Page 53 of Love Me Forever

“I know you have suffered dearly and that you do not wish to suffer again. Therefore?—”

“I would be careful in what I choose,” Brianna finished.

Blair remained silent out of necessity.

“I know you want the best for me, Blair. Royce is the best for me. I not only love him, I trust him, and after what Arran did to me, I had thought I would never trust again.”

Blair bit back the warning that wanted to rush from his lips. “This is for your brother to decide.”

“Nay,” she said with a firm shake of her head. “This is for me to decide.”

The door opened and Royce entered the cottage. The two men exchanged a heated look.

“Brianna and I were just discussing trust,” Blair said.

Royce dropped his fur on the bed and walked over to the table. He rested his hand on Brianna’s shoulder after giving her cheek a kiss.

“Do you trust, Royce?” Blair asked.

“None of what I hear and little of what I see.”

Blair laughed, though it was forced. “A wise choice.”

“More necessary than wise,” Royce said and changed the subject. “I killed enough game to feed all. Your men are preparing it now. You are welcome to join Brianna and me for the evening meal.”

“You must join us, Blair,” Brianna said eagerly. “We can entertain Royce with stories of how you and Ian would tease and torment me as a young child.”

“If it is the truth he wants to hear, then I will be telling him how you followed us about and caused more disturbances than the both of us.”

Royce smiled and leaned down beside Brianna, though he looked to Blair. “I would like to hear of her antics when young.”

“Me?” she said, as if affronted by his remark, then smiled. “I was a perfect young lady.”

“A perfect terror,” Blair said with a hardy laugh.

“I want to hear it all,” Royce said and received a poke in the ribs from Brianna.

“You will hear it all from me,” Brianna insisted.

Blair would not be denied. “I will add my share of things.”

Brianna was relieved that the tension between the two men dissipated. She had worried that they would fail to get along and that failure would weigh heavily with Ian. It did not sit well with her that the two men were at odds upon meeting. She had not expected such a reaction, and now she worried over her brother’s reaction to Royce.

After Ian had found out how poorly Arran had treated her, he had become extremely protective of her and encouraged her to seek her own strength. When she had informed him that she did not wish to ever marry again, he did not seem to mind. He did not even attempt to change her mind, nor did her sister-in-law.

What would he say now when she told him she wished to wed? Would he honor her request or worry that she was making a foolish mistake yet again? And would he seek to protect her from herself?

Royce was confident of the outcome. Why could she not be as confident? What troubled her? Why did she think she would face difficulty? Perhaps she was conditioned to expect it as she had been in her marriage. It was as if she always waited for something to happen. Even though all appeared at peace, her husband would suddenly find fault with her and berate her until she felt little worth for herself.

She had to remember that Royce was nothing like Arran. He was truthful with her, and she need not worry about sudden surprises.

She turned and kissed his cheek and right in front of Blair said, “I love you.”

He kissed her back. “As I do you.”

She looked to Blair. “You will tell Ian how happy I am?”

Blair hesitated and then Brianna gave him that pleading look she had always given him as a child. The one that he always surrendered to and that always got him into trouble. He threw his hands up into the air. “Whatever you want, Brianna.”