Chapter 23—A Step Back In Time
"Let me come with you.”
Cian turned from the car and his eyes flickered slightly when his gaze met hers. It was the first time she had seen him in two days. He was gone every morning before she was up, and he only came back when she had gone to bed.
If she didn’t know better, she would think he was avoiding her. . .but why would he?
He had no reason to.
Just to be sure she wasn’t imagining it, she had woken earlier than usual—before dawn, freshened up, and slipped into one of the many dresses that had been stuffed in her closet before running out of her room at the sound of light footsteps walking past her door.
Cian peered down at where her fingers circled his forearm and rose to her face. “You doona know where I am going, but you wish to come with me?”
Her grip on his arm tightened. "The view is great and all, but I am unused to staying put and looking out through a window every day like some miserable princess. It is bad enough that I can't make a call back home or try to contact my friends. I'm utterly alone, and the one person who should be helping me feel better is running from me."
His eyes flared and his lips curled slightly. "I am not running from you, lass."
Her brows quirked up. "Oh yeah? Why do you keep sneaking out of the house every day? And how convenient is it that it fits perfectly with my resting schedule?"
"I doona sneak—"
"Pretty sure you do—"
"I have business to attend to—"
"By five in the morning—"
"And it has nothing to do with you—"
"Which is why you tiptoe—"
"Lass!" he yelled, frustrated, and his voice carried well around the yard, reverberating off the ivory walls. It would be no surprise if his yell had woken the rest of the mansion.
"What?" she snapped.
He gestured toward the door she hadn't realized he had opened, and said, "Get in."
"Oh," she said, gaze flitting between him and the door. She hopped in giddily, happy that she'd won this small battle, and he bent over, tucking the hem of her dress further in before closing the door.
She blushed slightly at the display of chivalry and forced her gaze upon the dawning sky. It wasn't that she hadn't received this sort of treatment before, but Aaron had mostly acted this way because the press was watching or possibly taking pictures.
There was no one around, but Cian had still done it. Why it affected her so much, she didn't know, didn't want to think about it.
"Where are we headed?" she asked as he took down the long tarred road that led to the gates of the mansion. The air smelled of dew and the roosters crowed, announcing the dawn of a new day. She placed her fingertips out the window, feeling the air on them. She giggled slightly at the feeling of her fingers being wrapped around the warm, damp blanket that was dew.
"I have a stop, before work. We'll head there first," he said, and Ivette noted the tightness in his voice.
Maybe he wasn't comfortable with taking her with him. Maybe she shouldn't have forced him to, but she had been tired of being holed up in that room all day, hiding from his cousins who seemed to have the idea that he was courting her.
They were nice and very accommodating, but there was only so much she could take without snapping. They all knew who she was and what she'd run from, but they didn't seem concerned in the least that she might be nursing a guilty and broken heart. They believed she had something going on with Cian, if their grins and winks in her direction every day were any indication.
She stole a quick glance at Cian. The wind lifted his hair, ruffling it back and forth, causing it to caress the sharp angles of his handsome face. His slender elegant fingers tapped on the leather of his steering wheel, matching the rhythm of the song blasting through the car. He nodded slightly and his eyelids drooped as he hummed in a deep baritone that caused fine hair to rise on her skin.
Seeing him like this caught her off balance. Without the usual tuxedos she had grown accustomed to seeing him in, it was refreshing to see him in casual clothing. A plain tee and jeans, and he was enjoying a ride.
A normal guy. No names or businesses are attached. A simple, normal guy enjoying a ride.
Not. There was nothing simple or normal about Cian. Even the slightest movements of his fingers were elegant and graceful in ways that took years to attain.
As if sensing her gaze on him, he turned. She looked away, again, feeling hot. These days, she couldn't hold his gaze anymore, whether it was from across the room, or in a flitting moment, she always looked away. Whatever that meant, she didn't want or care to know.
She looked out the window again, and she suddenly jutted forward. She'd been asleep for most of the ride here, so she hadn't seen much of Inverness.
Now, however, she poked her head out the window and gasped.
Cian had been right. There was no way words could do justice to the savage beauty of Inverness. She couldn't see or absorb enough of the scenery before her.
She was surrounded by a fairytale—no. She was in a fairytale.
Tall hills rolled on and on as Cian drove past, seeming to follow them the further they went into the city. Towering spires of houses—more like castles perched atop hills overlooked the city and she found herself rising from her seat to get a better view of them.
It felt like she had taken a step back into a different time. A time when medieval castles and enchanting, lush forests with tangles of towering pine trees that seemed to go on forever existed.
The wind carried well through the forest, causing the trees to move left and right in a strange morion that felt as though they were being waved at. Ivette caught herself grinning like a child, and she wondered if she would look crazy if she waved back. "Where is that?"
"The Caledonian Forest—sit down, lass. You'll fall out the window," Cian chided, swerving right, and Ivette scowled, even as she grabbed the edge of the chair, to keep from hitting the door.
However, her scowl fell when she saw the rising sun reflect upon the Loch Ness. Her breath caught at the surreal moment. She could see the surface of it, gleaming with unnatural light, and it was all she could do to refrain from jumping out to touch the water.
Cian laughed slightly, drawing her attention towards him and she saw that he was watching her with humor in his eyes. "I'll take you around after I get off work."
She smiled brightly, and for some reason, Cian went still—for as long as someone driving a car could freeze, and he looked away sharply.
She ignored the pang in her chest and clenched her fists about as the drive went on. She had no idea why he was acting strange around her all of a sudden. He'd been all over her, and now that she was stuck with him, he was treating her like a stranger.
But then, how else would she have him treat her?
****
Cian finally pulled up in front of a gate. The gatekeeper smiled broadly, speaking in a language she didn't understand as he waved at Cian.
Cian waved and leaned backwards to retrieve a bouquet of flowers from the seat behind. Ivette peered beyond the barred gate and she noted the stones behind it.
A...graveyard?
Her gaze darted to the bouquet in his hands. There was one of the lilies and one of the roses. One for his mother, one for his father.
This was why he'd spoken tightly. Not because he was uncomfortable taking her with him. It was where they had been headed that ripped that reaction from him.
She remained quiet, watching as he got out of the car, shoulders tight with tension as she shut the door.
He started to leave, but he paused, tossing his hair out of his eyes. He bent slightly, gazing at her through the open window. "You...may come along. If you wish. I will be in for a while."
Ivette assessed Cian. "You want me to come along? To...see your parents?"
His shoulders slumped a little and something unreadable flickered in his eyes as he said, "Would you rather sit in the car for hours? You said you hated being a miserable princess."
"Haha, very funny. Good to see your sense of humor is still intact." Ivette made a face as she yanked off the seatbelt from her midriff. She pulled at the handle before following behind Cian.