And Skye, flower crown askew and face smudged with cake, held court with Nyx at the children’s table, telling anyone who would listen about how she’d known all along that her da and Leona were meant to be together.
“She’s nae wrong,” Murdock said, following Leona’s gaze. “I just wish I’d realized it sooner.”
“Ye realized it exactly when ye were meant to,” Leona said, lacing her fingers through his. “Any sooner and we might nae have been ready.”
“Wise words for a new bride.”
“I have me moments.” She leaned against his shoulder, feeling contentment settle over her like a warm blanket. “This is perfect. Exactly what I wanted.”
“Is it?” Murdock’s voice went low, intimate. “Because I can think of somethin' even more perfect.”
“Oh?” Leona looked up at him through her lashes. “And what might that be?”
“Ye. Me. Alone.” He stood, pulling her with him. “Come with me.”
“Murdock, we cannae leave our own wedding feast.”
“Just for a moment.” His eyes glinted with mischief and something darker. “I want to show ye something.”
Leona let him lead her away from the celebration, through corridors she knew by heart. She realized where they were going just before they arrived, the same hallway they’d fled through that first night.
Murdock pulled her into the shadowed alcove where they’d hidden. The same spot where everything had begun.
“Do ye remember?” he asked, backing her against the wall.
“How could I forget?” Leona’s breath hitched as his hands framed her face. “Ye were…terrifyin'. And magnificent. I couldnae get enough.”
“Is that so, me bride?” His mouth brushed against hers, feather-light. “Well, I’ll have ye ken, even then, I saw the strength in yer eyes. I admired yer courage. And ye were the most beautiful thing I’d seen. I might have not admitted it even to meself, but I wanted ye.”
“And now?”
“Now?” Murdock kissed her properly, deep and claiming and full of promise. “Now I have ye. Me wife. Me love. Mine.”
“Yers,” Leona agreed, her arms wrapping around his neck. “Always.”
They lost themselves in each other for a few precious moments, the celebration continuing without them. When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Murdock rested his forehead against hers.
“I love ye, lass,” he said quietly. “I’ll spend every day of me life provin' it.”
“I ken.” Leona smiled up at him. “And I’ll spend every day lovin' ye back.”
A burst of laughter reminded them that they had guests waiting.
“We should go back,” Leona said reluctantly.
“Aye.” But Murdock didn’t move. “Though I’m nae lookin' forward to sharing ye.”
“Ye’ll have me all to yerself tonight,” Leona promised. “And every night after.”
“Every night.” Murdock said it like a vow with a soft kiss on her forehead. “For the rest of our lives.”
Hand in hand, they returned to the celebration. To the music and laughter, to Skye’s delighted squeals and Nyx’s plaintive meows, to family and friends and the beginning of their life together.
It wasn’t the wedding Leona had once been afraid of—there had been no forced march down an aisle, no loveless arrangement. Instead, it had been everything she’d never dared to hope for.
Love. Real, honest, overwhelming love.
And as Murdock pulled her into his arms for their first dance as husband and wife, as she looked around at all the people who’d supported them till they reached this moment, Leona felt it.
