Page 62 of Highlands Summer Wedding

“Okay, have we had our fill of selfies in front of the castle? Let’s go see how the other half lives!” said Melissa, leading the way to the entrance.

The castle stood in front of us, all weathered granite and sharp angles, rising straight out of the hillside.

I could picture royalty walking those grounds for centuries—because they had.

The wind pressed cool against my face, carrying the faint smell of damp grass. I tried to take it in, the size of it, the age of it. No photograph was going to do this justice.

We handed our tickets to the kilted gentleman at the door and went inside.

Mom was in her element. She loved the carpets and tapestries, and when we entered the ballroom, it didn’t disappoint.

Dark wood. High ceilings. Deer antlers mounted along the walls. Framed photographs of the royal family. Oil paintings in heavy gilded frames—it felt grand without trying too hard.

Mom lingered over an old family photo, and Angus’s mother drifted over to join her.

“They seem like regular people in these photos, don’t they?” said Mom.

“I expect they are. I mean, we’re all just regular people. That’s what I learned when Angus—” Flora paused and looked back at me. I nodded.

She held my gaze for a moment, then continued. “When Angus became famous, it was such a shock. Everyone knew who he was. His photo was everywhere. His music was everywhere. It happened so quickly. He had short hair and a goatee back then—hardly anyone would recognize him now, which is the way he likes it. I think he was embarrassed.”

My mother scoffed. “Embarrassed? Well, that’s too bad. He should be proud…”

“It was the money,” she said, lowering her voice. “Imagine being in your early 20s. Your friends are still finishing uni or out looking for jobs, struggling to make rent, and you have… well. You can give them money, but that makes your mates feel bad. You can hire them for jobs, but same thing.

“In the end, Angus opted to hide his wealth, dressing in jeans and a flannel shirt or an old fisherman’s sweater and pretending that Drew was the financing genius.”

“I didn’t realize…,” said Mom. “I thought musicians didn’t make much money these days.”

“These days they don’t,” she said, shrugging. “But he rose to fame back before streaming, when a record could go platinum and royalties were… significant.”

Mom blew out a breath. “Wow.”

Caitlin and I stayed quiet. Flora turned to her, “He’s told you, yes?”

“I just found out recently,” said Caitlin.

“Well, please don’t hold it against him, lass.” Flora gave Caitlin’s arm a gentle squeeze. “He’s struggled with this for years, but he only wants to do what’s best. You’ll never want for anything, but you’ll live like a regular person in an average house with an ordinary car.”

“Well, looking around at these palace grounds, I think living in an average house sounds cozy and nice,” said Caitlin. Her future mother-in-law smiled.

CHAPTER 27

We had only two days until the rehearsal dinner.

Caitlin updated the weather app so often that finally Angus laughed. “It wouldn’t be a Scottish wedding if there wasn’t at leastsomerain. Anyway, rain on your wedding day is good luck. And we’ve already been lucky—we went from no venue to loads of outdoor alternatives like the Fairy Glen and the Old Man of Storr. Now we have the venue we originally wanted and photos in front of all the alternate locations.”

“And we have each other,” said Caitlin, pressing a kiss against his lips.

I made a gagging motion with my finger, and they burst into laughter.

“I hope you don’t do that with all your clients,” she said.

“Not all my clients are relatives… and they usually don’t get quite so sappy in front of me.”

Caitlin laid her head on Angus’s shoulder. “What? We do have each other. And I’m realizing more and more that’s what’s most important to me.”

I wrinkled my nose. “You really can’t quit with this positivity, can you?”