Last Wish (Highland Magic #4)(92)

‘Yes, you do,’ Bob said, not unkindly. ‘You’re not that stupid, Uh Integrity. You know what love is.’

‘Perhaps. But too many women think that a wedding is good just because it has a nice ring to it.’

‘I could kill you with my thumb, you know.’

My grin widened. ‘Go ahead. Give it a shot.’

He tutted. ‘Be serious, please. Is Byron perfect?’

‘No. Although,’ I amended, ‘he might be perfect for me.’

Bob grabbed my little finger and gave it a tight hug. ‘Lust projects. Lust sees perfection where none exists. You know Byron has faults and you know he’s not perfect. He knows you’re not perfect. You’re stubborn and hard-headed and you have a criminal past, not to mention that your jokes are possibly the worst ones in the universe.’ He held up his tiny hand. ‘Don’t interrupt me, I’m on a roll. Love isn’t about possession. It’s not about filling an empty void within yourself. I see you when you look at him. You want the best for him. You don’t idealise him. You know he still has a spoilt streak. You know he still has untapped potential but you want him to realise that for himself. You think your feelings for him are complicated but they’re really not. There are no secrets. No ulterior motives. No joking around or kidding yourselves. You’re willing to accept each other as you truly are. That’s why you should get married.’

I stared dumbly at him. For the first time in my life I might have regretted making a stupid joke before giving Bob a chance to speak. The genie clearly had hidden depths I didn’t know about.

‘Plus,’ he added, ‘I have always wanted to be a bridesmaid. None of that ugly dress shite though. I want to be beautiful. And I want fabulous wedding favours. Also, the chance to ridicule you because you’re wearing a giant white meringue.’

I flicked him away. ‘Get lost.’ I rather liked the idea of proposing to Byron. Maybe I’d consider it but I wasn’t wearing white. Hot pink all the way.

‘Yeah, yeah.’ He glanced behind my shoulder. ‘Speak of the devil.’

I turned round and spotted Byron. We smiled at each other, the rest of the world fading away until I barely noticed when Bob vanished, no doubt off to do more mischief.

‘Hey,’ I said eventually, when it became clear that we’d probably just stand there and grin at each other all day. ‘Did you manage to sort out, uh, your father?’

‘Yes. I’ve arranged for him to be taken back to the Moncrieffe Lands. His body will be safe from desecration there. And it’s important that we don’t just pretend he didn’t exist. Like it or not, he’s part of our story now.’ He slipped his hand into mine. ‘If he’d seen in you what I see in you, he would have yielded long before.’ I gave him a questioning look. Byron shrugged. ‘You’re a fighter. No matter how bad the going is, you never give up. When things are dark and it seems like there’s no way out, you find the exit. You’re a true warrior, Integrity.’

‘Layoch,’ I whispered. I smiled. ‘That’s my true name.’ Byron’s mouth dropped open slightly. ‘I told you I would trust you.’

His eyes gleamed. ‘I’m Buaidh. It translates as victory.’ He watched me carefully; a shiver ran down my body. ‘I’ve not been victorious yet though.’ He swallowed. Then I realised his hands were shaking.

Alarmed, I stared at him. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘I’ve heard about this place down near England. I thought maybe we should go and pay it a visit.’

‘Why? Are there problems there? Has there been fighting of some kind?’ I gnawed on my bottom lip. ‘I know there are going to be difficulties but I thought we’d have at least a bit of breathing space first. Surely none of us have got that far down the country yet.’ Something else suddenly occurred to me. ‘It’s not the English, is it? That’s all we need.’

‘It’s not that. And it’s not a problem. It’s just that there’s an old blacksmith’s there which used to be very famous. I remember reading old stories about it in my school history books. Of course, it fell out of use after the Fissure.’

‘A blacksmith?’ I was thoroughly confused. ‘Are you getting some horses?’

‘Uh, no. Bob reminded me about it. It’s called Gretna Green. I know it might not seem like the right time but…’ He scratched his neck. ‘This is harder than I thought it would be. Maybe you think we ought to spend more time together first. But when you know, you know.’

Know what? I was thoroughly confused now. I’d seen Byron in a lot of different situations and I didn’t think I’d ever seen him look so scared.

From out of nowhere, Bob reappeared. ‘What are you doing?’ he screeched. ‘I’ve already softened her up for you. Just say the words!’

Byron ignored him. Still holding my hands, he got down on one knee and gazed up at me.

My mouth dropped. Hang on a minute…



Thank you so much for reading Last Wish and sticking by Integrity to the end!



I truly hope you enjoyed it. Once you turn the page, Amazon will offer you the opportunity to leave a review. It would mean a huge amount if you could review – any and all feedback is so very, very welcome and hugely important for independent authors like myself.