Page 100 of Kilt Trip

“You’ve got some class friends who’ll see you off so early,” the driver commented.

“Yeah, I do.” And she was leaving them behind.

The driver wanted to talk, as they always did when it was still dark and you had a foreign accent. Addie shut down as much of the conversation as she could and let the tears track down her face, distorting the buildings passing outside into the miserable gray of a Death Cab for Cutie song.

When she’d left New Mexico all those years ago, sitting on a Greyhound with everything she owned under her feet, she’d expected to feel the buzzing of freedom and possibilities opening up in front of her. Instead, a hollowness had spread through her with every passing mile.

Addie swallowed past the tingly sensation at the back of her throat as the echo of that old ache settled in her chest.

The future rolled out in front of her like a sparse desert.

But she had gotten over it once. She could do it again.

42

Addie never dreaded leaving. The excitement of the next destination always called to her, tugging her forward. On to the next discovery. She never had anything to leave behind.

But panic threaded through her veins the second she stepped foot on the plane, finally slowing somewhere over the North Sea. None too soon, either. She’d been minutes away from using the barf bag to keep from hyperventilating.

She checked into a hotel near her client’s office, so tired she couldn’t see straight, and popped melatonin. The dark and anonymous room didn’t smell like anything besides commercial laundry detergent and the faint trace of cleaning solution. And for that, she was profoundly grateful.

She woke to the late afternoon sun streaking through the unavoidable gap in the hotel curtains, unsettled from fragments of dreams stitched together. Logan at her childhood house. Running her fingers through the lavender. The growth chart in the pantry, and Logan’s smile warming her as much as the sun setting over the pink Sandia Mountains.

Shoving the white pillow against her eyes did little to dim the perfect, imaginary images.

Even sleep wasn’t an escape. Her mind constantly returned to Logan, to the feel of his body, the way his stormy eyes sought hers. His voice held a promise of the laugh she always turned to for the happiness it brought out in her.

And now it was gone.

Addie’s heart beat too quickly, and her lungs weren’t taking in oxygen fast enough. Maybe a bit like drowning.

She stared at a modern painting with a lopsided red circle and a golden X, completely sick of her own company, ate something from the lobby grab-and-go, and prowled the musty hallways.

By the time the night stretched into Wednesday morning, she’d never been so excited for a project to start.

At least she could throw herself into work and feel like a human again.

She went through the motions of getting ready. Shower. Blow-dry. Curl. Makeup. Suit.

When she stepped into the conference room, she took her first full breath since Edinburgh.

She was in control here. This was where she belonged.

Large windows overlooked the canal and bathed the room in a welcoming glow. Not to mention the smiles from around the table.

Amsterdam City Tours was one of Addie’s favorite clients. Talk about firm handshakes all around.

“Welcome back, Addie. Glad you could make it,” Hanna said, her cheekbones rising in a smile, accentuated by her blond bob.

The previous summer, their small team had been open to Addie’s changes, encouraged by her suggestions, and ready to get to work. They gave her their sales data, their cost breakdowns, and their competitive analysis the minute she walked in the door. And Hanna was amazing to work with. She really listened to her people. Like Neil, she included Addie in the team. Treated her like she made important contributions to their future—not an outsider imposing their will or a figurehead to blame for unpopular choices.

“Alright, everyone, let’s get started.” Hanna turned on a projector. Financial statements appeared on the screen and everyone leaned forward. A smile spread across Addie’s face.

The numbers were better than she’d hoped. She couldn’t wait to get started on the next phase of this project. It was going to be just as exciting as figuring out a direction for The Heart.

Addie encouraged clients to choose which type of traveler they catered to: ones who wanted to see as much of the country as they could, or ones who wanted to immerse themselves in one place to live like a local. The Heart wasn’t the only company who managed to pull both together. Amsterdam City Tours could do it, too.

Based on these financials, they did it very well.

---