Page 11 of Highlands Summer Wedding

“I’ll have a chat with my clients and get back to you. Thank you very much.”

“Of course.”

I rushed back outside to Angus and Caitlin, who were already taking selfies.

“Want to do that on a grander scale?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” asked Caitlin.

“We can have the wedding anywhere at all, but what if we took your photos here?”

“That would be fantastic,” said Caitlin.

“There’s just one catch. They’ve got some openings… but they’re this week.”

Caitlin’s eyes widened. “I don’t even have a dress yet.”

“I could wear my formal kilt,” said Angus. “Caitlin, I have a family tartan sash you could wear with any dress.”

Caitlin nodded, still processing.

“I know a perfect little inn not far from here. We can spend a few days there, get our outfits organized, and do the shoot. What do you think? Can we put this together in two days?” suggested Angus.

“Yes, we can,” said Caitlin.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Something was finally going right. “I’ll go put it on the books!”

We checkedinto an inn on the water. I was more than happy to let the two lovebirds have a romantic dinner while I got takeaway from the local chippy.

I sat on a bench between the chippy and the water, eating my fried fish and chips doused in malt vinegar. Clouds began forming over the castle, and the water darkened.

Then someone tapped me on the shoulder.

“Mind if I join you?” said the American voice behind me.

“Sure,” I replied without looking up.

I glanced up at my new lunch companion.No way can this be happening.

But there he stood—Max.

He was still standing there, balancing two bottles of beer and his own order of fish and chips, so I moved over.

He hadn't changed much. A few laugh lines, a touch of gray.

He was still wearing the watch.

“So, what brings you here?” I joked.

“Work, as always.”

As always.“You’re not going to steal this location away from me, are you?” I asked. “I just booked the castle for wedding photos.”

“We already shot here,” he said, handing me a bottle of local beer. We clinked bottles.

“A win. I needed that,” I said.

He arched an eyebrow. “Yeah?”