Page 50 of A Summer of Secrets on Arran (Scottish Romances #5)

It was Bella’s birthday and her mum and Ash had come back to Arran for the weekend to celebrate. Her gran had already called her first thing to wish her a happy birthday. She and Bill were in Edinburgh for the weekend to see the Ladyboys of Bangkok.

‘I’m sorry I’m not there with you today,’ she said.

‘Bill didn’t realise the date when he booked the tickets.

But I’ll come and see you soon, I promise.

Sounds like you are going to have a nice time though with your mum and Rosie and Ash.

Though tell him he owes me a visit. I haven’t seen the boy for years.

And your mum said Ben is back too and you’re both getting on like a house on fire?

That will be nice. He always was a lovely lad, too. ’

Bella shuddered to think what her mum had said about her and Ben.

Though to be fair, her and Rosie had been fairly well behaved even though they knew she and Ben were spending a lot of time together.

She got the impression that her mum hadn’t yet told her gran the truth about Ash.

Which was fine. She knew she would choose her moment.

‘Thanks, Gran. Er, I take it you know what you’re off to see then?’

‘Aye, it’s a cabaret show in a big top. There are wee tables that you sit at and you can get a glass of wine as well. You know how much I love a wee bit of cabaret music and nice glass of red. It should be a lovely afternoon.’

Bella winced. She wasn’t sure her gran knew what she’d signed up for. Bella didn’t want to throw Bill under the bus either. It was very possible that he didn’t know what he had booked either despite the clue being in the title of the show. ‘Well enjoy, Gran, and we’ll definitely get together soon.’

‘Bye, love. I’ll let you know how it goes. Ciao for now.’

Bella groaned. That update would be interesting.

Bella was meeting her mum and Ash at Meadowbank Guesthouse and they were going for brunch.

They had plans to meet Rosie and Luke later.

Given that it looked set to be a scorcher of a day, she couldn’t wait.

Ben had promised to call her as soon as he had finished work at the distillery.

They hadn’t seen each other properly since that night at the beach bar a few days ago.

He had been working flat out since and they had only snatched hours here and there between their shifts.

However, he had managed to tell her that he now knew about his mum and Luke and he was fine about it.

Bella was so relieved. She’d hated knowing when he didn’t.

It didn’t feel right at all. Bella quickly pulled on her shorts and a blue t-shirt and left her hair wavy over her shoulders.

Then she sunk her feet into her sandals and grabbed a bag, stuffing a sweater and a brolly in, just in case.

This was Scotland, after all, and you never could be too sure.

The sun was shining and she couldn’t believe how still the water was as she made her way up the hill towards the guesthouse.

Bella was almost tempted to go for a swim.

Hopefully they would be able to go for a dip later on.

Bella always loved the walk up here as it was so peaceful and had the most amazing view over the bay at Brodick.

The name Meadowbank leant itself to a rustic and quaint building that needed lots doing to it.

However, Becky’s parents had turned their childhood home into an oasis of luxury and her aunt, Amy, had recently had the dilapidated barn in the grounds converted.

The cottage itself was actually quite a substantial blonde sandstone, with an elegant timber staircase leading to a wide hallway and six bedrooms, three of which were ensuite, and a family bathroom.

The house was full of character and charm but they’d also added a modern twist. Each of the three guest rooms had white linen and thick duvets and the plumpest pillows with cosy throws in different colours to match the room names: yellow, orange and green.

Outside, the garden, lush with colourful blooms and palm trees, thanks to its warming position in the Gulf Stream.

Behind was the glen, which led on to a lovely meandering walk through trees and past rivers all the way to Lamlash.

She could understand why Ash loved it so much.

As she approached the guesthouse, she spotted her mum and Ash sitting outside on a bench enjoying the sunshine. They were also dressed for the weather with their sunglasses perched on their heads.

‘Hey, birthday girl,’ said Ash, jumping up and hugging her. ‘How are you now that you’re a year older?’

‘Positively ancient,’ she said with a wide smile.

Isobel stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her. ‘Happy birthday, darling.’

Bella grinned. ‘Thank you, Mum. And thanks for both coming over to be here.’

‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world,’ she said firmly.

Ash nodded in agreement. ‘Any excuse to stay here too. It’s just so idyllic.’

Isobel nodded. ‘I agree. It feels like my birthday and not yours!’

Bella laughed.

‘So, we do have gifts,’ said Ash. ‘But shall we go and find a nice place for breakfast? I’m not going to lie, I’m hungry this morning. It was such an effort having to miss Kirsty’s breakfast, especially when I could smell it.’

Isobel hit him playfully. ‘Och, away you go. It will do you good to give your digestive system a rest. You’re always eating, Ash. It’s good to have a bit of a fast. It’s all the rage.’

He gave her a pointed stare.

‘Let’s go,’ said Bella, linking arms between them. ‘Does anyone want to hear my interesting piece of news?’ she said, in a bid to distract them from one of their discussions . They had been known to go off at tangents when food became the topic.

They both stopped still in their tracks and stared at her.

‘Oh, good gawd,’ said Isobel. ‘What more? I’ve had enough interesting news this summer to keep me going for life.’

‘Oh, but I’m intrigued now,’ said Ash, raising both his eyebrows. ‘Do share.’

Bella chuckled as she continued walking towards the village centre. ‘All in good time,’ she said. ‘All in good time. I’ll wait until you’re sitting down.’ Suddenly, their pace quickened and within a few minutes they were sat in the Little Rock café overlooking the water with a prime window seat.

‘Right, spill,’ said Isobel tersely.

‘Well, Gran was on the phone earlier and she was telling me about her plans tonight. Oh, and by the way, Ash, she said you’d better go and see her before you leave the country.’

He nodded. ‘Yes, I will make sure that I do. Either before or after your mum tells her the news. Maybe after?’

Bella noticed her mum wince. ‘Anyway, Mum, do you know where she’s away to tonight?’

‘She’s off to see a cabaret show at the fringe in Edinburgh.’

‘Turns out it’s the Ladyboys of Bangkok .’

Ash, who had just taken a sip of water, spluttered.

Isobel grinned feebly and sank her head in her hands and Ash’s eyes then twinkled with amusement.

Isobel pulled a face. ‘It’s maybe not a bad thing, you know. Hopefully by the time she has watched it, then nothing will surprise her. By the time we tell her about Ash being your dad, then she’ll maybe just take it in her stride.’

‘Mm, maybe,’ said Bella doubtfully, then she stifled a giggle. Soon, the three of them were doubled over, laughing until tears ran down their faces.

* * *

Later that day, Bella was stretched out on a picnic blanket on the beach after sharing a delicious picnic provided by Rosie.

Luke and Ash had offered to go and buy some little pots of the local dairy ice-cream and Coisty had trotted after them, hopeful that he might benefit from wherever they were going.

Luke and Ash were getting on brilliantly and were like long-lost friends.

‘Bit of a bromance going on there,’ said Bella with a giggle as they walked off together.

‘There certainly is,’ said Rosie, fondly watching them go. ‘I’m almost expecting them to announce they’re off on a mini-break together.’

‘You mean a manmoon?’ said Isobel, chuckling. ‘You were always so good at this.’ She reached over and opened up a box of food which had been packed away when they all insisted they’d eaten enough. ‘I mean, look at your beautifully cut sandwiches. And your homemade sausage rolls are to die for.’

‘Yes, no offence, Mum, but your packed lunches were never the best. It was usually a squashed roll wrapped in tinfoil, with a bruised banana, which I never ate, and a wee carton of warm juice. Bleurgh.’

Isobel grinned. ‘Well, you can’t be good at everything, can you?’ Then she turned to Rosie. ‘How are things going then with lover boy?’ She nodded towards Luke who was now far enough away not to hear.

Rosie’s cheeks reddened. ‘Very well,’ she said coyly. ‘What’s even better though is that when I told Ben about it, he was fine and very chilled.’

Isobel smiled. ‘That’s a relief. What’s going to happen when he leaves though? Are you going to do the long-distance thing?’

Rosie shrugged her shoulders. ‘We’ve not yet had that chat. I’ve just decided to make the most of it while he is here. Life’s too short to worry, right?’

Bella slumped back on the rug and checked her phone wondering if Ben might have texted her.

She wished she could be more like Rosie with her relaxed attitude.

There were no messages from him and she couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

Then she reminded herself that he wasn’t officially her boyfriend so she didn’t really have any right to expect anything from him.

The main thing to focus on was that she was here with some of her favourite people in the world who had made a huge effort to make her day special.

Ash had given her some perfume and money for her travel fund, her mum had bought her the necklace to match her earrings from The Wee Trove and Rosie had gifted her a gorgeous blue handbag.

And most importantly, they were together on a beautiful beach in the sunshine.

What more could she want? If she saw Ben, that would be the icing on the cake.

Bella lay back and dozed in the sunshine, enjoying listening to her mum and Rosie chatter and the sound of the waves gently lapping the shore.

A wee while later she felt someone nudging her foot and her mum was whispering in her ear.

‘Wake up, love. There’s another birthday present just arrived.’

Bella sat up startled and saw a tall figure standing in front of her. She wondered if she was dreaming. The sun was high in the sky and she couldn’t quite make out who it was. She rubbed her eyes and stood up.

‘Happy birthday, Bella,’ said Ben from behind a huge bouquet of flowers. ‘Sorry I’m so late. It ended up being busier than expected.’

‘Ben!’ she said with a gasp. She could now feel herself blush especially as they had an audience on the sands next to them.

She flicked her glance to where her mum and Rosie were.

They were pretending to be absorbed with their ice-creams, which Luke and Ash must have returned with when she was dozing.

Even Coisty was busy digging a huge hole in the sand and was otherwise engaged.

Ben handed her the flowers and then reached down and kissed her gently. His lips lingered for a moment on hers and he gazed at her.

Bella felt her legs turn to jelly. ‘Thank you,’ she managed to whisper. Then there was a bang. Coisty yelped and Bella jumped, leaning into Ben. He kissed her on the top of her head and held her tightly.

‘Oops, sorry about that,’ said her mum sheepishly. She then proceeded to fill up champagne flutes with the pale fizz.

A grinning Rosie appeared from behind with a pink cake which she must have kept hidden earlier. ‘Happy birthday, Bella,’ she said.

Bella felt overwhelmed as she took a step away from Ben and went towards Rosie to hug her. ‘Thank you so much, Rosie. Thank you, everyone,’ she said, then looking at her mum, Ash and Luke.

Isobel made sure everyone had a glass of something and Bella felt Ben’s eyes on her as her mum cleared her throat.

‘Here’s to a birthday and a year to remember,’ she said.

‘And thanks to Rosie’s secret journal for bringing us all here today.

’ She paused to allow the ripple of laughter to pass.

‘You’re wonderful, Bella, and we wish you every happiness.

We love you. Happy birthday!’ She raised her glass in the air.

Bella felt her eyes well up with tears of joy.

‘Cheers,’ chorused the group. ‘Happy birthday, Bella!’ As they started to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her, she felt Ben clasp her hand tightly.

She saw Ash looking at her knowingly and he gave her a wink.

He was right. Things did have a way of working out as they should.

It had been the most memorable summer for so many reasons.

It had been a summer of secrets on Arran.

But the truths had been transformational.

It was a summer she would never forget and today was a birthday she would always cherish.