“A business partner?” she murmured, her fingers now trailing down his ruined cheek, causing him to shiver.
“Nay, lass,” he said gruffly, pulling her to him. “Alifepartner. Marry me, Bonnie. Please?”
The noise which emerged from her lips was half-laugh, half-sob. The tears were back, but so was a smile. “Because you love me, Lyon?”
“Because ye brought me back to life. With ye in my life, I feel whole, and losing ye—pushing ye away—nearly broke me. I swallowed my pride and went after ye, only to have ye break me down again, showing me my own soul. And then, when ye told me ye loved me, in spite of my beastly behavior…” He shook his head, pressing the gentlest of kisses to the wounds on the top of her head. “When ye went into that fire, I kenned I loved ye and couldnae live without ye.”
“You are not a beast.”
“I am?—”
She interrupted him. “No, Lyon. I mean it. I will not allow anyone to call my husband the Beast of the Oliphants, not when I am as scarred and hideous as he is.”
“Och, Bonnie, ye’re no’ hideous— Wait, ye think me hideous?” It was only then that he recognized her teasing smile, and his ears caught up with his brain. “Husband?” he whispered. “So ye’ll marry me?”
She placed her palms against his cheeks and smiled up at him. “Lyon, I love you very much. I am no longer a beauty, but you are no longer a beast. I would love to set off on a new adventure with you.”
“Marriage?”
“Yes, that, but also publishing.”
And Lyon Oliphant, ex-Beast of the Oliphants, felt an unfamiliar urge building in his chest. His lips parted, and ahuff escaped them. Then a chuckle. Then, as Bonnie’s jaw dropped, a full-blown laugh burst from his chest.
It felt…cathartic—the pull of his scars as his shoulders heaved, his heart soaring as she threw her arms around him and began to laugh along with him.
He knew his brothers must be staring, but he didn’t care. He had the woman he loved in his arms—healthy and perfect—and the promise of a wonderful future together. How could he not be joyful?
She pulled him down for a kiss, and he obliged her, careful to keep his hands from her neck or head. It was hard not to crush her to him, but he knew the time would come soon enough, when she was healed fully, and their wedding vows had been spoken.
For now, he contented himself with the taste of love on her lips, and her perfect scent. He was certain he’d never get enough of kissing her.
His Bonnie lass.
After a long moment, he loosened his hold on her, and she pulled away just far enough to smile dazedly up at him. He took a deep breath.
“I love ye, Bonnie.”
“And I love you. Thank you for making all my dreams come true.”
EPILOGUE
Lyon was absolutely certain it was the longest three months of his life.
But he’d survived the wait, and today was his wedding day.
It was also the day after Easter, which meant spring was coming to the Highlands, and he couldn’t help but feel renewed by this season of promise and joy and rebirth. Soon, the world around them would burst into color and song, new life would be everywhere, and the metaphors abounded.
He might’ve appreciated it more without the raging cockstand.
It had been over four months since Bonnie Oliphant had insinuated herself into his life, squeezing into his solitude and forcing it wide open. Since she’d returned—wounded—to Oliphant Castle, this old keep had been overrun with servants, workers, and well-wishers, all creating chaos in Lyon’s carefully ordered life.
And he couldn’t be happier.
Becausethe servants were there to help care for Bonnie, and the workers were there to ensure the publishing house was successful, and the well-wishers…well, he couldn’t deny he liked his family well enough, even if his brothers could be arses.
“I am really quite proud of ye, brother,” Keith was saying nonchalantly as he brushed an imaginary speck of dust from Lyon’s collar. “I always suspected that falling in love would drag ye, kicking and screaming, into the light.”
Lyon shrugged off the other man’s fussing touch and folded his arms, not caring if he wrinkled his jacket and waistcoat. “I loved Rose,” he grunted, even knowing the protest was false. Aye, he’d loved his first wife, but the connection he had with Bonnie was far and away the most magnificent thing he’d ever experienced in his life.
