Mike rubs his forehead and squints at me. "Scotland? And you've already said yes?"

At the doorway, Sandy crosses her arms over her ample bosom. All our clients are gone for the day, and I finally sucked up the nerve to tell them I'm moving abroad for a year...maybe more. Angus, my Scottish exchange partner, is open to whatever arrangements we can make with VISAs and work permits.

We've traded several tentative, searching emails, but we haven't spoken on the phone. Telling Mike and Sandy removes my last opt-out. If they're okay with the change, then I'll be going to Scotland in just over three weeks. Angus is waiting for my call after the conversation to confirm we're moving ahead. My stomach flutters, and I'm not sure if it's from excitement or anxiety. Any time I let myself question whether I'm making the right decision I want to throw up.

"What about Pixie?" Sandy asks, the puppy sprawled in the hall outside Mike's office.

I purse my lips and glance in her direction. "I was hoping you might be open to taking over her training? She's with you most of the day when I'm working, and you've had her a couple nights when I've been away."

She bites her cheek. "Ciro won't mind?"

"He'll be grateful for the help."

She searches my face for a beat. "Are you doing this because things haven't worked out with Fucking Simon?"

I should never have given him that nickname. While the guy is a dick, I'm not sure he deserves quite the diatribe the capital F word denotes. "I applied a while ago." Had Simon been the motivation even then? Yes. How does that make me look? Like I'm running away. There is definitely some running, but it's toward a better future. I'm not running from Simon or his half-truths. This exchange is a positive out of a whole lot of negative. "I've always wanted to work and travel. Angus and his vet practice give me a great opportunity to do both."

"You'll be gone a year?" Mike chimes in, a frown still marring his forehead.

"That's the initial plan, yeah. Angus has said he's open to eighteen months or two years if we can make the legal aspects line up, and we're both happy."

Mike rubs his jaw. "Well, I'll miss you. As long as your half of the building's rent is being covered, it's really your practice that's at risk, your clients. Have you spoken to him? What's he like?"

"We've emailed back and forth the last few days. He's in northern Scotland. Owns a farm. His vet clinic is attached. Getting close to retirement."

"So, you'd be running a farm, too?" Mike's frown deepens. "Does he know you're in the middle of a city?"

"More like the outskirts of Grand Rapids. But yeah, he knows where I'm located. My house is small and all that."

"If this is what you want and what you think is good for you, we'll welcome him with open arms." Mike rises from his desk chair and grabs his keys. "Three weeks, you said?"

"Yeah. I'll email all my clients tomorrow."

"I'll post a note on the front desk," Sandy offers.

"I hope your talk with him goes well." Mike ducks out of the office without another word, and Sandy follows me back to my half of the building.

"You're sure you're okay with taking Pixie?" I ask, though my options if she says no are extremely limited. My mom would probably take her, but my mother isn't much of a dog trainer. She wouldn't be the partner Ciro was looking for when he approached me.

"Yeah. She's a great dog, and she'll be a wonderful pet for someone. I'm more worried about you. This all feels very sudden. I mean...a few days ago you had stars in your eyes over Simon."

"A lot can change when an offer like this comes along. It's a great opportunity. I'd be a fool to turn it down." Or to take it. The jury is still out. Decisive action is needed right now. If I let myself sink into my feelings, I'll curl into Simon and pretend he didn't betray my trust, didn't try to manipulate me into a relationship under false pretenses. "I have to call Angus, actually, to give him the good news. So, as long as you're okay with taking Pixie, I should get on the phone and hammer out the details."

She gives me a pensive look.

"Change is good," I say with a smile.

"Change is good as long as it's for the right reasons. Change for the sake of change can be foolish." She shrugs and narrows her eyes. "You wanted this even before Simon?"

"Yes." The confirmation comes out with more conviction than I feel. Once I talk to Angus, my lingering anxiety will fade.

"All right," Sandys says, hanging onto the doorway for a beat. "I guess I figured you'd have traveled and done all this before establishing yourself."

"This is a good opportunity. Lots of people pursue exchanges later in life. I love traveling. I love my work. Why not combine the two?"

Sandy holds up her hands. "I'm not denying the logic, just the motivation."

"My motivation is fine," I snap and then let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm sorry." My hair falls around my face like a curtain, and I tuck it behind my ears. "I need to call Angus before I go home."

"I'll leave you be," Sandy says, but I can tell from the way she leaves the doorway of my office that she's pissed at me. Rightfully, probably. I'll have to bring her some cookies tomorrow and another apology for my shitty attitude.

I shut my office door and sink into my desk chair, tapping a pen against the surface. Make the call, Tayla. On my phone, I locate the number and then use the office extension to dial Angus's number.

He answers with a thick Scottish brogue, and I question whether a phone chat is the best option. We go through the logistics of the exchange, details of our veterinary practices, cars, homes, and anything else we can remember to touch upon.

"You're coming alone?" he asks, his voice tentative for the first time. "The farm's a lot of work for a young lass."

I chuckle. "I'm not afraid of hard work. You said your neighbors are helpful?"

"Yeah, but far." He takes a deep breath. "My wife always reckoned the isolation was the toughest bit."

"Is she coming with you here?" I wrack my brain to remember him mentioning a wife in any of his emails.

"She died almost a year ago. I reckon I need a change." His breath releases in a whoosh. "Too many days I wish I could rewind time and do it all over again, even the hard bits."

My mind strays to Simon, and I shake my head. I won't be doing any 'bits' over again with him. We're done. "I'm sorry to hear about your wife."

"Twas a privilege to love her. Not everyone gets a partner they love even more at the end than they did at the beginning."

Again, my mind shifts to Simon, to how great the last two weeks were, to how it felt even better the second time around. Until it didn't. 

God, why can't I stop thinking about him? 

The hurt look on his face when I went to see him yesterday after my last client surfaces. When he emerged out of the ER wing to see me, my heart skipped a beat, and my body lit with desire. Seems wrong to hate someone and want to rip their clothes off. I close my eyes and rub my forehead. In a couple hours, Simon will be sitting on my couch putting all my willpower to the test.

I really need to get out of this city. Start over. Bury him under an avalanche of new experiences.

"Are there any single men in the local village?"

Angus chuckles. "You in the market for a soulmate?"

My cheeks flash hot and cold. Apparently, the word soulmate has become a trigger and not in a good way. He's probably picturing me as someone desperate for a man. "Oh." I give a nervous laugh. "Nope. Forget I said anything."

"I reckon you won't have any trouble gettin' some interest from the lads."

"So, does this situation work for you then?" I ask, eager to change the subject. Why had I asked him about other men? So ridiculous.

"Aye. And you? You'll be all right with the cattle, sheep, chickens, and dogs? I can send you more pictures."

"None of that puts me off." In fact, it's the part I'm excited about. Being part of a real, working farm will add another layer of adventure.

"You reckon you'd be happy here?" he prods.

"As happy as anywhere," I confirm. "Let's move ahead." Here's hoping some of those Scottish lads can banish any thoughts of a Michigan man who stole my heart and refuses to let me have it back. 

Author's Note:

As is typical for me, I'm already thinking about the next book I want to write. I have two ideas. Vote for whichever one you like best. I'll probably write both, but I might only start posting one. So...tell me your preference.

1. Sports Romance (think The Last Dance, the Michael Jordan documentary, if you've seen it...with my own twist on the player returning to play for one last season after some tragic circumstances held him down, friends-to-lovers, slow burn vibe) This story is likely more drama-focused. Immanuel and Natasha are the leads.

2. A royal doozy (literally a royal romance...childhood friends, turned not-so-friendly, to...something else ;) ). This story is likely more light-hearted. Nicholas and Julia are the leads.

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