Page 19 of Never Kiss a Highlander

“You look beautiful, Alison.” Mairi held her hands over her mouth as she observed her cousin. “Your groom will be most satisfied with you.”

Alison smirked. “Which groom? The one who left or the one who stayed?”

Mairi stepped farther into the room. “I admire yer sense of humor, cousin. I doona ken if I would be as calm as ye are after yesterday.”

She snorted. “If ye could see my insides ye wouldn’t be so impressed with my state of mind.”

They clutched each other’s hands. “I doona ken the full story, and I thought leaving ye alone last eve was a good idea, but we have a bit of time before ye are expected downstairs. Did ye wish to speak of it?” Mairi said.

Alison let go of her hands and walked away. “‘Tis no’ something to speak of. Finn Mackay and I have no’ gotten along since he arrived. However, there is no mistaking the attraction we have for each other.

“Last eve I was in the stable, feeling quite sorry for myself, when Finn stumbled upon me. He attempted to console me, which quickly turned into something we had been fighting for some time.”

“What about Sinclair? Ye said ye were feeling sorry for yerself. Dinna ye care for the mon?”

She snorted. “I hated the mon. Part of our betrothal agreement was my assurance that I understood he would keep his lemman.”

“Nay!”

“Aye. No’ only that, but, when they arrived, she was with him and he instructed the maid to place her in the bedchamber he had been assigned.”

Mairi just stared at her cousin, her mouth hanging open. “And yer da allowed this?”

“He made sure I agreed to it in the betrothal agreement, but he dinna seem to ken that the witch would come to the wedding.”

Mairi placed her hands on her hips. “He should have thrown them out.”

“Da has no’ been the same since my brothers died. I think he was just happy to be rid of me.”

Her cousin ran her hand down Alison’s hair. “Ye could have come to stay with us instead of being tied to such a horrible mon.”

“I thought I was fine with the arrangements until he showed up withher. Then it all seemed to be real. I would be sharing my husband with another woman who would occupyhisbed while I slept in another room.

“Nay!”

“Aye.” She smiled. “That was Finn’s reaction to it. He was so upset I kept waiting for him to throw me over the back of his horse and ride away.”

“Instead, he managed to save ye anyway.”

Another soft knock caught their attention. One of the maids entered after they bid her enter. “My lady, yer da has asked that ye come downstairs.”

Mairi slipped her arm into Alison’s arm. “Come. Let us start this wedding.”

Alison took a deep breath as she reached the bottom of the staircase. There were about fifty people gathered, a much smaller group than the night before. Apparently plenty of Sinclair clan folk had already departed from the bizarre wedding.

Mairi walked with her to where the priest, Finn, and his brother Robin stood in front of the kirk in the outer bailey. Both men dressed in formal Mackay wear turned toward her.

Her breath caught in her lungs. Finn looked so handsome, so impressive, so much in control, compared to how she was shaking as she reached him.

He offered a warm smile and held his hand out. “Ye look beautiful, lass.”

She accepted his hand and licked her lips. He closed his eyes slightly and then turned them toward the priest.

At the proper time, they placed their palms together and the priest wrapped their hands with a piece of Mackay cloth.

Finn looked directly into her eyes as he repeated his vows. She, however, was unable to maintain the intimate contact with him.

Eventually the priest blessed them, offered a prayer for fertility and declared them husband and wife.