She had no one but herself to blame for her misery. She shouldn’t have gotten hammered last night. It was unlike her to overindulge, and yet, if she was being completely honest, it had been totally worth her aches and pains today. Leaning back against the headrest with her eyes still closed, she thought about how much fun she’d had with her friends at Finnegan’s, their favorite hangout a couple of blocks from campus.
It had been a fantastic night. Damon, her friend since freshman year, had banged on her door at nine o’clock, and for once in her life she was ready. Since this was the last time she and all of her friends would be together, she had decided to get dressed up, and because she was in the mood to look sexy, she wore her new royal blue, V-neck dress that showed a little cleavage. Her only jewelry was a bracelet of stacked multicolored beads and a pair of gold hoop earrings. Instead of using hair clips to hold the thick curls away from her face, she had let them fall around her shoulders. No muss, no fuss.
She opened the door wide for Damon to enter. As usual he looked gorgeous. She often told him that he could be a model because of his perfect physique and profile. He was tall and lean with broad shoulders and enough muscles to fill out a T-shirt. When he smiled, women melted into pools of lust, and yet, as handsome as he was, Isabel had never felt a single spark of sexual attraction. As to that, she was beginning to think there might be an issue. In her four years at Winthrop College she had
never gone head over heels for any of the men she’d dated. They were all fun to be with, and some were quite good-looking, but there was never any electricity. Without some kind of sexual connection, she had refused to go to bed with any of them, which earned her a couple of unflattering nicknames.
None of them fazed her. Some, in fact, made her laugh.
Damon gave Isabel the once-over and nodded his approval. “I can’t believe you’re on time.”
Isabel grabbed her phone and keys, tucked them into her bag, and said, “I’m always on time.
You’re just always early.”
Laughing, he gently nudged her out the door. After making sure it was locked, he followed her outside to his car.
“Are we going to pick up Lexi and Owen?” she asked, referring to two of their closest friends.
“No, they’re already at the club.”
Once they were on their way, she turned and put her hand on his arm. “We’re all going in different directions tomorrow. I’m really going to miss you, Damon. You’ve been such a good friend. I don’t want you to forget me.”
He shook his head. “That’s not possible. You’re unforgettable, Isabel.”
She could feel the tears coming and didn’t want to become melancholy tonight, so she rushed to talk about something else. “Want to hear a secret?”
“Sure.”
“We’ve known each other for a long time, and I’ve never told you my real name. On my birth certificate I’m Grace Isabel MacKenna. I’m told my father won an argument. He wanted Grace, and Mother wanted Isabel. I was a baby when my father died, and that’s when Mother started calling me Isabel.”
“Grace is a beautiful name,” Damon said, “but I like Isabel better.”
“There’s something else I’ve never mentioned. On my next birthday, which is coming up soon, I’m going to inherit land in Scotland from my great-uncle, Compton. A lot of land, I’m told. It’s called Glen MacKenna, and I’m going to go see it next week.”
“Land in Scotland! That’s amazing. What are you going to do with land in Scotland?”
“I’m going to sell it.”
“Maybe after you see it, you’ll want to keep it.”
“No, I won’t. I’m going to sell it and use the money to do something good. I’ve already received several calls from a man who wants to buy the land. He’s really persistent. He told me he represents the Patterson Group, and they’ll pay a fair price. I’m not going to do anything until I see it, though. I will inherit it from my great-uncle on my birthday, and there are stipulations he would like me to follow.”
“What are they?” he asked.
“I don’t know. They’re in a sealed envelope in the solicitor’s office in Dunross, which is in the Highlands. I’m supposed to open the envelope in front of witnesses.”
“On your birthday.”
“Or after, but not before.”
“Your great-uncle sounds eccentric.”
“Not just eccentric. He was cruel and mean, and he’s the reason I’m selling it. I would never keep anything from a man who treated my family the way he did. I was still a baby when my father died, but my aunt Nora told me later what my great-uncle had done to him and my mother. My father had a large inheritance, but Compton blocked it. He was furious that my father defied him by marrying my mother, who Compton thought was beneath him. He had chosen another woman for my father to marry.