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“Oh . . . good.” I try to keep the disappointment from my voice. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s only been a few days since I was supposed to get married to Harry. It’s much too early to want to be kissed by another man.

Isn’t it?

CHAPTER TEN

EMILY

“All right, out you get.” Ally stands with one foot on the low bank and the other in the shallow water, holding the raft’s perimeter line to stop it from drifting.

A gentleman would offer me his free hand, but Ally does no such thing.

I get to my feet too quickly, not anticipating the way the raft shifts under me. I flounder, but before I can so much as cry out, Ally grabs a hold of me, scoops me into the air like I weigh nothing, and deposits me on dry land. The moment my trainers hit the ground, he lets go of me. The whole thing lasts only a second.

“Thank you!” I’m more startled by his strong embrace than by almost toppling into the river.

He shrugs and turns away, focusing his attention on the raft. He hauls it up out of the water and onto the bank.

I rub the spot on my arm where he grabbed me, thinking about how quickly he released me. It was like he didn’t want to touch me for a moment longer than necessary, as though I were a radioactive substance.

It shouldn’t bother me. It’s a good thing. After the waterfall, when my emotions were running high, I’d hoped he might kiss me. What a mess that would have been. I’m still trying to recover from what happened with Harry. I don’t need any more complications in my life.

I unclip my helmet and tug it off, shaking my hair free.

Ally, who’s just flipped the raft onto its side to empty it of water, glances my way and then does a double take. He fumbles with the raft, losing his grip on it, and it thumps down onto the grass. “Shit!”

“What’s wrong?” I touch my damp hair, self-conscious.

“Nothing.” He lifts the raft back up and gets the last of the water out of it, avoiding my eye.

“That is not an acceptable answer.” I place a hand on my hip. “I want to know what’s so shocking about my appearance it made a grown man jump. Out with it!”

“Nothing!”

“Ally, tell me!”

He sighs. “There’s nothing wrong with your appearance. It’s just . . . your hair has gone all curly, and when I saw it, it took me right back. That’s how it was when you came here as a kid.”

“Oh.” I reach for my hair again. “Yeah, I straighten it in the mornings, but if ever it gets wet, it goes curly and frizzy.”

He shrugs. “Well, I like it. It’s bonny.”

I don’t know how to respond to this.

“I’m going to go see why Jamie hasn’t come out of the car yet,” Ally says. “It’d be nice of him to help with the raft.”

I look over my shoulder in surprise. I didn’t even notice the car parked about fifty metres away, in a lay-by of a country road. Ally marches across the grass towards it, and I hurry after him.

As we get close, I see that Jamie, the youngest McIntyre brother, is in the passenger seat, tapping away at a laptop. He jumps when Ally raps the window. Closing the laptop and glaring at Ally, he opens the door.

“You scared the shit out of me!” Jamie climbs out and shifts his attention from Ally to me. “Well, she didn’t drown, and I don’t see any blood. Maybe you could make a business out of this after all.”

Ally clips the back of his brother’s head. “Oi! I’m good at this stuff—it’s keeping you and Lewis in line I struggle with. Anyway, why the hell did you bring your laptop with you? The sun is out! Didn’t you think a walk might do you some good?”

“No, not really. And by the way, I’m still waiting for the part where you say, ‘Thanks, Jamie, for driving out to pick me up. I really appreciate it.’ Or was the slap to the back of my head the thank you?”

Shouldering my way into the conversation, I say, “Thanks, Jamie. We really do appreciate it. I had a great time on the river, and it wouldn’t have been possible had you not agreed to come collect us. It’s my fault you had to come since I don’t drive.”

Jamie gazes at me, and is that almost a smile? My first impressions of the McIntyre brothers led me to believe only the middle one, Lewis, knew how to be happy. I’ve since discovered Ally also knows how to smile and even looks good while doing it. It seems young Jamie has it in him too.