by Willa Blair
Ian’s eyebrows shot up as she reached him. So he had noticed. Then he smiled and nodded, took her hand and turned to face the registrar.
She’d heard the ceremony before, thanks to Blane and Cassie. Today, though she knew the registrar was speaking, her every sense was attuned to Ian. She couldn’t look anywhere else. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder, the heat from his arm warming hers. His scent filled her nose and made her long to taste his lips. His voice, deep and solemn when he answered the registrar, sent thrills of anticipation through her body, then he touched her hand and she realized the registrar had spoken to her. She said the only thing that came to mind. “I do.”
Ian’s smile blazed.
She got through the rest of the short ceremony in the same daze. Only Ian’s kiss snapped her out of it, his warm lips melting through the fog holding her in thrall, promising so much more…later.
As Ian turned her to face their friends, she noticed Fergus, still where she’d last seen him, at Alex’s left hand. She nodded to them both, then turned her head to smile at Amy and Caitlin before giving Ian a look of unconstrained joy. She didn’t care who saw her. She grabbed his head and pulled him down for another melting kiss. The crowd before them broke into cheers.
“My lady!” Ian whispered against her lips.
“Yours forever,” she answered the same way.
Hours later, Ian and Lara bid the last guests good night and closed the door. “We did it! Cairn Dubh’s first big party in over two-hundred years,” Lara exulted.
“And not to sound overly superstitious, but a good omen, I think, to start with its most important one,” Ian added, pulling her into his arms.
Lara sagged against her new husband. “I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted.”
Ian chuckled. “Already? The night is far from over, milady.” He bent his head.
In moments, she was lost in his kiss, amazed at how quickly he could make the world go away, until there were only the two of them, wrapped in a haze of pleasure. Finally, he lifted his mouth from hers, making her moan.
“I’ll get the twins settled,” Ian offered. “You make some tea, and I’ll meet you in the library.”
Lara gave him a grateful smile. She noticed he didn’t mention getting the whisky out, but they’d had plenty after the ceremony and during the reception dinner, as it seemed every guest wanted to toast their health and happiness. Yes, tea sounded perfectly…restorative. Ian had to be dead on his feet, too, but it was their wedding night, and she planned to enjoy it.
And bless her, Caitlin was spending the night in one of the guest rooms in the same wing as the twins. She would get them up and out of the house in the morning, so Lara and Ian would not be disturbed.
Lara smiled at the memory of Caitlin, when they told her about the upcoming wedding, insisting it was her right. She was going to be their ‘auntie’, so she was obligated to spoil them rotten. She’d repeated those words today when Lara thanked her again, and said that was exactly what she planned to do for the next week while her cousin and his new wife were away on their honeymoon. Unfortunately, both Alex and Amy had heard that declaration and had brightened up considerably. Caitlin had no idea what she was getting into. But Lara appreciated her offer, nonetheless, though she did worry about Caitlin controlling the twins in the hidden rooms.
A representative from the National Museum in Edinburgh had visited last week and chosen some furniture and clan memorabilia for a display about the events following the failed Jacobite rebellion. The truck was coming to pick them up while Ian and Lara were gone. While keeping an eye on the twins, Caitlin had to finish inventorying and packing the smaller items in the next few days.
The sound of Ian’s deep laughter reached her. The affection he and the twins shared warmed her right to her bones. To settle them down before bed and start their life together on the right foot, he’d planned to read them a Highland legend—and not one involving ghosts, he’d promised. No sense filling their heads with nonsense when they had a real ghost of their very own.
She hoped Ian picked a short tale to read, especially tonight. Twenty minutes later, as she brought the tea tray from the kitchen to the library, she could still hear Ian upstairs, cajoling the twins to go to sleep. Their laughter filled her heart to bursting, one more perfect touch in an already perfect day.
Lara looked forward to taking the day into a perfect night by having Ian’s loving attention on her. She set the tray on the nearby whisky table, fixed her tea and sank into the overstuffed sofa in front of the fire. Mug in hand, she winked at the giant deerhound sitting in front of it.
“Aye, Fergus, ye did well today. Cairn Dubh has its laird, and at long last, so do you. And I have my wonderful new husband. I hope that doesn’t mean you’re going to disappear on us. We want you to stay.”
Fergus stood and walked toward her. Lara tensed for a moment, then reminded herself he’d never harmed anyone, even when he, Ian and the twins faced off against the burglar.
When he stretched out at her feet, her heart melted with the certainty he was telling her she was now his lady, as Ian was his laird. She leaned forward and tried to touch him, to let him know she understood and appreciated his gesture, but her hand met only chilled air. She drew it back and dipped her head, instead. Fergus huffed out a silent ghostly sigh and dropped his head to his paws.
Minutes later, when Ian found them like that, his eyebrows lifted, then he grinned. Without comment, he moved around Fergus’s ghostly form, took Lara’s mug and set it aside with his and sprawled against her on the couch. “Are you okay with him there?”
“For now. We were just waiting for you. The twins finally settled down?”
“Aye. And apparently, so has our ghostly guardian. As if we needed more proof,” he told her as he leaned in for a kiss to start their evening. “All at Cairn Dubh is—finally—as it should be.”
A word about the author…
Willa Blair is an award-winning and Amazon and Barnes & Noble #1 bestselling author of Scottish historical paranormal romance. She has been featured on and contributes to USAToday’s Happy Ever After romance blog, Savvy Authors, Romance University, and more.
Her books have won numerous honors, including Reader’s Crown finalist, NightOwl Reviews Top Pick, Marlene, Merritt, Crowned Heart, Historical Romance finalist, and Honorable Mention in InD’Tale Magazine’s prestigious RONE Award, and finalist in the National Readers’ Choice Awards.
Contact Willa Blair on her website at www.willablair.com.
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