Page 55 of Wedded to the Heartless Highlander
Hunter nodded his head and opened his mouth to respond, only to be interrupted by a knock on the study door.
“Me Laird, the guards at the south border have sent for us,” Calvin’s voice said through the door.
That information was enough to end their conversation.
Hunter’s face hardened as he pulled his hand back and rose from his desk. “I must go. Ye can stay here if ye wish. I dinnae ken when I’ll return, but I’ll probably take me supper with me men.”
Erica stood up with him and nodded her head once. “I understand,” she murmured before he stepped around his desk.
“Thank ye, for today,” he added before planting a soft kiss on the back of her hand.
For reasons unknown to her, Erica did not respond. Nor did she turn around to watch him leave. It was several minutes before she finally sank back into her chair and rested her chin on the palm of her hand.
“When I claim ye…”
It was all she could hear.
Later that evening, as Erica entered her room after tucking Lily into bed, her thoughts still lingered on their conversation.
As she paced back and forth, her eyes landed on something resting on her vanity—a carefully folded note and a neatly wrapped package. Her pulse quickened as she reached for the note, her fingers trembling slightly.
This will match your eyes perfectly.
The simple words, written in Hunter’s bold handwriting, sent a shiver down her spine. With a mix of excitement and curiosity, she unwrapped the package to reveal a dress made of deep green fabric, its texture soft and luxurious beneath her fingers. The color was exquisite, and as she held it up, she couldn’t help but imagine Hunter choosing it and picturing her in it.
Her cheeks flushed at the thought. He’d given her gifts before—practical things like the necklace she wore—but this felt different. This was personal, intimate.
Erica traced the delicate embroidery on the neckline, her heart fluttering.
He’s thinkin’ of me even when he’s away with his men.
She couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face as she carefully laid out the dress on the bed. It wasn’t just the gift itselfbut the thought behind it. Hunter, the man who once seemed so distant, was letting her in bit by bit.
She clasped the note to her chest and smiled at the warmth she felt rising in her body. Her eyes fluttered shut, and she let herself bask in the admiration he clearly meant to convey to her.
Images flashed through her mind. Their wedding. The gifts he’d given her. The moments when he kissed her. When he saved her.
A feeling that she couldn’t quite place welled up inside her—it was as if a broken compass had finally started to point in the right direction.
Is there actually hope for our marriage?
She twirled around with the dress held up to her shoulders. The skirts swished beautifully in front of her, and she let herself feel it—the hope.
“How lovely,” she whispered.
The ride to the southern border was uneventful, at least for onlookers. The sky was overcast, a blanket of gray threatening rain that never quite fell. The horse moved steadily, its hooves thundering against patches of frosted grass, but Hunter’s mind was elsewhere.
Erica.
Her voice rang in his ears, her fire and defiance as sharp as any blade. Even now, hours after leaving her in his study, he could still see the way her eyes had flashed with anger and desire. She had a way of getting under his skin, burrowing into the parts of him he thought were long dead.
“Ye’re quiet,” Calvin observed, breaking the silence.
Hunter shot him a sidelong glance. “Do I usually chatter like an old maid?”
Calvin grinned, running a hand through his shaggy brown hair. “Nae in the slightest, but ye have been downright grumpy this evenin’. Let me guess—trouble with yer lovely wife? The council? Both?”
Hunter tightened his grip on the reins, but he kept his expression neutral. “It’s nothin’.”
