It’s working, lass!
She gripped both his hands, hard, looking deep into his mesmerizing eyes. There, she saw the confusion with a hint of fear as he tightened his hands on hers. She saw he heard his own voice on the wind and he didn’t immediately understand. And then their last words echoed back to the both of them.
Jamie, I—
What? I cannae hear ye, lass!
Jamie, I love you. I will always love you no matter what happens.
The wind howled through the ruins, whipping around them in a ghostly wail before dying as suddenly as it came. Silence settled over the ruins, thick and humming with something unseen, something ancient. Yet, they still stood there, their hands locked together, the heat of his palm anchoring her, tethering her to this moment.
Her breath caught as she saw the flicker in his gaze—the sharp glimmer of realization, of memory returning like a tidal wave crashing over him. His fingers twitched against hers. His pupils widened. Then, with a sudden jolt, he stumbled back, his hand rakingdown his face, leaving a bloodless trail as if pushing away the impossible truth clawing into his mind.
“Och, God’s teeth,” he said, his voice low and urgent. Then he spun back to her with an expression that told her he saw, he knew, heremembered.
He rushed toward her, taking her in his arms. His lips found hers in an urgent desperation that seared through her. A kiss that sealed forever between them. A kiss that said he understood, he heard, and he would never let her go. Tears sprang to her eyes and she was unwilling to wipe them away. A sob broke from her as she let them slide down her cheeks with happiness and pure joy, and when they broke, she gasped for air and clung to him.
“I remember. I remember it all,” he said with his face buried in her hair. “The portal. The keystone.You.”
She buried her face against his strong chest, inhaling the sweet leather and heather scent that was all him. Her arms were tight around his waist, holding him as though he were the only thing tethering her to this world. He pressed a kiss against her temple.
“You love me.” His words were deep, rumbling against that broad chest.
“I love you,” she whispered back, though she wasn’t sure he’d heard her muffled words.
He pulled back, cupping her face in his hands and looking down at her with unfathomable love and quiet tenderness. It rendered her speechless. He smiled, then, those dimples carving into his cheeks like she’d seen so many times before but never quite like this.
“Since the moment ye appeared in those tapestries, I waited for ye.” He whispered the words against her lips, featherlight. “I loved ye from that moment. I’ll love ye until my last moment on this earth.”
His vow was sealed with a kiss. Deeper this time. They tumbled to the ground, their arms tangled together and bodies pressed close. And there, in the shadow of the ruins, he pledged his love forever to herand she to him. There would be no more parting. No more lost moments. Only this. Only them.
Always and forever.
Epilogue
It was springtimein the Highlands, a time of renewal and subtle beauty as the rugged and windswept land shook off the cold grasp of winter and embraced the coming warmth. The days were getting longer. The sun was getting warmer. The winds were turning breezy with hints of salt and heather.
Within the stone walls of Dundale keep, life had resumed its rhythm. Fires still burned in the hearths to keep the damp chill of night at bay. The scent of roasted meats and fresh baked bread filled the air. It was a time of feasting and celebration, ushering out the season of dark and ushering in the season of light. Mead and ale flowed freely. Boisterous laughter rang out through the great hall. Tales of the long, hard winter were shared over a trencher.
Angus Sinclar and his lady wife, Fiona, were in residence, invited by Callum. Chloe lounged in one of the chairs, her feet propped up in Malcolm’s lap as she rested a hand on the large swell of her belly. Her face glowed, a faint smile of contentment on her features. Evie sat next to Callum holding their newborn son whom they named after his da, Hamish.
Brianna watched and listened to it all as it buzzed around her. She never thought she would have a sense of belonging. Until now as she sat next to Jamie, holding his hand while he talked and laughed with the others.
For a while, she’d missed her Caribbean beaches and her life ofleisure. But now things were different. She didn’t miss that life any longer. She had come to love the wild, untamed landscape of the Highlands and the rogue who had captured her heart now and forevermore. Her nomadic, isolated days were behind her. She had roots. She was settled. And she would never take her sisters or her found family for granted.
Jamie lifted her hand and kissed it. “Are ye happy?”
She grinned and pressed her forehead against his. “Of course, I am. Are you?”
“Aye,” he said. “Happy to call ye my lady wife.”
“And I’m happy to call you my husband.”
He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers, his lips warm and soft and perfect. He still stole her breath and made her swoon.
“Tomorrow, we’ll take Callum and Malcolm to the ruins,” he said.
“Do you think it will work for them, too?” she asked, eyeing the men sitting on the other end of the table.
