Page 13 of Kilt Trip

There was a lot of that going around. Apparently, Jack’s line in the sand over discussing work extended as far as not mentioning a new flatmate. Logan had been there two nights ago playing video games and ignoring Jack’s mild harassment, same as most nights. He’d had plenty of opportunity to fill Logan in while they indulged in his superior whisky collection.

Now, it appeared, Logan would be relegated to his own empty flat for the foreseeable future. He grunted. This consultant had managed to disrupt his professional and personal life. And they hadn’t even met yet.

He moved to the window overlooking Edinburgh’s Old Town, pressing his forehead against the cool glass in a vain attempt to gather his thoughts. The blowing rain picked up forgotten leaves and hurled them all around, one splatting on the pane like a starfish.

Jerking back, he changed tactics. “How much is this going to cost?”

Neil licked his thumb and rubbed an old coffee ring on the table. “You spend money to make money. That’s the first thing you would’ve learned in business school.” He raised an eyebrow, as if Logan hadn’t heard it enough. “And I thought you didn’t care how much money we made.”

“I don’t. I didn’t get into guiding to make millions.”

Elyse laughed. “And you won’t, at this rate.”

Logan leveled her with a glare that said Too soon, and she hid her grin inside her teacup.

“But I won’t leave you a pauper, either,” Neil said. “She’s an expert in efficient itinerary planning—”

“People leave our tours with full hearts and rave reviews. Why would we change that?”

“It’s a necessary—”

“We don’t need some outsider coming in here telling us what’s special about Scotland,” Logan said, gesturing to the door—

That suddenly contained Heather.

His heart kicked out of his ribs like an old cartoon. Buh-boom buh-boom.

But the look on her face was all wrong. Brows raised. Eyes wide.

His stomach clenched. He felt out of his depth, like being on the outside of a secret everyone else knew. Something darker than confusion slithered through his mind before the bricks of understanding fell into place.

American. Clunk.

Travels the world. Clunk.

The way she’d flinched when he asked, “business or pleasure?” Clunk.

Heather was the travel consultant come to destroy his business.

6

Logan’s knees nearly gave out as Neil bounded across the room, hand outstretched, the caterpillar mustache about to crawl off his face. “Come in, come in. This is Logan, my son and business partner.”

His dad and Heather had met already...because she was living with Jack... Logan’s thoughts were like forgotten porridge, sticky and caked to the sides of his mind. He shook his head to jump-start his brain.

Heather mouthed the word son before swallowing hard and extending her hand to him.

She hadn’t been drawn into his stories about Scotland, hanging on his every word, soaking up his knowledge about Edinburgh. She hadn’t been reveling in the magic of the city skyline.

She’d been assessing him.

Logan’s stomach churned, and he gripped her hand a little tighter than necessary, but he couldn’t rein himself in. The woman in front of him now was nothing like last night. Her golden hair was tied up in a knot at the back of her head. Her slacks and blouse were impeccable, her handshake firm, her eye contact intentional. A vision of corporate America here to capsize his business.

Albeit a beautiful one.

It wasn’t just his family conspiring against him. The universe was in on it, too.

“Hi. I’m... Addie Macrae.”

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