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Massive stone slabs crushed together to form an imposing horizon. Behind us lay rugged slopes leading down to a loch, and beyond that, the Sound of Raasay, shining in the morning sun.
I sparked like a live wire, thrilled I’d finally made it.
Bea and Rupert trundled along, hardly looking around as they chatted away. Carlos and Harlow raced up, engaged in a friendly, if slightly dangerous, competition to the top. Spencer stayed in his own world, trudging up the hillside as if the clouds had come out just for him. Lewis and Arnav seemed long used to Skye, and while they remained as friendly and enthusiastic as ever, they’d seen it all several times over.
Only Duncan seemed to see the same views I did. His gaze held the same reverence and awe that filled my heart as we looked across the isle. He was right there with me, reveling in the gleam of the lochs, the smell of the winds carrying over the hillside, the tumultuous sky that went on forever. I didn’t need to try to imagine him in some long-ago time—he belonged here, now.
I took a few pictures and then stood and tried to burn these images into my memory so I could take them home to cherish. Duncan stood at my side while I gazed out at the deep green lake shining so bright beneath the sun I could hardly stand it.
“You’re crying again.” His low voice wrapped me up in a gentle hug. “No one’s died here.” He paused, looking around. “I take that back. People have most certainly died here.”
I laughed, wiping the tears from my cheeks. “It’s this place.” I gestured as though I could take in the whole of the view, the moment, the history all at once. “It’s just…”
Magical? Beautiful? Home?
“Come here.”
He opened his arms, and I tucked myself against him like I belonged there, letting him shelter me from the buffeting wind. I shut my eyes, and for just a moment, it was magical. Beautiful. Home. I pressed my cheek against his shoulder, inhaling his delicious scent, lost in the soothing sound of his breathing.
For as much as this man thrilled me, he brought me peace, too. I didn’t have to keep scrambling for security. I could finally relax and just be.
He pulled back and ducked his head to examine me, seeking confirmation of something. The wind whipping down the glen sent my hair swirling in the air like a tangible version of the electricity that crackled between us. The smile we shared felt significant, as though we’d decided something profound with just a look.
Did that really happen outside of romance novels and Bea’s university train ride? Whatever it was, I wanted to run with this surety and trust in it instead of examining it for flaws until it faded away.
“Everything okay down there?” Bea’s voice carried to us on the wind.
“We’re all fine here,” Duncan called back without breaking eye contact with me.
“She’s so helpful,” I said softly.
His mouth quirked. “Always looking out for you.”
We continued up the pathway together, which must have satisfied Bea, who returned her attention to her own footsteps. Hopefully soon, she would get far enough ahead she wouldn’t feel the need to turn around every five minutes to see what the stragglers were up to.
“It’s unspeakably beautiful out here.” I went back to the conversation I’d been trying to have with Duncan before it had dissolved into smoldering stares and longing silence. “It gets to me.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. I’ve been overwhelmed a time or two this week, myself.”
The cheeky look he shot my way lit my chest with sparklers like a Fourth of July celebration.Hard same.
Had I ever hadthisbefore? I wouldn’t have described my love life as boring—although Jill would have gladly called it worse—but I’d never known anything like this rush of excitement, this eagerness to know everything about someone. I couldn’t be sure it wouldn’t all burn up in a moment like flash paper, but I wanted to enjoy the flame while it lasted.
Distance had made the craggy rock outcroppings look almost small from the car park, but as we drew closer, they towered even higher above. The hillside grew rockier, and the wind chilled my exposed skin. I slipped on my rain jacket to keep the cold from seeping through my fleece and pulled my wool hat on. The path stayed a struggle to the last, and my legs burned with the effort, but nothing could have convinced me to turn back.
We reached a small section of trail where a dozen other hikers had stopped to look behind and snap photographs. Once I made sure of my footing on the sloped path, I turned, too. The sight obliterated my breath, pushing out every other thought as it demanded my full attention.
This was it. The view in the photo that had led me here. The Old Man of Storr, a rock crag standing apart from the cliffside, with the sound in the background and rugged peaks on the horizon.Isle of Skye, Inner Hebrides.
I wanted to sear this view into my memory, breathe it in and store it in my lungs. I wanted to swallow it whole and carry it around with me forever. I pulled out the camera and took photos but slipped it away again. Shaken by the wind, I hugged myself and tried to simply live in the moment. Be fully present. Experience the now.
Bea and Rupert perched together on a low rock, Carlos and Harlow shared a quiet conversation, and even Spencer seemed struck by the sight as he gazed into the distance.
Duncan came up behind me, resting his hands on my shoulders. I leaned against his chest, and he wrapped his arms tight around me. His warmth soaked through my skin down to my bones. Nowthiswas a moment I could live in.
“Is it everything you’d hoped?” he murmured in my ear.
This view, this trip, these experiences—my answer was the same.
