Page 31 of In Bed with a Highland Liar

Cameron’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline as he turned to him. “Are ye givin’ me advice?”

“Aye,” said Aaden. “Who better than me tae advise ye on this?”

“Och aye, since yer doin’ so well with Lilith.”

Aaden fought the urge to roll his eyes at Cameron, but only because he knew he was right. He had no excuse to make for his lack of progress with her, other than pointing out that Evander had almost ruined everything for him.

But I cannae tell Cameron this. He will reveal everythin’ tae the laird an’ then the plan will truly be ruined.

If Cameron heard about Evander’s philandering, he would do anything to protect Freya from him even if she didn’t want him to, and then both Aaden and Evander would surely be sent away.

“If ye helped me, then perhaps I would be doin’ better with her,” Aaden pointed out instead of trying to argue pointlessly.

“Have I nae helped ye enough?” asked Cameron. “I’ve already told ye plenty about her.”

“Tell me more,” Aaden said, leaning right into Cameron’s space. “What does she like? Flowers? Sweets? Shiny jewelry?”

Will any o’ this even make a difference?

It probably wouldn’t, Aaden knew, but it would serve as an excuse for him to at least talk to her. She wouldn’t be swayed by material things. She had no need for them, considering the wealth of her clan, and besides, she wasn’t so shallow as to be impressed by such trivial things, but if the gesture of gift-giving gave him a few minutes to talk to her properly, then perhaps his words could sway her instead—if he picked them carefully.

With a sigh, Cameron ran a hand through his hair, tugging a little at the strands. “She likes books. Surely, ye have seen her read.”

Aaden had, indeed, seen Lilith read plenty of times, but he was more of a man of actions rather than words and reading had never been his strong suit. He had never been patient enough for it, always having an irrepressible need to be moving instead of sitting down with a book.

“Does that mean I have tae read a book?” he asked with a grimace of displeasure.

Cameron snorted, giving him a gentle push back. “Can ye nae read?”

“I can read!”

“Then read,” Cameron said, much to Aaden’s chagrin. “She likes Gulliver’s Travels. She’s been readin’ it ever since she was a bairn.”

“Aye, I ken that book!” Aaden said excitedly.

“Ye’ve read it?”

“Och nay. But I’ve heard o’ it.”

“I dinnae ken what I was expectin’ tae hear,” Cameron said with a shake of his head. “There is a copy in the library. Ye can read it an’ talk tae her about it, even though she’s avoidin’ ye.”

With a weary sigh, Aaden leaned back on the bench, letting his eyes fall shut against the sparse light of the sun. “Is it that obvious that she’s avoidin’ me?”

“It is. She hasnae made any effort tae be subtle.”

For a while, silence fell between them, but even with his eyes closed, Aaden could feel Cameron’s gaze on him. In the end, Cameron asked, “What did ye dae this time?”

Aaden didn’t know how to answer that question without lying to the other. He let the silence stretch for several more moments, remembering the betrayed look in Lilith’s eyes when he refused to take her side.

“It’s what I didnae dae,” he said. “Sometimes that is worse.”

Finding the book was harder than Aaden could have anticipated. The library of the Stewart Castle seemed to be organized with no logic in mind and the shelves, filled with books as they were, seemed difficult to navigate for someone who had never stepped foot in the room before. He went almost through the entire place searching for Gulliver’s Travels and for a while, he even worried that Lilith had the book somewhere in her chambers, but in the end, he found it tucked away in a corner, its cover well-worn and its pages marked with use.

Tucking it under his arm, Aaden left the room and headed to his guest chambers, surrendering himself to the fact that he would have to read the whole thing. Just as he was rounding the corner, though, he saw Lilith approach and he stopped dead in his tracks.

Can I avoid her? Nay. It’s too late, she has already seen me.

Instead of fleeing, Aaden hid the book behind his back, but that only seemed to betray its presence to Lilith.