Highlander's Beloved 02 - A Highlander's Passion (25 page)

“Who are the bagpipe players, dear?” Effie looked in the mirror and fussed with the curls on what was referred to as her “Marilyn Monroe wig.”

“Well, there’s Neilan, Kendric, and Earnan.”

Effie flew to the window. “Really? Earnan’s in a kilt? Someone, quick, give me a pair of binoculars. I want to see that man’s legs.”

The ladies went downstairs to watch the guests approach. Annella, the new housekeeper Effie had hired for Iverson Loch, was on loan to Matheson Lodge for the day, passing out floral wreath headpieces to all the ladies as they lined up. While the guests waited to walk into the fire circle, champagne was served.

In a few minutes, Kenzie was going to marry the man she’d always loved. There were so many emotions raging through her system—love, joy, excitement, serenity, and hope. Reaching this point in their lives had been a long and winding trail of good and bad, sprinkled with surprises. She rested her hand on Colleen’s shoulder. This little angel was the good. She pressed her hand to her abdomen. The bairn growing within was the surprise.

At Creighton’s lead, the guests started singing an old Gaelic song of Scottish pride. No matter her biological ancestry, she was Scottish too. Paisley kissed Kenzie’s cheek and wiped off her lipstick, giggling. “What a happy day! Well, I suppose we’re ready. Una, Fiona, and Gram, you can march into the circle now too. Then we attendants will precede our beautiful bride.”

At the softening of the melodious bagpipes, Mary Kate walked through the path set between two of the bonfires. Paisley was next, followed by the flower girl. Kenzie was pleased Colleen had rationed out the rose petals instead of dumping them in a heap to get her job over and done with. Creighton bent his elbow for Kenzie to place her hand in. “Dinna be nervous, lassie, fer I ken me brother’s heart. He’s loved ye for a long time. He’ll never hurt ye.”

“I know.” And she did. Bryce had always been the man she’d loved. He was terribly strong and equally as tender. The man was full of every type of passion.

At last Colleen reached the front of the guests and turned to give her cheery greeting. “I wonder what she’ll say. This little girl of mine.”

“Och, it’ll be short and sweet. She’s a dandy, that one.” Creighton nodded toward his beloved niece, his pride evident.

The cherub cleared her throat. “Me name is Colleen Miranda Matheson and I am the cheery greeter here at Matheson Lodge.” There were a few chuckles. “So
ʼ
tis happy I am to greet ye all and welcome ye to our wedding. Och, what a time we’ve had getting ready, having our hair curled and sprayed with smelly stuff. I got me first pair of earrings.” She leaned forward and pointed to her ears. “Me new mum peed on a stick, so she did, and it made a plus which means a bairn’s on the way.”

Gasps mingled with laughter.

Kenzie’s gaze jumped from Colleen to Bryce. His mouth formed an O in shock. “Oh, sweet Lord, I didna want Bry to find out like this.”

Creighton’s booming laughter bounced off the trees. “Do ye see the look on his face? Gobsmacked, he is.”

Colleen kept rambling. “Me mum’s not wearing a bra and she’s afraid her boobs are going to get sore and
ʼ
twould be no wonder the way they’re about to spill out of the top of that ‘boose-tea-hey’ her aunt Una has her tied into. But Aunt Paisley says
ʼ
tis the pregnancy that makes a woman’s boobs hurt, which I dinna understand.” She tilted her head. “But then I dinna understand why Butler Bean’s tallywhacker got sore from him pulling on it so much either.”

Amid much laughter from the guests, Bryce clasped his hand over his daughter’s mouth, his face beet red. “I think me daughter is done with her little speech now.”

“Sweet Christ, I hope so.” Creighton shook his head. “
ʼ
Twill be the talk of four counties fer years. Come on, sister, let’s get ye up there before she thinks of something else to say.”

All eyes were on Kenzie as she walked toward Bryce, who beamed a smile from ear to ear, his dimples deep slashes in his handsome cheeks. She could almost read his thoughts. And as his gaze dropped to her neckline and the ample amount of flesh pushed up by the bustier, she was sure she noticed his kilt tent a wee bit.

In the shrubbery between two of the fires, blue eyes stared at her from her lynx.
I told ye there would be more bairns.

Bryce reached for her hand and pulled her close, his arm around her waist. “Me God, woman, ye know how to make a man happy. I love ye.” He embraced her, his beard rasping her cheek.

“I love ye too, Bry. More every day.”

“I didna think this day would ever come. And a bairn too?” He stared at her with those chocolate eyes.

She cupped his cheek. “Yes, our new family is already growing.”

He kissed her in that sensitive spot beneath her ear. “Forever together. Me beloved.”

A Highlander’s Obsession

A Highlander’s Passion

A Highlander’s Heart (coming soon)

PHOTO: MIKE SHUBERT

V
ONNIE
D
AVIS
, who studied English at Penn State, likens herself to a croissant: crusty, wrinkled, flaky—and best served with strong coffee. After a career as a technical writer, she’s spending her retirement playing fairy godmother to her characters, giving them their happily-ever-afters. Six fantastic, talented kids call her “Grandma” and brighten her world in so many ways. She lives in southern Virginia with her husband, author Calvin Davis.

www.vonniedavis.com

Facebook.com/WritingStoriesOfTheHeart

@VonnieWrites

A Highlander’s Passion
is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

A Loveswept eBook Original Copyright © 2015 by Vonnie Davis Excerpt from
A Highlander’s Heart
by Vonnie Davis copyright © 2015 by Vonnie Davis All rights reserved.

Published in the United States of America by Loveswept, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

L
OVESWEPT
is a registered trademark and the L
OVESWEPT
colophon is a trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming book
A Highlander’s Heart
by Vonnie Davis. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.

eBook ISBN 9780553394641

Cover design: Seductive Designs Cover photograph: iStock/Artem_Furman Cover background: Shutterstock/Martin M303

www.readloveswept.com