Christmas at the Scottish Lodge

Prologue

MAIRI

‘I’m so happy, but I’m worried about what my brother will say,’ Mairi whispered to Jed as they stood outside The White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, staring at the entrance.

‘He’ll come around,’ Jed promised, squeezing her hand. ‘This isn’t like your first marriage; we’ll prove that to him. Besides, Quinn and I have been best friends since we were teenagers. He knows I’ve always had feelings for you.’

‘I wish he was here now,’ Mairi said wistfully. Her brother was the only family she had – marrying Jed without him here felt wrong, but she didn’t want to wait. It felt like her whole life had been leading to this moment and she didn’t want anything to stop it.

‘He’ll know in five days,’ Jed said softly, reading her mind. ‘After I’ve competed in the ski championships, we’ll fly to Scotland together and I’ll tell my aunt too.’

‘Aye, I know.’ Mairi turned so she could gaze into Jed’s blue eyes, taking in his strong jawline and generous lips, wanting to pinch herself.

She still couldn’t believe she was about to marry the love of her life.

Her stomach fluttered. Quinn would come around.

He had to. He’d see how happy Jed made her; how perfect they were for each other.

‘You look gorgeous,’ Jed said gruffly and Mairi glanced down at the lacy white wedding gown she’d hired less than an hour ago. She’d bought the glittering golden shoes today – she wriggled one of them, revelling in the sparkles they threw across Jed’s navy-blue suit.

‘So do you,’ she croaked, before going onto her tiptoes so she could press her mouth to his, feeling her insides tailspin when he looped an arm around her waist and deepened the kiss.

An Elvis song began to play inside the chapel and Jed reluctantly let her go. ‘We should head in.’ He sounded excited and he grabbed her hand again. ‘I’m sorry I haven’t got you a ring, there wasn’t time. But I’ll buy one soon.’

She nodded. ‘We’ll have a party to celebrate our marriage – and everyone will come.’

The door suddenly swung open, and a man dressed in a sparkly purple Elvis suit grinned at them. Then Mairi took the first step towards her perfect new life. All the planets in the universe were aligning and she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Suddenly nothing else mattered.

Because whatever happened from this moment onwards, Mairi knew Jed would be by her side and nothing and no one was ever going to change that…