Page 31 of The Icy Highlander's Bride
Daniel was annoyed with the way Cameron shook his head at him. He never liked when his younger brother acted like he knew more about the world than him.
"She isnae a child to command," Cameron reasoned. "Ye cannae treat her like Skye. She will be runnin' yer household."
"Aye, runnin' it followin' me rules!" Daniel's voice was much louder than he intended. He was letting his frustration get the better of him.
Cameron raised his eyebrows, and Daniel knew from his brother's expression that he was reacting too strongly.
"I think ye are too beholden torules, Brother. Ye do ken the real world isnae built for them?"
Now Daniel sat at the head of the table, glaring at the untouched meal in front of him as he waited for his guests to arrive. The last thing he wanted was to sit at this table, playing the friendly host, but he knew it would be rude to skip the meal. He grunted at a servant as he thought of Cameron chastising him for his rules. But it wasn't Daniel's rules that were the problem. No, it was Lana's.
How could he live in this castle with her when he couldn't touch her? No, that wasn't right. And that was even more infuriating. Lana had flipped the rules on him. They could touch, but she would always stop things before they went too far.
Once again, Daniel's mind filled with an image of Lana on his desk, his fingers on the soft skin of her inner thigh. Desire flooded his body at the mere thought of it, which only made him more frustrated.
The world wasnae built for rules, Cameron had said.
If that was true, why was Daniel's whole world controlled by a very important one? Daniel's stomach growled, but it wasn't food he wanted to satisfy his hunger. It was Lana.
As soon as he had the thought, he saw her walk through the door, her expression light and happy. He was struck by her beauty as she entered. It was surprising that they could be apart for only half an hour and he could still be so delighted to see her. But his excitement was quickly tempered as his daughter bounded into the room directly behind Lana.
Had they been together? Daniel had just finished telling Lana that she couldn't make decisions for Skye without him. Could she so quickly defy him? The maid was there too, helping the girl into her chair and whispering reminders in her ear. Was it just a coincidence that Lana and Skye had come into the room together?
"Good evening, Me Laird."
Though Lana's words were polite, he heard the coldness in them. Daniel looked up to see her glaring back at him, as if she hoped to knock over his chair with her glance.
He struggled to ignore her anger. He simply nodded and invited everyone at the table to eat.
With Lana and her mother here, the table was fuller than it had been in a long time. The room was soon filled with happy conversation, primarily centered around Skye. The little girl was fielding questions from Moira, who seemed transfixed by her. Daniel watched in silence, wondering if he should have kept his daughter in the kitchen for the evening meal.
As Moira, Skye, and Cameron talked about Skye's favorite color and the new kitten Lana had brought her, Lana and Daniel spent the meal shooting one another angry glances. Daniel focused on his food, consuming everything on his plate in record time. In contrast, Lana was eating very little. He watched her push the food around on her plate, only popping a few carrots into her mouth every few minutes.
Daniel was annoyed that she wasn't eating the meal that had been provided. He had stressed to the cook that things needed to be nice, since they were welcoming Lana into the castle. He couldn't help thinking she was doing it on purpose, finding ways to make him angry.
"How do ye like yer chambers?" Daniel asked, breaking the tension between them. Cameron and Moira glanced at him, clearly surprised that he had finally spoken.
Lana glanced up but barely met his eye. "Very good."
She did not continue the conversation.
Uncomfortable silence fell over the table for a moment, before Cameron jumped in to ask Moira about her other grandchildren.
"Ye can change whatever ye want," Daniel offered.
Lana nodded, still not looking at him.
Daniel felt a hot ball of anger rise in his chest. How could she be so rude during their first meal? He thought she knew how to behave appropriately in these situations.
"Ye have nothin' to say to me?" he asked, letting his frustration get the better of him. The whole table looked up as he raised his voice. "I have brought ye here to teach me daughter to be a lady. If ye cannae speak to me at dinner, perhaps I have chosen the wrong woman for the job."
"Ye dinnae tell yer daughter about the weddin'!" Lana pushed away from the table and turned to him, meeting his gaze for the first time that evening. "Did ye nae think yer daughter deserved to ken about a change as big as this?"
The whole table was staring at her. Lana had reacted out of anger, but she hadn't thought through the next part of this conversation. What would Daniel do now that she had exploded in front of him?
Lana glanced at Skye to see her staring at the floor, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. This, more than anything, made Lana regret confronting him. Daniel seemed to notice thesame thing, too, because he pulled Lana to her feet and towards the other side of the room, where they could have some privacy.
"I already told ye thatImake decisions for me daughter. Ye arenae here to question them."
