Page 55 of Highlands Summer Wedding

Melissa breezed through the door and plunked down beside me, her hair slightly windblown. “Hey, Abby! Are your parents here yet?”

“They just took off sight-seeing with Angus and Caitlin. We don’t all fit in one car, so I bowed out.”

“Everything else all right?” Her tone was full of concern as she studied me.

I jerked my chin toward the offending scones. “There’s a lemon curd situation over in the breakfast nook that’s making me crazy, if that’s the Abby-is-unable-to-relax vibe you’re catching. Otherwise… they sorted out the Angus-is-a-rich-and-famous-musician thing pretty well. I’ll let Caitlin fill in the details.”

“You’re a good sister. No gossip. I like it.” She gave me a slight nudge.

“Yeah, well…”

A waitress from the cafe appeared. “Can I get you a drink?”

“Earl Grey, please, no milk,” Melissa said. “And how about a scone with lemon curd?” Melissa winked at me as the waitress nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.

Melissa turned her full attention to me now. “So, speaking of gossip, and, um, denying yourself something you so clearly want, what’s the tea with you and Max?”

I sighed. “I don’t know. The movie’s on hold, he needs financing, but the good news is the head of the studio is a guy we went to grad school with—and he’s a great guy. So. Fingers crossed.”

“That’s not the tea I was looking for, but okay…,” she said, grinning.

I shrugged. “Haven’t seen him in a bit.”

The waitress returned with the tea and scone. Melissa slathered on the lemon curd and handed me a piece of it.

“Wow,” I said with my mouth full, as Melissa giggled at me.

“Time to plan the hen party… hen do… whatever,” she said matter-of-factly. “We are Caitlin’s closest friends, and you’re looking lovelorn, so we’re going to have the best hen do Inverness has ever seen.” She popped the last bit of scone in her mouth. “Let’s get this party started!”

We settledon the couch in Melissa’s spacious living room while we listed guests, created an e-vite, and brainstormed about the venue—always the sticky part.

“We could get one of those beer gardens on wheels?” Melissa suggested.

I thought of the Scottish terrain.Yeah… no.“I think you have to pedal to get anywhere… sounds like a lot of work in these hills.”

“Pedals? Nope, nope. We’re not doing any extra work here,” agreed Melissa.

“What about one of those places where you paint stuff?” I was spitballing. I plan the weddings, not the pre-parties.

“Do you like to paint? Does Caitlin?” asked Melissa.

“Not really.”

“Moving on…”

I examined my nails. They were looking pretty rough. “I mean, we can always get mani pedis, but Caitlin was probably going to do that anyway.”

We sipped our tea while I looked out Melissa’s beautiful wall of windows. “She’s already done a Loch Ness tour. Guests can do that on their own. This needs to be something unique that everyone would like.”

Melissa opened a new tab on her computer and started searching. “What about if we create our own Highland Games with the wedding party? You know, the way some people do a scavenger hunt.”

“And lug giant trees and rocks across a field? I don’t want anyone putting out their backs!”

Melissa sighed. “I guess we could do a scavenger hunt—we could set up clues about Angus’s childhood and then where he and Caitlin met.”

“That’s such a cute idea. I love it!” Then realization washed over me. “Then we’d have to include visits to record stores or pubs where his band played. That might make Angus really uncomfortable.”

“We wouldn’t have to, but if we omitted it, that could cause more attention.”