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My entire body jerks like I've had a grenade dropped onto me. But when I glance at Hugh, he's grinning again. Now that the initial shock has faded, I pick up the bouquet and rise to wave it around for everyone to see.
The crowd cheers.
A bunch of flowers doesn't mean Hugh and I are getting married. He hasn't even asked me.
Callum scoops Kate up in his arms and carries her back down the aisle amid more cheers and whoops.
I wait while the guests gradually exit the green and head into the castle compound where the reception will take place in the great hall. Hugh loiters near the altar until I finally step out onto the beautiful red carpet that formed the aisle, then we walk hand in hand back to the castle. The reception is fantastic, but all I really want to do is cuddle up under the covers with Hugh and sleep.
When I wake up in the morning, sprawled across Hugh's body, my gaze drifts to the bridal bouquet on the nightstand. And I realize something important.
If Hugh asked me to marry him, I'd say yes.
Callum and Kate left last night for their honeymoon on a Caribbean island, absconding while the reception raged on in the great hall. The island is owned by a reclusive British author who became friends with Richard Hunter, one of Hugh's "mates" who owns a publishing company. Maybe someday we'll we get an invite to that island.
Hugh and I, as well as Jack and his wife, saw the happy couple off in the courtyard. Callum's cousin Evan provided the limousine that ferried them to the airport, the same car that brought me and Hugh and our entourage to Dùndubhan. Hugh unabashedly got choked up when he said goodbye to Callum, and I did too. Any vestiges of Hugh's issues with Callum and Kate have evaporated, and he assures me it's because of the past few weeks with me.
"I know that whatever happens now," he says, "it will not be my fault."
He means it. The conviction in his voice proves that.
"You know I'm here for you in whatever way you need," I tell him. "Hugs, advice, moral support, sex, anything."
"I love the way you slipped sex into that heartfelt declaration."
"With you, I always need to slip sex into the mix. You are Lord Steamy, after all."
He pulls me close. "I've come to appreciate that silly nickname since you started calling me that."
We join other wedding guests in the dining room for breakfast. The conversation is boisterous and results in plenty of laughter. But after the meal, Hugh and I are escorted into Rory MacTaggart's office here in the castle, along with several other men from the MacTaggart, Dixon, and Hunter families. They've all come up with some kind of plan, though no one has given us a clue yet about what they're plotting.
As we sit down on chairs positioned in front of Rory's desk, Hugh leans over to whisper into my ear, "I get nervous when these blokes insert themselves into my life, but only because not long ago they abducted me—for a good cause, and I'm genuinely grateful for their interference. If they hadn't held me hostage, I might never have realized how vacant my life had become. I certainly wouldn't have been worthy of a woman like you."
"You honestly are the sweetest man alive."
"I hope I'm the sexiest too."
"That goes without saying."
He kisses my cheek, and I might be blushing now.
"If you two are done snogging," says Richard Hunter, "we should get down to business."
Hugh lodges one ankle on the opposite knee. "Whatever you gents want to tell me, you will have my rapt attention."
"Good. Because this plan will make your abduction seem like child's play."
Chapter Twenty-One
Hugh
Rory MacTaggart occupies the chair behind the massive desk, but the others sit on the window seat, lean against the walls, or stand in various positions. This doesn't feel like the day when this lot had kidnapped me, though. It's much more serious.
"We've been thinking about you," Rory says as he leans forward to rest his arms on the desktop. "Been thinking a lot. You need help, and we are ready to provide it."
"I appreciate that, but I don't see how you can help."
Rory chuckles. "Ye still donnae get it, do ye? You have three families on your side, and a vast pool of talent to tap into whenever you need it."
