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Drew rolls his shoulders, loosening them up, and grins at me. “All right, forget guests for a moment. Have you ever thought about dipping your pen in the company ink?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Not my style. Too messy. The thing about guests is they check out. Other staff members? That’s a whole other story.”

Drew chuckles. “C’mon, are you really telling me you’ve never looked at someone here and thought, ‘Aye, I’d give that a go?’”

I shrug, focusing on my task. “Nope. Don’t shit where you eat, Drew.”

He smirks, clearly enjoying himself. “What about Samantha? She’s always giving you the stink eye. Maybe she’s just mad because she wants you. Ever thought about that?”

I consider the head of housekeeping—always immaculately dressed, not a hair out of place, lips perpetually pursed like she’s just tasted something sour. “Samantha? No way. Not if she were the last woman on earth.”

“Why, she too old for you?”

“It’s not that.” Sure, she’s in her forties, but age has never been a factor for me. I’ve been with women older than Samantha.

“Why then?”

“She’s too stuck-up for my taste,” I say, tamping down a stone.

“Fair enough. She does have that whole ‘I’m better than you’ vibe going on.” Drew pauses, a strange little smile playing at his lips. “Still, I bet she’s got a wild side under all that starch.”

“Wouldn’t surprise me.”

“And she was divorced recently. Got to let all those emotions out somehow, right?”

I’m about to respond when I spot Johnny walking across the lawn towards us, his usual easy smile nowhere to be seen. My younger brother is dressed in the resort’s front-of-house uniform—crisp white shirt, dark green waistcoat with the Glen Garve Resort logo, perfectly pressed tartan trousers, and a matching tartan tie. His dark hair is neatly tucked behind his ears, though a few strands have escaped to fall across his forehead. Compared to him, I must look like something the cat dragged in—covered in dust and mortar, sweat-stained and dishevelled.

“Robbie,” he says, his voice tight. “Da wants to see you.”

I straighten and wipe my hands on my already filthy trousers. “Now? I’m kind of in the middle of something here.”

“Now,” Johnny confirms. He glances at Drew. “Sorry to interrupt.”

Drew shrugs. “No worries. I can handle this. Try not to get fired, aye?”

“As if,” I scoff, though something about Johnny’s expression gives me pause. I know my wee brother well, and right now he’s wound tighter than a spring.

I cast a doubtful glance at the wall, wondering if it’ll still be standing when I get back, then fall into step beside Johnny as we cross the manicured lawn towards the main building. The silence between us is unusual—Johnny’s typically a chatterbox, always filling the air with stories about guests or gossip from the staff room.

“So,” I say, trying to keep things light, “how’s David? You two do anything fun last weekend?”

Johnny blinks, like he’s having to drag his mind back from somewhere else. “What? Oh, aye. We, er, went to that new restaurant in Inverness. The Italian one.”

“Any good?”

“Aye, it was . . . David wore that bright orange shirt, you know the one. Said he wanted to make sure the waiter could spot us in a crowd.”

I chuckle. That sounds like David all right. Johnny’s boyfriend has never met a colour he didn’t want to wear, preferably all at once. “Subtle as ever, then.”

Johnny attempts a smile but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

We’re halfway to the main building now, and his unease is starting to get to me. “All right, are you going to tell me what’s going on? Has word got to Da that I slept with a guest?”

Johnny’s eyes widen. “You did what?”

“Oh, so it’s not that, then? I figured Samantha might have gone running to Da about it. She overheard Drew and me talking the other day.”

Johnny pinches the bridge of his nose. “Nope, it’s not that. And Robbie, as I really don’t want you getting into any more trouble, maybe don’t go into this meeting offering Da a list of other transgressions.” He gives me a pointed look. “I didn’t know you’d slept with a guest, and I’m immediately going to forget about it. For your sake.”