Page 50 of The Highlander's Virgin Widow
“He never claimed ye?”
“Never.”
“Oh.” He took a step closer to her. “That makes sense, now that I think about it.”
“I am glad ye find all of this quite entertaining. Was that why ye have refused to tell me about yer wife? The lady of the castle?!”
“She is nae me wife. She’s me sister-in-law.”
Keira swallowed. “What?”
“Aye. She was married to me older braither.”
Keira was rooted to the spot, unable to do anything else. Not even give a proper counterargument or deliver a snarky remark. How had she gotten it all wrong?
“Is this another joke?”
“Why would I joke about that? The little boy, Tommy, is me nephew.”
Keira frowned, full realization finally dawning on her.
Of course. The boy resembled Evander because he was his father’s brother. She was so caught up in her regret that she didn’t see Evander moving closer to her until he was barely a foot away from her.
“Is that why ye have been angry the entire time?” he asked.
The scent of his—herbathing oil—filled her senses. He must have used the vial she had handed him the other day.
“Lassie,” he asked, the disbelief clear in his voice, “were ye jealous?”
She wanted to move. She wanted to unglue herself from her spot and walk out of the study—or better still, pray for the ground to open up and swallow her whole.
Not only had she mistakenly associated him with his sister-in-law, but he was now aware that she hadn’t consummated her marriage with the former Laird before he died.
“So?”
“So what?”
“Admit it, ye were jealous.”
A scoff escaped her lips, and yet her feet still refused to move. For the oddest of reasons, she felt as if she was bolted to the ground, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t get her feet to move.
Was this Fletcher’s lingering spirit at work? Was he watching her? Was he watching how she tried to look anywhere but at Evander’s face, even though it was an impossible task as he stood right before her?
“Ye flatter yerself.”
“’Tis nae flattery if it is the truth.”
“And who are ye to determine what the truth is and what it isnae?”
She swallowed as her eyes traveled down his face to his chest, the outline of which she could see through his shirt.
“The truth is the truth if it’s obvious,” he responded and took another step closer.
Now, there was no way out. She couldn’t look anywhere but right at him. And from the way her heart pounded hard in her chest, she knew she wouldn’t be able to resist him for much longer.
“What are ye even talking about?” she asked, her voice wavering with the firelight that surrounded them.
She could feel his breath on her skin. The scent of his bathing oil filling her nostrils even harder, and the heat radiating from his body seeped into her. Her throat bobbed in sheer defiance, as if she had any control over the situation, when she didn’t.
