Page 19 of Highlands Summer Wedding

I took a moment to look around the space. “It’s amazing out here.”

The firelight caught his eyes as he gazed up at the darkening sky. “Last weekend the stars were amazing.”

“Wait—you’ve actually been staying here?” I leaned forward, catching the flicker of guilt across his face.

“Guilty as charged,” he admitted, the corner of his mouth lifting. “Bought groceries and everything.”

“And here I thought I had a fairy godmother leaving me cheese and wine.”

He shrugged. “I can clear out, you know. Your friends could stay here with you instead of?—”

“They’re getting married. Trust me, they want their privacy.”

Max glanced toward the kitchen. “Have you had dinner? There’s plenty of that fancy cheese left.”

“So the ramen-noodle-eating film school nerd has gone full foodie on us?” I couldn’t help teasing him, even after all this time.

He stood, brushing off his jeans. “Can I interest you in something? A drink, maybe?”

I knew I should opt for water or tea, but somehow I ended up saying, “Red wine would be nice.”

He went inside and returned a few minutes later with a full charcuterie board as well as the wine.

I took a piece of cheese and put it on an oatcake with somejamón serranowhile he poured me a glass of wine.

I sipped the wine—fruity and bold—and looked out at the glass-like water, so still and calm—everything I was not. The sky couldn’t decide if it was day or night, blues and grays wrestled with stubborn streaks of pink.

“So this is your sister’s wedding?” he asked.

“Yeah. She’s marrying a guy she met while she was visiting her friend, Melissa. Melissa inherited a home in Inverness and decided to move there without much notice. Caitlin flew out to check in on her. Next thing she knew, she was snowed in with this handsome lumberjack dude—who happened to be the owner of a Scottish pub back in Boston.”

“Wait—Snowed in?”

“Yep.”

“So after they get married, they’ll go back to Boston?”

“Yeah, his pub is really great, and it’s like a home-away-from-home.”

We sipped our wine and nibbled on the snacks.

“I can’t believe it’s still not dark! When does it get dark?” I asked, looking around at the still dusky sky.

“Officially, the sun sets around 9:30, but it’s still twilight until well after 11. But it’s never as dark as it gets at home this time of year.”

“Wow. So you don’t have to worry about losing light.” It was so easy to slip back into my filmmaking mindset.

“No, but there’s not much time for night shoots.”

“Can you shoot day-for-night?”

“That’s what we’ve been doing. Just trying to get as much filming done this season as we can. I don’t want to be filming here in the winter. It’s the perfect temperature now… not too hot, not too cold.”

“You can just fix it in post,” I said with a grin.

He raised his glass to that. “Some things never change.”

I yawned. “I’m still not sure which time zone I’m in, but I think I’m gonna head to bed. Thanks for the… goodies.”