Highlander's Beautiful Liar A Scottish Medieval Highlander Romance Historical Novel - Adamina Young Page 0,46

eyebrow. “I can. What are ye going to do?”

Looking around to make sure that no one was eavesdropping, he scowled. “Apparently I have to woo my wife so the clan will have something to boast about when Innes comes to visit.”

The men hooted around him and whistled. “Woo yer wife! As if ye have any idea how to do that,” Jamie joked.

“Mind yer tongue,” Alec growled as he shot him a dirty look. “I know how to woo women.”

“Ye know how to bed women, but woo them? ’Tis something entirely different. If ye didnae have a problem with that, then ye would not have to put on a front. The clan would already have something to talk about.”

His friends weren’t wrong, Alec realized. Before he’d married her, Cora had a certain look in her eyes when she watched him. Now she was more guarded than ever. It was a step backward.

Not that he wanted his wife to be in love with him. It was easier when they both understood just what this marriage was—a political step—but there was enough passion between them that they should be able to spend their days with each other instead of avoiding each other.

And he missed that sweet smile she used to give him.

“There will be no more talk of my wife,” he said finally as he stomped away. By the time he reached the stables, Cora was already there and stroking the muzzle of an older stallion while she whispered in his ear. Struck for a moment by the sight, he wondered just what stories she was telling the horse.

“Ready?”

At his stiff tone, she lowered her arm and turned to him. “Yes,” she said politely. “I am.”

Knowing that the groom and the stable boys would be nearby, he forced himself to relax as he gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek before he lifted her into the saddle and adjusted her skirts over her legs. The last time they were in the stables together, she was trying to run away.

Trying to run from him.

Now she was his.

“I know you have been busy,” she said a little too loudly as she looked around furtively. “I appreciate you taking the time to spend with me.”

She was a good liar but a terrible actress. Stifling a chuckle, he mounted his own horse, packed with their picnic, and led them away from the populated lands and into the wilds. Despite his annoyance, he felt himself relax. It was nice to take some time for himself.

And his wife.

“It's beautiful here,” Cora said, breaking the silence between them. “The Thistles have a place in the country that we go most summers, but it still isn’t quite like this.”

She didn’t mention her family often, and Alec kept quiet hoping that she would continue. It still boggled his mind that she didn’t want her family to know that she was alive.

“There was a large hill near the cottage, and Lana and I would roll down it until we nearly made ourselves sick. Her mother would get so angry because we stained and ripped dresses, but she never stopped us even when she knew we were headed to the top of the hill. I loved my mother very much, but I didn’t have that kind of childhood, and it was wonderful to share something so innocent with the woman who had become my sister.”

“Connor and I had a similar tradition,” Alec said lightly. “Although instead of rolling down the hill, we’d push our sister Grace down. There was a small pond at the bottom, and we would wager whether or not she’d be able to stop herself before she got wet.”

Cora giggled. “Oh, your poor sister!”

“Poor nothing! She would deliberately pick thorns and burrs in the meadows and then hide them in our beds. She was a hellion. Still is. The best thing about coming here is that I no longer have to deal with her.” He received a letter from them only a couple of days ago congratulating him on his marriage and then chastising him for not waiting so they could join.

She looked over at him and bit her lower lip. “You have not mentioned introducing me to them. Is it because I am English?”

Her feelings were hurt. How did he not see that? She’d lost her family, and he didn’t even have the decency to offer her his?

“Nay. I believe my family will like ye quite a bit. Connor is dealing with a rising feud on his lands or