Page 34 of The Highlander’s Defiant Bride

“Then I am glad,” she whispered.

He looked at her fully then, and the kitchen seemed to shrink to the space between them. His eyes, usually sharp and fierce, softened as though the hearth light reflected in their depths.

“You have had a difficult day,” he murmured. “Your friend’s departure. The threat outside our walls.” He hesitated, the words fraying at the edges. “I should have been here sooner.”

Her heart twisted. “You have duties more important than me and my feelings.”

Cameron shook his head once. “No duty outranks my wife.”

The words landed with gentle weight, settling into places inside her she had long forgotten were empty.

Behind them, Mrs Baxter made a faint noise, something between approval and triumph, before returning to an exaggerated stirring of her unnecessary pot.

Cameron ignored the cook. He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You need not bear the burden alone, Destiny.”

Her fingers curled at her sides. “Mrs Baxter reminded me of that,” she said softly. “She said I have friends here.”

“You do.”

His tone left no room for doubt.

Destiny swallowed. “She also said that you are not the man people whisper about.”

He stiffened, not angrily, but painfully, as though old wounds pressed up through his armour. “She exaggerates.”

Destiny studied him. “She told me that you are loyal. Protective. Kinder than people think.”

A long breath escaped him, uneven. He glanced away, then back, something raw flickering across his features before he mastered it.

“Mrs Baxter talks too much.”

“Nay,” Destiny said, taking a small step towards him. “She sees you.”

His eyes locked onto hers, something fierce flaring there. Not temper, but vulnerability, rare and unguarded. His voice dropped to a husky whisper.

“And do you?”

The question shook her to her bones. For a heartbeat, the kitchen, the war, the danger outside the walls, all melted away.

“I am beginning to,” she breathed.

The words hung between them, quivering like a held breath.

Cameron’s hand twitched at his side, as though he wanted to reach for her but did not know if he had the right.

Mrs Baxter, still stirring loudly, muttered under her breath, “Oh, for heaven’s sake.”

Destiny blinked, heat flooding her cheeks. Cameron’s lips twitched again, this time unmistakably closer to a smile.

“Come,” he said gently. “Walk with me back to the keep. The scouts will want to speak with us both soon.”

She nodded, gathering her skirts. As she stepped past him, he rested a warm, steady hand at the small of her back, a touch so light she might have imagined it, except her entire body reacted as if he had laid claim to her in full.

Mrs Baxter called from behind them, “And don’t forget you’ve friends here. Both of you.”

Cameron paused at the doorway, giving the cook a look that was equal parts gratitude and irritation. Mrs Baxter waved her spoon dismissively, shooing them off like unruly children.

Destiny smiled, truly smiled, for the first time since Sorcha had left.