A soft smile came to Emma’s lips. “What would ye have done? Would ye have told me the truth?”
Finn shrugged. “I dunno know. I can only hope I would have said…or done something to show ye that yer kiss had meant something to me, that ye could trust me to confide in me as well.”
“And then?” she asked, her eyes shining with hope.
Finn shrugged as his heart calmed and the fear of rejection slowly receded. Still, he remembered the way she had teased him, tortured him, in fact, she still had not answered his question about Vaughn’s proposal. “I dunno know,” he replied, willing the joy in his heart not to show on his face. “All I’m asking of ye now is to be honest with me. If ye dunno care for me, then tell me so honestly so that I might move on and find love elsewhere.”
At his words, Emma blinked, shock coming to her brown eyes before her hands shot forward and she grabbed him by the front of his shirt. “Don’t ye dare! Ye’re mine, Finnegan MacDrummond. D’ye hear? Ye’re mine, and ye’ve always been.” She inhaled a deep breath, the look in her eyes fierce as she held on to him. “I only wish I’d claimed ye earlier.”
Finn’s heart danced in his chest as it had never before. “Claim me?” he asked with a chuckle as his arms came around her, holding her to him with the same determination he saw in her eyes as well. “Are ye claiming me now?”
A wicked smile came to her face. “Aye, I am.”
“And I have no say in the matter?”
Shaking her head, she pulled him down to her until their noses almost touched. “I’m afraid not.” Then she kissed him the way she had kissed him only moments ago, and Finn finally realised that her heart truly belonged to him.
“Does that mean ye’re not going to marry Vaughn?” he asked teasingly. Still, his heart tensed at the mere thought of her tied to another. After all, marriages were agreed upon for all kinds of reasons. Simply because she did not love Vaughn did not mean she had not agreed to marry him.
Frowning, she stared at him. “Of course not. It wouldna be fair to him. He deserves better.”
Finn chuckled, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. “And I don’t?”
“No, ye and I were made for each other,” she said as though stating a fact. Finn had to admit it rather pleased him. “We’re both equally fearful and stubborn to have not said a word about this for seven years.” For a moment, she shook her head in disbelief, a hint of disappointment on her face. Then, however, her gaze met his, and her eyes lit up with happiness. “We deserve each other, wouldn’t ye agree?”
“Aye,” Finn laughed, realising that he could not wait to get to know the woman he had loved for so long. Never had they truly spoken to one another, and yet, he had never felt closer to anyone before.
Pulling her tighter against him, Finn looked down at her, feeling at peace for the first time in years. “We should’ve been together all those years,” he whispered, “but there’s no use in crying over something we canna change. All we can do is make certain that we willna waste any more time.”
Smiling up at him, Emma nodded.
Finn swallowed, then inhaled a deep breath before he said, “Emma Stewart, will ye marry me…tomorrow?”
Her brown eyes went wide. “Tomorrow? But ‘tis Christmas!”
“I dunno care,” Finn said laughing. “I dunno want to waste another minute. I want ye to be my wife, and I want to start our lives together…tomorrow, and not a moment later.”
Laughing, Emma flung herself into his arms. “Aye, I’ll marry ye…tomorrow.”
With his heart overflowing with joy, Finn spun his bride-to-be in a circle, holding her tight as they hugged and laughed, both overwhelmed by all that could happen in a day.
Finn vowed that he would never again allow fear to hold him back.
It was not worth it.
Not for a single moment.
Epilogue
Never would Emma have imagined that she had in fact decorated the great hall the day before for her own wedding day. And yet, here she was, dressed in her finest gown, a smile on her face she could not seem to shake and a man by her side whom she had loved for as long as she could remember.
After Finn had asked for her hand the night before, they had immediately gone to seek out Cormag to ask for his blessing as well as his approval to have their wedding ceremony on Christmas morning. Oddly enough, Cormag had acted as though he had all but expected them.
And he had not been the only one.
The whole of Clan MacDrummond gathered in the great hall that morning, their eyes shining with joy and their cheeks flushed from the cold. Cheerful whispers echoed through the hall until the moment the wedding ceremony began. Then silence fell over them as everyone strained to hear Emma and Finn exchange their vows.
While everyone had been surprised that Emma and Finn were to be married on Christmas morning, no one had been surprised to hear that they were to be married. In fact, many had congratulated them, mumbling something about them finally getting their happy ending. It would seem the whole of Clan MacDrummond had been aware of Emma’s and Finn’s true feelings for one another and had considered it only a matter of time until they would tie the knot.
The only ones who had been blind had been Emma and Finn themselves.
Smiling at Finn as he held her hand in his, Emma pushed all thoughts of the past away. Certainly, they had wasted time, being so fearful of rejection, of
