He nodded.
“You were right, Logan. I do have ambition. I do want to do something grand with my talents. But the encyclopedia was the commission I truly wanted from the first. So I showed Mr. Dorning my work and offered my ser-vices for his project.”
His eyebrows lifted. “And . . . ?”
“And . . .” She smiled. “He gave me the post.”
There was no holding him back any longer. He caught her in his arms and lifted her off her feet, swinging her around in a circle.
Maddie felt as though she were flying.
And even when he dropped her feet back down to earth, her heart kept on soaring.
“Your ribs,” she said, suddenly remembering. “Be careful. Remember what Mr. Munro said about your lung.”
“My lungs are fine. It’s my heart that’s about to burst. With pride. That’s brilliant, mo chridhe.” He turned to his men. “Lads, Mrs. MacKenzie here is going to illustrate an encyclopedia. Four whole volumes. Congratulate her.”
The men offered their hearty congratulations, which Maddie was most glad to accept.
“Now bid her good--bye,” he said.
“Good--bye?” Maddie looked up at him, confused.
“Aye.” He pulled her close and growled into her ear. “Once I have you upstairs in our bed, they’ll not see you for a fortnight or two.”
Her face heated. “Oh.”
He followed that promise with a searing kiss that tasted of whisky and sweetness. She kissed him back, sinking into the embrace fully. No safety net, no tether to grasp. From this moment forward, she wasn’t holding anything back.
She refused to let him carry her from the room. But he whisked her away by the hand, leaving her breathless as they mounted the spiraling stairs. By the time they reached the bedchamber, she was dizzy with laughter and desire.
Together they fell onto the bed.
He pulled at her frock, working the buttons loose with one hand and pushing up her skirts with the other.
They made love in slow, cautious strokes. Partly in deference to his injured state, and partly just to savor the closeness. Neither of them wanted it to end too soon.
Afterward, he stayed inside her while she held him close.
“Did you really mean to keep me here a fortnight?” she whispered.
“Maybe two.”
“I can’t stay in bed forever, you know. There’s work to be done. And I feel I need to warn you . . . soon my studio will be crawling with beetles, dragonflies, moths, and more.”
She felt him shudder.
“Don’t worry. Most of them will be dead.”
He peered down at her. “Most of them?”
“And people almost never die of insect bites.”
“Almost never.”
She gave him a teasing nuzzle. “Breathe. Just breathe.”
His brow pressed to hers. And for a moment, that’s all they did: just breathe. Trade the same air back and forth, until there wasn’t his breath or hers, but just theirs.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you, too.”
“I missed you fierce, mo chridhe. I was a jackass to ever let you go.”
“Oh, you were Captain MacJackass.”
He smiled a little. Then his expression grew solemn. “I just didna want to hold you back from your dream.”
“That’s just it. You never could.” She stared deep into those eyes, the same brilliant blue as wide Highland skies. “Logan, you are my dream. You always were. You have to know that. The deepest desire of my heart. And as wild a fantasy as I spun . . .” She laced her arms about his neck. “ . . . the reality of us is so much better.”
Epilogue
It took him a few months, but once he’d fully recovered from his injuries and the summer sunshine had warmed the air, Logan finally managed to whisk his wife away for a proper honeymoon.
He took her to the seaside. Nine years after they’d first “met” on the beach in Brighton.
Better late than never.
He found them a well--furnished cottage near Durness, situated near a wide, sandy crescent of beach with a perfect view of the pink--orange sunsets. It wasn’t Brighton or Bermuda, but it was lovely and secluded and theirs.
Considering it was the first holiday he’d ever planned or taken in his life, Logan felt rather proud of his success.
Every afternoon, they walked along the shore together. Maddie collected shells and sketched them in her notebook. Logan gave her a gold wedding band he’d had engraved with both their initials. More than once, they made love on his green--and--blue tartan spread over white sands.
And they bid farewell to two dear friends.
“Fare--thee--well, Fluffy,” Maddie whispered. “Take good care of her, Rex.”
They released the lobsters into the ocean and bid them a good journey and best wishes for thousands of healthy offspring.
As they looked out over the blue water, Maddie reached for Logan’s hand and laced her fingers in his. “Remember when you held our firstborn child in your arms?”