Page 43 of In Love With the Wrong Highland Sister
Eloisa nodded. “Just please hold my hands in case I faint,” she begged.
* * *
The wedding was to be a quiet affair, with only friends and family attending, but Eloisa still found herself overwhelmed by the forty or so guests around her. However, as she slipped her hand into the crook of her father’s arm, he bent down and whispered to her, “You are marrying a good man, lovie.”
Eloisa smiled and squeezed his arm before he put her hand in Gavin’s.
“Look after her,” he ordered gruffly.
“Yes, M’Laird,” Gavin promised, bowing. Then he smiled at Eloisa, a great, wide, beaming smile that lit up his whole face. “I am the luckiest man in the world.”
Eloisa was enchanted, as she always was, to gaze into the bright blue of his eyes, which were exactly the same color as the sky on a summer day. She hoped their children would be blessed with eyes like Gavin’s and his shining dark hair. She raised herself on her tiptoes and kissed his lips softly, then watched as the priest came to stand before them.
It was time.
* * *
“Are you happy, milady?” Gavin asked softly as he looked into her silver-gray eyes. “Because from now on, it is my duty to make sure that you are, and I take my duties very seriously.”
“I will be happy when you make me yours,” she murmured. “Very happy indeed.”
“Only a few more minutes,” he promised, kissing her. His eyes darkened as he reached to skim his hand over one of her breasts. “I hope you desire me as much as I desire you.”
She said nothing but gave him a slight smile and let her eyes speak for her.
Just then, James and Laria came to join them.
“Congratulations, milady, M’Laird.” James looked steadily at Gavin. “How does it feel to be married?”
“Ask me tomorrow,” Gavin answered, laughing. “I might know a bit better then.”
James patted his shoulder and whispered: “You will be fine. You both will.”
Gavin nodded. He was terrified of disappointing his bride on their wedding night and had confessed as much to his brother. He had lain with a few women before, but he had never been in love with any of them, and now, on the most important night of his life, he was worried that his manhood would fail him because of sheer terror. James had reassured him a hundred times, but nothing seemed to help.
“The more you think about failing, the more likely you are to fail,” he had pointed out. “When you see your bride naked, I promise you that you will be so overcome with desire, nothing will stop you.”
Gavin remembered his brother’s words and held them at the back of his mind all through the wedding feast, which was becoming more and more tedious by the moment. They had greeted all their guests and eaten as much of the delicious food as they could manage, then suffered through half a dozen toasts to their health and future happiness.
A while after the dancing began, Laria whispered in James’s ear, “I think those two want to be alone.” She nodded toward them as they separated and came together in the dance.
James raised his eyebrows as he caught Gavin’s eye, and a silent signal passed between them.
“You are right, Laria. It is time for the bridal couple to escape,” he said wickedly.
“I don’t like the sound of this.” Laria’s voice was suspicious.
James grinned at her but offered no explanation. However, after the dance had ended, she saw the two brothers chatting together, then they casually walked out of sight. James came back alone.
Eloisa looked puzzled. “Where is Gavin?” she asked.
“I have a feeling he is on his way to your bedroom,” Laria replied. “And I have another feeling that James is about to organize your escape too.”
Just then, James came over to them, bent over Eloisa’s hand, and asked: “May I have this dance, milady?”
“Of course,” she replied as she stood up, then she whispered: “Are you going to help me escape?”
James looked hurt. “Of course not, milady. How could you accuse me of such a crime?”
