Page 27 of Kiss Me, Macrae
She’d never doubted any of it.
And then she’d met Macrae and somehow, despite everything, Allegra discovered she had not left the experience with Lucas as far behind as she’d thought. The specter of his deceitful manipulations and her father’s lack of belief in her still burned like an unhealed wound.
Macrae wanted to understand why she couldn’t surrender to this thing between them.
Because something had been broken inside her the day she’d faced Lucas and her father and realized they stood together against her. She hadn’t understood just how broken until she met Macrae and experienced the painful yearning for something she no longer believed in.
The thought caused a sharp stab of pain in her chest that she did her best to ignore. Glancing at his hand where it gripped hard to the balcony railing—to keep from touching her?—she began, “The other day, you asked me if I had plans to join my father’s firm.”
She paused and Macrae made a soft sound of acknowledgement.
“I said no, but the truth is I had hoped to. Actually, I was once desperate and fiercely determined to do so. The few times I tried to broach the topic with my father, he brushed it off. You see, he was content with allowing me the freedom of studying architecture, but only as a hobby. He could not conceive of the thought I’d take it more seriously. A woman’s place was in the home, after all. A career could only distract from her duty to husband and family.”
Allegra couldn’t keep the caustic tone from her voice. She absolutely hated such antiquated notions and she’d fully expected to be able to change her father’s mind.
“I knew I’d have to prove my dedication before he’d ever take me seriously. So, I began working on something to showcase what I was capable of. Father’s firm had been working on a near-Herculean project for years. The client wanted a specific aesthetic and was rejecting every design presented. The building site posed its own problems, which made the client’s demands practically impossible. The reputation of Father’s firm rested on getting this job done right.”
“You designed the solution,” Macrae interjected. The certainty in his tone surprised and warmed her.
“I did.” The smile of pride tipping the corner of her mouth did not stay for long. “I worked on it in secret. Everyone at Father’s office was accustomed to having me about asking questions, reviewing blueprints, and so forth. They’d been indulging my interest for so long, they no longer thought anything of my pervasive presence.” She swallowed. “One draftsman in particular was always eager to help me. We’d sit and discuss the impossible project at length. He always listened to my opinions and even sought them out on occasion. He told me my questions were insightful. For the first time, my input was being taken seriously. He did not come from a family of affluence or privilege and he had worked hard to become hired by Father’s firm. I admired his ambition. And eventually, we started seeing each other outside the office. Socially.”
She met Macrae’s hooded gaze. “He told me he loved me.” Oddly, that particular lie no longer hurt like it once did. “He said he would marry me but not until he had worked his way further up in the firm. He wanted to be worthy of my hand. I believed him.”
“I take it ye shouldnae’ve.”
Allegra did not allow herself to become distracted by the anger in Macrae’s voice. “No. I shouldn’t have. He propped me up with false promises and flattery. He convinced me we were a team—that he wanted the same thing I wanted. But I remained protective of my work, showing him only bits and pieces. I didn’t want to reveal it all until I felt it was completely ready. Until I felt it was good enough to convince Father that I was serious in my desire to work beside him. Lucas asked more than once to see the full project, but I refused. Eventually…he found a way around my denial.”
“He seduced you.”
Bitterness flared in her chest. “He deceived me and manipulated me. He became my lover for the sole purpose of stealing my work and passing it off as his own.”
“Bastard.” The vehemence in his tone matched the fire of anger in her heart.
“Lucas took my plans to the firm and claimed them as his. My father was shocked to find such talent in his unassuming draftsman but he promoted him on the spot. Lucas had counted on me keeping quiet on his perfidy since I would have to admit my own scandalous behavior, but I was not about to let someone else take credit for what I had worked so hard on.”
“Good for you, lassie.”
Macrae’s quietly muttered words surprised her. Allegra noted the heavy scowl shadowing his eyes and the tension hardening his body as she told her story. She could see the anger seething through him on her behalf and she could see the pride in his eyes as well.
“Well,” she huffed a breath. The defeat of that moment was with her still. “In the end, I ruined my reputation for nothing. Father didn’t believe the plans were mine. He took Lucas’s word over mine, believing I claimed the work as some sort of revenge for a lover’s spat. Word of my indiscretion soon spread through town—no doubt aided by Lucas as a means of ensuring my complete downfall.”
She took a deep breath and let it out. The exhale hovered in the frosty air for a moment before dispersing. She should be cold standing out there in nothing more than her ball gown, but the heat of anger kept the chill at bay. Tipping her face, she met Macrae’s gaze with a direct stare. “Now do you understand?”
Chapter 14
Baird’s stomach was tight and his chest ached. His entire body vibrated with the need to take the fierce, prideful woman standing before him into his arms. Instead, he gave a short nod. “Aye.”
Relief flickered across her stalwart gaze. Glancing back toward the ballroom, she said, “Then you’ll cease your campaign?”
He frowned. “Tae win ye? Never.”
Dark eyes snapped back to meet his. “Then you don’t understand at all.”
“I ken ye have yer reasons for distrusting my declarations, but it doesnae make them any less true. Nothing ye’ve said changes what I feel for ye.”
A sound of deep frustration slid from her throat. “You’re unbelievable.”
Baird smiled despite the tension still filling his frame. Just because he wasn’t going to give up didn’t mean he didn’t see the challenge he faced. “I’m a man in love.”