Page 21 of A Summer House on Arran (Scottish Romances #3)

Kitty had decided that she would bake. She was in that kind of mood where she had to do something rather than just sit down.

She couldn’t really clean any more than she already had.

The house was immaculate anyway and, even if it was cluttered, which it wasn’t, it wasn’t her house to start rearranging.

The next on her ‘how to unwind’ list was to bake.

As the kitchen was about twice the size of her kitchen back home, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to perfect some of her recipes and update her Instagram account with some pictures.

She was thankful she’d brought the car over after all, as it meant she could nip to the big Co-op and stock up on all the things she needed without having to lug heavy bags back up that hill.

Deciding on one of her quick and easy recipes, she stirred up a batch of cinnamon and raisin muffins and popped them in the oven, making sure she’d turned on the timer.

More than once she’d become distracted, forgetting about whatever was in the oven, and it was only the smell of burning that let her know her baking efforts had been wasted.

Standing with her back against the kitchen worktop, she scrolled through Instagram and quickly became distracted by the many foodie reels.

They made everything look extremely easy to make and delicious.

Her early attempts at baking had been rather interesting — nothing like they were now thanks to many, many hours of practice and perfection.

Bookmarking some of the recipes she liked the look of, she watched to see how they had been presented.

They all seemed to have the same theme, which usually went a bit like this: You have got to try my delicious/lovely/mouth-watering cake.

It has just four ingredients and tastes better than anything you’ll buy in the shops.

She knew she would have to put herself out there and do more of those kinds of reels if she wanted to raise her profile, but she wasn’t quite ready or confident enough to start talking as she baked.

Kitty had always been an introvert, much preferring to stay behind the scenes and out of the limelight.

Her thumb slipped and hit another reel that started to play.

Normally Kitty would scroll on, but now she was staring at her phone, transfixed by the rather good-looking bloke staring straight at her and talking in his deep, sexy voice.

‘Are you planning a trip to Scotland? Then you must come soon. Come on over.’ He paused, looking straight at her, then grinned.

‘Visit our remote islands, our mountains, our forests and our beaches. What are you waiting for? ’ Behind him were panoramic shots of what looked like the Cuillin Ridge on the Isle of Skye, then some shots of the Fairy Pools, which looked vividly blue.

He certainly didn’t have any problems with his confidence, and he looked kind of familiar.

She wondered if she’d seen him on one of those outdoor shows on TV she sometimes flicked past. Looking at his profile, she saw he was called the Tartan Wanderer. Why did that name ring a bell?

Just then the door opened, and Olivia came in, wiping her brow, sweaty from her run. ‘Well, that was a bit of an effort,’ she said. ‘I am definitely out of shape.’

Kitty thought she looked the picture of great health as she strolled into the kitchen, her cheeks glowing from exercise.

‘Whatever you’re making smells amazing. Is it something with cinnamon?’

‘Yes,’ Kitty said with a smile. ‘Cinnamon and raisin muffins.’

‘Will they be ready soon?’ Olivia sounded hopeful.

‘In a bit.’ She grinned. That was the sort of question her son would have asked.

Olivia stepped towards her, pulling a leaflet from her pocket. ‘Oh, look, before I forget. Amy gave me this. And she said she would get us a discount if we wanted to go. She knows the guy doing the tour.’

Kitty took the leaflet from her and realised it was the same one she’d picked up.

She chuckled when she made the connection.

‘Oh, well, let’s sign up, then. I mean, when I show you who the tour guide is, I think you’ll agree it’s a great idea.

’ She handed her phone to Olivia and watched her watch the reel again.

‘I mean, he seems like a nice guy, doesn’t he? Like he knows what he’s talking about.’ Olivia shot her a look of appreciation, then frowned. ‘He looks kind of familiar.’

‘That’s what I thought too,’ said Kitty. ‘Like someone off the telly, but I don’t know who.’

‘Well, there’s only one way to find out. Shall we?’

‘Let’s do it,’ said Kitty decisively.

‘Deal. When do we go?’

‘The day after tomorrow,’ said Kitty. ‘Plenty of time to prepare.’

‘Okay. Well, I’m going to hit the shower, then you can tell me what I need for this walking tour and where we’re going.’

‘Sure.’ Kitty reached down to remove the muffins from the oven. ‘These will be ready to eat when you’re out the shower. Meantime, I’ll call and get us booked on the trip.’

‘Brilliant. Thank you. Let’s go!’

Kitty started quietly singing a Calvin Harris song and getting the words completely wrong.

Olivia burst into laughter. ‘I love that song.’

‘Oops, sorry, that’s an old habit of mine.

Drives Cameron mad. I’m not even aware I’m doing it.

I just tend to start singing if someone mentions a song title.

I’ll try and be more aware. It can be an embarrassing habit, especially if the lyrics are a bit dodgy.

Cameron has walked away from me many times when we’ve been in public. ’

‘Oh, don’t quit on my account,’ said Olivia. ‘Please keep singing.’

Kitty grinned and gave a small shrug. ‘You may live to regret this.’ She looked back at her phone. ‘Oh, Olivia. What’s your surname? Just in case he asks.’

Olivia paused for a fraction of a second, long enough for Kitty to notice. ‘Sure. It’s Kennedy. My surname is Kennedy. Thanks, Kitty.’ She turned and headed to her shower.

When Kitty was sure she could hear the sound of water, she picked up her phone again and typed in Olivia Kennedy to Instagram.

There were many results, but after a bit of dogged scrolling she saw Olivia’s face.

The name of her Instagram account was OliviaKDancing .

She clicked on it and was surprised to see the privacy settings weren’t on, which meant Kitty could look through all the pictures Olivia had posted.

Her eyes widened as she saw picture after picture of her appearing at Disneyland, on Let’s Dance and then on stage with some really famous singers.

Like really famous. Which made it even weirder that she was here.

Something must have happened for her to end up on Arran.

As she heard the sound of Olivia coming out of the shower, she put her phone away.

It really wasn’t any of her business, and if Olivia wanted to share details with her, that was her choice.

In the same way that Kitty had her story too, and she didn’t just share it with anyone.