Page 88 of Highlander of Steel
Perhaps sensing her yearning, Killian rolled onto his back and pulled her with him. As she sat astride him, he wrapped his arm tight around her and pushed to his feet, holding her to him.
“What are ye doin’?” she yelped, wrapping her legs around his waist so she wouldn’t fall.
“Puttin’ ye in the sea before ye get any notions,” he replied, smirking. “Let the cold water cool ye off.”
“Hey!” she protested, laughing. “I daenae need coolin’ off.”
He waded into the crystal clear water with her, the shock making her gasp, but she couldn’t deny that it was refreshing, caressing her feverish, tingling skin.
Once he was up to his waist, she gently released her grip on him and drifted a short distance away, feeling her way through the water. Remembering her one lesson with him, she turned onto her back and, with legs and arms splayed, she grinned as she finally managed to float.
It was the fear makin’ me sink,she realized, taking in the beautiful blue sky as the water held her.
“I told ye that everyone could float,” Killian said, appearing above her.
She smiled up at him. “I’m nae afraid anymore.” A soft, contented sigh left her lips. “It’s… peaceful.”
“Aye, it is,” he agreed as he bent down to kiss her.
For a second, she felt herself begin to sink, but Killian’s hand came to rest beneath her, holding her up, refusing to let her sink too far in the water, as she kissed him back.
At that moment, she felt truly safe, perhaps for the first time in her life. But more than that, it felt like the two clans would finally be safe, with a peaceful future stretching out ahead of them all.
“I love ye,” Ailis murmured, so happy she thought she might burst.
“As I love ye,” Killian replied, lifting her out of the water and into his arms. The only place she wanted to be.
EPILOGUE
SIX MONTHS LATER
The chapel by the river gleamed like silver in the spring sunshine, the weather warm for the season. Cloudless blue skies allowed the sun to cast every bit of its golden glow on that structure of gray stone, which had been adorned for the happy occasion. Flowers of all kinds, medicinal and decorative alike, surrounded the entrance, while MacNairn banners and garlands of ivy were draped along the walls.
It was a stark difference from the way the chapel had looked on Ailis and Killian’s wedding day, the mood entirely different and so infectious that Ailis didn’t even remember the past anxiety and uncertainty.
“Everythin’ is perfect,” she sighed, grinning from ear to ear.
Paisley, seated beside her in the carriage, nodded eagerly. “Och, it is, but it could be a shack in the woods with nay roof and one wall, and I’d still call it perfect.” She kicked her feet with girlishexcitement. “Ye daenae ken how long I’ve been waitin’ for this day. I just want to be married already!”
“Then let’s get ye married,” Ailis encouraged, getting out of the carriage.
She turned and held out her hand to her friend, for though Killian had offered to give Paisley away, the two women had decided that they would follow the tradition they had started at Ailis’s wedding. With no father to give Paisley away, Ailis would stand in.
Together, the two women approached the chapel, where everyone was waiting. There would be a true celebration back at the castle, so no one felt left out, but the chapel still sounded like it was packed to the rafters with well-wishers. A wave of giddy chatter to reflect the giddiness of the bride.
“Ready?” Ailis asked as they reached the chapel doors.
Paisley beamed and gripped her bouquet of flowers, brimming with their secret meanings, tighter. “Ready.”
With a flutter of nervous excitement, Ailis pushed the doors open.
The congregation fell silent as the bride entered on Ailis’s arm, smiles and wide eyes and gasps of approval rippling through the pews as the two women walked slowly to the altar. There, the two men they loved were waiting.
Killian caught Ailis’s eye, mouthing,I love ye.
I love ye too,she mouthed back, her heart so full.
She was so swept up by the joy of the moment and the thrill of seeing her husband in this very chapel, looking a great deal happier than the last time, that she nearly forgot to pass Paisley’s hand into Fraser’s.
