Page 45 of Married to the Icy Highlander
“W-What? Why?”
At that moment, a knock sounded at the door. Neil turned to let whoever it was into a room that wasn’t his. But Ceana was pleased to see the dressmaker walking inside, carrying a large box in her hands.
“I took the liberty of havin’ a dress made for ye. It should be in yer size,” Neil explained, looking to the dressmaker for confirmation. She nodded, and then he motioned for her to place the box on Ceana’s bed.
“I’m perfectly capable of choosin’ me own dresses, M’Laird.”
Neil shrugged. “But it would please me so much if ye would just indulge me.”
“How do I ken that ye havenae picked out the ugliest thing possible?”
Neil smirked and waited until the dressmaker had left the room to answer her. “Because I enjoy the way havin’ a pretty dress on makes ye look… even better when ye get all flustered.”
That line was terrible and shouldn’t have worked. And yet…
Ceana headed over to the box and lifted the lid. As soon as she caught a glimpse of the color inside, she promptly slammed the lid back down. That might have been the prettiest fabric she had ever seen in her life.
She bit her bottom lip, knowing well that if she expressed her appreciation, he would never let her live it down.
“Do ye like it, then?” Neil asked, though it was abundantly obvious from the glint in his eyes that he knew that she did.
“It will do, I suppose,” Ceana fibbed. “Ye havenae even told me what it is that we’re supposed to be doin’ there. I was shocked when yer friend told me about it.”
A long carriage ride with her husband after everything they had been through was going to be nothing short of total agony. Shecouldn’t decide which of the two possible outcomes would be worse if he kept his hands to himself… or if he didn’t.
“Arthur is hostin’ a feast—something that he always does around this time of year as a show of good faith to his people. It would be poor form of me nae to show up,” Neil answered.
“And I suppose that means that ye will need yer wife to be there as well.”
Neil grinned, a rare flash of teeth that lasted only for a second before it disappeared. “I would like to have ye on me arm, Ceana.”
Her stomach clenched, but not uncomfortably. “Well, when ye put it like that, I suppose I could make an appearance…”
“Ye willnae need to do anything other than stand there and look pretty—socialize a bit. Arthur’s clan and ours work very closely with one another. It would be good for ye to get comfortable and acquainted with his clansfolk. Ye might even remember some of them from our wedding.”
Ceana’s eyes widened. She had been so overwhelmed with nerves that most of their wedding day passed in a blur. Her husband was lucky that she was a very friendly person.
“Ah, is that all, then?”
“Mm,” Neil hummed.
“Well, are ye just goin’ to stand there all day, or are ye goin’ to let me get ready for this event that ye’ve sprung upon me?” Ceana placed her hands on her hips, waiting for him to leave.
“Is that an invitation, wife?”
Ceana couldn’t take the flirting, not when he had turned her down the way he had. If he thought that he could just keep pretending as if nothing had happened, he was wrong. She wasn’t the sort of woman to simply forgive and forget. And never without very good reason.
“Are ye finally comin’ to yer senses then, husband?”
Neil very clearly didn’t care much for her answer, and the silence between them stretched on further as if he was expecting her to change her mind or offer some sort of explanation that she just wasn’t willing to give.
She could imagine how far things would go if she caved. Maybe he would help her undress. Maybe he would help her pull her new dress over her body and whisper compliments about her appearance in her ear until she felt ready to melt into the floor. But what good would that do them?
They had an agreement, after all. It was stupid of her to place any higher expectations on him.
“Go on, then,” Ceana insisted, nodding her head toward the door.
However, for reasons that she couldn’t even begin to name, it hurt all the same when he left.
