Page 5 of The Laird’s Lost Wife

He glanced at her, his eyebrows twitching. “What do ye mean by that?”

“I mean that if I stay here, I’ll end up married or dead. Neither of those fates sounds good to me.”

“Then daenae stay.”

She shifted uneasily. “I cannae go.”

“Why nae?”

She didn’t answer. It was the same question that had bounced around in her head for weeks now.

Go.

Cannae.

Why nae? Go.

“We always dreamt of falling in love,” she murmured drowsily. “Me and me sister, I mean. Nay chance of that now, for either of us.”

“What is yer sister’s name?”

“Ceana,” Daphne responded, then wondered uneasily if she shouldn’t have said that.

It didn’t matter now.

“The trick is,” he murmured, shifting so that he faced her halfway, “nae to trust anybody too much. They always fail ye.”

She eyed him for a long moment, then said, “I trust ye.”

He flinched, his eyes glinting in the moonlight. “Ye shouldnae.”

“Why nae? Ye protected me. Ye shared yer drink with me. Scared off those men.”

“We daenae ken each other.”

“I didnae say we did. I’m Daphne, by the way,” she added, feeling her cheeks flush.

He stared back at her, and for a moment, she wasn’t sure if he was going to offer his name or not.

“Hunter,” he said. “Me name is Hunter.”

“That’s a nice name.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Whichever man ye are going to wed is a lucky fellow.”

Her smile faded, and she glanced away. She thought she hid it well enough, turning and letting her hair slide over her shoulder. A moment later, his fingertip brushed the edge of her jaw.

“I’m sorry, lass,” he sighed. “I shouldnae have said that.”

“Nay, nay, it’s fine. I’m nae upset. Just… disoriented, I guess. Do ye ever look at yer life, and look at what’s right in front of ye, and find that ye daenae ken how it all got there?”

“Aye, I do. More often than nae.”

She glanced up, meeting his eyes. A frisson rolled through her, enough to make her draw in a sharp, confused breath.

What is this? I daenae understand what’s happening.

He didn’t look away. His hand lingered near her face, his skin warm against her cheek, and her heart fluttered in her chest.