"OKAY, SO WHERE EXACTLY are we heading?"

After leaving campus nearly two hours ago, I've now just seen a sign for Loch Ness, which is still over an hour away. I was really starting to wonder where we were going.

"You really hate surprises, don't you," he chuckles, moving his hand to my knee as he expertly overtakes a caravan in the middle lane. "I can tell you in a few minutes, once we get past the Cairngorms." He pats my knee once before putting it back on the steering wheel.

When we get to the Cairngorms, the views around each corner were second to none. The higher mountains are still covered in snow at their peaks, making it look like something out of a fantasy novel. The forests we drive through have trees lining the road, standing tall, sheltering all kinds of Scottish wildlife. I have my nose practically squashed against the glass as we drive along, and neither Jamie nor I say a thing until we get to Inverness to stop for petrol.

Jamie sorts it whilst I tap a text to Nelly, saying I still had no idea where we were going. When Jamie returns, he has a coffee for each of us and I raise my eyebrows.

"How much further have we got now?" I laugh.

"Not much further, I promise. I'm just starting to flag after last night."

"Did you want me to drive?" I ask, but he shakes his head, starting the engine again.

As we head out of Inverness, towards signs for The Highlands and over the bridge, I finally understand why he wanted to drive.

He laughs as I detach myself from the window and open it, practically hanging out of it to get a video of how stunning the view is. The afternoon sun is reflecting off the still water of the Firth, and the mountains feel like they're calling out to me as I breathe in their fresh air. I let the wind ruffle my loose hair for a few minutes before it gets a bit too cold, and as I close my window, I'm laughing.

"I don't remember it being so beautiful when we came last time," I say. I turn back to him for a second but turn directly back, not wanting to miss any of the view.

"It was dark last time, and you were asleep I think."

"You still should have woken me," I poke him.

He shrugs. "There isn't much to see when it's dark. But this is one of my favourite views in the whole world."

He opens his window and sighs, sticking his arm out for a few seconds before putting his hand back on the wheel. "I know I'm nearly home when I cross this bridge."

"Seeing it now, I'm not surprised. You know I nearly applied up here?" I tell him as he closes his window.

"Really?" His eyebrows raise. "You never told me that."

"Yeah, they have a surprisingly good English programme here. But it ended up being too far away from family, and I would have been felt really isolated. After what happened, I'm glad I chose Edinburgh... I don't know what I would have done-" I stop myself before my thoughts spiral too far downwards. "Three hours extra drive on top of the eight it already takes from Edinburgh to home..."

"You'd have flown, surely?" He asks, turning left at the bridge rather than right, towards where he lives.

"Probably." I sigh as I look back behind us. "Ugh, it's so pretty up here, Jamie. Do we have to go back to London?"

He chuckles at my pouting expression. "But London is home. And we have jobs lined up."

"You do, I don't!"

He chuckles again. "Well, we can move back up here when we're old and grey. How's that?"

I smile as my cheeks redden at the mention of our future. Given how he reacted last time, I haven't really said much more about it, but hearing him say it makes me smile. He seems to have noticed as a blush creeps into his cheeks and down his neck. When his ears go red, I lean over and kiss his cheek.

"I'll hold you to that, you know."

"Oh, I know you will."

I grin as I sit back, now noticing we had slowed down as we pass through a familiar-looking small town.

"Have we been here before?" I ask.

"I was hoping you might remember," he smiles. "We came here on the way back from New Year, after you spent Christmas with me that first year we got together. Although..." he laughs, "you may not remember given how much whiskey you drink."

I groan as it all comes flooding back. "Oh god."

"All coming back?" he asks.

I cover my eyes. "Yes. Unfortunately." The flashbacks include a sudden acidic taste at the back of my throat. "But what I do remember of that trip was amazing." I grin before swatting his arm. "I just wish you hadn't pumped me so full of whiskey!"

"Excuse me, Tess I believe you pumped that whiskey all by yourself." He pokes at me and I flinch sideways.

"I just hope they don't remember who I am. I still feel awful about it."

I had ended up throwing up all over the bed in our room, which is so much harder to clean up than the bathroom. I didn't even have that much to drink... and I'm still blaming it on an adverse reaction to the food we'd had a few hours before. A bad stomach mixed with too many whiskeys is never a good combination... even at the best of times.

"They won't. Besides, we're not staying at the same place anyway," he says, just as we pull up to the gate of a castle-like estate.

We definitely hadn't come to this bit.

The breath leaves my body as we get past the first line of trees, revealing a beautiful, white castle, surrounded by a large meadow, vibrant gardens with blooming flowers, in all shapes and sizes. Built into the side of a beautiful mountain, next to the Firth, I was sure we had lucked upon a garden of paradise.

"You like what you see?" Jamie asks as he pulls into the car park at the front.

"I really do," I whisper.

It was so beautiful here, I didn't even have any words to describe it. Everything about it was inviting me to explore it, and I couldn't wait.

"You coming?"

I look up and realise I'm still sat in the car with my seatbelt on whilst Jamie is at the door. Unbuckling, I scramble out of the seat and after him up the steps before he gestures me inside.

We're greeted by a huge entrance hallway, which is half-decorated with red rose carnations, and the smell is unbelievable. Taking a long, deep breath through my nose, I know my smile is ear to ear as we make our way towards an equally-smiley receptionist.

"Hi there guys," he greets us. "How are you today?"

"We're good thanks," Jamie answers. "We have a reservation under the name of McGregor. He says it so bluntly that I elbow him. "Thanks," he adds, but I still give the receptionist an apologetic smile.

He checks the computer, and after a few seconds, he nods as he finds our reservation.

"Okay, so you guys are here for three nights, is that right?"

I look up at Jamie and he winks at me. He'd only said one night, but three nights in this place feels like heaven.

"Yep, that's right."

"Great. And am I right in thinking you've stayed with us before?" He asks.

"I have. This one hasn't," Jamie answers, pointing to me.

"Great." He clicks another couple of buttons before looking at us again. "Unfortunately we have a wedding here the next two nights, which means the restaurant will be closed to other guests, so we apologise for the inconvenience."

Jamie's face falls but the receptionist continues.

"Would you like to book the restaurant for your third night?"

Jamie looks at me but nods with a wide smile. "Yes please. Do you still do those venison steaks?"

"We sure do, along with the chocolate souffle. Although I do recommend ordering the souffle ahead, as it takes about fifteen minutes." Jamie nods as he clicks another few buttons. "So that's you all booked in for Sunday night."

"Great, thanks mate."

He flurries about the desk for a few minutes, gathering a few forms which he puts in front of Jamie before handing us a very elegant-looking key with a tartan keychain.

"So you are in one of our exclusive cabins. You're one of the only guests here not for the wedding party, so we've put you as far away from the noise as we can, but we do apologise in advance if you hear any noise." He gets a map out from underneath the counter and marks and X where we are. "So we are here, at the main house, but if you drive down this road, you get to the cabins. There is a parking space outside your cabin so there will be no issues with parking."

"Great."

"No problem at all. Is there anything else you need?" he asks.

Jamie starts shaking his head but then he must remember something. "Yeah, actually. Is your farm shop here still open?"

"It sure is." He leans forward and circles another building. "It closes at six, and you can either pay as you go, or add the groceries to your room bill at the end. In fact..." He bends down again and hands Jamie an envelope. "Here is a £50 voucher for the inconvenience of the restaurant being closed."

"Aww, thank you so much," I say, genuinely touched by how much it is.

He smiles. "We hope you enjoy your stay here with us at Achnagairn Estates, and if there's anything else you need, just let us know."

Walking out arm in arm, Jamie says, "You're okay with a cabin-cooked dinner tonight right? If not we can go into town or something?"

"Yeah that sounds great. More than happy with just bread and jam if it means avoiding hundreds of drunk Scotsmen." He chuckles as I continue. "I'd rather have dinner alone with my favourite Scotsman right here."

He puts his arm around me and kisses the side of my head.

***

FOLLOWING THE INSTRUCTIONS, WE find our cabin very easily.

It's small and rustic, surrounded by trees on two sides and is the last in a line of ten identical cabins, although ours was slightly more tucked away. Inside, it was all rooms in one. The bed at one end has a tartan bedspread, and then there is a small living room with a small TV with a kitchen up the other end of the cabin. Outside there is a barbecue, and as we explore the cupboards, we find it's very well stocked with all sorts of pans for any kind of dinner. From what I've seen Jamie do with a set-up campfire on holiday last year, I know it wouldn't scare him out of the kitchen.

"Did you want to come with me to the shop?" Jamie asks. "Or did you want to settle us in?" He puts both of our suitcases on the end of the bed and turns around, crossing his arms.

"I'll come with. Are you doing dinner tonight? And then we can do the works for breakfast tomorrow? I just want to find that bread again," I giggle.

"Works for me. Steaks for dinner tonight?" He asks and I grin as I tuck myself under his arm. "Come on, let's head out before it all closes as we have to go hungry."

After shutting the door, he leads me down a path to the left, towards a hut in the distance. Looking to my right as we walk, the main house is all lit up, there is a flurry of activity outside as caterers and florists rush inside and out with trays of food and flowers. There is a couple standing at the entrance, both talking to a lady with a clipboard, so I'm guessing they were the happy couple. Looking around, I couldn't imagine a better place to get married. It's so perfect, and if there was a word to describe anything better than perfect, it was this place.

"Earth to Tessa?" I hear Jamie's voice next to me and shake my head out of my daydream as I look at him.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

He chuckles. "Any thoughts for dinner tomorrow?" He asks as we reach the approach to the farm shop. We both wave to the girl on the counter on our way in, heading to the meat counter. "As we're having steaks today, and then venison on Sunday, we could do something veggie?"

"Doesn't have to be veggie. I could go full carnivore if you wanted chicken, or even that pork belly thing you do?" He nods as I mention pork belly. "We can always go into Inverness if we can't find everything here?"

"True. Okay, so beef tonight, pork tomorrow and venison on Sunday," he says as we head straight over to the meat counter.

While he instructs the butcher on various cuts, I dot around the rest of the shop with a basket, picking up nibbles, Prosecco, some honey and most importantly, the bread I remembered from last time.

It was surprisingly well stocked in here, so much so that by the time Jamie and I get to the counter, we have two baskets full of various bits and pieces. I'm about to go and put some of our duplicates but Jamie stops me, telling me we could always bring it back with us.

As I zone back into the conversation after spotting my favourite honeycomb honey, Jamie is asking the girl on the counter about the wedding, which was apparently all happening tomorrow, with all guests heading home by Sunday.

"You may even have the place to yourself by then," she adds as she scans in the honey and puts in the bag.

"Oh my gosh, really?" I say automatically. "That would be amazing."

"How long are you staying?" She asks as Jamie hands over the voucher and his credit card, not batting an eyelid over the fact the bill was over £200.

"Three nights. Heading home Monday," he answers. "Do you get many weddings here?"

I frown, wondering why he was suddenly so interested.

"Oh we get loads here, so many they kind of blur into one. I heard our manager saying the other day that we're booked solid until the end of 2023." She giggles. "She has been known to exaggerate though."

"Keeps you busy I suppose," he chuckles, picking up the heavier bag with the three Prosecco bottles.

"Yep, and I do kind of love it. It's so rustic, which is one of the reasons why I love working here."

"I can imagine. It really is beautiful here," I tell her and she beams with pride.

Jamie chuckles again before tucking me under his arm again. "Come on you. Less gawking and more walking," he jokes.

Waving to the girl as we leave, we amble slowly back to the cabin, taking the longer scenic route despite being laden down with bags.

Jamie seems to know where he's going, which makes me think he's been here before. Given his house is only about an hour or two up the road, I thought maybe they come here for dinner sometimes. Or maybe it was for another wedding. Whatever it was, I wish I could come here more often too. The grounds alone are enough to make it a dream come true to get married, and that didn't even include the grounds we were yet to explore. No doubt there are forest paths that stretch for miles, and I really wish we were here longer than three nights. I could quite happily stay here forever.

I hear a chuckle next to me again and I look up. "What?" I ask with a smile.

"You really do love it here, don't you." He taps my nose gently with his finger. "You're daydreaming again."

I grin and squeeze him tighter. "I really, really, reeeeeally do. Thank you for bringing me here."

He beams down at me before kissing my head. "We can go for a walk after dinner if you want?"

"Won't it get dark?"

He shakes his head. "It stays light up here for ages. In June it'll be light all night sometimes."

"Really?" I ask and he nods. "I bet that throws off a sleep cycle."

"Sometimes. I've stayed up and watched the sky all night like that sometimes with Grandad before. It's more noticeable up here, where there aren't any cities around for miles."

"Yep, London's too smoggy," I add.

"Also not high enough." He chuckles. "But I love it here too. My parents have taken us here for each of our eighteenth birthdays, and ever since I started driving, I keep finding myself coming back here."

"Well, I can see why."

"Yeah. As much as I want to work in the city, here is where I'm home."

He stops as we come to a gap in the trees. The view is beyond anything I've ever seen. Layer upon layer of grassland, forest and then the water, with the distant, far off lights of Inverness. There are no sounds apart from the crunch of gravel under our feet, with the occasional bird singing or the faint music from the main house. It really is heavenly.

"Only us and the birds," I whisper.

"Exactly." He looks down at me. "Here is home, and you loving it here this much has only made home feel all the more special."

I beam up at him before I stand on my tiptoes to kiss him. It really was perfect, the whole scene was. The perfect place, the perfect man, the perfect moment.

"I love you." He says it so quietly after he kisses me, resting his forehead against mine in the quietness. "I love you," he says again, a bit louder.

I smile as a tear comes to my eye. "And I love you." I kiss him once more before we start moving back to the cabin.

As it comes into view, we see a group of guests in one of the larger cabins have got their barbecue going. We get a cheers as we walk by and we stop to introduce ourselves briefly, but after five minutes we excuse ourselves back to our cabin.

"How much do you bet it won't be this quiet tomorrow when people start tumbling in after the wedding?" I laugh.

"It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. Besides, I'm sure we'll deserve it after the noises you'll be making tonight," he says.

I look at him, and when I see his dark expression, I swear I explode then and there. Biting my lip as he makes his way towards me, I gasp as he kisses me firmly, his tongue finding mine as he walks me backwards towards the bed.

Moving with soft, sensual movements, I moan loudly as he sucks at my neck, grinding himself into me, and he chuckles, his breath tickling my neck.

"See," he whispers.

Tugging his hair backwards, I turn us over and unbutton my shirt before peppering kisses lower and lower before I ellicit the same moan from him, starting off our first night here perfectly.