Page 99 of Once upon a Summer Night

He didn’t know how to respond, as all his insecurities went round and round his head, clouding his senses.

She will grow to resent you. Her love will turn to hate. She will be alone, forever, the smile gone from her face. For all eternity, she will be unhappy because of you.

Every cell in his body screamed at him to take her in his arms, beg her forgiveness for his lies, and make her his forever. He wanted, more than his next breath, to build a life with her, have children with her, grow old with her.

He was not that selfish.

Her eyes narrowed to slits. “Colin O’Rourke, when you finally man up and admit that we have something real, I hope you’re not too late. I’m not going to wait around forever.”

He shrugged. “It’s the truth. You could never make me happy, Eleanor.”

For a moment, she looked stunned. Then, when she caught her breath, she drew her hand back and slapped him, hard.

He welcomed the pain.

Ellie was shaking with anger,sadness, and a myriad of other emotions she’d rather never feel again.

“Please take me home, Reilly.”

Proud of herself for getting the words out calmly, and without the panic that threatened to overtake her, Ellie kept her voice even, her request simple.

Reilly finished drying his arms with a piece of linen, then tossed it into the dirty linen pile in the corner of the kitchen, which was empty of clansmen. Claire convinced her friends to join her in the kitchens for a snack, and they walked in on Reilly doing the same.

He glanced over. “Is that amenable to you, Gwendolyn?”

“I’ve yet to say my goodbyes,” she mused, “but I think Ellie’s right. It’s time to go.”

“All right. Say your goodbyes, and we’ll leave. Have you seen James?”

“Last I knew, he and Colin took a ride to the coast,” Claire said around a mouthful of bread.

At the mention of his name, Ellie glared at nothing in particular.If so, I hope he fell off the horse and split his head open on a rock.

“Let’s hope he returns soon. We’re stuck here until he gets back. We leave together.”

Okay, maybe not split his head open. Maybe broke a limb instead.

“This prophecy protection business is brutal on your personal life,” Gwen noted. She suddenly froze, a hunk of buttered bread hovering in mid-air. “Wait a second.”

Ellie silently groaned. Gwen’swait a seconds always meant her mind had started spinning—and once it started, there wasn’t an off switch.

Gwen pointed to Claire. “You!”

“Me?”

“Yes! How many times has Reilly saved you?”

Claire pulled a face. “More times than I care to admit, surely.”

Gwen spun back to Reilly, who was looking anywhere but her. “Why do you always protect Claire? Why not Rian? Or Aidan? Or their other brother—”

“Austin,” Claire supplied.

“Right. Austin! Why not any of the other three MacWilliam offspring?” Gwen demanded. Her face turned speculative. “I’ll tell you why. Claire’s the link. Either she’s a time traveler, or she’ll bear the next generation of them!”

Claire opened her mouth, then paused. “Huh. I always thought it would be my children, but…maybe it’s me!”

“It’s not you,” Reilly said sternly, breaking his staring contest with Gwen.

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