Juno looked around the cabin and beamed. Oh yeah, she thought to herself. I could definitely get used to this.

Step one of the triumvirate's battle plan was easy – put Juno on the next flight out of O'Hare and get her back to Scotland as soon as humanly possible.

Juno had to admit, her friends really came through in a crisis. After sketching out the plan over their pizza and beer strategy lunch, Darcy and Viv had flown into action – Viv went to her office to arrange flight plans, reservations and a car to pick Juno up at the Inverness airport; Darcy dragged Juno to Michigan Avenue to help Juno pick out some ravishing new outfits, lingerie and perfume to take to Scotland with her, as well as all the packing details.

It was like seduction boot camp, Juno thought with a small smile as she watched passengers continue to step onto the plane and find their seats.

She had to admit, the upgrade to first class was a total shock. She knew Viv must have laid out some serious frequent flyer miles to make it happen, and she said a silent prayer of thanks to her friend for letting her travel in style. Both Darcy and Viv had insisted on picking up the tab for the entire flight, but Juno had vowed that someday she would pay them back.

Okay, she might be sixty seven and drawing on Social Security at that point, but she would definitely pay them back.

She'd told her mother she was going out of town for a few days on a new 'writing assignment'. It could be true, Juno had thought to herself as she blatantly lied to her mother. She could end up writing a travel piece about the unexpected treasures to be found in the tiny towns dotting Scotland's northern coast.

You never knew.

However, Juno thought as she bit into a tiny quiche and wiped her mouth on a cloth napkin, most struggling writers don't suck down champagne and wear tiny slippers in first class when they went on assignment. Unfortunately.

Juno's cell phone rang just as the flight attendant handed her a warm, moist washcloth so that she could freshen up before the cabin door closed and they got underway. "Hello?" Juno said after she hurriedly dug her phone out of her bag and answered.

"Report." Viv said curtly, cutting to the chase.

Juno took a deep breath and smiled. "I'm on the plane now, and we're going to be taxiing in a few minutes. Viv, thank you sooo much for the upgrade to first class. I can't even…"

Viv cut off her friend's effusive thanks before she could really get going. "If you're going to look and feel fabulous, you have to travel like you're fabulous. Call us as soon as you land and keep us updated on the progress. Signing off."

"Ten four." Juno giggled as she hung up the phone, sliding it back into her bag and taking a sip of the sparkling champagne.

This was the life.

Juno only hoped the other half of the journey, the difficult part that was going to take place on the ground, would go as smoothly as the travel would.

"You look a bit nervous."

Juno turned her head and gave the man seated beside her a small smile. "Not nervous about the flight, just about the destination." She explained, shifting slightly in her seat to get more comfortable.

"Oh?" The man said, turning towards her in his own seat. "Have you ever been to Scotland?"

Juno smiled softly, thinking back to only a few weeks previous. "Once."

"And you're going back for vacation?"

Juno pondered the question for a long moment, deliberating her answer. Vacation seemed like the wrong word for this particular trip.

Mission?

Pilgrimage?

Destiny?

"Something like that." Juno said with a grin, unsure how to explain her hesitation. "Something like that."

**

Two hours later, Juno was animatedly telling Clive, her seat mate, all about her last trip to the United Kingdom. Clive, a native of Cullen, was enthralled to hear about the cruise with the girls, her being stranded on the shore by herself, and the fortunate meeting with Jamie. She'd tried to gloss over the whole 'falling head over heels in love' bit of the story, but Clive caught on almost immediately.

"So you fell for this bloke, this Jamie, then?" Clive asked, studying her intently.

"I guess I did." Juno said shyly. "It's so embarrassing when I try and explain it to someone. It sounds so stupid."

"I think it's great." Clive said with a warm grin. "Much more interesting than just meeting a bloke in a bar or bumping into each other over the celery in the grocery store."

Juno shrugged and smiled. "That's true. It's quite a story."

"You're a writer… you should capitalize and write a scorcher romance based on your whole adventure." Clive teased.

Juno raised an eyebrow and thought about it for a moment. Secretly, she loved the idea of immortalizing Jamie in the pages of a romance novel as the dashing rescuer in a tale of love and adventure. She smiled as she gently reminded herself that Jamie already had a role in her next book – he was to be firmly placed as the sidekick.

"Maybe someday." Juno relented instead. "I just wish I knew how the story ended already."

"He's going to be absolutely mad to see you." Clive said confidently, and Juno paled.

"Mad? He's going to be mad at me?" Juno asked shakily, looking to Clive for confirmation. Juno hadn't thought of that… maybe Jamie would be really pissed off to see her back in Scotland…

"Mad to see you!" Clive exclaimed, trying to explain. "Thrilled! Excited!"

Juno breathed a sigh of relief. "God, I hope so."

**

The plane had finally begun its descent into Inverness, and suddenly the tiny flutterings of excitement in Juno's belly throughout the transatlantic flight morphed into enormous butterflies of terror.

Oh god, she thought bleakly. What am I doing here? I haven't thought this through at all! Damn Viv and Darcy for sweeping me up in this ridiculous plan!

What if Jamie hasn't thought about me even once since leaving the airport that day? What if he's already met someone else who's thinner and more interesting than me? What if I come back and we see each other, and after a few hours discover we don't like each other that much after all?

She squared her shoulders and took a deep breath, giving herself a pep talk as the plane bumped down through the cloud cover.

You'll never know how the story ends, Juno told herself. You'll never know if Jamie is the man for you, or if you're meant for each other unless you step off this plane and implement the plan.

You'll never know until you see Jamie again.

Clive glanced over at Juno as the plane continued to nose down towards Inverness and saw Juno's pale face beside him. "Juno? You alright?"

Juno shook her head no slowly. "What the hell was I thinking?" She whispered to herself.

Clive gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder as the plane finally smacked down onto the tarmac and began to slow down. "You'll never know until you see him again. You told me that yourself, and I think that is mighty sound advice. You raise that chin of yours, you march down to see that man of yours, and you sweep him off his feet all over again. Hell, If I were ten years younger, I'd fall for you myself." Clive said with a broad grin.

Juno merely glanced at him, still trying to take deep, cleansing breaths, afraid that if she tried to speak, she might throw up from all the nerves coursing through her.

"Alright." Clive relented after a beat and another look at her face. "Maybe twenty years."

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before . after