Page 42 of Snowy Surprises in the Highlands (Scottish Highland #5)

Bella sat with Skye and Olivia sipping mimosas and Isla drinking decapitated coffee, as the makeup artist put the finishing touches to her look for the important day ahead.

Dougie had set a fire going in the grate, which was welcome seeing as it was a freezing cold and frosty Christmas Eve.

She had sent Harris’s Spotify playlist to Olivia so she could play it on her Bluetooth speaker as they prepared for the wedding.

Bruno Mars was currently singing about wanting to marry someone as Olivia and Skye sang along and danced around the drawing room, champagne flutes held aloft and feet bare while Bella looked on, trying not to giggle, lest she be accidentally poked in the eye with an eyeliner pencil, and Isla chuckled as she observed them all.

They were temporarily dressed in their specially commissioned embroidered Bridesmaid and Maid of Honour robes that matched the Bride one Bella wore; they had been a special gift from Mirren and Dougie.

Bertie was out walking with Brodie, Wilf and Marley in a bid to ensure the young dog was more calm than usual for the ceremony, seeing as he had an important role in proceedings.

From her seat by the window, which was the best place for natural light, Bella could see clouds in the sky that looked to be heavy with snow, and she wondered if she might get her wish for a white wedding in more ways than one.

Only she just needed it to hold off until everyone arrived safely. And by everyone she meant Harris.

Skye and Olivia had presented Bella with some very pretty pearl and marcasite earrings as her something new.

The blue garter she wore on her thigh hit two of the wedding traditions both on colour and the fact it was borrowed from Olivia and of course she wore her granny’s gifted marcasite pendant as her something old.

The hairstylist had already been, and Isla, Olivia and Skye were primped and primed, ready to get dressed when the time arrived.

Bella had let her blonde hair grow to below her shoulders in the lead-up to the wedding and today it was half pinned up with curled tendrils falling loosely to frame her face, and tiny diamantes and pearls scattered through the top and back.

Her makeup was simple but enough to show up in photographs, and hopefully to last out the day.

She loved how she looked and was feeling confident in her skin for the first time in a very long while.

She simply couldn’t wait to get her dress on and get to the chapel.

And she couldn’t wait to see Harris again.

Everything was on track; Harris had called at nine thirty to say he had been a little delayed but that he was setting off shortly, and the wedding wasn’t until one so there was plenty of time.

He’d assured he would already be showered and would only need to change when he arrived.

It was now ten o’clock and Bella had relaxed a lot, but she was sure that the alcohol in the mimosas had had a hand in that fact.

Bruno Mars finished singing and then it was the turn of Train and ‘Marry Me’.

Bella smiled as she listened to the lyrics.

He’d clearly put a lot of thought into the songs he had chosen and each one so far had made her excited and happy.

‘It brings it all back to me,’ Olivia said with a sigh as she flopped onto the squashy burgundy sofa. ‘I loved my wedding day so much and didn’t want it to end.’

‘You looked so beautiful,’ Bella said, remembering the glow she’d had about her.

‘You look gorgeous too, Bells,’ Skye said.

‘Thank you.’ She turned to Skye. ‘Anyway, when are you guys going to tie the knot, Skye? You’ve done it all back to front. The house and baby but not the wedding.’

‘You know me, I like to be awkward.’ She grinned.

‘And don’t you worry, I’m working on Ben.

We both definitely want to get married but there’s always something getting in the way.

For example, said house and baby. But we’ll do it eventually.

Although seeing how stressed Bella’s been, I might suggest we elope. ’

Bella narrowed her eyes and tried to keep her mouth still as the makeup artist was at a critical point with lipliner. ‘Erm… didn’t you consider doing that before and your mum pretty much had kittens over the whole thing?’

Skye rolled her eyes. ‘Oh yeah… I’d forgotten about that. Sod it though, it’s my wedding. Or it would be… if it was happening.’

‘Maybe you girls need to do what they do in wrestling and tag team him into setting a date,’ Isla said.

‘Ooh, now you’re talking, Isla. We need to hatch a plan,’ Skye said, giggling. ‘Anyway, what song have you chosen for your first dance at the reception, Bells?’

‘You’ll think we’re weird because it’s not your traditional first dance song and it’s not a slow one either, but we’ve chosen the song that reminds us of when we first properly met. It’s a song we both love and it’s just… us .’

‘Come on, Bella, to coin a Granny Isla phrase, my suspenders are killing me ,’ Olivia said with a giggle as she nudged Isla.

Skye almost choked on her drink. ‘You really are a gem, Granny Isla.’

‘Aye but you all thought I was joking,’ Isla replied with a wink.

‘So, go on then, Bells, which song is it?’ Olivia asked.

‘It’s “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence and the Machine,’ Bella said as she remembered the day when Harris took her to meet Neil the mechanic about getting Fifi fixed after she had hit a giant pothole.

She had worn her long-sleeved Florence and the Machine top which had sparked a conversation about something they had in common, and Harris had guessed her favourite song to be ‘Delilah’, whereas his was ‘Dog Days Are Over’.

And after that, his favourite song quickly became hers.

‘Oh, wow! I think that’s a brilliant choice. It’s different and that’s a good thing,’ Skye said.

‘Oh, I do like Florence and her machine. That’s what they call her songwriting partner, you know. But she’s actually a human,’ Isla added proudly. ‘What are you having as your entrance music, hen?’

‘I’ve chosen Pachelbel’s “Canon in D Major”,’ Bella said.

‘I know it’s a common choice but it’s a beautiful piece of music and I think it will be so lovely to walk down the aisle to.

I’ve been imagining it for ages now.’ Her heart skipped again, and a shiver of excitement travelled through her body.

‘Ooh, yes, I agree. It’s definitely the right choice,’ Olivia said. ‘A real classic.’

Olivia poured more mimosas into their glasses and Bella had a giggling fit. ‘I’m going to be slurring my vows at this rate.’

‘Believe me, you’ll completely sober up once that chapel door opens,’ Olivia told her.

‘I can’t wait to see Harris all dressed up waiting for me at the altar,’ Bella said dreamily. ‘It’s like all my Christmases and birthdays have come at once.’

Mirren burst into the room without knocking, which wasn’t like her at all. ‘Have you heard from Harris?’ she asked, her face pale and her eyes wide.

‘Yes, don’t worry, he’s on his way. He was a wee bit delayed but I’m not worried,’ Bella replied. ‘He’ll make it in plenty of time.’ Then she noticed the expression on Mirren’s face and her heart stuttered. ‘Why? What’s wrong?’

Mirren swallowed and shook her head. ‘Oh… nothing… it’s nothing.’ She turned to Olivia. ‘Olivia, perhaps could I have a quick word with you in the corridor?’

Olivia stood. ‘Mirren? It doesn’t look like nothing. Is everything okay? Has something happened?’

She nodded and forced a smile. ‘I’m sure it’s all fine.

’ And then almost immediately her face crumpled, and she shook her head.

‘It’s probably nothing at all but…’ She sighed deeply and pointed at the TV.

‘Switch on the news,’ she said. The three friends shared bewildered glances.

So, she repeated herself, getting agitated and wagging her hand at the screen in the corner of the room, ‘The news, on the TV, switch it on.’

Bella sat upright, forcing the makeup artist to take a step back. ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ Her heart began to thud in her chest; a pronounced and quick thump thump thump which was no longer about excitement but dread. ‘Is Harris okay? What’s happened, Mirren?’ Skye gripped her hand.

Olivia switched the TV on and flicked to the news channel. ‘Oh,’ was all she managed to say as she covered her mouth with her hand.

‘— So just to recap, we’ve had reports of a vehicle fire on the Skye Bridge at the midpoint between Kyle of Lochalsh and Glentorrin.

The road is closed in both directions and fire services and police are in attendance.

There are not believed to be any casualties at this time,’ the female newsreader was saying, and on the screen, as she spoke, was a scene of chaos.

Police cars with their blue lights strobing could be seen blocking the traffic from entering the bridge at the Kyle of Lochalsh side, which meant no one was getting off it either.

Crowds of onlookers had gathered to watch events unfolding.

‘I repeat there are thankfully no casualties reported,’ the newsreader reiterated as arcs of water and billowing smoke could be seen in the distance, ‘but, as today is Christmas Eve, we have to warn you there may be a fair bit of disruption for the foreseeable future, for those hoping to access or leave the island, as the road will likely be closed for some time until the fire is completely extinguished, there is no danger to life and the damaged vehicle can be safely removed.’

‘See, no casualties, which is good,’ Olivia said as she looked across the room to Bella.

Bella felt the colour drain south from her face and she grabbed her phone and immediately dialled Harris’s number. It went straight to voicemail. She tried again and the same happened, so she typed out a text:

Harris, are you ok? We’ve just seen that there’s been a vehicle fire on the bridge. I’m worried about you. Please call me.