Page 14 of Snowy Surprises in the Highlands (Scottish Highland #5)

The alarm on Bella’s phone sounded and she stretched out to hit the stop button.

Harris stirred behind her and skimmed his hand down the curve of her body.

The warmth of his skin reached hers through her satin pyjama shorts and camisole top, and she smiled.

There was nothing nicer, that she had experienced so far anyway, than waking up wrapped in her fiancé’s arms.

Bella had been excited and nervous, in equal measure, about the arrival of this day for a couple of weeks now.

Today would be the day she tried on her wedding dress for the first time.

She had only seen the sketches up to this point, and while she absolutely loved them, seeing the dress on her body was something entirely different.

‘What time do you have to set off for Drumblair?’ Harris mumbled as he feathered kisses down her neck to her shoulder and back up to her ear.

She sighed and let her eyelids flutter closed once again as she relished the sensation of his lips on her skin. ‘I should go soon really if I’m going to make the most of the day. I’m meeting Mum at the castle; I just need to let her know what time I’ll be there.’

He squeezed her a little tighter. ‘But you’re staying over, which means I don’t get to wake up with you tomorrow, so I have to make the most of you now,’ he whispered as he traced shapes on the bare skin of her thigh.

‘You can always come with me. It’s your weekend off and I’m sure Bertie would love to see his cousins.’

‘I’ve got too much to do. Paperwork, mowing the grass, and I want to make a start on painting the fence before the weather starts to get too bad.’

She turned in his arms to face him and planted a kiss on his stubbled chin, the spikes tickling her lips. ‘Well, you can’t really complain then.’ She smiled. He looked so ridiculously sexy when he was sleepy.

He kissed her, long and languorously. ‘I can and I will, so there.’

She pursed her lips and nodded. ‘Good argument, Inspector Donaldson, clearly very well thought out.’

He chuckled. ‘I thought so.’

‘Right, I’d better get up and shower because staying here with you is getting more and more tempting by the second and if I don’t go now, I may end up with a half-made wedding dress.’

His eyes widened for a split second. ‘Or maybe no wedding dress at all. Now there’s an idea.’

She feigned horror, gasping and whacking his chest playfully. ‘You’re incorrigible, Harris Donaldson. We’re getting married in December, so I think a dress is a pretty crucial bit of kit.’

He stuck out his bottom lip. ‘Spoilsport.’ He manoeuvred her beneath him. ‘Maybe get a shower in a wee while, eh? We have our own important stuff to do.’ His cheeky, handsome smile and tousled hair were all the encouragement she needed.

‘Well, when you put it like that…’

* * *

A while later, after making the two-hour journey in bright summer sunshine through the stunning Highland countryside with its vibrant colour palette of green, purple and yellow, Bella had met her mum outside Olivia’s studio and now stood before the full-length mirror with her mum beside her and both with their hands over their eyes as instructed.

‘No peeking. Give me a minute to lay the bottom out properly for the full effect,’ Olivia said.

Bella’s heart was hammering at her ribs and her mouth was dry.

What if she hated the wedding dress Olivia had designed for her?

What if it looked wrong? It was one thing loving something on paper but actually seeing it real life was a whole different thing.

Her hands shook and she inhaled a long, deep, calming breath.

‘Are you okay, Bells? You’re shaking like a leaf,’ her mum said, gripping her hand.

‘Your mum’s right. Anyone would think you’re scared you won’t like the dress,’ Olivia said with a giggle.

Bella cringed. Olivia knew her so well. ‘No, don’t be daft. I know I’ll love it.’ She was very much aware of how unconvincing she sounded.

Olivia sighed. ‘Okay, I want to assure you I’ve taken all the new measurements into account, and it looks stunning, if I do say so myself. You’re so beautiful though, Bells, you’d look incredible in a black sack.’

Bella swallowed. ‘That’s not what you’ve dressed me in, though, is it?’ She laughed nervously, verging on the hysterical. ‘I feel like one of those women on that show Say Yes to the Dress where their mother has chosen something for them to try on and it’s hideous.’

Her mum cleared her throat. ‘Excuse me, I have impeccable taste, thank you very much.’

‘I know that, Mum, I didn’t mean you specifically.

But I’ve seen that Don’t Tell the Bride too where the tasteless fiancé has chosen a dress and when they open their eyes in front of the mirror it’s fluorescent green with glow sticks dangling from the hemline.

Or has fairy wings attached to the back.

N-not that I think your designs are hideous, Liv, I’m not saying your designs are anything like that…

I… I’m just nervous, that’s all. I want to love it no matter what.

But I just—’ Bella was relieved to hear Olivia and her mum giggling.

Olivia interrupted. ‘Good grief, Bells, you’ve built this up into something akin to a dentist visit, and it’s supposed to be fun.’

Guilt niggled at Bella. ‘You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry. I just want this to be perfect. I’ve never been so uptight about an item of clothing.’

Olivia squeezed her arm. ‘I promise you there’s no fluorescent green or fairy wings, and not a glow stick in sight. You can both open your eyes and see for yourselves.’

Bella allowed her eyelids to flutter open and slowly she raked her gaze from the floor upwards. She turned to her mum, who had tears in her eyes.

‘Oh, Bella,’ was all her mum managed to say.

Bella covered her mouth with her hands as her stomach lurched.

She was head to toe in ivory lace over a fitted satin shift.

Pearls were scattered around the neckline and diamantes twinkled all over the bodice.

The dress had long lace sleeves and a fitted waist that showed off her new figure beautifully and there was just enough of a train to make her feel like a princess without it being a trip hazard.

She didn’t quite look like herself. Or at least not the self she had always been used to seeing in her reflection.

This self was the woman she had always dreamed of being. It was all a little overwhelming.

‘Well?’ her mum said, a wide smile on her face in spite of the tears. ‘All I can say is your dad will burst with pride when he sees you. He’s already excited to walk you down the aisle, Bella, but when he sees you… I bet he cries. I just know he will.’

When Bella didn’t speak, Olivia covered her mouth with her hands, mirroring her stance, and mumbled, ‘Oh God, you do hate it, don’t you?

’ Before Bella could reply, Olivia held her hands up.

‘Okay, let’s not panic. The wedding is in four months…

ish … so I can redesign. I’ll make it a priority.

I’m so sorry, Bells. You were supposed to love it. I’m so, so sorry.’

‘Oh no, don’t say that, Olivia, it’s beautiful,’ Bella’s mum said and turned to glare at her daughter. ‘Bella?’ Her eyes were filled with panic and her tone filled with annoyance.

‘No, no, it’s fine. It has to be perfect,’ Olivia said. ‘I can start on a redesign right away.’

Bella turned to see tears in her friend’s eyes and plonked a finger over her lips.

‘Oy! Stop blethering, will you? The panic on both of your faces, seriously.’ She shook her head.

‘I was just taking it all in. But I love it! It’s absolutely perfect.

I’ve never felt more beautiful than I do in this bloody masterpiece.

So, stop your fretting and hug me, both of you! ’

Olivia stood there for what felt like an age, open-mouthed and wide-eyed. Then, as if someone had flicked her ‘on’ switch again, she leapt forward and threw her arms around Bella. Bella’s mum quickly followed suit.

‘Oh, thank goodness! I was heartbroken there for a wee second,’ Olivia said.

She pulled away and fixed her eyes on Bella again.

‘Hang on, you’re not just saying that, are you?

Because if you are, you needn’t try to make me feel better.

I’d rather you got the dress you wanted, not one you hate.

I don’t want you to settle for second best.’

Bella shook her head and turned to face herself again.

‘Liv, believe me, it’s in no way second best, in fact, is there anything above first best because that’s how I feel about this dress!

It’s the most perfect dress I’ve ever seen.

And I get to wear it. I get to look this incredible for my wedding day. Me !’

‘You’re going to be the most stunning bride, sweetheart,’ her mum said, blotting her eyes with a tissue. ‘And as I said, just wait until your dad sees you.’

Olivia and Bella’s mum flanked her on either side and smiled at her reflection in the gilt-framed mirror.

Olivia shook her head. ‘Bells, you look this incredible all the time. You just don’t see it. But Harris is going to be completely in awe when he sees you.’

‘I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think you might be right.

I just hope he recognises me,’ Bella said, laughing.

‘Maybe he’ll think the wrong bride has turned up.

’ Then she turned to Olivia and took her hand.

‘Thank you. I could never have found anything this perfect in a shop. I’m so sorry about all the stress and worry before.

I’m honoured that you’ve gone to all this trouble for me. ’ Her eyes welled with tears again.

‘She’s right, Olivia. I think it’s the most beautiful wedding gown I’ve ever seen,’ Bella’s mum said with a wavering voice.

Olivia’s chin trembled. ‘Oh, stop it, you’ll have us all sobbing. And it was no trouble at all. You’re one of my oldest and dearest friends, Bells. Think of it as my wedding gift to you.’

Bella chewed her lip. ‘The expense though, Liv. You’re already hosting the wedding. It’s all too much. You’re going to be completely out of pocket.’

Olivia placed a hand on both Bella’s arms. ‘Hey, you can stop that. Your designs for the reception area at the distillery are sublime and you won’t let me pay you, so I think we are more than square.

And anyway, it’s my home so it’s up to me what I do with it.

’ She put an arm around Bella’s mum’s shoulder.

‘And your folks are contributing to the food and drink so it’s all good.

But I refuse to charge you for holding your wedding here when it’s my business, Bells.

Subject closed. End of. Finito! So, let’s get the hem of this dress pinned, and tucked a little more in at the waist and then we can go for some lunch. ’

Bella knew when to quit arguing with Olivia and it appeared they had reached that point, so she stayed quiet for a while, storing the conversation in her memory to revisit at a later point.