Page 59 of The Winter Laird

“I have no doubt.” Her heart felt heavy, though she wished it didn’t. She wished they were from the same time, without all of the baggage each of them carried.

Their life together could’ve been so different. So much more.

She gazed out at the rocky beach and noticed the clouds gathering in the distance. “Perhaps we should go back. I think the weather may turn.”

He glanced out to the clouds, then kept the blanket wrapped around them as they rose together. He glanced down at her. “I have to leave for a few days. I have business with an ally in the south. I’m taking Aidan but leaving most of my men.” He paused, then bestowed a quick smile on her. “I don’t think I’ve thanked you properly for wedding me under such circumstances.”

She forced a bright smile. “Getting me home will be thanks enough.”

Nioclas’s eyes dropped to her lips, and instinctively she licked them nervously. He leaned in and gently kissed her. “Were our situation different,” he murmured before stepping out of the blanket, “I believe we would suit quite well, Lady Brianagh.”

“Yes,” she agreed quietly. “I believe you’re right.”

Chapter 16

“We really need to find someone suitable, and soon,” Erin said a few days later, as she and Brianagh hurried down the stairs together. “Word has gotten out to the men in the village that Keela has agreed to be matched, and that the laird is pleased with her efforts in her new position in the castle.”

“So that means they’re all suddenly interested in her now?” Bri asked, slightly out of breath as they hurriedly threaded through the various clansmen loitering in the great hall.

“Before coming to the castle, she was just another village girl tied to her ailing mother, and now she’s free from that burden because of the women you’ve chosen to help with Aiofe’s care. When you add that to what she can do to a slab of beef, it’s no wonder the men have been falling all over themselves.”

“She’s attractive too,” Brianagh mused. “I’ll need to interview these men and get to know Keela better before we go any further.” At Erin’s confusion, Bri clarified, “I’ll need to speak with the men to determine what they’re like off the battlefield.”

“Excellent. If you wish, I can help with that.”

“Help with what?” Donovan asked, stepping into their path.

“Finding the perfect mate for Keela,” Brianagh explained.

“We can stay, aye?” Erin pleaded, placing her hand on his arm. “There’s nothing happening at home. I’m happy here for a while yet.”

He acquiesced with some grumbling, but it was clear he’d do anything to make Erin happy. Brianagh bit her lip, a stab of jealousy rocking her, and she once again found herself wanting to be the center of someone’s world.

She had a strong suspicion that, were circumstances different, she would be the center of Nioclas’s world.

She resolved to ignore the hollow ache in her chest and focus on matching Keela, because that was what she loved to do: find someone her happily-ever-after. As it always was with a new client—and then at the subsequent wedding—she had to accept she wasn’t destined to have her own happily-ever-after.

As she was debating with herself about the best ways to ignore the disappointment of that depressing reality, Nioclas entered the great hall, handing his cloak to one of the women by the door, and her heart squeezed a tiny bit.

Bri didn’t want this complication. She didn’t want to be attracted to a medieval man who held more power in his hand than the modern-day Queen of England, but she also didn’t want to live without electricity, toilets, or hot showers.

Or Matthew, she reminded herself.Or my family.

But for the first time, the reminder didn’t ring as strongly as it should have.

When Nioclas joined them and swiftly kissed her hand in greeting, her heart pained her even more and she recognized the truth of it. Despite all its downfalls, medieval Ireland held the one thing the future didn’t, and he was currently gazing at her with such intensity her entire body felt as though it had caught on fire.

“Whoa,” Erin murmured, looking from Brianagh to Nioclas and back again. “Perhaps we’ll discuss this more later, Brianagh?”

“Ah…” Bri faltered, trying unsuccessfully to tear her gaze from Nioclas’s.

“Aye, later,” he answered for her, then took her hand and nearly dragged her through his clansmen, who either moved swiftly out of his way or thumped him on the back in greeting as he led her back toward the stairs she’d just descended. “Follow me.”

For quite possibly the first time in her life, Brianagh felt maybe she ought to follow her heart and see what happened.

So she followed.

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