Page 35 of The Highlander's Auctioned Hellion
Callum was not used to giggling at the breakfast table.
The two little brown heads on either side of him were particularly noisy today. The girls couldn’t sit still.
Where do these wee bairns get their energy?
Not only did he have to contend with children at mealtimes, but his body was also flooded with nerves he couldn’t shake.
He refused to believe it was in anticipation of Lydia coming to join them for the first time.
I am nae interested in sharin’ me meals with anyone, least of all me wife-to-be.
“Would you stop yer squallin’?” he grunted as two pairs of bright blue eyes fixed on him.
Eilis held his gaze for longer than Amy, and he did his best to frown at them.
His father had once told him that children needed authority, and that was the only thing Callum felt confident that he could give them. He wasn’t an affectionate man, but he would care for them in his own way and ensure they were safe.
His glare did not have the desired effect, however, and the giggling continued as Callum rolled his eyes.
“What exactly is so funny?” he asked. But neither little girl would answer him.
There was a part of Callum that was desperate to get to know the girls.
He wanted to grasp anything connected to Angus with both hands. These children were the only thing left of his brother now, and no matter how they had parted, they were the only family he had left.
Callum swore, jolting back in his seat as something sharp dug into his leg. Pushing his chair back, he glowered down at the black ball of soot that was shimmying up his shin.
The kitten’s eyes were as pale as lichen on the castle walls and too big for its head, staring up at him with quiet determination.
It reached his knee, scrambling up over the hem of his kilt and perched there looking around with interest.
“What is this thing doin’ at me table?” Callum asked, picking the kitten up by the scruff of the neck and frowning at it. The little thing dangled from his massive fingers and mewed mournfully as Eilis jumped up to rescue it.
“She is greetin’ ye,” she said reprovingly. “Ye told us we had to nae let her out of our sight.”
Callum handed the kitten carefully down to the child.
“That is nae ‘she’, Eilis,” he said gently. “Ye have a tomcat there. Plain as day.”
The two girls looked at the cat in confusion.
“It’s a boy?” Amy asked, sounding excited. “We can use him to catch the mice in our room!”
The two girls clapped their hands together as Callum rolled his eyes. There was something very endearing about them, especially when they were working together on something.
Then the door to the room opened, and all other thoughts were expelled from his head.
Lydia entered wearing a beautiful scarlet dress, the work Kristen had done complementing her figure perfectly. Her dark hair was tied back with a matching ribbon looped in neat plaits behind her head.
Callum ran his eyes over her appreciatively before looking down at his plate to ensure he wasn’t caught staring.
A familiar throb of heat built between his legs, and he grimaced, infuriated by his body’s reaction to the woman.
What is it about her that sets me skin alight?
Lydia smiled warmly at the girls as she sat down, and Eilis returned to her seat with the kitten in her lap.
“Girls. I dinnae believe ye have been properly introduced. This is Lady Lydia Turner, she is to be me wife,” Callum murmured.
