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He looks up, puts down a spanner, then rises to his feet. He’s tall—exceptionally so—and his icy-blue eyes match his generally frosty demeanour.

“Iona. Hi. How can I help?” His voice is low. Gruff.

“Do you, by any chance, have a clue for me?”

His brow furrows, a shadow of confusion passing over his face.

“Iona!” a voice calls from behind me. “Over here!”

I look around to see Johnny, Robbie’s brother, waving as he comes down the steps of the resort’s main entrance. Johnny is, in many ways, the polar opposite of Robbie—approachable, sweet, smiley, occasionally a little shy. With Johnny is his boyfriend, David, who’s dressed—as always—in bright colours, today a vibrant orange coat. David is carrying Callie, his gorgeous wee niece, who also happens to be my gorgeous wee niece. Behind him are his sister, Grace, and my brother, Aidan.

“Sorry!” Johnny calls as the group makes their way over. “Lewis asked us to wait inside, at the spot you met him when you went for dinner together. It was Grace who noticed you out here chatting with Robbie.”

I glance over my shoulder and flash Robbie an apologetic smile. “Sorry, wrong MacDonald!”

I head over to meet the others and give everyone a hug, except for Callie, who I give special treatment. I squeeze her hands and kiss both of her adorably chubby cheeks.

“You’ve almost reached the end, Iona,” Grace says.

“Aye. This is your last clue, sis.” Aidan passes me a purple heart then wraps an arm around Grace and draws her closer to him. Before meeting Grace, Aidan was something of a player, but now he only has eyes for her.

Where laughter rang and memories grew,

Seek the spot where home feels true.

“Have you figured it out?” David asks eagerly. “And by the way, it is so romantic that Lewis organised this for you. I would love it if someone planned something like this for me.”

Johnny, standing right next to him, rolls his eyes good-naturedly.

“It’s the Bannock Hotel, isn’t it?” I guess.

That place is the setting for so many happy memories, of joint dinners between the Stewarts and the McIntyres, of party games and laughter. Growing up, it always felt like a second home. I was as comfortable there as I was in my actual home across the street.

“Well done.” Smiling, Grace gently touches my arm. “You figured it out.”

“So . . .” I think this through. “Lewis kicked this whole thing off by pretending the shower in his room was broken and sending me over to Maw’s. I’ve spent the last hour driving around Bannock and the surrounding area, and now I’m heading back to the hotel, which is where I started?”

Aidan winks. “Well, he had to get you out of there and keep you busy so he could get things organised, didn’t he?”

Ah, I get it now. There’s a surprise waiting for me back at the hotel.

Aidan collects Callie from David then says, “Anyway, we’re going to go to our cars now. Could you give us a few minutes’ head start? We want to get there before you do.”

I wave them off, wait a couple of minutes, then get in my car and drive to the hotel.

At reception, Emily beams at from me behind the desk then comes out and gives me a hug. “You found your way back here!”

“Aye. I’m starting to feel a little nervous. I’ve no idea what’s about to happen.”

Emily squeezes my shoulder. “I think you’re going to like it.”

Ally emerges from the office, gently bouncing Ru and blowing raspberry sounds to make him giggle. I wrap an arm around him in greeting then kiss Ru’s forehead.

“Auntie Iona is hunting for treasure,” Ally says to Ru. “Just like a pirate. Arrr!” He does his best Long John Silver impression.

Of course, I’m not really Ru’s aunt—“auntie” is just a term of endearment since our families are so close. Growing up, I referred to Mairi as Auntie Mairi and Angus as Uncle Angus. But I suppose, if Lewis and I ever were to marry . . . well, I’d become Ru’s aunt for real.

“Are you ready?” Emily asks me.