Page 3 of Tempting the Highland Devil
“Dinnae tell me that ye too hate this idea,” Duncan said to him the moment they were alone.
Arran stepped forward while holding his friend’s gaze steady. “Aye, I think it is the most absurd idea ye have ever come up with,” he admitted. “How can ye think marryin’ her off to a stranger is the answer? Ye will only make her miserable.”
“She can find someone she likes durin’ the competition, Arran,” Duncan defended. “Ye may nay understand this, but I am tellin’ ye it is the best decision for Yvaine. Besides, I worry that with ye around she might never marry.”
Arran froze. “What does that mean?”
Duncan crossed his arms over his chest and hardened his jaw. “I see the way ye two look at each other. Me sister is young, and she is carefree, aye, but she is also a lady, and she has grown attached to ye. Spendin’ time with ye, discussin’ travels that she might never have the liberty to go on…”
“Are ye accusin’ me of misleadin’ Yvaine?” Arran questioned, clenching his fists to calm his rising anger. “We’ve known each other forever…How can ye accuse me of such?”
“Arran…”
“I would never mislead her. I have done nay such thin’.”
“Then ye must agree with me that she should find a husband, right?” Duncan walked to Arran and planted both his hands on Arran’s shoulders. “Ye are me best friend, Arran, and I understand why ye have chosen to remain as ye are…unmarried and free. I understand ye better than anyone else, but Yvaine is me little sister, and she doesnae ken that… I worry that she hopes that one day ye might see her as more than a little lass. I can tell.”
Arran burst into a trembling laugh after Duncan’s words ended. He shook his head as he stepped away from him.This is insane,he thought. Not once had he ever considered that Yvaine would see him as anything other than a friend.
“Yvaine and I hardly agree on anythin’. All we do is argue, fight, and tease each other. Whatever yer suspicions are, me friend, they are wrong.”
Deep down, the prickle in his heart told him that he was a liar. Arran felt more…Ever since he saw the woman she became; he could hardly get her out of his mind.
He never allowed the feelings rise, of course. Never entertained the thoughts. But they were there.
“Then prove me wrong.” Duncan held bis gaze. “I shall arrange the competition, and ye shall guide her in choosin’ the right man.”
It was a challenge. Arran knew it, and even as his heart tugged at him to back out, he feared it was the wrong choice.Yvaine indeed deserves to marry someone who will love and cherish her.
“I dinnae support this. Yvaine deserves better than this, and ye ken it,” Arran said sternly instead, then he turned and marched out of Duncan’s study.
As he headed down the hall, Killian, Lily, and Amelia hurried to him with thousands of questions. “What did he say? Could ye change his mind?”
Arran ignored every one of them and headed out of the keep with only one thought on his mind.Find Yvaine.
2
Yvaine rode out as fast and far as she could without looking back once. Tears blurred her vision, and she feared the pain in her chest would rip through and destroy her heart.
How could Duncan do this to me?Yvaine dreamed of one day finding a love like the one he shared with Amelia. Even through the obstacles they had to overcome when Amelia first arrived at the Highlands, they still found a way to keep their love alive.
I want that.She blinked back tears as she stopped near the edge of the cliff at the end of the MacLennan castle grounds. Getting down from her horse, she stared at the valleys beneath. The only way out of her predicament was fleeing the Highlands.
As the heavy wind tousling her hair raged on, Yvaine considered getting on her horse and heading far away from MacLennan.
I can go to England and ask Amelia’s father for a place to stay.He was a duke with a large estate over there, and even though he spent most of his time here in MacLennan caring for his grandchildren, his name could still help her out there.
Yvaine was lost in the swirl of her thoughts till she heard the steady, familiar voice calling for her.
“Yvaine? Yvaine…”
“I am right here,” Yvaine answered before turning around. Arran dismounted his horse and rushed towards her.
“Are ye all right?” His brows furrowed closely together, and the frown eating at his features made her stare at him harder. “I was worried that ye might have run away.”
He took a step towards her but stopped mid-way and made a tiny hand gesture with his right hand. “Yvaine—”
“Did Duncan send ye after me to convince me that this is the right thin’ to do? Because if that is why ye are here, then ye might as well leave.”
