A Highland Heist A Contemporary Highland Romance Book Three (2 page)

Paging through her blueprints, she pulled out the ones she needed and handed them to Conall. He laid them out on the table and took a quick look. “Do ye mind if I take these back to the museum?”

“Not at all. Just make sure I get them back before ye go, and I’d greatly appreciate it if ye don’t leave them lying around-or show them to anyone, for that matter.” He probably thought she was being paranoid, but she didn’t care. She took plenty of risks in life-just not with her work.

His eyes narrowed with a glare. “Ye’re not the only professional here, lass.”

She beamed at him with a big smile, refusing to get into a pissing match. “Well, I’m glad to hear it. As soon as I dig out the blueprint printer, I’ll get ye your own copy of the schematics and drop them off. Now if ye don’t mind, get out. I’ve got work to do.”

His lips quirked into a smile. “Ye know, we may just get along after all.”

Chapter Two

Bloody hell…what time was it? And who the hell was pounding on his door so early in the morning and getting his crazy dog riled up? Conall dragged his alarm clock over. Six twelve. He groaned and rolled out of bed, ready to murder whoever had woken him up.

He threw on some pajama bottoms, after quickly debating whether to just head down there naked-and it’d serve them right. Padding down the stairs, he nearly tripped on Piper, who was still barking and clearly determined to get tangled between his legs.

Grabbing Piper by the collar to prevent her from escaping yet again, he yanked the door open, his words already spewing forth amid his curses. “What the…”

He groaned. Maggie. It figured.

“Did I wake ye? Had your plans and didn’t want to hold up your work, in case ye were an early riser-which I see that ye’re not-and figured while I was at it, I’d go for a quick run. Want to join me? Nothing like a morning run to get the blood flowing first thing when ye wake. There are other options, of course, but… a run was easier this morning.” She looked up at him, finally, blessedly, quiet. How many coffees did the woman already have?

“Go away.” He spun and slammed the door, only to hear knocking again. He yanked it open. “Woman, I’m ready to murder ye.”

She just smiled. Infuriatingly, smugly smiled. Not a care in the world. “Well, you could at least take the plans. And I’ll assume it’s a
no
on going for a run? Do ye want me to take your dog instead? Looks like she’d enjoy it-might get rid of some of her energy.”

He grabbed the leash he kept by the door, quickly clipped it to the squirming pup’s collar and shoved the handle at Maggie, grabbing the plans. “Her name’s Piper. Don’t fall off the cliff.”

The second his crazy mutt took off-which took all of a nanosecond-he slammed the door once more, and crawled back to bed.

Except that his sleep was now ruined. After tossing and turning, sleep refusing to return, he dragged himself back out of bed. Grumbling and cursing, he put on a pot of coffee and while waiting for it to brew, booted up his laptop. He logged in to work and checked his email. Once he ensured there wasn’t anything that needed his immediate attention, he pulled out the schematics Maggie left for him.

One map after another, layer upon layer of security. It was clear the lass left nothing to chance, even backing up her back-up plans. He supposed that’s what happened when someone was not only thorough, but hyper. Bloody hell, the woman must inject the caffeine directly into her vein. Six twelve. And looking fresh as a spring morning, a blush on her cheeks and a sparkle in her glacier-blue eyes.

He took a closer look and worked through her diagrams. Maybe…It’d be hard to improve the securities and firewalls she’d put in place-and frankly, that wasn’t his job-but he could possibly make things a bit more efficient and speed up response.

It’d be easy enough to integrate her systems for the Hope with the ones he already had in place on Iain’s mainframe for his other businesses. Opening a new document, he started making notes on the changes he’d like to address. That would be an interesting meeting, for he was sure her back would immediately go up before she wrangled her temper under control. At least it seemed short lived, flaring into life for just a moment, before sense and reasoning pushed it aside, and she was back to her perky, smiley self.

It was clear Maggie liked to be in control, especially when it came to her work, and that was definitely something he understood. When you worked hard to build a reputation, you couldn’t let others ruin it. But if she thought he’d step to the side and let her stomp all over his turf, then she was gravely mistaken. They’d just have to do their best to work together, especially since they were stuck with each other for the next few months.

He checked the time. Maggie had been gone a while-close to an hour and a half. Was that normal for one of her runs? Or had Piper dragged her off the cliff and into the raging sea and jagged rocks below? He groaned and got back to work, doing his best to ignore the feeling of impending doom.

A few more notes-and he checked the time again. Damn it. He’d give her another ten minutes. Yet, looking back at the schematics, he found his concentration was shattered, his gaze drifting to check the time yet again.

Cursing, he set aside his laptop and got to his feet, knowing he’d not forgive himself if something happened to her while he did nothing but sit on the sofa. He got on his hiking boots and grabbed a sweater just as there was a knock at his door.

Relief washed over him, though he was ready to give her a tongue-lashing for making him worry. Grinding his teeth, he got a hold of himself and pushed his annoyance to the side, knowing it was his own fault for giving a rat’s arse.

He pulled open the door and watched her breeze in, dragging his pup behind her. “What the hell happened to her?”

She looked down at the dog before turning those blue eyes on him with a look of confusion, a smile tugging at her full lips. “I took her for a run. How is she supposed to look?”

“That dog’s crazy-and hasn’t ever stopped being crazy. I’ve never seen her this-”

“Calm?” Her eyebrows perked in question as her smile widened.

“Aye. Calm.” A deep blush stood out against her luminous skin, her cheeks flushed from the exertion of her run and the brisk wind from the sea.

“It’s amazing what a bit of a workout can do for the mind and body.” She reached down and unclipped the leash before handing it to him. “I can come by and get her again tomorrow if ye’d like. I hadn’t realized it when ye gave me your card, not being familiar with the roads and all, but we’re neighbors.”

He squeezed his eyes shut for a long moment, his head suddenly pounding. “Och, tell me ye’re not staying at the Campbell cottage.” Rowan Campbell had moved in with her boyfriend, Angus Macleod, a few months ago, leaving the home empty.

“That’s the one. Belongs to a friend of Iain’s. They were happy to rent it to me since it was just sitting there, and it’s got two rooms, which is convenient since my brother will be joining me for this job sometime in the upcoming weeks-had a bit of an overlap in projects.”

It figured, since Iain and Angus were the best of friends. And if Maggie was in the Campbell cottage, that made her his closest neighbor. Shite.

“No need to take the dog for a run tomorrow-or any other day for that matter.” He’d never get to sleep in if she kept coming around to steal Piper.

“Ah…well then, I’ll leave it as an open offer in case ye change your mind.” She started to wander, her gaze drifting around the room. “Mind if I grab a drink?”

“This way.” He sighed. At least she seemed to have mellowed out a bit. Only took her over an hour of exercise. “Since I couldn’t get back to sleep after being dragged out of my bed at the bloody crack of dawn, I got started on the schematics.”

She followed him into the kitchen, beaming a huge smile at him. “See! You got a head start on yer day. Doesn’t that make ye feel good?”

“
No
.” He pinned her with a steely gaze, hoping she’d get it through that pretty head of hers and leave him alone. “I get plenty done on my own schedule, thank ye very much.”

Her brows perked up in mock defense. “Never said ye didn’t, boyo. Don’t go getting yer knickers in a twist.”

He grabbed a glass, tossed some ice in it and filled it with water. “Here.”

“Thanks.” She drank half of it in one go. “So do ye want to go over the changes? Or are ye kicking me out?”

Damn if he wasn’t tempted-just to make his point. Yet he didn’t show her the door-and she would no doubt make him regret his decision. “Might as well get started since ye’re already here.”

He led them into his living room where he liked to work. She wandered about, taking it all in. “This is
really
nice. Wow.”

“Thanks.” Though she was right-it was a gorgeous room-he was pleased that she liked it. He’d renovated the older home a few years back and the living room was his favorite, with a large stone fireplace that ran up to a cathedral ceiling and a row of windows flanking it, opening the room to the cliffs and sea just beyond.

“Ooo…do ye play?” She’d wandered over to where his guitar sat in the corner, unused for far too long.

His back went up as he pushed back the wave of emotions that hit him, and tried not to speak through gritted teeth. “No. Not anymore. If we could get to work…?”

Her eyebrows perked in question, but she said no more as they took a seat on the sofa, side by side, where he’d been working.

He unplugged his laptop and handed it to her, ignoring the way his shoulder and thigh brushed against hers as he shifted towards her to point to the diagram he’d pulled up on the screen. “The schematics ye’ve drawn up are great, but ye’ll see I’ve made some changes to the routing, which will make things more efficient and speed up yer processes.”

With her brow furrowed and her lips pressed together, she looked over his proposed changes. He was half expecting her to refuse to make the adjustments or give him a tongue-lashing for messing with her work and plans. Instead she continued to read on, her gaze intense.

She looked over and nodded, a smile slowly turning up on those full lips. “Nice work, Conall. I think ye’ll be a good addition to the project.”

Oh. Not quite what he’d expected. It’s not that he needed her approval, but it was nice to know the next few months of working with her might be amicable. “Well, I appreciate ye saying so.”

She handed him back the laptop, her blue eyes alight. “I should get going. Still need to shower before heading to the job site.”

He stood with her and walked her to the door. “I’ll see ye there, aye?”

She nodded and walked off, the cottage only a quarter of a mile down the road. He watched her go, her thick hair pulling free of its bindings as the wind blew in off the sea. She could be a dangerous distraction-except that he had no time for distractions of that sort. Nor did he have the desire.

Yet he still stood there, watching.

Chapter Three

Happy with everything she’d managed to accomplish, Maggie decided to wrap things up for the day. She’d seen Conall poking around while working on his own things, but they’d both been busy. There was something about him that she found intriguing. It was as if he gave off a certain energy which immediately pulled her into his orbit and she couldn’t help but be drawn to him. She knew it the moment he walked into a room, the air around her shifting with his presence, making her fully aware of the nearness of him.

Maybe it had to do with his sharp intelligence-or how stern and serious he was. Not many seemed to challenge him or get in his way, not wanting to be on the receiving end of one of those golden glares. Not that it bothered her any. It only made her curious to find out what was behind the façade-and she had no doubt it could be a whole lot of fun finding out. Alone on the job site, Conall could be just the thing she needed to keep boredom at bay when she wasn’t working.

That was one of the advantages to working with her brother, Liam. They got along well, and when working in an area when they knew not a soul, it was good to have his company-when he was around. In the meantime, she’d have to find other ways to keep herself entertained, and for now that plan included Conall, even if he didn’t know it yet.

Andrew wandered towards her as she packed up her tools. He was the foreman for the construction company that was rebuilding the church ruins, and definitely a good-looking man. From London, he was in his late twenties or early thirties, tall with a muscular build, sable brown hair and brown eyes. He seemed nice, and normally she’d be more than a little interested. Yet she just couldn’t get into him for some reason. Their chemistry seemed off. Not that he had given up trying.

“I don’t suppose I could interest you in a bite to eat and a pint. The pub has surprisingly good food, and seeing how it’s a Friday, I was thinking we could venture towards one of the larger towns not too far from here. If you’re up for it, of course.” Andrew hitched a thumb in his jean pocket, his head cocked to one side, a lazy smile on his lips.

She zipped her bag and stood. “I appreciate the offer, but I have to catch up on some emails and other work.”

“Are you sure? I promise to keep you entertained-and it’s not like the emails won’t be there when you get back. Come on, Maggie. You’ll have the whole weekend to answer them, and you’ve got to eat at some point, right?” He shifted his weight as his gaze wandered over her face, a sweet smile on his lips.