Page 110 of Kilt Trip

Big Mac nearly fell over in alarm. “The fuck?”

Elyse whispered, “Should we call this one the House of Cards?”

Logan laughed through the tightness in his chest. If that wasn’t the best description of his life, he didn’t know what was. With Addie gone, the entire farce crumbled. But he was rebuilding from the foundation. Slowly but surely.

He grabbed a shoebox-shaped ice cube from the freezer and brought it to Big Mac like he was bestowing a trophy. “We must have missed something when we built your desk. I found this in the freezer.”

Elyse stood beside him, grinning at the frozen nuts and bolts suspended in the ice. “Don’t microwave it, you ken. It’s got metal in there.”

Big Mac’s ruddy face split into a grin as he pointed I’m watching you fingers at Elyse and clapped Logan on the back. “Cheeky bastard. Better watch yourself.” He faked Logan out with a pretend gut punch.

As the laughter in the office faded away, Elyse nudged Logan’s arm with her elbow. “I can feel the hope in the air, can’t you?”

“Aye.” The prank helped take the gloom out of the days. Helped Logan feel like himself again. More importantly, it helped him feel connected to the people who had bought into the vision he had for The Heart.

Logan took a back-slapping victory lap of the office, before settling down to work. Big Mac sat on the floor where his desk used to be as if he planned to spend the day watching ice melt.

Logan didn’t have that luxury. New requests had been flying in faster than they could keep up with.

He kept his eyes resolutely off Addie’s forgotten fern on the other side of his desk. The fern he and Elyse kept watering in an unspoken agreement to keep it there for Addie...just in case.

He logged into the reservation system and started at the top. On the first reservation, the guest had selected the Clan Sutherland Tour, the one he felt most comfortable leading. The comments section of the request was near to bursting. He made a note to add a character limit to the box, even though he loved customizing the tours based on clients’ interests. Just not all their interests.

Looking for adventure and romance.

Obsessed with castles and heard Carbisdale is worth it for the White Lady alone.

Logan’s lips pulled down in thought. Surprising that a tourist would know about the ghost. But he took every opportunity to support Craig and catch up over a dram.

Also interested in Ben Nevis and Corpach.

Logan’s heart seized at the memory of holding Addie on the banks of Loch Linnhe, of the moment it all locked into place, when it felt like forever for him.

He scrubbed at his eyes, trying to dislodge the images of her hair blowing in the wind and the way her green eyes had filled with a love for him that hadn’t been enough.

Might like to try golfing.

Logan groaned. Thankfully, he hadn’t pushed forward with fully custom tours. Clearly, clients could not be responsible for planning their own tours.

Feel like I missed out on Aberdeen last time I was in Scotland.

It would take weeks to cover the distance they suggested. They were dreaming. They should move here if they wanted to explore every inch of the country.

Benromach Distillery.

Logan squashed the little voice reminding him Benromach was Addie’s favorite whisky. He dropped his head on the keyboard, the keys pressing into his forehead.

Dammit. He’d been trying to get her out of his head with a distinct lack of success. She’d somehow managed to wind her way into every corner of Scotland. Every time he took a step forward into the light, some reminder pushed him right back.

Special request that the guide wear a kilt.

He groaned and shoved away from his desk. Someone else was going to have to take this project on. He couldn’t handle it. Between the outrageous plan and all the memories of Addie rattling around in his brain, he needed to get out of there.

Logan grabbed his coat and gave Elyse a brief wave on the way out. “I’m off for a bit.”

“Perfect timing.” Her face lit up like the Fringe was coming to town.

Logan shot her a confused look but didn’t have the energy to dive into her antics at the moment. He held his breath as he passed the conference room as if he could fend off the memories that way. Taking the stairs two at a time, he pushed open the door and sucked in the cool air, trying to force some calm into his body.

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