Sparks in Scotland (2 page)

As the sun began to sink into the horizon, we made our way back to our hotel. My eyes were gritty and I was a bit sluggish. Mom was walking slower too, and even Dad's enthusiasm was starting to fade. Fatigue definitely hit us hard after that big meal.

Still, I wasn't quite ready to go to sleep yet. When we got inside, I begged to explore the hotel a bit. Mom and Dad reluctantly agreed. I grabbed a room key and took off before they could change their mind.

The building was old, and all its little details mesmerized me as I walked up and down the halls, trailing my fingers along the walls. Spindly metal wall sconces glowed with golden lamplight. Ornate wallpaper covered the halls in subtle patterns I could feel under my fingertips, and the carpeted halls were worn but soft. I was tempted to kick off my shoes and dig my toes in the plush brown nap.

There were a few modern, updated rooms in the hotel's first floor as well, for business conferences, I assumed, bearing massive slabs of tables and sleek chairs. The dining hall was a large,
blue-carpeted room with dark wooden tables in intimate clusters and small candles in the center of each smooth surface. The space invited people to come in and linger for a while. I needed to ask Mom and Dad if we could eat there tomorrow. Even though I was full, the rich scents of cooking food from the nearby kitchen tempted me to eat more.

When I got back to the lobby, I noticed a group of guys standing together. There was a mix of accents tangling—Irish, English, even German. One English guy had a shock of blond hair and stood a good foot taller than the rest. Super handsome. It was so tempting to take a quick picture to send to Corinne, but I didn't want to look too obvious. I made a mental note to tell her about it.

I headed upstairs, tiptoed into the room—my folks were already asleep—got ready for bed, then conked out almost before my head hit the pillow.

Chapter
Two

S
aturday morning I slowly woke
from a much-needed deep sleep. As I blinked the drowsiness out of my eyes and looked around the room, for a moment I wasn't sure where I was. Then I remembered. We were in Scotland, and it was our first full day of vacation. A giddy smile swept over my face, and I hopped out of bed.

Mom groaned and shoved the pillow over her face from her bed. “So. Early,” she mumbled.

I chuckled. She never was much of a morning person, but I'd gotten a full night's sleep, and I was ready to explore Edinburgh. “You'll feel better once you get coffee in your system,” I told her.

“Your father already went downstairs to get me some,” she said with a sleepy smile. “I love that man.”

Dad's laptop was open and ready with the messenger box
active—I'd asked him yesterday if I could use the computer to talk to Corinne this morning—so I fired off a quick message to Corinne just to say hi, along with a picture I'd taken of High Street yesterday. Then I hopped in the shower and got dressed. My skinny jeans made me feel confident, and I paired them with a bright red long-sleeved shirt.

I took a few extra minutes to do my hair and makeup before I proclaimed myself ready. By then, Dad had returned and Mom had begun her waking-up process. It was so hard not to nudge them to move faster; I was eager to get going.

An hour later we had grabbed a quick breakfast and were finally walking down the Royal Mile, a stretch of street that ran between the queen's palace and Edinburgh Castle. The morning sky was patchy with clouds, and the air was fairly brisk, but people seemed in good spirits as they wandered up and down the sidewalks. The storefronts along the Royal Mile beckoned me with souvenirs, tempting smells, eye-catching tartans.

What would it be like to live here? They had to get visitors from all over the world. It would be so fun to have a small art ­gallery along this street. I could put up my art and Corinne's, and—

“—tour the castle with Mollie and Graham,” Mom was saying, “and your father will hit the National Archives with Steaphan. Sound good?”

I nodded my agreement. Whoops. I needed to pay better attention instead of letting my mind wander.

We reached the outskirts of the castle and stood off to the
side while small tourist groups filtered in, headed by enthusiastic tour guides wearing tartan-patterned vests and pants. Excitement buzzed in my veins; I was so ready to get started poking around the castle. Part of me was also a little nervous about meeting ­Mollie and her family. Okay, about meeting Graham.

“Oh, there she is!” Mom said as she gave a hearty wave over her head.

I watched a black-haired woman my mom's age make her way toward us, her hand threaded through a tall and slender man's fingers. To her other side was a guy—I assumed it was her son. My immediate reaction was to suck in a rapid shock of air.

Graham was attractive.

Really
attractive.

Wow. Mom hadn't been kidding. The guy's dark hair was clipped close, but was wavy enough that it wouldn't lie totally flat. His eyes were shocking blue and flashed brightly in the glints of sunlight peeking through the clouds. He was tall like his father, lean, and his hands were tucked casually in his jacket pockets. His jacket was black, which made his black hair and blue eyes even more noticeable.

When the family neared us, I swallowed and crossed my arms over my chest. Then dropped my hands and propped one on my hip. Then dropped that hand too. Good grief, I felt awkward and dorky compared to his effortless movements.

His mom beamed at my mom, then rushed over to give her a hug. “Oh my God!” the woman said in a bubbly tone as they
squeezed each other. “I missed you so much! I can't believe you're here. I feel like I've been waiting forever for this.” When she pulled back, there were tears in her eyes.

I couldn't help but smile at the warmth between the two women. My mom's eyes glistened with tears too, and she gushed to Mollie about how beautiful Scotland was and what our trip here had been like.

Dad stuck out his hand to Steaphan, and the two men introduced themselves. Then Steaphan introduced himself to me and waved Graham over.

“Good mornin'!” Steaphan said to me with a hearty smile. “Nice to meet ya! This here's my son, Graham.”

My pulse thudded in my veins as I shook Graham's hand, which was warm and firm and so inviting. “Hi,” I said.

He gave me a curt nod, then stepped away.

My stomach lurched at his abrupt response, but I made myself smile wider to cover my feelings. Okay then. Obviously Graham didn't want to be forced to hang out with me today. No biggie—I'd make sure to stay with our moms then. He could walk around by himself.

I shook off my frustration and turned to my mom. “Ready to go inside?” I asked her in a chipper voice. No way was I going to let this guy get to me.

She gave my dad a kiss on the cheek. “You men behave.”

Dad shook his head as he chuckled, while Steaphan winked. Obviously the two would get along fine. They walked away, and
our group of four strolled to the ticket line. Mom and Mollie were talking so fast it was almost dizzying. When was the last time I'd seen her this happy?

It made my heart feel a pang for Corinne. This was a country to be shared with someone you cared about. Not a stranger who didn't seem to think me worthy of even polite conversation. Corinne would have had something blunt to say about his attitude. That thought gave me a smile.

The stone walls everywhere were stunning. I took in the old buildings around us, the cobblestones on the ground. I snapped a shot of the castle grounds with my phone—I wasn't allowed to use it to send pictures, but I could upload them later and send in a chat.

“So, where to first?” Mom asked Mollie.

She shrugged, then turned to me. “What do you fancy looking at?”

I smiled. Her voice held a trace of Scottish accent and slang, even though she'd been an American for the first half of her life. “What if we just wander around and go into buildings as we get to them?”

Mom nodded, then threaded her arm through Mollie's, and they walked a few steps ahead of us. Graham fell into pace at my side, maintaining a polite distance between us. His body language was stiff, which made me feel awkward as well. Did he dislike all Americans, or was it just me?

We made our way into the heart of the castle grounds and looked at the exterior of the Governor's House, then popped into the National War Museum of Scotland.

“This place must be super old,” I murmured to myself while I walked. There was a tour guide nearby talking with a small group, so I listened in as the guide pointed out the uniforms and weapons displayed and gave historical background on the battles they'd been used in.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Graham walking along, examining each piece with studious care. The light in the building glinted in his dark hair. He really was attractive. Too bad he wasn't friendly at all.

He walked over to Mom and Mollie, and a brief but genuine smile creased his face, which made my heart stop in my chest for a moment. Wow. The gesture really transformed him from brooding and disinterested to engaging and magnetic.

Apparently it was just me he didn't want to talk to. But how could I have offended the guy before I'd even met him?

Maybe he'd gotten a negative first impression of me somehow. Had my mom told his mom something embarrassing or bad? Or was he ticked about being forced to hang out with me when he wanted to be somewhere else?

Whatever. I ripped my gaze away from them and went back to looking at the exhibits. This vacation wasn't about trying to get a guy to like me. It was about learning the ins and outs of Scotland. I wasn't going to get into that dating pattern again.

Already been there, done that, with David.

I bit back a sigh. David, my first real boyfriend, who'd captured my heart last year in an all-encompassing way. He sang with our
high school's glee club, was creative like me, and was the life of every gathering. When we'd first started talking at a friend's birthday party, I'd been so flattered by his attention. He'd given me this broad, charming smile and told me I was the prettiest girl in the room.

And I'd eaten it up, hook, line, and sinker.

Our relationship had started so well, I never would have suspected it ending the way it had—with him dumping me so unceremoniously, saying in that cold voice that he'd never really liked me the way I'd liked him.

Mom and Mollie walked over toward me, whispering back and forth about the exhibits.

“It's sad how bloody and violent Scotland's history is,” I heard Mom said quietly.

Mollie nodded. “One thing I've learned since living here is Scottish pride. Despite their war-torn past, the Scottish still believe in their country and are proud of their heritage.”

“Da's drilled that into yer head,” Graham said in a thick brogue as he moved beside his mom. He offered the two women a smile.

She laughed. “Yeah, your da isn't shy about expressing his love for his homeland.”

“Mine isn't either,” I said to her with a small chuckle. “He's always wanted to visit here. I think this trip will make him love Scotland even more, now that he has concrete evidence of our family's roots.”

Graham's gaze drifted to mine, and he blinked, like he was actually seeing me for the first time, despite our earlier introduc
tion. I stood there for a moment, our eyes locked. The guy was super intense, and despite my brain telling me I should look away, I couldn't.

From the corners of my eyes I could see Mom's smug smirk aimed in my direction, and she and Mollie walked off, their whispers fading.

My pulse thrummed in my throat as Graham took a step toward me. He stopped a couple of feet away, and I craned my head to stare up into his eyes.

His lips quirked in the corner. “Enjoyin' the artifacts?”

I nodded. I couldn't quite figure out what this guy's deal was, but at least he wasn't being a total snob now. “It's kind of dark and scary, but important.”

“Wait till ya see the palace. The rooms are splendid.”

We followed our moms through the rest of the war museum, then went back out into the fresh air. A strange tension crackled in the air between me and Graham, but it wasn't negative, like it had been earlier. Frankly, I was just glad he wasn't ignoring me anymore, if only because I didn't want to spend any more time today crabby and stressed about it.

I was pretty sure Mom and Mollie had been talking nonstop. When their giggles wafted back to us as we strolled past the Governor's House through Foog's Gate, Graham and I exchanged bemused smiles.

Weird parents—seemed like they could unite just about ­anyone.

He cleared his throat, and even in the dimmer light I could see his cheeks flush a dark pink. “Erm. Sorry 'bout earlier, Ava. Had a bit of a bad mornin'. Didn't mean to take it out on ya—wasn't fair of me.”

Well, that was unexpected. I nodded as a slight weight lifted off my chest. “Thanks. I understand. Plus, I'm sure you had other things you wanted to do on your Saturday instead of spending it with your mom's American friends.” Being forced into a social situation by parents was likely to make any teen frustrated and crabby.

“Nah, that wasn't it.” An emotion flashed in his eyes but left before I could decipher it. “Been a while since I've played tourist around here, yanno. This is fun, and I'm glad I came.”

I wanted to close my eyes and let the rich brogue of his voice wash over me. There was nothing quite like the sound of a Scottish guy talking. I almost laughed at myself for how ridiculous and moony-eyed I probably looked right now. I tilted my chin up and eyed him. “I haven't done a lot of tourist things in Cleveland, either,” I admitted. “Somehow I just run out of time.”

“Cleveland. Yer in Ohio, right?”

I nodded. “Lived there my whole life.”

We headed to the terrace in front of St. Margaret's Chapel and turned to face the panoramic view of Edinburgh. I rested my hand on my chest and just stared in awe. Incredible. The hills rolled on as far as the eye could see, and Edinburgh's old buildings were scattered everywhere.

“There's nothing in Cleveland that compares to this,” I proclaimed as I surveyed the city.

“Aye,” he said, and I heard the pride in his tone. “She's a beautiful city.” He looked down at me, and a breeze ruffled the tips of his hair. His eyes glowed a brilliant pale blue, and his face held a hint of a smile.

Oh wow. My heart almost stopped in my chest. There was something about Graham even beyond his attractiveness that made a girl want to fall into his eyes. He was intense, magnetic. My stomach squeezed in warning, and I swallowed and gave him a shaky smile in response.

Maybe spending the day with Graham wasn't going to be so bad after all.