With one last searing look at the Hawk, Adam vanished.
Now where were we? the Queen asked. Adrienne squinted hard in the direction of the voice. She could barely discern the shimmering outline of a woman hovering in the misty air behind the Hawk.
Ah, yes. The two of you were about to have a wedding on the ridge by the sea. The fool has a beastly sense of timing. I shall pick up where it was left off. I, Aoibheal, Queen of the Tuatha De Danaan, name you man and wife. Neither mortal nor immortal shall ever tear you asunder, lest they incur my eternal wrath. There. You've been wed by the Fairy Queen. None can lay claim to such a legend.
Adrienne and the Hawk were still staring at each other across a space of garden, both afraid to move even an inch.
Well? Kiss the woman, you big beautiful man! Go on.
The Hawk sucked in a harsh breath.
He'd changed, Adrienne realized. Time had rendered him even more beautiful than before. She didn't know he was thinking the same thing about her. His eyes slid over her, from her silvery-blond hair to her bare toes peeping from under a pair of strange trousers.
And then she was in his arms, folded in that strong embrace she'd dreamed about every night for the past five months as she lay in bed, her hand resting on her rounded belly, begging the heavens for just one more day with her husband.
He brushed her lips with his. "My heart."
"Your heart is… oh!" She lost her breath beneath his ravishing lips.
"Ahhh," the Queen marveled, for even the Tuatha De Danaan were in awe of true love. You are worthy of what I now give you, she whispered just before she vanished. Consider it a wedding gift…
* * *
EPILOGUE
adrienne breathed deeply. nothing would ever compare to the scent of roses and spring rain, the unceasing roar of the waves against the west cliffs and the splash of salt in the unspoiled air. She had ducked outside to watch twilight move in over the sea. Then she would return to Lydia and continue making baby plans. She smothered a laugh with her hand. Lydia had finally outright ordered the Hawk to go away, complaining that she couldn't possibly welcome her daughter-in-law back properly and prepare for her grandchild if he wouldn't stop kissing her all the time. Not that Adrienne had minded.
Like a chastened boy, the Hawk had glared.
"You have the rest of your lives together," Lydia had remarked crisply, "while we women have only a few short months to prepare for the babe."
"A few short months?" Hawk had looked stunned. Then worried. He'd raced off, muttering under his breath.
Now Adrienne stood on the stone stairs, head tilted back, drinking in the quiet beauty of the velvety sky. A flicker of movement on the roof caught her eye.
Grimm peered over the parapet at her and his handsome face lit with a smile. She and the Hawk had talked that afternoon and he had filled her in on what had transpired, including Grimm's part in helping to bring her back. Only hours before, Grimm had clasped his hand to his heart and on bended knee begged forgiveness for lying. She'd granted it readily.
"Hope you're not looking for a star, Grimm," she called up to him.
"Never again," he vowed fervently.
Adrienne gasped, as at precisely that moment a tiny white speck sparked and sputtered, then traced a downward spiral across the sky. "Oh my God! Grimm, look! A shooting star!" She squeezed her eyes shut and wished fiercely.
"What did you just wish?" he growled down at her, rigid with tension.
When she opened her eyes again, she said saucily, "I can't tell. It's against the rules."
"What did you just wish?" he roared.
"My, aren't we superstitious?" she teased with a smile.
He glowered down at her as she made her way back into the castle. Glancing over her shoulder, she flashed him an impish grin. "Brace yourself, Grimm. I will tell you this much—I spent my wish on you"
"Don't you know how dangerous it is to be throwing idle wishes about, lass!" he thundered.
"Oh, this one wasn't idle at all," she called cheerfully before the door swung closed. On the rooftop of Dalkeith, Grimm sank to his knees and stared up into the sky, desperately seeking another wishing star… just in case.
* * * * *
Adrienne's gown rustled as she slipped down the corridor. Lydia had told her where she might find the Hawk and, over tangy mint tea, had filled her in on a few things her husband hadn't bothered to mention to her. Such as the fact that he'd destroyed her beloved nursery, the one she'd lain awake fantasizing about when she'd been stranded in the twentieth century. So that was where he'd rushed off to looking so worried about "the scant few months left." She entered the nursery so silently, Hawk did not hear her approach.