Page 32 of In Bed with a Highland Liar

“What dae ye have there?” she asked, trying to peek behind his back. “A book?”

“Aye,” Aaden said, thinking that perhaps he could twist this to his advantage. At least Lilith was speaking to him again, even if it was just because she was curious. “I wanted tae distract meself, so I thought I would read me favorite.”

“Yer favorite, is it?” Lilith asked. “Which one?”

Why did I have tae say it’s me favorite? Now she’ll think that I’ve already read it.

“Och, just a book,” he said dismissively, giving her a small shrug. It wasn’t his best attempt at deflection, but he couldn’t think of a single thing to say to Lilith so that she would stop questioning him.

“I’ve most likely read it,” Lilith said, taking a few steps closer to Aaden until he instinctively took a step back, trying to keep the book hidden. “If it’s yer favorite, dinnae ye wish tae ken what I think o’ it?”

She kens. She kens I dinnae read.

But how could she? It was more likely that she was only attempting to start a conversation with him, since she now thought that they had at least one thing in common. The stranger he acted about it, the more suspicious Lilith was going to get.

“What book is it, Aaden?” Lilith demanded then, lips pursing into a thin line.

Aaden mumbled the book’s title, not loud enough for her to hear.

“What was that?”

“I said it’s Gulliver’s Travels.”

Lilith froze for a moment, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him. Then, her lips stretched into a pleasant smile, one that Aaden hadn’t seen from her in several days, and relief washed over him. They were talking, she was smiling, and Aaden couldn’t help but smile back, hoping that he now had another chance.

“Who is yer favorite character?” Lilith asked.

“Gulliver,” Aaden said confidently, glad she hadn’t asked a question he couldn’t easily evade.

“What’s his first name?”

It was then that Aaden was left speechless for several moments and Lilith smiled smugly, her suspicions confirmed.

So she did ken that I dinnae read… or at least suspected it.

“I dinnae remember it,” Aaden said, trying his best to salvage this conversation. “I only kent him as Gulliver.”

“It’s yer favorite book an’ ye didnae remember his name?” Lilith asked, relentless in her questioning. Aaden had nothing satisfying to say to that and he certainly couldn’t give her a satisfying answer to any other questions that were sure to follow if he insisted he had read the book. Besides, honesty seemed to be the best strategy when it came to dealing with Lilith. It was better if he told her the truth—at least as much of it as he could, given the circumstances.

“Alright, fine,” he said. “I havenae read it but Cameron told me ye like it very much, so I wished tae read it an’ discuss it with ye. Is that so bad?”

“Cameron is helpin’ ye?” Lilith asked. “Why? It isnae in his best interests that we wed. Then he’ll lose Freya fer good.”

“Maybe it’s because he’s a good lad,” Aaden pointed out. “He’s only tryin’ tae be helpful.”

There was a short silence before Lilith spoke once more. “Will ye read the book?”

Aaden sighed, a hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “I suppose it doesnae matter now, does it?” he asked as he handed the book to her. Lilith took it, cradling it against her chest as though it was something terribly precious. “Could we have a… a truce now? Could we nae fight?”

“I’m nae fightin’ with ye, am I?” Lilith said. “I am simply ignorin’ ye.”

“Aye, I suppose that is true,” Aaden said. “But could ye stop ignorin’ me? I would very much like tae spend some time with ye again an’ I am tryin’ everythin’ I can tae gain yer trust again. I would even read the book fer ye.”

“The only way fer ye tae gain me trust is tae tell the truth about Evander,” Lilith said without wasting a second, as though she had expected the matter of trust to come back and had a response prepared already. “That is all. If ye told the truth, then I would be more inclined tae trust ye.”

There was nothing Aaden could say to this that would appease Lilith. She would not rest until he told the truth, but telling the truth would reveal everything he had tried so hard to keep hidden. In his head, he cursed Evander for being so careless, so foolish. Had it not been for his recklessness, then none of this would have happened. Perhaps Aaden would have even managed to charm Lilith enough already to be able to ask for her hand.

“I cannae dae that, Lilith,” he said. “Ye heard Evander. If I tell the truth, he will destroy yer reputation. He will tell everyone about that night.”