by Anna Durand
Lachlan, expression thoughtful and eyes on me, took a sip of his hot drink. "She doesn't need luck."
I glanced at Erica, who nodded.
"He's right," she said. "Now go."
She hustled me to the door, swung it open, and gave me a gentle shove. Her smile broadened when I turned around to blink at her. "Try the barn first, then the garden. You can't miss the former and the latter is behind the barn."
Lachlan came up behind his wife, linking his arms around her waist. "Go left, take a right at the end of the house."
I stared into space for a moment, imagining all sorts of horrible ways this could go, then gave myself a mental smack and headed out. Erica and Lachlan watched in silence, their smiles encouraging, and I prayed they really knew more about how Aidan might react than I did. I had the whole scared-witless, angst-ridden thing going on, making me think nothing could possibly work out. As I reached the end of the house and angled right, I glanced back at my hosts.
Erica waved.
I waved back and marched toward the blue barn, a squat building with windows and Dutch doors, which had their top halves swung open. I leaned over the closed half, peering into the gloom. Sunlight coming in through the windows cast a gentle glow on the interior, where two cows munched on hay. I could see a wide-open back door, larger than the one before me, that opened onto a pasture full of pink heather blossoms.
No Aidan.
For a moment, I must stood there staring at the cows. Such a coward. I cleared my throat and called into the barn, "Aidan?"
No answer. I hollered again, but still got no response. He either wasn't in the barn or he was ignoring me. I decided to think positive and assume he wasn't in here. To the garden, then.
As I walked around the barn, acid churned in my stomach and swelled into my throat. I realized I was wringing my hands and stuffed them in my jeans pockets. In a few more steps, I cleared the barn and caught sight of the garden, a large plot the size of the house and barn combined, with a wooden fence around it and a gate that hung ajar. Between the slats of the fence, I glimpsed a figure crouching amid the rows of neatly sewn seedlings.
A mixture of excitement and terror tingled over my skin, raising every hair. It was him.
He faced away from me, but I recognized Aidan's golden-tinged, wavy brown hair. An ache started in my chest, a pang so intense I lifted a hand to my breast. My feet refused to budge. I crossed my arms over my stomach, swallowed against a lump in my throat, and studied his backside for so long my eyes started to water from the sun burning into them.
Now or never, Miss Chicken.
I would not be a coward any longer. I came here to take a chance and stop fearing the future, fearing what might happen, and to embrace the possibilities for good things.
And the best thing that ever happened to me was him.
Exhaling a shaky breath, I straightened, lowered my hands to my sides, and strode across the distance to the garden.
Chapter Thirty-Four
At the gate, I hesitated. Aidan knelt straight ahead of me, bent forward as he placed seeds in their little holes with exceptional care. He'd treated me with care too, like I was a precious flower in need of his tender touch. God, had I needed it. Needed him. I always would.
I settled a hand on the gate post, my other hand clenched over my belly. "Aidan."
His entire body went rigid. He uncoiled his spine until he crouched there upright, his head still aimed away from me. With a slow and deliberate motion, he set down the spade he'd been holding and set his palms on his knees. Though he remained silent, his shoulders rose and fell as he took deep breaths.
Seconds ticked by, bleeding into minutes.
Uncertainty trickled through me, cold and insidious. Maybe I'd made a mistake. Run, an instinct urged, but that was the old me talking. I would not hide this time. "Aidan, it's me."
At last he spoke, his tone gruff. "I know. Ye think I wouldn't recognize your voice?"
Oh shit. This sounded bad. Really bad. Angry or hurt or something worse.
He rose to his full height, unfurling that muscular body inch by inch. Rolling his shoulders back, he turned to face me. His expression unreadable, he aimed his glimmering eyes at me but just stood there. Silent. Unmoving. Unmoved? I prayed not.
My throat felt thick, a sour taste infiltrated my mouth. I walked up to him, halting an arm's length away.
"Hi," I said. Could I have thought up anything more lame to say? "Erica said you were out here. I was hoping we could talk. No, that's not right. I need to talk and I hoped you would listen. Please."
No response. He watched me, giving away nothing.
"I know I screwed up," I said. "I know you have every right to tell me to go to hell. No one's ever been as good to me as you are and I let my stupid fears come between us. I used the past as an excuse to keep you at a distance, to keep from falling for you. It didn't work."
He gaze searched my face, his eyes glinting in the sunlight.
I shuffled one step closer. "I made so many mistakes in my life. I thought I didn't deserve happiness, didn't deserve someone as good as you. God, you are so good. You make me feel like I'm not a criminal, like maybe I could have someone who loves me and treats me with respect. A man like you." My voice broke. I moved a little closer, gazing into the eyes of the only man I'd ever needed. "For years, I've hidden from life because I felt guilty for breaking the law to help Rade, sure I'd be found out and locked up. I couldn't believe anything good could happen to me, but then you barreled into my life and turned everything upside-down in the most incredible way. The whole thing with Seona threw me for a loop and you were right, I had too much time to think of lame reasons to stay away from you. The truth is, I love you so much it terrified me. But not anymore."
His lips twitched so minutely I couldn't be sure I'd seen it. An almost smile? Or a sign of disgust?
"What I'm trying to say," I told him, "is I am so sorry. I'll do whatever it takes to make up for hurting you."
I swore one of his dark brows lifted the tiniest bit and maybe, just maybe, he swallowed against a tightness in his own throat. My throat ached, my heart ached, my soul ached. If I couldn't fix this...
"You said you'd wait," I began, daring to light my palm on his chest, barely touching him, the sun-warmed fabric of his T-shirt soft against my skin. "Said you'd wait as long as it took. These two weeks felt like an eternity. But hey, at least I didn't make you wait two months. We've got one up on Erica and Lachlan, right?"
Did one corner of his mouth tick up a millimeter? Please, please, please. Time to go for broke.
Fanning both my palms on his solid chest, I leaned in and angled my head back to meet his gaze. Though he kept his chin raised, his eyes rolled down to gaze into mine. They were glossy with...tears? Oh God, please. I'd never prayed for another human being to cry, but I was frantic for any sign, however small, that my words affected him.
"I love you, Aidan."
His brows furrowed, his eyes widened a fraction.
"Please believe me," I said, powerless to hold back the words. "I love you so much I can't imagine my life without you anymore." I skated my right palm over his chest, until it bumped over a small, hard shape beneath his shirt. I tapped one fingertip on the circular object. "What is this?"
He ducked his head, turning it to the side, eyes closing.
Diving my hand inside his shirt, I pulled out the object. A diamond engagement ring, dangling from a long silver chain.
I skated my finger over the shiny gold band. The diamond glittered in the sunshine, as bright and perfect as the love Aidan had offered me. I yearned to believe the ring was for me.
Rubbing my thumb over the brilliant stone, I looked up at his averted face. "I'm not giving up. I'll come back here every day, ten times a day, to beg you to forgive me if that's what it takes. I'll stalk you until you either take me back or have me arrested. Hell, I'll strip naked and run down the streets of Ballachulish screaming your name. Don't care about dignity or
pride anymore, all I care about is you."
He rotated his face toward me.
I waited, goose bumps of anticipation popping up all over my arms. Seconds elapsed. Tick, tick, tick. My mouth went dry, but my hands grew clammy. Tick, tick, tick.
He cleared his throat and drawled, "Well, it took you bloody long enough. Thought you'd never come to your senses."
"You mean — " I stared at him, uncomprehending. "Do you mean you forgive me?"
"Nothing to forgive. I knew you'd turn up eventually. You are hopelessly in love with me, after all." He smirked and winked. "Just like I predicted you would be."
A tiny sob burst out of me and all the fear and tension that had kept me upright rushed out. I slumped into him, my forehead falling to his chest. He wrapped his brawny arms around me, tucking me inside his comforting embrace. I was home.
He crooked a finger under my chin and raised my face to his. "Did you think I'd give up so easily? A few weeks is nothing. Told you I'd wait as long as it took, because you're worth it."
"I know, but I told you — "
"Hush." He took my face in his hands, brushing my tears away with his thumbs. "If I learned anything from Lachlan and Erica, it's that second chances come along if you're patient. And when you get a second chance with the one person you love more than anything, you jump on it."
"Erica said I...broke your heart."
"You did." He held my face, preventing me from flinching away. "Easy, mo chridhe, I'm not a weakling. I can handle a broken heart." He tilted my head back, slanting his down to within an inch of my face, those gorgeous eyes shining with love. "Now it's your job to heal it."
My finger hurt. I glanced down to find I'd been twisting the ring around my fingertip, carving out a red line in my flesh.
"You spoiled the surprise," he said, and snatched the ring away. He yanked it, snapping the chain and letting the silver links plummet to the ground. He held the ring between his thumb and forefinger. "This belongs to you."
I couldn't breathe. "You still want to marry me?"
He shook his head, the picture of affectionate exasperation. "Havenae you been listening? Ahmno letting our second chance slip away."
"You're jumping on me?"
His lips curved into the sexy smile I adored. "That'll come next, you can count on it. First..."
He dropped to one knee before me, proffering the ring, his face tilted up to behold me with undeniable love. "Calli Douglas, will you marry me?"
"Yes." I held up the appropriate finger, ready to accept the ring. "After my divorce is finalized, of course. That happens in less than seven weeks. Can you wait?"
"To marry you, yes." He slipped the ring onto my finger. "To make love to you, no."
"Get up so I can kiss you senseless, mo chridhe."
Aidan surged to his feet and pulled me into his arms. "I missed you."
"I missed you so much. Can't believe I took so long to come here."
"Thought you were going to kiss me."
I flung my arms around his neck and crushed my mouth to his, reveling in the softness of his lips, the way he yielded to me and opened for me, inviting me to plunder his mouth. I explored him with long, lazy strokes of my tongue, relishing the taste of him after two interminable weeks apart. He answered my every movement with his own, twining his tongue with mine, molding his lips to my mouth as if we were fused together. Inseparable. Inevitable.
Though we broke the kiss, his lips grazed mine as he spoke. "I love you, Calli. Would've waited forever but I had no doubt it wouldn't take that long."
I combed my fingers through the silky waves of his hair. "We are meant for each other. No other man on earth could understand me like you do."
"Stopped thinking we don't know each other well enough, eh?"
"The letter changed everything. You have a real way with words."
"I wasn't sure you'd like what I wrote. Never said flowery things like that before."
"What you wrote made me cry." I trailed my fingertips down his cheek. "In a sad way at first, but later in a good way. I read the letter again on the plane. You amaze me, Mr. MacTaggart."
"You amaze me too, Mrs. MacTaggart."
I arched my brows. "Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren't you?"
"Always. Impulsive, remember?"
I could do nothing except laugh and kiss him and touch him — and love him, without reservation or inhibition. For the rest of our lives, for every second I had with him, I would love Aidan with all the devotion in my soul.
He glanced around, lips compressed and eyes narrowed, as if searching for something.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Looking for the closest place where I can strip you naked."
Desire rippled through me, hot and liquid. "Outside?"
"Not making love to you in my brother's house, when he's home with his wife and bairn." Aidan caught sight of something, smiled with satisfaction, and swept me up into his arms. "Found it."
He carried me toward a small grove of apple trees laden with ripe, red fruit and set me down on the grass beneath the largest tree, in the umbrella of its shadow.
"Growing apples in the Highlands," he said, settling in beside me, "is a difficult task. Almost takes a miracle to keep them growing and bearing fruit. Must be good luck to make love under the fertile bows of a Scottish apple tree."
"Are you implying this is a magic fertility tree?"
"Maybe it is." He dug a condom packet out of his pocket, holding it up. "I've been carrying this around so I'd be ready whenever you turned up. Should we use it?"
"What exactly are you asking me?"
He laid a hand over my lower belly. "Would ye like to start trying for a bairn today?"
A baby? I could've dreamed up a hundred reasons why we should wait, but none of them mattered anymore. The idea of having a child with Aidan made my heart swell.
I snatched the condom packet from his fingers and tossed it aside. "Does that answer your question?"
He chuckled. "Well enough, aye."
Lying stretched out on the green grass, elevated on my elbows, I admired the view as he shed his T-shirt. Acres of tanned skin tantalized my imagination with thoughts of tracing every line of muscle with my fingers and my tongue. My mouth watered at the prospect.
"By the way," I said, "Rade insisted on giving me a financial settlement to compensate me for the years I gave him."
Aidan paused with his jeans half unzipped. "Did he?"
"Yes. A hundred thousand dollars."
He gaped at me for several seconds, but then a grin lit up his face. "I'm marrying a rich woman."
"Does it bother you?"
"Not in the slightest."
I clasped my hands over my belly, my feet shifting in restless movements.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Even though we're not married yet," I said, "I'd like to give you some of the money, to get your business going again. We'll be sharing everything soon enough, and I don't want to wait."
He stood there in silence, hands lingering on the waistband of his pants, for a long moment.
"I could be a manly man and say no," he told me. "But I can tell you want to do this, and I can't deny my future wife anything."
"Thank you. I hope this doesn't wound your male pride."
"Donnae worry, love. Ahmno sensitive."
Yes, I'd learned that about him weeks ago. And it was one of a countless number of things I adored about him.
While he resumed unzipping and pushed his jeans down, revealing the sleek and beautiful length of his engorged penis, I observed with growing lust. "I do love watching you strip. Maybe I should stuff a few hundred-dollar bills in your waistband."
He kicked his pants away. "You get me for free. Donnae take my clothes off for money, remember?"
"Oh yes, you did mention that once upon a time."
My fiancé stood naked before me. Glorious, unashamed, towering above me like a Celtic god.
Aidan knelt over me,
his knees straddling my thighs. "Time to unwrap my gift."
His gift. He was my gift too, the most precious one I'd ever received, the one I'd never asked for but couldn't live without. That night in the club, when he'd crashed into my life, I couldn't have predicted how much he would change my world. But he had known, always.
You will fall for me.
I'd keep falling over and over, every time he smiled at me or kissed me or made love to me. This wicked Highlander was mine.
Epilogue
Eight Weeks Later
I lay naked on a king-size bed inside our new home, a two-story farmhouse a five-minute walk from Lachlan and Erica's place, watching as my husband of two hours and forty minutes kicked off his shoes. A kilt swaddled his hips, cascading down his thighs. Beneath the plaid, his ever-stiffening penis tented the kilt. Like any proud Scotsman, my Highlander had substituted a kilt for the pants but had worn the rest of the tuxedo — including the shoes and socks.
Only Aidan MacTaggart could pull of a look like that.
Now he took hold of the kilt, and with one flick of his wrist, sent it plummeting to the floor. His erection waved in the air, thick and long, the tip reddened and already damp with a drop of moisture. As usual, he'd forgone underwear.
Aidan knelt at the the foot of the bed. "Wish you'd let me take you to a posh hotel. It is our wedding night. Or afternoon."
He'd whisked me away from the reception early, at my request. I needed time alone with my husband.
"Rather start our life together in the home we'll share," I said, and tickled his knee with my toes. "You know I don't care about fancy stuff. I want you. That's all I need, today and every day."
"It's all I need too." On all fours, he crawled up my body until his hands and knees straddled me. He'd stopped with his head over my belly. "We are going on the honeymoon, even if Lachlan did pay for it."
"Lachlan and Rory. It was their wedding gift to us." Two weeks in in the south of France, at a villa on the Côte D'Azure. "Can't wait to see the French Riviera. Sure you don't mind bringing the puppies with us?"
"Wouldn't be the same without the furry lassies." He ducked his head to swipe that agile tongue over one nipple. "Though I'm glad Jamie took them for tonight, so I can have you all for myself. Cannae wait to see you lying nude on a private beach, for no one but me to see."