stop. Her long, golden-brown hair falls over her shoulders.
All right, maybe Jamie and I do share a few traits in common. But I'm much more mature and levelheaded than she is. It's not like I waltzed into an underground club and followed a lass I didn't know, one who asked me if I wore a G-string under my kilt.
Christ, I hope Jamie doesn't do anything like that.
With her mouth open and her hazel eyes wide, she speaks in a hushed voice. "This is beautiful. Can't believe I'm in America. I want to see it all, every bit of it."
"Easy," I say, trying to sound tolerant, but I can't help feeling slightly amused too. "You just arrived, Jamie. Give yourself time to adjust to the jet lag."
"But I want to see everything." She spins again while the sunshine streaming through the windows flashes over her.
Maybe I'd expected Jamie to be nervous about her first trip to America, but she has dived in with all the enthusiasm of a lass having a great adventure.
An explosive thwap announces the arrival of Mandy and Misty, who rush at my sister. Misty slaps her big paws on Jamie's tummy, struggling to stretch up tall enough to slather wet kisses on her face but unable to reach that far. Meanwhile, Mandy licks Jamie's ankles, bared by her sandals and knee-length skirt.
My sister giggles. "That tickles."
Calli moves to shoo the puppies away, but Jamie shakes her head.
"Don't worry," she says, "I love animals. Dogs are my favorite."
She kneels to let the furry lassies maul her with their tongues and climb all over her.
Then Gavin enters the house through the sliding glass doors at the back. He halts a few feet inside, watching the spectacle taking place on the floor with a bewildered expression.
Calli seems amused by the situation, but she's not as happy as she was earlier. Someone had rung her while we were at the airport waiting for Jamie's luggage. Calli stepped away from us to take her call in private, but her body language and facial expressions had told me everything I needed to know. It must've been her husband, thebod ceannwho refuses to give her a divorce. She had said something to him, then placed a palm on her forehead while she squinted her eyes. After another exchange with the bastard, she pulled the phone away from her ear and frowned at it, then stuffed the device into her purse.
I'd wanted to ask her what was wrong, but it isn't my place. Not yet.
"You can love me more later," Jamie tells the puppies. She straightens, smoothing out her skirt, and turns toward Gavin. "You must be Calli's brother. I'm Jamie, Aidan's sister."
The second Gavin lays eyes on my sister, he grins like a bloody moron and hustles over to shake Jamie's hand. "Hey. Nice to, uh, meet you. I'm Gavin. Douglas. Calli's brother, Gavin Douglas."
As much as I don't like him mooning at my sister, I do sort of enjoy knowing he's not immune to the charms of a bonnie lass.
Calli smiles with her lips sealed, seeming quite pleased with this turn of events. I think she's probably plotting all the ways she can rub this in Gavin's face.
Jamie's cheeks dimple, and she giggles again. "Nice to meet you too, Gavin."
Suddenly, I'm afflicted with a powerful need to keep my sister away from Calli's brother. He's eight years older than she is, which means he's seven years older than Jamie. Do I want him seducing my baby sister? No, never in a thousand years.
Aye, I'm a hypocrite. So what?
I grasp Jamie's wrist and tug her hand free of Gavin's. "Let me show you to your room."
Though she allows me to haul her out of the living room, she glances back to smile at Gavin, who grins at her like a numpty.
