Page 3 of Snowy Surprises in the Highlands (Scottish Highland #5)

A MONTH LATER

The day of the engagement party had arrived and Bella was thrilled to have Skye and Ben, Olivia and Brodie, and her family in Glentorrin to celebrate with them.

When she and Harris had video called Olivia and Brodie to tell them about their engagement late on Christmas Day, their friends had been so happy for them.

‘You must get married here at the chapel, Bells! It would be our gift to you. And I know it’s always been your dream to get married here,’ Olivia had said.

She was right. However, Bella had dreamed of one day marrying Kerr MacBain in the chapel by the loch, in the beautiful grounds of Drumblair Castle.

Funny how things turn out , she thought.

‘We wouldn’t want to put you out, Liv. And you can’t just offer us a free wedding. You have a business to run.’

‘You wouldn’t be putting us out, you dafty. You’re my best friend.’

Brodie interjected, ‘Aye, we’d be sad if you chose to marry somewhere else.’

Olivia’s eyes widened and she held up her hands. ‘Unless you want to get married in Glentorrin, of course. We’d totally understand, seeing as it’s where your life is now.’

Bella had turned to look at Harris, who had shrugged. ‘Drumblair is definitely a dream wedding venue. I’m game if you are.’ He turned his attention back to Olivia and Brodie. ‘Thanks ever so much, guys. What an amazing offer.’

Bella had been desperate to jump from her seat and perform a happy dance, but instead she squeezed Harris’s hand and beamed into the camera lens. ‘In that case, we would love to get married in the chapel by the loch. Thank you.’

They had been floating on air since Christmas but had waited until after Hogmanay to gather everyone together at the Coxswain pub in Glentorrin for their engagement party, meaning everyone was free.

The party was taking place on Burns Night and was going to be combined with the usual annual celebration.

There had been a heavy snowfall during the daytime but thankfully everyone had arrived safely and Glentorrin just happened to look picture-postcard perfect for the occasion.

Even though the festive decorations were gone, Glentorrin in the snow had a wondrous, magical feel about it.

The air was crisp and fresh, and the village’s inhabitants walked around rosy cheeked and wrapped up in woolly hats and gloves.

Bella’s friends, Skye and Ben, were staying at Morag’s B his favourite position.

Stella had made her renowned haggis, neeps and tatties – the obligatory fare for Burns Night, and of course Caitlin, the owner of the village bakery, had surprised them with a beautiful cake.

Bella was delighted at how quickly Glentorrin had come to feel like home and how willing the villagers had been to welcome them into the fold.

She felt like she had always lived there and the friends she had made felt like she had known them for so much longer than the couple of years they had lived there.

Since their relocation, Harris, who had been missing playing with his band Coppercaillie, had managed to form a new band with some men from the village.

The band consisted of Bella’s friend Millie’s fiancé Dex – a mechanic who used to roadie for bands and spent a while as a guitar tech for The Darkness – on guitar; her friend and Lifeboat House Museum owner Jules’s husband Reid on piano – he was also the owner of the art studio in the village; and Caitlin the baker’s husband, Archie, who owned the outdoor gear shop and campsite, played an instrument called a cajon which, Bella discovered, is a sort of box drum that’s sat upon and played like a bongo.

They had called themselves ‘The Glentorrin Four’, which Bella had remarked sounded like a notorious criminal gang, but it turned out the name had been deliberate, considering Harris’s job; such was his sense of humour.

The band had been practising in the village hall so they could play at the party and Bella was excited, if a little trepidatious, to hear them.

In order to advertise their first gig, Reid had designed some very arty posters that featured band photos taken by his teenage son Evin.

In the shots, the guys were down by the water’s edge in a variety of poses.

Bella’s favourite shot was a rather silly one where Evin had asked them all to jump up in the air and make daft faces.

He’d snapped the picture at exactly the right moment and in Bella’s mind the photograph totally encapsulated the men’s personalities.

The other shot chosen for the poster was one in which the band were wearing sunglasses, regardless of the fact it was winter and freezing cold.

Very Britpop , Bella had thought, smiling when she had first seen the final prints.

This evening, seeing the posters up in the pub took her back to a recent conversation she’d had with the other women about their partners and their new venture…

* * *

‘So, girls, what’s it like to be living with the members of a boyband?

’ Morag had asked when they had gathered at Jules’s house for their first book club after Hogmanay.

Her husband Kenneth, who ran the village shop, was the only man from the close-knit group who wasn’t in the band.

He had been asked if he’d like to join but he had said he might scare audiences away with his lack of musical talent so would stick to watching them.

‘I’m fighting for the mirror on a morning these days.’ Caitlin laughed. ‘That’s no different from normal though, to be fair. I do have a rock star and two girls to compete with.’ The other women joined in with her laughter. Her teenage daughter Grace, and stepdaughter Sophie, were growing up fast.

‘It’s when the groupers start to come round that you’ll need to worry, eh, Bella?’ Isla had said, winking at her granddaughter, who got the joke immediately. Isla had once talked of pop stars having group ers instead of group ies and it had made Bella giggle uncontrollably for ages.

‘I think we can all rest assured that they’re not quite glamorous enough for that,’ Jules had said. ‘They’re more dad bod than boyband.’

Isla scoffed. ‘Oh, I don’t know. They’re all as good-looking as that Robin Williams singer you youngsters all used to rave about. The one who sang that song about Angels. I liked that song.’

Jules had almost choked on her gin and tonic. ‘I think you mean Rob bie Williams, Isla.’

‘Aye, that’s what a said,’ Isla replied in true Isla form.

‘I tell you what though, have you seen Take That lately? They’re all maturing like fine wine if you ask me,’ Ruby said.

A former Hollywood actress, she had moved to Glentorrin to be with her now husband Mitch.

Mitch had stepped in to manage the band which the women translated as, ‘I’ll go to their rehearsals and drink beer with them at the Coxswain afterwards. ’

‘Oh yes, Howard from Take That is just lovely,’ Morag added. ‘He was always my favourite.’

The rest of them turned to her. ‘Fancy a toy boy, do you, Morag?’ Bella asked with a teasing smile.

‘Och, I think I’m past all that,’ Morag replied. ‘Although a girl can dream, eh? Just don’t tell Kenneth I said that.’

‘Our guys are as handsome as Take That already,’ Millie said dreamily. ‘Although it’s to be hoped they’re not going to start attracting groupies. I’ve heard some terrifying stories from Dex about obsessed fans from his days on the road with The Darkness.’