Bailey and her Boys

Chapter 13

Bailey and Duncan finished eating their lunch and went back to their hotel room to rest and kick back. With the television on, Bailey succumbed to a nap. She woke up when a particularly loud snore rumbled through the air. Rolling over to her side, she observed Duncan on the other bed snoring. Grabbing the extra pillow from her bed, she chucked it at him hard enough to wake him up. His eyes flew open and the startled look on his face made her giggle. "What the... what was that for?" he asked her. "You snore! Loud!" she told him still giggling. He tossed the pillow back at her, "Did you get enough beauty sleep, so that you'll look great at the party tonight?" Bailey made a face at him grabbed her stuff so that she could take a shower.

She took a quick one and dressed in her underwear and robe, she opened the door to let the steam out so that the mirror would be clear to work with. Duncan still lay on his bed watching the "telly" as he sometimes called it. Quickly picking out a fashionable outfit of black jeans and a turquoise top, she then fixed her hair and put a minimum of makeup on. With a pretty pair of earrings and necklace she was set for tonight. Duncan wore what he had on and slapped some hair product on which gave him an artfully tussled look and was set to go. "It's not fair! All you did was slap on some hair stuff and you look like a model." Bailey complained as they left the hotel. Duncan smirked and said, "Well, when you are naturally handsome like I am, there is little work to be done." She swatted his shoulder before taking his arm companionably as they walked down the street.

Deirdre, the girl hosting the party, lived only six block away so they just walked there. The house was tiny but had it's own little backyard which was full of people. The front door was open and they spied Jonas inside. "Dee! Look whose here!" Jonas shouted in the direction of a tall girl with light brown hair, blue eyes and a liberal sprinkling of freckles. She turned her head to see who Jonas was pointing to and let out a shout, "Duncan!" Deirdre ran over to hug him, so Bailey let his arm go. "I haven't seen you in forever!" she exclaimed. Duncan laughed and hugged her back, "I'm on break from Uni and showing Bailey here around Scotland and Ireland." Duncan introduced the two girls and they shook hand and exchanged pleasantries. Someone upset a vase from a shelf and Deirdre left them to investigate.

Duncan kept Bailey next to him as they made the rounds and occasionally come across someone that Duncan knew. Neither of them took a drink even though they were offered. They had been smart enough to bring their own bottles of water from the hotel and never set them down. Bailey saw that one of the girls that was introduced to her, her name was Emily, kept giving her the stink eye. She dismissed it not knowing what it could possible be for, but when Duncan left her for a minute to use the bathroom, Emily sidled up to her. "So you've hooked up with Duncan at the Uni eh?" Bailey gave her an inquisitive look, "Hooked up?" Emily gave her a look of contempt, "Yes, hooked up! Isn't that what the Americans say? I tried in vain to get him to date me but he never would. What's so special about you?" Bailey stared at her not knowing if Duncan wanted people to know about his preferences. Luckily Jonas came to her rescue and slung an arm around her, "Are you being a nasty bit of baggage again Emily?" Emily glared at him crossing her arms, "I wanted to know how she managed to land Duncan!" Jonas laughed even harder and shook his head, "Have you been living under a rock? You aren't his type!" Emily tightened up her mouth and shot back with, "So I'm not his type but she is?" Bailey couldn't help that the corners of her own mouth were now twitching. Jonas answered her between gasps of laughter, "No, you idiot! I'm more of his type than you are!"

"Jonas, I think that you are a little too high maintenance for me." Duncan's voice rang out from behind Bailey. Jonas cracked up even more as Bailey finally laughed out loud and Emily turned an interesting shade of crimson. "Well, how was I supposed to know? He wasn't acting interested in men!" she protested and stomped away. Bailey continued to giggle as she looked at Duncan. Jonas slung an arm around Duncan's shoulder and said, "High maintenance eh? Not sure that I would bring you home to meet the parents after a statement like that!" Duncan laughed and retorted, "I've already met them, remember?" Jonas looked surprised for a second and said, "You have! I guess the only thing to do is make an honest women out of me." Deirdre walked up to hear the last statement and put her hands on her hips saying, "Well, where does that leave me then you daft man?" Jonas was quick to let go of Duncan and wrap his arms around her, "Ah, don't worry Dee. You're stuck with me now." The rest of the party was more pleasant and after another hour, Duncan and Bailey decided to go back to the hotel and rest. They walked back with Duncan's arm around Bailey's shoulders and it felt comfortable to her like when one of her brothers did it. The two of them got along very well and Bailey realized that she had found her best friend.

The next day Duncan's sister called and arranged for them to meet for dinner. "You'll like my sister Paisley, she's a lot of fun. My brother Gavin can be a little dour at times but overall, he's alright." Duncan told Bailey. She grinned, "I can't wait to meet them!" They visited the Royal Botanical Garden and saw all the beautiful flowers and plants. There was even a wedding being held there and they watched as the bride and groom took pictures under a beautiful flowering tree. The looks of happiness on their faces captured Bailey's attention. She felt a pang of envy as the newlyweds shared a kiss. A stab of pain echoed in her heart as she remembered her four guys. Duncan reached up and wiped a tear away that she hadn't even realized escaped from her eyes. He kissed the top of her head and said, "It'll all work out in the end Bailey. Don't give up on them. Keep hoping. Remember your Christmas presents?" She forced a smile on her face and nodded.

Duncan took her to a place call the Curry Café, making her laugh, "Comfort food for me huh?" He grinned and nodded. Inside they ordered some vegetable samosas to share and then some lamb tiki masala. Eating that with saffron rice and fresh baked naan they stuffed themselves. Afterwards, they headed to St. Giles' Cathedral to walk around. Once again Bailey had to admire the history of the building and the architecture. When they were done there, Duncan drove them back to the hotel so that they could shower and get ready for dinner. They had arranged to meet with Paisley and Gavin at an Italian restaurant in town. Bailey looked through all of her clothes before deciding on a long sleeved fuchsia dress with heels. Duncan even put on some slacks and a nice button down shirt.

After driving there and parking, they walked arm and arm into the restaurant to find that Paisley was already seated with Gavin. They both stood up as Bailey and Duncan approached the table. Paisley gathered up Duncan in a big hug and then turned her attention to Bailey. "I've heard so much about you! I'm glad to finally meet you. My God you are stunning! And I love your necklace! Is that from Delphine's spring line? How lucky you are to get one!" words flew out of Paisley's mouth making Bailey grin and Duncan shake his head in fond amusement. "Good God Paisley! Let the poor girl breath before ye scare her away." Gavin said in a gruff voice but with a smile on his face. "Good to see you Gavin." said Duncan as he gave his brother a man hug with shoulder slapping and all. Gavin shook hands with Bailey and then they all sat down to peruse the menu.

They all decided on the family special which brought out antipasta with soup and a salad for starters. The family meal included ravioli and chicken parmigiana. Paisley quizzed Bailey on her necklace to which Bailey revealed that her mom was the Delphine. "Oh, you are so lucky! I just love her jewelry." They all chatted through the meal with Bailey getting to hear stories of Duncan's exploits when he was younger. "...so the poor lamb kept bleating up a storm underneath his jacket and he kept denying that he was hiding anything!" Gavin told the table and Bailey cracked up while Duncan protested, "I was only 10 years old!" After all the food, they were too full for dessert so the pleasant time came to an end. They said their goodbye's since Duncan and Bailey were headed out in the morning.

"Well, that was nice! I liked your brother and sister." Bailey said to him on the drive back to the hotel. "It was good to see them again," admitted Duncan, "Too bad my parents won't change their minds." Bailey sympathized with him and then said, "I'll share my parents with you! I have plenty of dads." There was a moment of silence before laughter filled the car, "Damn it Bailey, you can always make me laugh!" Duncan said between bouts of laughter.