Page 12 of Snowy Surprises in the Highlands (Scottish Highland #5)

Another month passed and once again Bella climbed out of her car and assessed the exterior of the Iolair-Mhara Hotel.

The August sunshine was hiding behind a bank of ominous clouds and Bella hoped this was not a premonition of how the day was going to go.

The overgrown climbing ivy had that had once covered the majority of the front elevation had been trimmed back so the stunning architecture was now more visible, and the true grandeur of the place could be seen.

She could imagine ladies in Victorian gowns perambulating, arm in arm, down towards the loch to take in the air, and wondered what the original family who had lived here when it was first built as a home were like.

They clearly must have been wealthy. But did they love the place? Were they happy here?

She walked inside and stood in the lounge of the hotel with her iPad clutched in one hand and the index finger of her other poised and ready to go. This particular room was almost complete now with only snagging to deal with.

Back in the seventies, the previous owners had either stripped out or covered over many of the original Victorian features such as cast-iron fireplaces, ceiling roses and cornices, and replaced them with those popular and fashionable at the time, which was sacrilege as far as Bella was concerned – she had never really understood the obsession with seventies interior décor as it utilised some of the most drab colour schemes, shapes and textures, in her opinion.

For example, who puts monstrously ugly brown swirly carpet – or any carpet for that matter – in a bathroom?

Bella could only imagine the germs and bacteria that had been harboured in the fibres before they were removed, and the thought of that made her feel bilious.

The long driveway that led to the hotel reminded Bella of the approach to Drumblair Castle with its trees and gravel road.

And even though the grounds weren’t quite as vast as those at the castle they were still picturesque, and she could easily understand why people would want to stay in that location, although she did wonder about its old visitors’ thoughts when they stepped through the beautiful ornate oak door and into the vision of brown.

There was still a lot of work to do but gradually seeing her plans coming to fruition in the lounge was the best feeling.

It simply never got old. Gone were the gaudy 1970s orange and brown wallpaper patterns comprising of interlinked squares with rounded edges that made your eyes go squiffy if you stared too long, and the decades of cigarette smoke that had stained everything it clung to, and in their place was a wonderfully tasteful, rich colour palette of jewel tones, incorporating many of William Morris’s stunning prints on the wallpapers and soft furnishings.

It had been a fun project to work on so far, for the most part, and she was grateful that her interior design work at Drumblair Castle had been featured in the national press, leading to this particular job.

As she stood marking things off her tick list, she felt a presence behind her and the hairs on her neck prickled, so she turned around, uneasily.

‘Oh, hello, Mr Somers,’ she said as breezily as she could before turning to attend to her list once more; she did not wish to engage him in conversation because she was very much aware how that tended to go.

‘How many times do I have to ask you to call me Carlton?’ the Texan man drawled with a deep, husky chuckle.

At least on this occasion he was fully clothed.

She hoped he had finally got the message that she wasn’t interested in ogling his scantily clad flesh, regardless of whether or not he was or had been a model.

His previously brazen behaviour and his arrogance were reminiscent of Kerr MacBain… or at least the old Kerr MacBain.

Carlton was evidently a man who was used to getting his own way and had persisted to drop hints that he wanted to wine and dine her after that first time he had asked outright.

She had reminded him, countless times, that he had seen her engagement ring and knew she was taken but for some reason it hadn’t deterred him.

He was clearly a vain man who found the word ‘no’ to be a gauntlet she had laid down before him.

A mere challenge for him to accept, and he had.

Realising she had drifted off inside her own head and not responded to him, Bella felt her face heating in a combination of embarrassment and annoyance.

She cringed before turning to face him. ‘Sorry, it just feels rather personal to call you by your first name seeing as this is a business-only arrangement, so I always revert to autopilot.’

Carlton pouted. ‘Oh, come now, Bella , I think we’re a little more than just business associates, don’t you? We’ve known each other for two months, surely that counts for somethin’.’

He was sort of right. They had been communicating for two months, but the work had only started in earnest within the last month once the rest of the designs had been approved by his parents.

Their subsequent meetings had been short in nature – Bella’s decision – and had mainly taken place over video call from her kitchen table.

Even that hadn’t stopped his innuendos or offers of a dinner date.

Bella forced a smile. ‘I’m just trying to be professional, that’s all,’ she replied, trying to ignore the sense of unease that knotted her stomach when he was around.

He took a few steps closer. ‘You still engaged to that police officer?’

She sighed. ‘Of course I am. He’s the love of my life and I take my commitments very seriously,’ she informed him unabashedly. ‘And he’s an Inspector actually.’

He smiled and saluted her. ‘Duly noted. But I’m not ready to give up on you just yet.’

Bella turned her back and rolled her eyes. ‘Well, you really should. You’re wasting your time,’ she said as light-heartedly as she could. Memories of being in a similar situation with Kerr when she was working on the interiors of the stable apartments came flooding back to haunt her.

He came to stand beside her, a little too close for her liking, and she took a step to the side and crouched for a moment, pretending to examine the skirting and tapping gibberish onto her iPad.

She heard him sniggering and then clearing his throat and knew he was doing things on purpose to wind her up. It was working but she refused to let it show.

‘So, how long before this room is done? It’s looking great.’ His comment surprised her, considering there was no hidden agenda or innuendo in it.

‘I’m glad you think so. It’s almost ready to go.

I just want the decorators to touch up the paintwork on the skirting boards where they were marked when the flooring was laid.

And then it will be ready for the furniture, and following that the first brochure photos can be taken for the new website.

’ She walked towards the large bay window, and he followed.

‘Where do you get your inspiration from, Bella? I have to say you have great taste.’

Your flattery will get you nowhere , she thought. ‘All over the place. Books, locations, films, music…’

He turned to her and gave her one of his half-smiles that she was sure other women swooned over. ‘You really are fascinating. What I wouldn’t give to take you out to dinner and get to know you better.’

Oh, for goodness’ sake . Bella flared her nostrils and fought to keep her cool. ‘Well, I’m sure my fiancé would be happy to fill you in on the details,’ she said with a fake half-smile of her own.

Instead of being annoyed by her response, he chuckled again. ‘You’re so feisty, I love that about you.’ He shook his head. ‘Oh, the fun we’d have.’ He fixed his gaze on her and she shivered involuntarily. She could almost feel him undressing her with his eyes.

‘I’d better get on,’ she said, pointing her thumb to a random area of the room. ‘Or you’ll be complaining it’s all taking too long.’

‘Never gonna happen, Bella. I’m enjoying your company. In fact, I’m trying to figure out ways I can keep you on once the hotel’s done. Only for your decorating skills, of course.’ His eyebrow rise, although fleeting, wasn’t lost on her.

She smiled briefly. ‘Well, I’m afraid I’d need to check my diary. Lots of work coming in just now.’

He pouted. ‘Awww, that’s a shame. Great for you, obviously, but a shame for me.

I’m considering offering on a property I’ve visited in Por tree, you see.

It’s such a quaint little place, don’t you think?

’ He didn’t wait for her to answer. ‘I was hoping you’d come and decorate once they accept my offer. ’

She continued walking around the room, looking for things that needed to be added to her list. ‘You’ll need to check with me once you’ve found a place,’ she said as dismissively as she could without verging on disrespectful – he was her boss, after all, for now at least.

‘I’ll be sure to do that. Are you gonna be working on the rest of the bedrooms next? I’m presuming you can now that the drywall is installed.’

She nodded. ‘Yes, that’s the plan.’

His smile widened. ‘Okay, great. I’ll need to meet with you to go over the plans again.

It’s a while since I saw them and I want to make sure the bedrooms are especially good,’ he said with a small smile and a distinct twinkle in his eye.

‘I’ll call you later in the week and we can synchronise diaries.

’ And with that he turned and left the room.

Bella breathed a sigh of relief. What was it about her that made her attract self-centred, egotistical arseholes?

She was so glad that Harris was nothing at all like Carlton or the Kerr MacBain of old.

At least Olivia’s brother had somewhat turned his life around and realised the error of his ways.

Yes, she decided, Harris was the best man for her in every possible way, and she was lucky to have him.

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