A Scot for All Time (A Scots Through Time #2)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

A tlanta, Georgia

Present Day

June

Everyone has something they’re really good at.

For Kate Adams, it was the ability to predict how long a couple’s relationship would last, even though she couldn’t predict the outcome of her own relationships.

Love Lasting , currently the most popular dating app in the country, went viral when during an interview, Hollywood’s hottest hunk was asked how he’d met the love of his life. The blond hottie grinned, looked straight into the camera, sending millions of women swooning, and said he couldn’t have found the woman he was head over heels in love with without Love Lasting.

Even better? The actor had fallen in love with a normal, everyday woman who ran an art gallery. Enrollment numbers exploded as people flocked to the app, hoping to meet their one true love. Talk about free advertising.

As the director of engagement, it was Kate’s job to boost enrollment numbers, weed out the bad apples, and promote the company brand across social media, utilizing influencers, targeted ads, and other various marketing strategies.

Now, though, she frowned, tapping a perfectly manicured nail against her desk, the metallic blue polish catching the afternoon sunlight streaming through her office window. The numbers didn’t lie.

She took a moment to arrange her Erin Condren planner, the pale blue linen journal from Emily Ley that was almost too pretty to write in, and her good luck pen. The pen had a crystal on the end and the barrel was decorated with flowers. A friend had sent her the Pengems pen as a gift and she’d loved the way it felt in her hand so much that she’d ordered several more. They were refillable, so she bought pretty pens for each season, switching them out along with her planner to match the seasons and her moods, even if here in Atlanta, Georgia, the change of seasons wasn’t always noticeable, other than the date on the calendar.

“Four months,” she murmured, making a note in the planner with a color-coded pen. Blue for work predictions. Green for personal observations. Red for urgent matters. “Maybe five if they take that trip to Bali they mentioned.”

A quick glance at the planner told Kate she had a mani/pedi appointment scheduled for next week, along with a massage. Her mom had given her a package of six massages for her birthday last year. A sigh escaped. All those years ago, her parents had been traveling around Europe on summer break from college, when they met in Rome at the Trevi Fountain, and three days later decided to get married. They had been married ever since and were still madly in love. No wonder she was such a skeptic. When your parents’ whirlwind romance turned into a forty-year happily ever after, it set an impossible standard. Her older sister had inherited their romantic streak, marrying a guy she’d met at a rock concert. They’d married the next day, driving from California to Vegas, and had been happily married for ten years with four kids and counting. But Kate knew better. In her line of work, she’d seen too many “perfect” relationships crumble to believe in love at first sight.

Behind her, the skyline shimmered in the oppressive heat. Even fourteen floors up, she swore she could feel the weight of the humidity pressing against the windows of Love Lasting’s headquarters. The air conditioning hummed steadily, fighting a valiant but ultimately doomed battle against the Georgia summer heat.

Kate saved her analysis and closed the file on Couple #72-B. Tiffany and Marcus. They’d seemed so happy during their interview three months ago. Holding hands, finishing each other’s sentences, planning their future with the kind of starry-eyed optimism that always made Kate’s stomach clench. She’d known then, watching Tiffany’s fingers drum nervously against her thigh whenever Marcus mentioned children. Had seen it in the way Marcus’s smile tightened when Tiffany talked about her five-year career plan.

Four months. Maybe five. And then it would be over and they’d both change their profiles back to Actively Seeking a Relationship .

A knock at her door pulled Kate from her thoughts. Darcy, the company’s perky marketing manager, leaned against the doorframe, her expression a mixture of curiosity and apprehension.

“Well?” Darcy asked, twirling a strand of black hair around her finger. “What’s the verdict on the golden couple?”

“They’ll be lucky if they make it to the Fourth of July.” She closed her planner.

Darcy’s shoulders slumped. “Damn. I was hoping we could feature them in our success story campaign. They photograph like models.”

A dramatic sigh escaped. “Are you sure? They seem so perfect together.”

“They seem perfect because they’re both terrified of being alone,” she replied, voice matter-of-fact rather than unkind.

“Marcus wants a traditional family. Stay-at-home wife, two kids, white picket fence. Tiffany’s building her own business and doesn’t want children until her late thirties, if at all.”

She shrugged. “They’re avoiding the conversation because they’re still in the honeymoon phase, but reality will hit in a couple of weeks.”

Darcy groaned. “Your gift is seriously depressing sometimes.”

Gift. Kate had heard that word used to describe her uncanny ability before. She preferred to think of it as pattern recognition, an analytical skill honed by years of studying human behavior. Nothing mystical about it. Just data points and probability.

“I prefer to think of it as realistic,” she replied, standing up and grabbing the insulated cup that was covered in a popsicle print. “Better to know now than waste years on something that’s doomed to fail.”

“Let’s grab lunch,” Darcy suggested, falling into step beside her as they headed toward the company cafe. “I’m starving.”

Her phone buzzed in her jeans pocket as they walked down the hallway. She pulled it out, smiling despite herself when she saw Angus’s name on the screen.

Arrived in Edinburgh. Miss you already.

She texted back.

Miss you bunches.

“Is that your Scottish dreamboat?” Darcy asked, peering over her shoulder while selecting a kale and walnut salad from the cafe’s cooler and grabbing a Diet Coke.

Kate busied herself filling her cup with the crushed Sonic ice she loved so much before grabbing a bottle of sparkling water.

“He’s in Scotland for business. Family distillery stuff. He’ll be back in a few weeks,” Kate replied, pouring the water in the cup and then carefully securing the lid.

“And then you’ll finally introduce him to your friends?” Darcy pressed as they made their way back to their office. “Or is he like Bigfoot, often discussed but never actually seen?”

Kate rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of discomfort beneath her annoyance. The truth was, she and Angus had been dating for nearly five months, but she’d been careful to keep their worlds separate. It wasn’t that she was hiding him, exactly. She just preferred to compartmentalize. Work Kate. Friend Kate. Girlfriend Kate. Neat, tidy boxes that didn’t overlap.

“You’ll meet him when he gets back,” she promised, knowing it was probably time. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have two more couples to analyze before the end of the day.”

Back in her office, Kate settled into her ergonomic chair and pulled up the next file. She tried to focus on the data points. Communication patterns, conflict resolution styles, value alignment scores. But her mind kept drifting to Angus. Five months was her longest relationship in ages. By all metrics, things were going well. He was smart, successful, respectful of her space and independence. The sex was good. The conversation was better.

So why couldn’t she predict where they were headed? The only bad part of her woo-woo gift, as her family called it, was that it only worked on other people, never for her own relationships.

Kate’s analytical mind, so sharp when applied to others, turned fuzzy when she tried to examine her own relationships. It was like trying to read a book held too close to her face. All she could see were blurred shapes, not the clear picture.

Her phone rang, startling her. It was Gretchen, Love Lasting’s CEO.

“Kate, do you have the latest retention numbers?” Gretchen asked without preamble. “The board meeting has been moved up to tomorrow.”

Instantly, she switched gears, pulling up the relevant files. “Sending them now. Overall retention is up 12% since we implemented the new messaging system.”

“Excellent. And the Tiffany-Marcus analysis?”

Kate hesitated, hazel eyes narrowed as she looked over the data. “Four months, maybe five. They’re fundamentally incompatible on key life goals.”

Gretchen sighed. “That’s disappointing. They’ve been great for our marketing materials.” There was a pause. “Have you ever been wrong about these predictions?”

The question hit a nerve. “Not yet,” Kate admitted. “But it’s not magic. It’s just pattern recognition.”

“Well, whatever it is, it’s making us a lot of money,” Gretchen said briskly. “The board loves your work. Keep it up.”

Her phone buzzed again.

May need to extend my trip. Bit of family business to sort out. Will keep you posted.

Family business. Kate frowned. Angus mentioned his family often, but shared few details. She knew he had a sister, parents who ran the family distillery, and various cousins scattered across Scotland. But the picture remained incomplete, like a puzzle missing its edge pieces.

On paper, Angus was the perfect guy. Considerate, good-looking, financially stable, and he put family first. His family owned some famous distillery off the coast of Scotland on the Isle of Skye. The image of the Scottish flag behind the photo of Angus on her phone reminded her of the guidebook tucked in her desk drawer. Scotland: Myths, Legends & Landscapes . She’d been reading it during lunch breaks, fascinated by the ancient stone circles and tales of enchanted glens.

Working at Love Lastinghad cemented her belief, despite her parents and sister, that true love was something only found in fairy tales or movies. Jaded and worn out from dating, Kate had decided she was going to find someone she liked to be around, a guy with similar values and beliefs. And then, like a gift from the gods, she met Angus when her car broke down next to a field of sunflowers she’d been photographing. He owned the field, offered her a ride back to the city, and they’d been dating ever since. They shared common ground, the ability to vacation together without fighting, and a penchant for politeness. Those were the things that made a lasting partnership, not red-hot passion that burned bright and cooled just as fast.

And yet...

At night, alone in her apartment, she’d curl up with action movies where cold-hearted killers risked everything for the women they loved. Where samurai warriors found purpose in protecting those they cherished. Where heroes made the ultimate sacrifice for love. She fell asleep imagining what it might feel like to be the center of someone’s world, to be loved with that kind of fierce devotion.

By the time she was ready to call it a day, Kate wanted nothing more than to curl up and watch one of her favorite action movies. Tonight she planned to watch 47 Ronin again. The movie where Keanu Reeves saved the woman he loved, but could never have, and swore he’d search for her through a thousand lifetimes. And even though that movie ended tragically, she always turned it off with a smile, wishing someone would love her as much as the hero loved the heroine.

Maybe it was time to find another job before she was so down on love that she gave up and actually considered an arranged marriage or moved to a remote cabin in the woods to count the mountain lion population.

As much as she liked Angus, enjoyed spending time with him, and knew he was perfect on paper, Kate couldn’t help but worry that her job had made her into someone who always looked for the hidden, the lies, and had made it almost impossible for her to truly trust anyone.

With her What would Dolly do? tote bag slung over her arm, she pushed her chair under the desk as her phone rang.

“Mandy. What can I do for you?”

Mandy Albertson was what Kate and her co-workers called a true believer. She’d dated almost every eligible guy within a hundred-mile radius. She and Mandy had gotten to know each other over the three years Mandy had been searching for her one true love with no success.

But that was what happened when you wanted Happily Ever After. True Love. Soulmates.

Kate let out a long breath. How many times had she told Mandy not to set the bar so high? But instead to look for Mr. Right Now? And maybe, just maybe, the guy would turn into someone she could tolerate for the next few years.

People didn’t stay married forever anymore, talk about an antiquated idea, no matter how much a small part of Kate wished it were so. They changed and moved on, finding someone new. Her parents and sister were an anomaly. When asked, her mom told Kate she just knew. The same for her sister, who said they took one look at each other and knew. Talk about outliers in the world of relationships. The constant pitying looks from her family made Kate glad that her sister lived in Colorado now, and her parents had decided to visit every state, driving around the country in a huge RV with all the amenities. It was nicer than Kate’s apartment.

“Kate? Are you listening?”

Mandy’s voice pulled her out of the swirling thoughts. The sobbing on the other end of the phone was so loud she had to hold the phone away from her ear. When it subsided, she took a breath.

“Tell me what happened? Was it Peter?”

Mandy made a squeaking noise.

“Uh, huh.” More sobbing ensued, and then the sound of Mandy blowing her nose.

“You were right. Peter dumped me for a model named Anastasia. She’s so beautiful. How can I compete with a supermodel?”

Well, she’d tried to warn Mandy, to tell her that based on Peter’s love bombing history, love of Sam Smith videos, and the fact that the best lingerie store in town knew him by name, were all red flags, that Kate had predicted they would be over within six months, but Mandy wouldn’t listen, so sure he was the one for her.

Mandy and Peter lasted five months, two weeks, and four days. The wedding, which Kate strongly advised against, was scheduled for ten days from today. At least Mandy’s parents were wealthy, so all those lost deposits wouldn’t hurt financially.

While Kate made soothing noises, she gathered up the rest of her things. Almost to the elevator, Mandy’s next words stopped her in her tracks as a young intern ran into her back.

“Oops. Sorry.” She glanced over her shoulder at … Mark? Evan? Kate couldn’t remember.

The guy shifted his messenger bag, pushed his glasses up on his nose, and with a glare, punched the button for the elevator.

“Wait. What?” Kate peered at the phone to make sure it was still Mandy talking, and not her older sister, who was much more practical when it came to matters of the heart.

The voice came through calm and steady, the tears banished.

“I’ve canceled everything, sent back all the gifts, and found my own place.” A choked laugh escaped. “Well, almost everything. I’m keeping the big honking ring as payment for what he put me through.”

“Good for you.” As much as Kate wanted to tell Mandy to leave the online world and step out into the real world, she knew the woman wasn’t ready to hear it.

“Kate. Kate, you’re not listening.”

She paused in the middle of digging through her bag for a hard candy grape Life Saver. She despised gummy candy in all forms and shapes, but the hard candy Life Savers were a bit of an addiction.

“I’m listening. Something about a trip?”

“Remember the honeymoon?”

There was a sound in the background, rather like boxes being shoved across a marble floor. Good for Mandy.

“How could I forget, you’re taking—you were going on my dream vacation.”

A little shriek sounded on the other end of the phone.

“No, silly. You’re going on my honeymoon. I traded in my two tickets for one first-class ticket to Scotland.”

The sound of Mandy clapping her hands together, something she did when excited, made Kate wince.

“It gets even better. I called your boss, crying and carrying on about how I found out Peter is a serial love bomber, and that plenty of women have complained, but thatLove Lastingdidn’t do a damn thing about him, so I was going to contact all the other women and we were going to protest in front of the building.”

Kate gasped. “I didn’t know that. I mean, I knew he was love bombing you, but I didn’t know it was part of his history. It wasn’t in his file. Why wouldn’t Ed tell me?”

She put a hand on the wall next to the elevator and wondered at something one of the IT guys had said in passing about a snippet of code for the rich guys who joined. She’d been so distracted by the hot actor news that Kate had forgotten all about it.

“I am so sorry, Mandy. If I had known, I would have permanently banned Peter from the site.”

A giggle sounded. “I might have made it up about all the women he love bombed coming to your office to protest, but based on Ed’s reaction, I’m thinking it’s true. Peter is rich, he probably donated to Ed’s favorite charity or something. Anyway, when he asked what he could do to make it up to me and to keep this whole thing between us, I told him to give you two weeks’ vacation.”

The elevator doors opened, then closed with a ping as Kate stood in the lobby, blinking, wondering if she’d fallen asleep on her feet and was dreaming.

“But, you’re leaving. You were supposed to leave in ten days. I have too much to do.”

“Not anymore.” Mandy sniffed. “You’re going. The ticket is in your name. Ed gave you the time off, so put three of your nameless interns to work and go have a blast.”

“But … what are you going to do?”

The laugh came again, high-pitched and slightly unhinged.

“I sent Anastasia a screenshot from Peter’s phone before I left him, showing her that he’s love bombing at least three other women. How on earth he finds the time, I have no idea.”

She blew her nose again.

“Don’t worry about me. I accepted a job helping to restore Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas in the Florida Keys. Go and have fun.”

Mandy hung up, still giggling, as Kate rode the elevator from the lobby down to the parking garage in a daze. It looked like she was going to Scotland on her dream vacation. Her first vacation in over three years.

Seatbelt on, she paused, finger hovering over the button to start the car. Instead of driving out of the parking garage, she grabbed her phone and pulled up the calendar app.

“It’s fate.” She shook her head. “Not that I believe in fate, but this is perfect timing.” Then she snorted, swirling her drink in her tumbler. “Please. Love is just a mix of good timing, mutual attraction, and enough stubbornness to stick it out. Fate is just an excuse people use to justify bad decisions.”

The moment the words left her mouth, the lights in the parking garage flickered—once, twice—before steadying again.

Kate froze, her grip tightening on the tumbler. A strange silence fell over the usually humming garage.

“…Okay, that was weird,” she muttered.

She shook off the feeling and returned to her plans as she drove out of the garage. Angus always teased her about not having a single spontaneous bone in her body. He wasn’t perfect, no guy was perfect, except for fictional characters. This wasn’t a fairytale, it was real life. He had flaws, but they were things she could live with, and in time maybe they’d find the happiness that came so easily to her parents.

She’d be spontaneous. Surprise him on the Isle of Skye where he had a cottage on the land his family owned. After all, one of their issues was that she was always content to let him plan their dates. He’d said he liked it when she took charge.

As of today, Kate was going to be spontaneous. She was taking charge, getting on a plane, and going to see her boyfriend. Then she would tell him that she was ready to take things to the next level.

As she made a right at the light, a strange feeling settled in her stomach. Not quite dread, not quite excitement, but something in between. For a moment, she had the inexplicable urge to call Angus, to let him know she was coming. To make sure this was a good idea. Instead, she shoved the feeling aside. Angus was going to be so happy to see her.