She could see everything he felt for her dancing in his eyes and knew it must be mirrored in her own. It crackled in the air around them, this undeniable pull between them. Rose wasn’t sure what it was called. Chemistry? Attraction?
No. It was love. Simple as that. She’d fallen in love with Cailean MacNeil and now she couldn’t bear to think of leaving him, of returning to her lonely life in her little cottage by the lake.
Will you marry me?
Was it possible? Could she really stay? Could she really marry him?
Cailean’s eyes suddenly clouded with uncertainty. “Rose?”
She closed her eyes, took a juddering breath. The wordyesdanced on the tip of her tongue, demanding release. She wanted nothing more than to build a life with this man and grow old with him by her side.
But she’d thought that once before and look how that had turned out. She was newly divorced. How could she countenance jumping into another marriage?
You might be newly divorced, she told herself,but your marriage ended a long time before that. And life is too short to not take chances.
She looked up at Cailean. This was how it was meant to be, she thought. This all-encompassing ache, this need to be with somebody like they were the air you breathed.Thiswas love. She had never felt it before. Not with Dennis. Not with anyone.
Perhaps ye will find what ye were looking for all along.They were the words Lir had spoken to her that day when she’d come to fetch her. Now Rose knew what she’d meant. She’d been looking for this. For him. For a place to belong.
And now she’d found it.
“Yes!” she gasped. “A hundred times yes. I’ll marry you, Cailean MacNeil.”
A smile of pure joy lit his face. “Say that again, lass,” he breathed. “I didnae hear ye properly.”
“You big idiot,” she laughed. “I said I’ll marry you. Was that loud enough for you? Or would you like it louder still?” She threw back her head and shouted at the sky. “I love Cailean MacNeil and I’ve agreed to marry him! Will that do?”
He scooped her into his arms. “Aye, lass,” he breathed. “That will do.” Then he bent his head and kissed her.
The ride back to Dun Mallach passed in a blur. Snip followed along behind while Rose rode on Arrow with Cailean. She sat in front of him in the saddle, leaning back against his solid, reassuring bulk while he kept one arm clamped protectively around her waist.
That was just fine with her. She couldn’t seem to stop touching him. Or looking at him. Or kissing him. Every so often she turned in the saddle and their journey came to a grinding halt while they kissed.
So it took a long time to get back to Dun Mallach, but finally, the keep came into view. As they neared the gates, two figures came bursting out, one small and four-legged, the other two-legged with flying red hair.
Cailean pulled Arrow to a halt, a low gasp escaping him. He swung his leg over the horse’s back, jumped to the ground, and knelt just in time to catch Catriona into a hug as she cannoned into him. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight as Patch danced around excitedly.
“Oh my sweet girl,” Rose heard Cailean murmur. “Thank all the gods that ye are all right.”
The sight of the two of them brought tears to Rose’s eyes. She dismounted, knelt in the mud by their sides, and threw her arms around them both. After a second, Cailean’s arm shifted to include her in the three-way hug and Catriona turned to bury her face in Rose’s shoulder.
She had no idea how long the three of them remained like that. She only knew that she was reluctant to let either of them go. But finally, Cailean released them both.
“How are ye feeling?” he asked his daughter, his eyes scanning up and down as though searching for any sign of sickness.
Catriona shrugged. “Bored. Sister Beatrice wouldnae let me out of the infirmary but it’s so dull in there! I snuck out when she wasnae looking.” She sounded very proud of this fact.
Cailean shared a look with Rose and the two of them burst out laughing. It was the laughter of relief, the laughter of hope restored after despair and Rose felt it blast through her like a gale, taking with it the last of her doubts.
“Catriona,” Cailean said, putting his hands on his daughter’s shoulders. “Rose and I have something to tell ye.” He glanced at Rose and took a deep breath. “We are getting married.”
Rose didn’t know what kind of reaction she’d expected to this news, but the exasperated eye roll Catriona gave them wasn’t it.
“Papa, that’s not news,” she said in the all-knowing tone of a nine-year-old. “Ofcourseye are getting married. I did see ye kissing, ye know.”
Cailean blinked, taken aback, and glanced at Rose. She merely shrugged. She had forgotten to tell Cailean that little detail.
Catriona clapped her hands together. “I’ve already got it all planned out! There are going to be games and competitions and dancing. And I’m going to be bridesmaid of course.” She gave Rose a defiant look. “Aren’t I?”
