“But, after school, are you going to come back?” she asks.
I glance at Gavin. Something about the steady way he looks at me now, the firm line of electricity buzzing between us, tells me this relationship isn’t ending when I return to school next week. No one knows what the future holds, but I know it isn’t over yet.
Gavin probably can sense this too.
I look at Katie and shrug. “How else will Patty teach me to make shortbread?”
EPILOGUE
CALLIE
ONE YEAR LATER
HOGMANAY
Gavin hasno idea I’m surprising him. I’ve been texting Rory for months—covertly, of course—to plan this out, and it’s a little theatrical, but it’s going to be worth the look on Gavin’s face when he sees me. Katie picked me up from Inverness this morning and we spent the day hanging out at her house. She’s been a bit of a mess since breaking up with the petrol station guy just before Christmas, but I haven’t minded staying in.
I can’t let Gavin see me before tonight anyway, and the way this town is, one little peek and he’ll know right away.
Now it’s ten till midnight and we’re driving to his house. Jack is in the back seat, holding a pie, and I’m trying to contain my nerves.
We’ve been dating long-distance for one year now. I went home last year after Hogmanay and we never stopped talking.Gavin flew out to LA and stayed for the entire month of February. I flew back to Scotland the minute my spring quarter ended in June and stayed for almost two months, then I had to go see my parents before returning to school.
I might have lost my waitressing job, but it was okay. I applied for a master’s on the way, wrote my thesis, and—with Peter’s help—got the dean to sign off and completed my second year project. Which meant that once I left Scotland that summer, I was going home for good. Mom and Dad were happy to have me, and I was in a safe place to figure out what I wanted to do.
Well, it’s been five months since I left school and moved home, and I know exactly what I want and who I want to be with.
“Aren’t you glad there’s no freak storm blocking you from making it into Glenbruar?” Katie says, driving past Patty’s house.
“Don’t jinx me.”
She rolls her eyes. “Oh hush, you’re here now.”
“What if he’s not home?” I ask.
“Rory’s with him, isn’t he? You worry too much.”
“Nessa and Hamish should be there too,” Jack says.
Katie turns onto Gavin’s driveway, and my chest squeezes with the familiarity of coming home. Not only to this place, but to the person who is inside.
I check the time. “Four minutes.”
“We’ll wait in the car,” Katie says. “Oh! Or we can go in now.”
“Now,” Jack says. “I don’t want to watch them snog.”
“No one is watching that,” I tell him.
“We’ll head in, hen,” Katie winks and gets out of the car. She leans back through the open door. “Leave your stuff in the boot, Callie. We’ll get it later.”
I slink low in the seat while they make their way up to thefront door. Their steps crunch over gravel and remnants of snow. I close my eyes and breathe to calm my racing heart. It’s almost time.
GAVIN
The front door opens,sending a loud creak through the living room. Ireallyneed to fix those hinges.
“Katie’s here!” Rory says, jumping up. “Happy Hogmanay.”
