Enduring Mr McGregor

chapter 30

Dedicated to daddyciara

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Nia glared at Sally with all the anger she could muster.

"What?" She asked with quiet fury.

"No wait Nia! You don't understand!" Sally said trying not to laugh. "Robert loves that dog. He doesn't love it more than me of course. I'll kill it before he chooses her over me. But, what I'm trying to say is that he really really likes that dog. Haven't you noticed?"

"I have," Nia admitted reluctantly. "But that does not explain why I'm being compared to a dog which is frankly annoying by the way."

The McGregor siblings seemed to have a way with their words. First of all, Robert compared her blush to soaked bread. And now Sally was comparing her to a dog. An animal!

"Sorry," Sally said unapologetically. "The same adoring eyes he uses to look at Willa, that's how he looks at you. That's what I'm trying to say."

"Still not impressed," Nia said flatly.

"Lemme explain okay?"

Nia slowly nodded.

"Okay so, my brother has always been hard to read. Not that he is a cold emotionless bastard or anything, but he doesn't know how to express himself. That's just how he has always been. The only times I can tell what he's thinking is when he is with me, or mommy. But, this morning, I saw your interaction... "

"What?" Nia asked.

"You know, when he took the honey, and refused to let go when you tried to take it from him? The stare down you guys were having?"

A blush stained Nia's cheeks. "You saw that?" She asked in a small voice.

Sally looked smug. "Like I said, it's my job to notice these things so I can blackmail him later."

Nia shrugged. "What has that got to do with anything Sally?"

"He had a small smile on his face!" Sally squealed and Nia grimaced.

"So?"

"My brother rarely smiles. I mean, he does when he is with me but not at Gabriel. He thinks it makes him look tough and aloof if he doesn't smile when in reality, he looks like a big teddy bear," she said with a roll of her eyes.

Nia chuckled. "He said that?"

"No," Sally said laughing.  "I figured that was the reason. Did you know Robert gives the best cuddles? God I miss when I used to sneak into his room at night. But that was when he still lived in London. Now he's in America, and I don't see him anymore," she finished in a small voice.

Nia stared. She wanted to comfort a girl who clearly missed her older brother, but a greater part of her wanted to know what she had to say.

"You're digressing," she said.

"Oh yes, sorry. Where was I?"

"You said he rarely smiles."

"Yes! It was clear that he was teasing you this morning which is cute by the way. I see him staring at you when you're not looking. Take this evening for example, he literally couldn't keep his eyes off you."

Nia raised a brow. "I didn't notice."

"But I did. There are times when I think he wants to talk to you, or come closer but doesn't know how to go about it. I would give him advice but, I know him, he'd toss me overboard before taking dating advice from me."