Page 35 of Snowy Surprises in the Highlands (Scottish Highland #5)

Harris hugged Bella close to him. ‘Are you sure you’re okay?

’ he asked, kissing her head. They had been out of the lift for around five minutes and had made their way back down to the hotel foyer from where the lift had been stuck.

She was shivering and he had draped his jacket around her shoulders.

Carlton had gone straight to the room he’d been sleeping in on the second floor to retrieve a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.

He walked back into the foyer swigging from it, no doubt to counteract the panic he had been feeling when they were trapped.

Bella nodded. ‘I’m absolutely fine. I’m glad to be out of there but I’m unharmed, don’t worry.’

‘Has he been okay with you?’ Harris whispered as he gave a sideways glance to Carlton.

She debated for a moment whether to say anything but remembered their agreement to keep no secrets from each other. ‘We had words. I’ll tell you more when we get home. Speaking of which, can we go? I’m starving and still cold.’

Carlton was now talking to the fire crew and nodding as the main firefighter, ironically female, pointed at the lift. Bella couldn’t make out everything that was being said but the words dangerous and condemned stood out. Carlton was clearly taking it all in, thankfully.

Eventually he walked over to where Harris and Bella stood.

He glanced sheepishly at Harris. ‘Thanks again for coming to our rescue, Inspector Donaldson. It’s been quite an unpleasant experience.

I’m just glad Bella was with me because I’m not sure I would’ve survived on my own.

I’m sure she’s told you that I cried like a baby in there. ’

Harris crumpled his brow and shook his head. ‘She didn’t, actually. Are you hurt? Do you need an ambulance after all, Mr Somers?’

Carlton’s face turned pink as he turned to Bella.

‘You didn’t? Ah… okay. No, no thanks, I’m good.

No physical injuries. And thanks, Bella.

I imagined you’d probably have enjoyed filling him in on that little juicy snippet.

But I appreciate your discretion, even if I’ve blown my own cover. ’ He smiled.

Bella was a little hurt that he would presume such a thing of her when she had given him no reason to. ‘I’m not a mean person, Carlton. I don’t take delight in people’s phobias.’

Harris’s brow crumpled. ‘Phobias? What phobias?’

Carlton explained, his face colouring a new shade of pink. ‘I… erm… I’m claustrophobic. Always have been. I was terrified in there. And then the lights went out and made it a hundred times worse.’

Harris’s frown remained in place. ‘So why use the lift? Claustrophobic people don’t use lifts. Everyone knows that.’

Bella couldn’t help smiling at the fact he had repeated her exact words.

Carlton rubbed the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed.

‘Yeah… I just… I’m an idiot. What else can I say?

I’m guessing Bella will explain.’ He turned to Bella.

‘And once again, I’m truly sorry, Bella.

I completely understand if you want to rethink working on this place.

Although I sincerely hope you don’t. I doubt anyone else could do as good a job. ’

Harris’s nostrils flared and his cheeks flamed too but for very different reasons.

He pointed his index finger in Carlton’s face and spoke through gritted teeth.

‘Okay, why are you apologising to Bella? What exactly happened in there with you two? Is there something I should know?’ He turned to Bella and gestured at Carlton. ‘Should I be arresting him?’

Bella placed a hand on his chest. ‘It’s fine, Harris. It’s been dealt with. Let’s just go home, eh?’

Harris nodded but glared at Carlton then nodded towards the bottle he was clutching. ‘Don’t drink too much of that stuff. It doesn’t mix well with the aftereffects of shock, and don’t even think of driving anywhere because I wouldn’t hesitate to arrest you and throw you in jail.’

Carlton glanced down at the bottle then saluted with his empty hand. ‘Duly noted, Inspector. I’ll be staying put and ordering a pizza.’

‘Goodnight, Carlton. Take it easy,’ Bella said.

He nodded. ‘Thanks again… for everything.’

* * *

Once they arrived home, Harris lit the log burner in the lounge and made spaghetti carbonara, then they sat at the dining table eating as Bella explained the goings on of the day, leaving nothing out, in the name of transparency and their no-secrets agreement.

Watching Harris’s reactions wasn’t easy for Bella.

Once again, the colour of his face spoke volumes on how he was feeling.

Harris clenched his jaw and shook his head.

‘The arrogant shit. Who the hell does he think he is, kissing you like that when you’ve told him countless times you’re not interested?

I know I said I’m not a caveman type, Bella, but I’m raging.

If you’d told me this when we were back there I would’ve punched him and sod the consequences. ’

Bella sighed. ‘That’s exactly why I didn’t. He’s not worth losing your career over. And I can stick up for myself, remember.’

He reached out and took her hand. ‘Aye, I know you can, darlin’. But… just thinking about what his intentions were makes me…’ His jaw ticked under his skin again and his lips curled up tightly for a moment. ‘And the fact that he made sure you didn’t have your phone… What kind of man is he?’

‘Not a great one. And nothing happened so you don’t need to think about it any more. Okay?’

‘But something did happen, Bella. He forced himself on you and trapped you in a broken lift. That’s assault and false imprisonment right there. I should arrest him. I should go back there and—’ He made to stand up.

‘No! Please don’t do that. It’s fine, honestly. He’s realised his mistakes. I don’t want to take things any further.’

He sat again. ‘But what about the design job? You’re not going to carry on there, are you?’

Bella chewed thoughtfully for a moment, relishing the flavour of the creamy pasta sauce.

‘I think I have to. For the sake of the building. I’ve put so much work into the project and it’s going to be wonderful when it’s done.

I genuinely don’t think I’ll get any more trouble from Carlton.

I really think I made him see that his behaviour wasn’t acceptable. ’

‘In my opinion, he’s never going to be able to make a go of that place, you know.

He’s far too immature. I bet you he doesn’t last a month when the place is open.

He’s a model not a businessman. I doubt he’s ever run a place like that, or anything remotely similar, and it seems to me like he has no interest in the business side of things. ’ He had a point.

‘I’ve thought the same things too. But thankfully I don’t have to be there to watch him fail. Once my designs are fully implemented and completed, I can move on and never look back.’

‘Will you inform his parents about what happened?’

Bella hadn’t quite made her mind up about that.

‘I feel like I should, seeing as I tried to tell them what he was like before, and evidently this isn’t his first rodeo.

Maybe if they had acted this wouldn’t have happened, who knows.

But I don’t want to come across as a trouble causer.

I’m not sure I want that reputation. It won’t be helpful going forward. ’

Harris heaved a deep sigh. ‘You’re not a trouble causer.

He’s a predator. It’s his reputation that should be ruined, not yours.

If he ever does anything that you find the slightest bit unnerving, or if he makes you the tiniest bit uncomfortable again, you need to tell me. I’ll arrest him like a shot.’

Bella squeezed his hand. ‘If it happens, I promise I’ll tell you. But I don’t think it will.’

* * *

A week later, Bella returned to Iolair-Mhara to check on the progress the teams had been making. She hadn’t yet spoken to Mrs or Mr Somers about their son and wondered how things would be with Carlton seeing as she hadn’t heard from him since the lift incident either.

She walked into the foyer and was happy to hear the sound of a sander and in the distance, somewhere in the building a man was singing out of tune to an ELO track on the radio; never had ‘Mr Blue Sky’ sounded more like stormy weather, metaphorically speaking.

Bella glanced over at the lift which had been bolted shut and the control panel removed, rendering it completely unusable, and a shiver made the hairs on her arms stand up.

She had pushed for the pace to be picked up and the painting and decorating company had sent extra bodies to ensure the work would be completed in a timely manner. She loved the building but no longer loved what it represented for her and wanted it to be over sooner rather than later.

‘You must be Bella,’ a voice said, making her jump.

She turned to see a tall man aged around thirty-five with short blond hair.

He looked like an older, slightly less handsome version of Carlton.

He was wearing jeans and a checked shirt tucked in.

He held out his hand. ‘Nate Somers Junior, pleased to make your acquaintance.’

She shook his hand. ‘Oh, nice to meet you too. Where’s Carlton?’ she asked, glancing behind him, expecting to see his younger brother.

Nate Junior rested his fingertips on his hips and sucked air in through his teeth.

‘My little brother is back home learning how to respect women,’ he said.

‘I must apologise on behalf of my parents for what happened. They refuse to acknowledge what he can be like. Well, until now, that is. Unlike them, I’m very much aware that he’s a dumbass and an embarrassment.

Pardon my language. I was horrified when I heard what he’d done.

’ He shook his head. ‘You’d have been well within your rights to press charges. ’

Bella wondered how on earth he knew about what had happened when she hadn’t told anyone but Harris. And surely he wouldn’t have gone behind her back? ‘Erm… Sorry, but how do you?—’

‘Know about what happened?’ Bella nodded. ‘He finally did something right and told Mom and Dad before you could. Figured it would sound better coming from him.’

‘Was he honest about it all?’

Nate Junior raised his eyebrows and huffed the air from his lungs. ‘Oh, yeah. We got the elevator situation, the comments, the suggestive way he dressed… or undressed around you. The whole nine yards. He’s gone into therapy.’

Bella was surprised he had come clean so willingly and hadn’t hidden anything. ‘Ah. I see.’

‘Yeah, I can’t say I was either surprised or impressed. He’s a spoiled brat who thinks his looks will just get him everywhere and get him out of trouble too. But I think maybe he’s learned his lesson now. Only time will tell.’

‘Won’t he be coming back here at all?’ Bella felt a small niggle of guilt but quickly brushed it aside, remembering how he had behaved and that none of it had been her fault. A very important thing for her to keep in mind.

‘I think my folks are hoping to send him back once he’s been punished thoroughly.

The thing I didn’t expect is that he actually wants to come back.

Says he’s grown very fond of the place, and of Skye in general.

Says he found a certain amount of peace here that he’s never felt before.

That is until he acted like an asshole. He’s currently working for free for my dad doing property maintenance, which Dad says will be good practice for if he does return to manage this place.

’ He glanced around the foyer. ‘I’m guessing you know about the situation with Helena Katsaros.

She was a makeup artist he worked with on his last modelling job. ’

Bella nodded. ‘He did mention something about that, yes.’

‘Yeah, she ended his modelling career, and rightly so in my opinion. Jackass. Oh, pardon my language. No one would hire him after what he did to her came out. He doesn’t seem to get that people talk.

Anyway, I’m here to oversee things for a while, although looking at your work I don’t think there’ll be much for me to do.

Which I’m happy about because that means I can get back home to my wife and son, and my own job.

’ He smiled and Bella wondered how on earth two brothers could be so diametrically opposed in character.

‘I mean, we’re cracking on well,’ Bella said, also glancing around. ‘The rooms are coming together great, so I’m fine with you going back to the States and I can just keep in touch via video if that helps? I wouldn’t want to keep you from your family.’

Nate Junior smiled and shook his head. ‘Your accent is pretty awesome. I think I could listen to you reading a long grocery list and not get bored.’ He cringed and rubbed a hand over his face.

‘Jeez, that sounded like something my baby brother would say. My apologies. I can assure you I’m not flirting.

I adore my wife, Deandra. And thank you.

I think it’s very clear I can trust you to do a great job without me peering over your shoulder.

I’m staying at a hotel in Portree tonight,’ Bella was surprised that he pronounced it correctly, ‘and tomorrow, but I think I’ll book my return flights.

With today’s technology there’s no real reason for me to be here.

I came on my parents’ request to make sure you were okay after…

And it’s not like I know anything about interior design.

I mean, I know what I like but it’s nowhere near as tasteful as this place.

That’s why my wife won’t let me near a colour chart or a Home Depot.

’ He laughed. ‘Well, I’ll let you crack on a little more.

I think I might go souvenir shopping for my son, DJ.

He’s into castles and I’m sure I’ll find something he’ll like. ’

Bella smiled. ‘That sounds like a lovely idea. Have fun.’

‘Thanks. And again, I’m so sorry about what my brother put you through.

My parents don’t always see what he’s like with him being the baby of the family.

But I mean, he’s thirty years old so there comes a point he has to be treated like an adult and realise his actions have to have consequences, know what I mean?

Good to meet you, Bella. So long.’ He saluted her and then walked away in the direction of the stairs; Bella presumed to collect his jacket.

Nate Somers Junior seemed like a nice man and clearly knew his brother well. Bella felt a rush of relief flood her veins knowing that she had been believed and vindicated.