Page 21 of A Summer of Secrets on Arran (Scottish Romances #5)

Bella opened her eyes and then closed them again for a moment as she realised where she was.

And why she was there. Then it all came back to her.

Nightmare. What a disaster yesterday had been.

She was in Ben’s room, in Rosie’s cottage on Arran.

Bella rolled onto her side, pulled the duvet further up and placed her hands under her head in a prayer like position.

Then she found herself looking straight at a picture of a group of guys that sat on the bedside table.

As she looked properly at it, she realised that it was Ben and his friends.

At least, she assumed that was who it was.

It had been years since they had seen each other and she barely recognised him.

He was standing on a ski slope, wearing bright blue trousers and a matching jacket.

A pair of sunglasses were perched on his head and he was grinning at the camera.

She picked it up and studied the image more closely.

It was definitely Ben. His dimples were the giveaway.

It was odd to think how close they were growing up yet now they were practically strangers.

Bella was older than Ben by one year and, she realised with slight guilt, she had enjoyed bossing him around when they were younger.

When they hit the awkward teenage years, and she had viewed him as an extremely annoying boy , they had drifted apart.

Especially as he lived in Edinburgh and had his own friends.

She had her own social circle in Glasgow and certainly didn’t want to be forced to hang out with a gangly teenager.

So it had then tended to just be their mums who got together which was, she now realised, a bit of a shame.

As she looked back at the photo, she realised he was now very grown up.

He was tall and broad and had chiselled features and her eyes lingered on the picture for a few extra moments.

He was the type of guy who would usually make her heartbeat faster.

If she hadn’t known it was Ben she would have certainly been tempted.

Why was she even thinking about stuff like this anyway?

She had more important matters to deal with. Like yesterday’s mess.

Groaning, she lay there for a while longer, trying her hardest to go back to sleep.

But it was no use. Even though she was exhausted, she was also wide awake and knew she would have to get up and see her mum at some point.

She had to face up to it. Bella pulled on yesterday’s clothes and plodded downstairs where she found her mum sitting, nursing a cup of coffee at the kitchen table.

‘Hello you,’ said Isobel, smiling cautiously.

‘Hi, Mum,’ she said with a sigh. Dropping a kiss on her mum’s head she said, ‘I’m such a muppet. What was I thinking?’

Isobel stood up and pulled her in close for a hug.

‘It’s alright, sweetie. It was an easy enough mistake to make.

I’ve no idea how Rosie’s diary ended up in that box.

But there you go. You now probably know far more than you would like to about Rosie in her twenties .

. . but I suppose the silver lining in all of this is that you have helped Luke out. ’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well, it sounds like you did him a favour by bringing him to Arran.’

Bella smiled. ‘Yes, I suppose so. And it was worth it to see the look on Rosie’s face. That was priceless. Who would have thought she had a fling with Luke Giles. You were both quite wild back in the day, eh?’

‘Definitely Rosie, not so much me,’ said Isobel. She hesitated briefly as she looked at her daughter. ‘You are the best thing that ever happened to me, Bella. And I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to give you the answers you want.’

Bella sat down at the table and rested her chin on both hands. ‘It’s okay. You’ve told me all you know, Mum . . . anyway, I suppose I should think about heading back home.’

‘Och, there’s no rush,’ said Isobel. ‘Not if you were going to be away camping anyway. Stay on for a bit if you want. The room is there anyway and there’s plenty of space. Ash won’t be here until next week.’

‘Ash is definitely coming over?’ said Bella, yawning. ‘I thought it was all a bit up in the air?’

‘Yes, well, you know Ash. It’s all a bit last minute.

’ Isobel smiled fondly. Ash was always flitting off to exotic locations and had always been charmingly unreliable.

‘There’s some kind of conference on at one of the universities in Glasgow — I don’t know all the details — and Ash was asked to step in and cover a speech for a colleague who had to cancel. ’

‘Ah, great,’ said Bella. ‘I bet you can’t wait. It’s been ages since you all got together.’

Her mum nodded at her. ‘I know, to think we haven’t seen each other since before lockdown.’

‘Hey sleepyheads,’ said Rosie as she came into the kitchen with Coisty. ‘You two are up early. I thought you would be shattered and having a lie in.’

‘I’m sorry, Rosie, about yesterday,’ said Bella sheepishly.

Rosie shook her head. ‘Nothing to be sorry for. It’s easy to put two and two together and get six. Anyway, thanks to you, Bella, my dog walks have suddenly become a whole lot more interesting.’

‘What do you mean?’ said Bella, raising an eyebrow.

‘We bumped into Luke. Or I should say that Coisty threw himself at the man.’

‘Is that why you’re all flushed?’ asked Isobel with a raised eyebrow.

Rosie shrugged at Isobel and grinned.

Bella chuckled as she looked at Rosie’s glowing face which was either down to the sea air or the giddiness of being in close proximity to someone with a lot of sex appeal.

Even though he was old enough to be her dad, she could see why Rosie was attracted to him.

For an older guy, he was very charismatic.

A bit like George Clooney who, in her eyes, was ancient but still had it.

‘I don’t blame you,’ Bella said. ‘He is a nice guy. Obviously far too old for me but some nice talent for you and Mum to appreciate. I thought he looked a bit like an older version of that guy from Outlander .’

Rosie looked blankly at her. ‘What’s that?’

‘Mum is always watching it.’

‘It’s that programme I keep telling you to watch,’ said Isobel, chuckling at Rosie. ‘That one and Virgin River . That would keep you very entertained for a while, if you catch my drift.’

‘Oh Isobel, honestly. You know I’m not that bothered about TV.’

‘Clearly. Anyway, back to the main man, Luke. I suppose you could compare him to a fine wine,’ said Isobel thoughtfully, ‘in that he has definitely improved with age.’

Isobel had been single since last year since her last boyfriend turned out to be a numpty. It was a reminder that it was easier to be single. Over the years, she had always kept any boyfriends at arm’s length, claiming she liked her space too much.

Bella realised she was lucky that it had always been her and her mum who had lived together.

She would have hated it if there had been a succession of different men living with them over the years which was something that some of her friends had had to put up with.

But she did at times wonder if her mum was lonely, even though she had never given any indication that she was at all.

‘But maybe,’ said Isobel suggestively, ‘he is the island hunk you’ve been waiting for.’

Rosie laughed as she walked over to the coffee machine and made herself a drink. ‘Well, yes, he is still rather easy on the eye. Especially after all these years.’

Isobel rolled her eyes dramatically and fanned her face.

‘I, for one, think it is lucky we have always had different taste in men, Isobel, otherwise it could have been messy.’

‘What about Ash?’ said Bella thoughtfully.

‘Yes, fortunately Ash has always had different tastes too otherwise it could have all got very complicated. Can you imagine? Apparently, the latest man is quite the catch. We’ve been told he looks very like one of the Hemsworth brothers.’

‘Oh,’ said Bella, perking up at a name she recognised. ‘Which one?’

‘No idea,’ said Rosie, waving her hand. ‘Although I’ve no idea whether we get to meet him or not.

You know Ash. As vague as ever about everything, including whether the new bloke is joining us.

From a selfish point of view, it would be nice if we could just have Ash to ourselves.

We all have lots of catching up to do. Now, no pressure you two, but if there’s anything you fancy doing today, let me know.

I am going into the garden for a while.’

‘That will help you get rid of all that pent up frustration,’ said Isobel, winking at her.

‘Bella, dear, would you like a coffee?’ Rosie completely ignored the comment.

‘No thanks. I’ll put the kettle on and make tea, if that’s okay?’

‘Of course,’ said Rosie. ‘Just make yourself at home and I’ll be in the garden. There’s plenty of clean towels in the wicker basket in the bathroom so help yourself if you want to have a shower.’ Then she disappeared outside, Coisty trotting behind.

‘Why don’t you have a shower first, love, and then we can make a plan?’

Bella nodded. She would wash and get dressed then think about checking ferry availability for the next few days.

A schedule always made her feel better. It gave her something to focus on and helped her feel more in control.

As she started to walk up the stairs, she could hear her mobile ring in the bedroom.

Running to get to it, she snatched it up and saw that it was the beauty salon calling.

‘Hello,’ she said, breathlessly worrying that she’d got her rota wrong and hoping that they weren’t expecting her there today.

‘Hey Bella,’ said her boss, Georgie. Her voice was subdued and Bella frowned.

‘Sorry to call you like this hon, but . . . look there’s no easy way of saying this, Bella. We are having to close.’

‘Close? What do you mean?’ she said in confusion.

The salon was usually shut on Sundays and Mondays and she wondered if Georgie meant it was closing early today or something.

Even though it was still early in the day.

Maybe there had been a leak or the heating had broken down and she had forgotten that Bella was on holiday.

‘We are shutting the shop for good. It’ll not come as a surprise, love, but things have been brutal this past year.

We just can’t keep going on like this. And the council are going to start charging for street parking.

It’s the final straw.’ Georgie’s voice wobbled and she sounded as though she was close to tears. ‘We are having to let everyone go.’

Bella felt as though she had been punched in the stomach. ‘Oh Georgie, I am so sorry. I can come in and help you finish up with clients though.’

She sniffed. ‘Aw, thanks Bella. You are a wee gem. But when I say we’re closing, I mean, we are actually closed.’

‘What, now?’ Bella shut her eyes in disbelief.

‘Aye,’ said Georgie, sighing. ‘I’m having to let everyone go. With immediate effect. I’ll make sure you’re paid what you’re owed and I’ll give you a brilliant reference. I’m so sorry, Bella.’

‘Okay, I’m sorry too.’ Bella managed to mumble before ending the call.