Finlay strode towards the gardens. He caught Laird MacFinn’s eye, who turned away first. He gritted his teeth. It was a good thing that both were leaving his castle. He wasn’t sure how much more disrespect he could take.
Thalia and Daisy were standing next to a bush weighed down with deep purple flowers. Thalia bent over, closing her eyes as she inhaled their scent, and Daisy copied her.
The sight cooled his anger instantly. The one good thing in this whole ordeal was seeing Daisy opening up. He couldn’t even be bothered to be envious any longer. He was just so happy to see the two of them together.
“Thalia!”
She looked up as he approached. She smiled, but it did not escape his notice that she refused to fully look at him. He walked up so that he was close to them, but still put enough distance between them to make her more comfortable.
“I saw yer uncle and Laird MacGibbon comin’ from this way,” he started.
Thalia grimaced, and Daisy’s face went pale. It immediately put him on edge.
“Did they do somethin’ to ye?”
Rather than answer him, Thalia addressed Daisy, who had her hands filled with cut flowers. “Daisy, will ye take those to the kitchen? I’ll be there shortly.”
Daisy looked from Thalia to Finlay and back. “Are ye goin’ to argue again?”
“Nay!” Thalia and Finlay said at the same time.
Thalia blushed, and Finlay bit the inside of his cheek to suppress a chuckle.
Daisy, however, looked amused. “I’ll go if ye promise ye willnae argue again.”
“I promise,” Thalia answered.
“We willnae argue,” Finlay promised.
Daisy nodded in satisfaction. She walked back up to the castle, only looking back once.
“What did they say?” Finlay asked once she was far enough away.
Thalia ran her hand over the bush, letting her fingertips brush lightly over the petals. “Me uncle was cruel. I daenae think that Daisy heard it, but he said some terrible things about her. Mentioned that he didnae want his nieces to raise children that arenae theirs.”
Finlay let himself imagine storming back to the castle, grabbing Laird MacFinn by the collar, and forcing him to apologize to Daisy and Thalia, as well as Ava.
He crossed his arms across his chest, his rage barely contained. “He’s lucky he’s leavin’ today,” he growled.
Thalia sighed in relief. “I suppose ye and Caden had somethin’ to do with that? I really must thank ye. I’m glad I can have a break from them.”
“I didnae do that just for ye. It was for me, too,” Finlay pointed out, which made her chuckle.
Her eyes drifted back to him, settling on his bare chest. A pink flush colored her cheeks, but then she brought her gaze back up to his face.
It was the first time she had properly looked at him since he had arrived. Blue eyes stared up at him through long, dark lashes that fluttered prettily against her cheek.
If she were any other woman, Finlay would think that she was flirting with him. She wasn’t, which only made it worse, given how irresistible he found every part of her.
“Maybe we can settle into a better routine with them gone,” Thalia said, the end lilting up almost like a question. As if she were looking to him for confirmation.
The wind kicked up behind her, and brown tendrils whipped around her face. It pushed her scent to him, and it took everything in him not to lean closer and breathe her in. Shesmelled sweet, like the plants she surrounded herself with. Intoxicating and delicate.
He took a step back from her, trying to push those thoughts out of his head.
“What were ye and Daisy doin’ out here?” he asked, changing the subject.
“We are makin’ a tea for Rowena,” Thalia replied. “Daisy wants to become a healer.”
