Page 36 of Highlands Summer Wedding

Our hands met and lingered, his palm warm against mine. Something tightened in my chest. This was Max. Brilliant, impossible Max. And I was volunteering to clean up his mess once again.

CHAPTER 15

Max and I were soaked, ordrookit, as my grandmother would’ve said. After hot showers, we rummaged through the cupboards in the rental kitchen: a jar of onion chutney marmalade, a blue can of beans in tomato sauce, a can of peas, a bottle of HP sauce, and a wide assortment of teas.

I looked outside. “The rain’s letting up.” Max had donned reading glasses to peruse the ingredients of the can of beans. One glance from me and he put it back in the cupboard.

Soon we were seated at a table with an outstanding view of the shimmering harbor in Portree. The waiter tipped a bottle of Malbec over our glasses, and with a tired smile, Max raised his glass.

“To finally making progress!” Max said.

I smiled, remembering how excited Caitlin had been when I told her we'd gotten the MacAlister for the wedding.

“On both fronts!” I added, clinking my glass into his.

I ordered the Scottish Salmon with whipped potatoes, green beans, and a salad. Max ordered the venison.

The waiter brought bread and oysters. We downed them greedily, then clinked our glasses again.

Three glasses of wine in, my cheeks were warm, and I was chatting about wedding menu options in the US vs Scotland. Max steadied me with his hand to the small of my back as we wove between tables toward the exit.

Something flashed at the edge of my vision—someone with a phone, maybe—but I was too light-headed to care.At the door, Max’s fingers found mine and lingered. When he leaned in, I turned my face toward him instead of away.

It was just a kiss on the cheek. But I didn’t pull back, and neither did he.

After returning to the rental, we went our separate ways for the night, and I fell asleep immediately.

Then I woke up and checked my phone.

The first textcame from a co-worker from my last job:

Who’s the hottie, and does he have friends?

Then a college friend:

Are you and Max back together?

Then Page Six:

Care to comment about these photos?

And TMZ.

AndUS Weekly.

And E!

AndHello!

AndVanity Fair.

AndEW.

And…WTF.

I found an article that included photos and ended their article with “We reached out to Abby Montgomery for comment but she did not respond.”

C’mon. A girl’s gotta sleep!