Epilogue
Sunny walked up the stairs from the great hall to the wing of the keep that had been first built in the sixteenth century, remodeled in the eighteenth, then further improved by Cameron a handful of years ago.
She’d had five months to become accustomed to the castle being her home, though she supposed she would never walk through the great hall downstairs without some sort of chill running through her.
Time travel did that to a woman, she supposed.
The door to Cameron’s solar was half open, so she didn’t bother knocking. She peeked inside and found Cameron and Zachary sitting in front of the fireplace, pouring over plans on the coffee table. Cameron looked up and smiled at her.
She stumbled, but caught herself before he could get to her. He caught her by the arms.
“You’re not wearing heels, love. Why so unsteady?”
She leaned up on her toes to kiss him instead. “It’s just you, as usual.”
“I feel the same way.” He put his arms around her. “Do you need something in particular, or am I fortunate enough just to have the pleasure of your company?”
“I missed you,” she admitted. “I’ve been out in the garden, but it seemed a little lonely, so I decided to come in and see what you were doing.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Nothing I couldn’t cancel.”
She smiled. “Could you?”
“Have a seat and I’ll make that happen.”
She pulled away and went to sit down on a stool near the coffee table. She smiled happily at Zachary. “We’re still in our honeymoon phase. Sorry to give you the boot.”
“Well I’ve had him for almost two hours, so I imagine my welcome has been sufficiently worn out anyway,” Zachary said dryly.
She looked at the plans spread out on the table. “Are you working on something for the trust?”
“The Cameron/Artane Trust for Historical Preservation?” Zachary said with half a laugh. “Yes, actually. I’m wondering, though, how it is your husband got his name first on the list?”
“His charm is legendary,” she said, unable to keep from smiling. “Not even Gideon de Piaget is immune.”
“Fortunately, since it got me the job of head architect. I will continually praise our good lord Robert as loudly as possible for that alone.”
She smiled. “So what’s your first project?”
“A little remodel on a cottage near Wyckham.” Zachary frowned thoughtfully. “I can’t understand the significance, but Gideon seems particularly determined to do something about it. They’re going to pay me buckets to take care of it, so I’m hardly going to complain.”
“Don’t sell yourself short. You have a good feel for old things.”
Zachary smiled blandly. “I have quite a lot of hands-on experience. It’s really amazing the things you can learn after college, isn’t it?”
She laughed. “Knowing how much time you’ve spent with Jamie on his little jaunts to the past, I would have to agree. So, what will you do after you finish with the cottage?”
“Talk Gideon into letting me get my hands on Wyckham Castle, which is conveniently next door.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“It’s owned by the Earl of Seakirk, who seems to be related to them, though I’m still not quite clear on how.
If Gideon can put in a good word for me, I’ll be satisfied.
It’s a spectacular ruin, though, with great bones. ”
“Are you camping out in that castle while you’re doing all this work in the winter?” she asked, surprised.
He shook his head with a smile. “I’ve done enough camping over the years with Jamie, thank you just the same. Gideon’s wife owns an inn that isn’t too far, but what I’m really angling for is a chance to hang out at Artane for the duration. Who knows what sorts of things I’ll turn up in the attic?”
“Be careful,” Sunny said lightly. “Curiosity killed the cat.”
Zachary shot her a look. “Sunny, Artane’s just a nice old pile of stones that Gideon’s ancestors managed to keep in the family. There absolutely nothing of a paranormal nature that’s ever gone on there. Gideon promised me that.”
“He’s probably lying,” she said without hesitation.
Zachary laughed. “Probably. It doesn’t matter, though. I’ve seen it all.”
“I imagine you have. So, when do you start on it?”
“It probably won’t be until February, most likely,” he said.
“I’m flying home for Christmas, then I have a couple of projects to finish up in London before I sign on exclusively with the Trust. I’m hoping to get back to Artane by the end of January and show Gideon the plans.
Cameron seems to like them well enough, so I’m hoping for an equally positive reaction from the English side of the equation. ”
Sunny looked up as Cameron sat down on the couch. He winked at her, then looked at Zachary.
“Ten minutes, lad,” he said briskly. “Talk fast.”
Sunny smiled as he hustled Zachary through whatever final discussion he wanted to have. She propped her elbows on her knees and her chin on her fists and just watched the man who was husband, lover, friend, and the one who stole her breath every time she looked at him.
She still had a hard time believing she was his.
She’d thought she couldn’t love him any more as she’d knelt before him and pledged him fealty. She’d thought her heart would be as full of him as possible when she’d knelt beside him in the village chapel the next day and bound her life to him.
And then he’d brought her home to his keep.
He made her his sweetly and tenderly so she would, as he’d said, look back on her first night in his arms with satisfaction and pleasure.
And once that was behind them, he’d stolen her breath and hadn’t bothered to return it since.
Patrick had warned her that Cameron was intense and she was in for it if she gave herself to him.
After five months in Cameron’s life and his bed, she could personally attest to the truth of that statement.
But she had no regrets. He lived and loved with equal fervor and she was grateful for both.
She supposed real life would intrude at some point, but she hadn’t seen any signs of it yet.
After they’d spent a month honeymooning in all their favorite places in Italy and France, they’d come home to Scotland, but somehow it still felt like they were not quite back to reality.
Even though Cameron ran miles every morning before she was awake and had half his day over with before she managed to unstick her eyelids from each other, he still pulled her into his arms every chance he had.
For herself, she had started work on the book she’d been wanting to write for years, a book that would reflect not only what she knew but what she’d learned from Moraig. She’d also spent hours cooking with Madame Gies, riding over Cameron’s land with him, tending his garden.
She’d even learned to survive the other half of her life that was spent in London.
She had found herself photographed at parties and invited to society lunches.
She’d eventually learned to decompress with George on the way back to the house Geoffrey Segrave had convinced Cameron to buy next to his own.
She’d found that her expectations for a life with a man who was satisfied with a nine-to-five job had been completely taken over by a man who managed hundreds of millions of pounds during the day and couldn’t wait to be in jeans and bare feet after the day was over.
And whether they were in London or Scotland or any number of other places where Cameron went to do business, she carried with her in her heart thoughts of walking through Highland meadows with the man she loved next to her.
It was so much more than she’d expected.
She came back to herself to find Zachary standing up suddenly. He winked at her.
“I’ve been dismissed.”
Cameron laughed and reached up to shake his hand. “Show yourself out, won’t you? I have a date with my wife.”
“Someday the doorbell will ring for me,” Zachary said with a sigh, rolling up his drawings. “I’ll call you when I know something new.”
“You do that,” Cameron said, reaching for Sunny and pulling her up onto his lap, “just not this afternoon. Shut the door behind you, there’s a good lad.”
Sunny felt herself blushing furiously, but Zachary only laughed and did as he was asked. She looked at Cameron.
“How’s your afternoon look?”
“Pleasantly empty. What did you have in mind?”
She shrugged, but she couldn’t help but smile. “I just wanted to talk to you for five minutes.”
He looked at her purposefully. “And what in the world will we do with the rest of the day once your five minutes are over?”
She laughed. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
“Go lock the door,” he said purposefully. “I’ll have come up with an idea or two by the time you return.”
She got up and walked over to lock the door. She returned to the fire and found herself pulled back into his arms.
“Talk fast,” he suggested.
“You only have one thing on your mind,” she said breathlessly.
“That’s what happens when a man waits eight years for the woman he loves,” he said with one eyebrow raised. “Or it might be I’m still trying to get your black Paris miniskirt out of my system. I’ll give it a bit of thought and let you know. But still talk fast.”
“All right,” she agreed, “if you’ll stop kissing my neck. It’s very distracting.”
He sat back with a heavy sigh, but a smile was tugging at his mouth. “All right. I’ll give you five.”
She smiled hesitantly. “I’m planning a little party next week.” She paused. “A sort of dinner party.”
He looked at her in surprise. “You?”
“Well, yes, me.” She paused, wondering how he would take what she had in mind. “There might be haggis.”
He relaxed visibly. “I see. What’s the occasion?”
“Your birthday.”
He looked so shocked, she wondered if he was displeased or not. Then he began to blush.
“Well,” he said finally, “I see.”
She put her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “You’re very sweet.”
“So you keep telling me. Who are the guests?”