Page 9 of A Summer of Secrets on Arran (Scottish Romances #5)

Over on the mainland, Bella yawned and pulled down the visor to shade her eyes.

The sun was bright and she didn’t want to risk crashing her car by rummaging around in her bag for her sunglasses while she drove.

Bella was currently driving in the opposite direction of where she should have been heading.

She had called off the camping trip to Loch Lomond at the last minute, hastily telling the girls that someone had called in sick at work and she had been asked to cover.

She did feel a bit guilty about lying to them, but she thought it was better this way.

The fewer people who knew about what she was planning to do, the better.

She had left Glasgow fairly early this morning to make the journey to Troon in Ayrshire.

According to her Sat Nav it would take her less than one hour to get there.

She was extremely relieved that her mum was already away on her trip to Arran.

Bella couldn’t face the barrage of questions she knew that Isobel would ask if Bella had told her about her change of plan.

She wasn’t sure she could have pulled it off with Isobel around.

Good old Google , she thought. When she had done some research online and realised what was happening — a celebrity golf match, very close to home — knowing who would be there, she had made a swift change of plans and abandoned the camping trip.

It was now or never, and if she didn’t follow it through, she didn’t think she ever would.

There might not be a chance like this again.

She told herself that the timing of all of this was a sign .

It was meant to be. She needed to strike while the iron was hot and before she lost her nerve.

Bella bit her lip as she thought about the bizarreness of this whole situation.

She did kind of wish she had asked one of her friends to come along as a wing woman to offer moral support.

But there was no way she could have explained what she was going to do today without one of them spilling the beans or getting overly dramatic about it all.

She was also very glad to be single right now.

The last boyfriend she had had was Dudley, a guy from Carlisle who she had met on holiday in Corfu last summer.

But it had petered out. She thought about the times her mum had met him and winced.

He’d been so over the top, which she had put down to nerves.

Her mum hadn’t said very much at all which, in itself, spoke volumes.

It was only afterwards that her mum admitted she thought he was a bit of a plonker.

He was always checking his reflection out in windows, mirrors, shopfronts — basically anything he could see himself in.

Bella had wondered if he was perhaps insecure then realised he was just vain.

He was a bit of a peacock. And when she had visited him and heard his mum call him Diddly Duddles, she knew they were not destined to be together.

Bella took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly.

This was something she had to do alone. Her hands were white as they gripped the steering wheel.

Bella, who was usually calm, confident and collected, was a bag of nerves.

She had no idea where to even begin other than to get herself in the place where she knew he would be.

As she drove down the M77, she told herself that it would all be fine.

It just had to be. But even the jaunty voice of the radio presenter and the upbeat songs did anything to quieten her nerves as she drove.

In fact, they started to irritate her. Her mouth was dry, her heart was racing and she was the most nervous she could ever remember being.

Even her exams at college last year had been a breeze compared to this.

She changed the music and her favourite singer, Loyle Carner, started blasting from the speakers.

The lyrics struck a chord with her, and she truly hoped she had a guardian angel looking out for her like he described in the song.

Eventually, she felt her pounding heart start to calm down slightly and, as she started to see the signs for Troon, she felt herself driving more and more slowly willing time to slow down.

Following the signs for the town centre she hoped that she would find a space to park, especially as there was so much traffic, given the event.

Bella followed the road round to the South Beach Esplanade Car Park, already busy with cars.

She sighed in relief when she saw a dog walker returning to their car and give her a wave.

Bella waited for them to move and then pulled into the space.

She switched off her engine and took a few steadying breaths.

She was just over a mile away from the Royal Troon Golf Club where the competition was happening. All she needed now was a strategy.

For a moment or two she felt light-headed as the enormity of today dawned on her.

What was she doing? She gave herself a shake.

Coffee and fresh air. That was what she needed.

An injection of caffeine and a dose of sea air would help her think.

She made her way to a small café that she had driven past moments ago.

Ordering a coffee and a flaky almond croissant, which she didn’t particularly want but she knew she should eat as her stomach had been growling at her for the past couple of hours, she found a picnic table outside and sat down to think.

She tore off a piece of pastry and chewed while she stared up at the blue sky streaked with white clouds.

The outside sitting area was getting busy and four women, who Bella thought might be Canadian, asked if they could join her.

Bella smiled and nodded, moving up the bench to make room for two of them and the other women sat on the bench opposite.

She listened to snippets of conversation about their trip to the town.

They had also visited Glasgow and were due to go to St Andrews and then London before flying back to Toronto.

It always amazed Bella how much information you could learn about people from simply listening.

But she pulled out her phone and started to scroll so it didn’t look like she was completely eavesdropping. Even though she was.

‘Excuse me, ladies ,’ said a voice.

Bella glanced up to see a tall man, dressed in bright pastel coloured golfing gear, lingering by their table. Bella frowned, wishing he would move on, especially as he was managing to block out the sun.

‘Do you mind if I join you?’ he said in his affected accent.

‘Sure, budge up, Jess,’ one of the women said to her friend.

By now, Bella was practically hanging off the edge of the bench as they were all packed on so tightly.

She was glad she’d kept up with the squats in the gym.

At least her thighs could handle almost having to hover.

The woman, Jess, gave Bella an apologetic look.

Bella shrugged. She was almost finished her coffee anyway.

Perhaps this was a sign she should move on.

Even though she had no idea what to do next.

She reckoned it would take her at least half an hour to walk along to the golf course.

‘Well, well, well is that American accents I can detect?’ said the man.

‘No, Canadian actually,’ said one.

‘Ooft,’ he said with a loud gurning laugh.

‘I am sorry. My mistake. I’m sure you get that all the time,’ he said smoothly, raising his sunglasses onto the top of his head and winking.

‘I’ve spent a lot of time there myself, of course.

I should have known better than to assume you are American.

Canada is a great place. I’ve travelled to Ontario, the Rockies and British Columbia. And, of course, skied at Whistler.’

Bella frowned. She didn’t recall the women asking for details of where he had been in Canada or the type of leisure pursuits he had engaged in.

‘Is this your first visit to Scotland?’ he asked.

‘No, we come here quite often. And we have been so lucky with the weather. It has been stunning.’

‘Are you here with your husbands?’ he asked. ‘Are they golfers?’

Bella inwardly groaned. What a dick.

‘No, it’s just us,’ said one of the women tensely. ‘And believe it or not we can all actually play golf. Imagine that, eh?’

‘That’s nice,’ he said, clearly not realising she was being sarcastic. ‘Good you’re getting out there and enjoying the fresh air.’

Bella couldn’t help thinking he sounded rather patronising.

He scratched his head. ‘Which course did you play? The wee nine-old course?’

Jess laughed. ‘No. Can you believe we actually managed to play a full round.’

The man looked completely taken aback.

‘I know, right? All eighteen holes,’ she continued. ‘We all play off scratch and it’s been a really great course to play.’

‘Ah, right, I see,’ he said, clearly flummoxed. ‘You did well to get tee off times, especially with the celebrity competition that’s been on.’

‘We’ve got friends in the right places,’ said one of the women who rolled her eyes at her friends.

‘I’m glad it’s finishing up soon. This is the last day. I’m looking forward to things getting back to normal. Much as I have enjoyed watching the competition, I do get a bit fed up with these celebs hogging the greens.’ He chuckled.

‘Do you like the nine-hole course?’ said Jess. ‘I believe it is a favourite for juniors and seniors.’

He looked at her blankly, clearly unaware that she was making a dig. ‘And where are you ladies off to after Troon?’

‘To St Andrews and then to London for a few days.’

The golfer took a sip of his coffee, which left a ridge of foam on the top of his lip, and then proceeded to tell them where they should visit in St Andrews and London.

Jess caught Bella’s eye and shook her head as the man continued on his monologue of the best restaurants he thought they should go to in London and how they should really take care when using the underground. It was a fine example of mansplaining at its best.

‘Anyways,’ he said, standing and crumpling up his coffee cup in one hand.

Bella half-wished that the coffee would dribble down his lemon polo-shirt.

‘Nice chatting. Enjoy the rest of your trip, ladies.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘I’d better be off.’ And with that, he strode away.

‘What a tool,’ said Jess.

‘Completely,’ agreed her friend and the other one sniggered.

Bella couldn’t help but laugh, which then made the other women giggle again and soon they were all holding their sides. ‘What a total eejit,’ she said.

‘I love that word. Eejit ,’ said Jess repeating it back to her. ‘No need to hang off the bench any longer,’ she said and moved up to make more space.

‘Aw, thank you. But I should really head off myself now. But thanks for that. It was most entertaining.’

‘I know, right? He was so condescending. No wonder golf gets a bad name with sexist bores like him. Did you see his face when I said we all played off scratch? Which we don’t by the way,’ she said conspiratorially to Bella.

‘Well, Rhona does,’ she said, pointing across to her friend. ‘But I couldn’t help winding him up.’

‘It was great to watch. Thanks for brightening up my day,’ said Bella, who knew very little about golf.

It was a sport that held zero appeal. ‘I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay.’ Bella hesitated for a minute.

‘I hope you don’t mind me asking but where is the best place to see some of the golfers in the competition? ’

‘Do you have a ticket?’ asked Jess.

Bella wished the ground would open up and swallow her. Of course, she needed a ticket. Why didn’t she think of that? Her cheeks flushed as she shook her head and she shuffled her feet awkwardly.

‘It depends on who you want to see,’ said Jess kindly. ‘The younger ones will get mobbed by the hordes when they come off the course. But there is a bar in our hotel where we have seen a few the last couple of evenings, say from around four o’clock. The guy from the eighties American rock band.’

‘That hideous English TV presenter,’ said her friend, pulling a face. ‘Piers something or other. He was arguing with a footballer last night. Though I almost don’t blame him. They were both as obnoxious as each other.’

‘And the guy who was in that boyband, GFC or something . . . he turned to acting.’

‘Do you mean the Get Fresh Crew?’ said Bella.

‘That’s the one. Luke . . . Giles. He’s quite easy on the eye, if you get my drift. Though will be positively ancient to a young thing like you.’ Jess gave a dirty laugh.

Bella’s eyes widened. Luke Giles. Bingo.

‘It’s a bit quieter and less showy than the hotel they’re all staying at,’ said Rhona, telling her the name of the place they were staying in.

‘Thanks so much,’ said Bella, and she smiled gratefully as her mind started to race. Glancing at her watch she realised she had quite a long time to hang about. In fact, she had a number of hours to kill. But hopefully she would get a chance to talk to Luke and the wait would all be worth it.