Scotland or Bust Page 17
“I win!” Granny said, letting a few whoop-whoops fly.
Harrison and Nikki broke apart but he kept her in his arms, pulling her to his side so he could keep her firmly against him.
“What?” he asked.
Everyone else looked as confused as he. Granny was no help. She was busy skipping through the lounge area, telling everyone she came up to that she’d won.
“I believe that your grandmother has won the pool, sir,” Austin said.
Harrison frowned again. “I thought that pool was over once Nicole left the village.”
“Indeed, sir. But before your grandmother hijacked the shuttle, she told Gerry to start a new pool on whether or not Miss Franklin would ever set foot in the village again. And it seems as though that might be the case.” He bestowed a fatherly smile on Nikki and then gave them a little bow.
“Everyone else bet against it?” he asked.
“I did,” Amy said. Then she looked at Nikki. “No offense.”
Nicole laughed and snuggled in closer to his side.
He kissed the top of her head again. “You sure you want to take all this on?”
She smiled up at him. “As long as you come with it, absolutely.”
He kissed her until he felt her tremble against him and then released her with a deep chuckle. That was never going to get old.
He took her hand. “Let’s go home.”
“I’ll go collect your grandmother, sir,” Austin said.
Harrison nodded, not sure whether to laugh or throw his hands up.
“Your grandmother did say life together would be an adventure.”
He kissed her again. “That I can promise you.”
Epilogue
Nikki entered the small stone chapel, once again dressed in the fabulous re-enactment gown. She was just as nervous as the last time, but for all new reasons.
This time, her father was beside her, walking her down the aisle. The priest that stood near the altar was a real priest. And the devastatingly handsome man in full Highlander garb waiting for her with a smile that made her heart burst with happiness was her soon-to-be husband.
This time, when he took her hands and spoke his vows, he used his own name, not that of a fictional character who was amazing, but who didn’t hold a candle to her own real-life hero. And this time, when he was done reciting his vows, she didn’t turn and run from him. She looked into his eyes and pledged to be his for all time. Forsaking all others. To belong to him only, body and soul, for as long as they lived.
She never could have guessed when she stumbled onto the plane and into Harrison’s life that this was where they’d end up. Granny, of course, assured everyone she knew it the second she’d laid eyes on Nikki. And since she’d won the marriage pool, no one argued. It had taken Nikki a little longer. Not to know how much she loved him. She’d loved him from the first time she’d had to kiss him to distract him from the plane taking off, but it had taken her a while to realize that this time was different. That it wasn’t part of her old cycle of falling in love hard and fast and falling out of love just as hard and fast.
Harrison was her forever.
They still had some kinks to work out, but that was part of the adventure. Harrison had another year left on his contract with his aeronautics firm, and then he wouldn’t be so tied to New York. He still loved it there. She still didn’t. But they loved being together, so where they slept at night didn’t matter so much as long as they were in the same bed.
For the moment, they’d worked out a nice compromise. Until his contract was up, they spent most of their time in New York. And their summers were spent at Alberth Castle with his family. He was finally starting to take himself a little less seriously around them. Oh, they were still a handful, but with her at his side, he seemed to be having more fun with it all.
And once his contract was up…they could go anywhere. Do anything. The possibilities were endless and breathtaking.
He placed the ring on the Bible, and she stole an eager glance at it. He’d kept it a surprise from her, wanting to wait until their wedding day for her to see it. Granny had given them her engagement ring again and Nikki wore it with pride. But the wedding band had been all Harrison.
She looked down and sucked in a breath, her gaze immediately finding his again. Just when she thought she couldn’t love him anymore.
He picked up the platinum ring that was an exact replica of the wedding band Jamie gives Claire in the Book That Still Must Not Be Named. Only sprinkled amongst the engraved leaves and thistles were tiny diamonds that twinkled in the light of the candles. Inside, something was inscribed. He held it so she could see. It wasn’t the inscription from the book; it was something better, more meaningful to her.
Our adventure will never end.
The priest told Harrison to kiss his bride, and he gathered her in his arms, his gentle kiss searing its way into her heart.
“Are you sure you don’t want to back out?” he whispered to her when they finally came up for air.
“Never,” she whispered back. “I love you, Harrison Troy.”
“I love you, Sassenach,” he said, quoting the book with a wink.
Nikki’s laughter rang through the church.
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Acknowledgments
My deepest thanks to the amazing Entangled team. My incredible editor, Alethea Spiridon, I don’t know what I’d do without you! Thank you so much for all your tireless work and support. Profuse and emphatic thanks to Crystal Havens, and to Riki Cleveland and Jessica Turner, my extraordinary publicity team. You make life so much easier for my little introverted heart. I can’t thank you enough for everything you do to get my books out in the world!
To my sweet husband and amazing kids. You are my everything. Always. To my sweet family—thank you for being my biggest cheerleaders. I can’t tell you what it means to know I always have you in my corner. I love you all!
To Toni, my oldest and dearest writing buddy. You have always been right there cheering me on. Your unwavering support and friendship means more to me than you’ll ever know. Thank you for everything! And to my writing creepy twin, Sarah Ballance, thank you for pushing me when I want to stop and being there for every vent and celebration. I’ll always be thankful for my #creepytwin, even with your penchant for tormenting me with spiders and horror movie trailers!
About the Author
USA Today bestselling author Kira Archer resides in Pennsylvania with her husband, two kiddos, and far too many animals in the house. She tends to laugh at inappropriate moments and break all the rules she gives her kids (but only when they aren’t looking), and would rather be reading a book than doing almost anything else. Most of her non-writing hours are spent hanging with her family and running her kids around because they are busy and she’s the taxi driver. She loves her romances a little playful, a lot sexy, and always with a happily ever after. She also writes historical romances as Michelle McLean.
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