Page 51 of The Icy Highlander's Bride
"And now, let's break our fast."
Cameron kept the conversation flowing throughout breakfast, cracking jokes and asking questions that made the meal fly by. This allowed Lana to relax into her family's comfortable conversations. She watched Olivia and Alexander bend theirheads to speak to one another, and saw Magnus squeeze Ciara's hand as they talked about their children.
It was strange to realize she was also a married woman now.
Should I feel different? I daenae feel so.
She thought of Daniel, locked away in his chambers while joy and laughter exploded down here. As she pictured the man in bed, she was confused by a sudden longing to be with him. She remembered his hips pressing against her own and his lips teasing her collarbone. What would happen if she went to him now? But then she saw the pain in his eye when she asked him what he was afraid of.
"Well then, we should be on our way."
Magnus stood up and helped Ciara to her feet, and suddenly, the whole table was moving. Everyone talked of going to their rooms to pack their trunks and getting on the road before the day grew too warm.
"Are ye alright?" Ciara whispered, suddenly at Lana's side.
"Aye," Lana muttered, plastering a smile on her face. "All is well."
She noticed Ciara's skeptical expression, but she didn't know what else to say to her sister. There wasn't enough time to tell her what had transpired between her and Daniel last night, andthere weren't words to express how conflicted she was feeling about her new husband.
Ciara took Lana's hand in her own and squeezed it. "Love isnae simple," she told her. "It's always more complicated than we expect."
Magnus held his hand out to Ciara, and she took it, letting him lead her out of the room.
A minute later, Lana's family had filed out of the dining hall, taking their noise and energy with them. Skye had left with Moira, insisting on helping her grandmother pack.
"He cares about ye."
Lana looked up, surprised to see Cameron watching her. She stared back at him, pulling herself back to the present moment.
"Daniel cares about ye," he repeated, making sure she understood him. "I ken him better than anyone, and I can see it in the way he looks at ye."
"If that's true, he has a strange way of showing it," Lana muttered dismissively.
Cameron put a hand on her arm, gently turning her to look at him. "Things havenae always been easy for him," he said. "The last time he married someone, she was taken away from him."
Lana's eyebrows rose in surprise at the words. She thought of Skye's mother, and for the first time, she truly wondered what losing Evelyn might have done to Daniel. Did he still think of it?
Lana remembered her father's death a few years ago. For a time, she had worried that everyone around her might also be killed.
"He blames himself," Cameron added quietly. "And he is afraid it will happen again."
He walked away then, leaving her to stare at his retreating back.
What are ye afraid of?
The answer had been staring Lana in the face all along. She was desperate for love. She needed it like she needed air. And she had just married a man who was afraid of it.
Daniel slowly went down the stairs, his head still pounding. He had slept late, unable to face sitting at the breakfast table with a bunch of smiling, smirking faces. He knew Cameron would tease him about his wedding night, and he couldn't face the dark glances Alexander would give him. He knew Lana's brother would be anxious to remind him that he was a dead man if he hurt his sister.
Give her time with ‘em. They're better off without me dark moods anyway.
Daniel had waited in his room until he was sure Lana's family was on the road, heading back to their homes. Ignoring them was rude, but he knew Cameron would step up and play the gracious host. He could picture Skye waving enthusiastically as the carriage drove away.
Skye.
Every time he thought about last night, a fresh wave of anger rushed through him. Laird MacDougal showed up to his wedding uninvited, and he had nearly destroyed it. If it weren't for Lana, Daniel didn't know what might have happened. Or rather, he did know what would have happened.Bloodshed.
He pushed his way into the great hall, looking for Cameron. He needed his brother to call a council meeting so they could discuss Laird MacDougal. Daniel had half a mind to send his soldiers to storm the man's castle just to send a message, but he had a feeling his council would have something else to say about that.
