Page 40 of Chasing a Highland Dream

Harris gave a curt nod. ‘Aye, there was a call to say someone had fallen in the river but turns out it was an old coat. Anyway, have a lovely evening.’ He made to carry on walking, but his partner wasn’t quite ready to leave.

‘You’ve got good taste, Aiden,’ Officer Mel said with a nod towards the hotel. ‘It’s a lovely place that. Very special. Good place for a date.’ She raised her eyebrows.

‘Indeed it is,’ Harris said, his face still expressionless. ‘Good choice. Great food.’

‘That’s good to know. Anyway, goodnight, sergeant, goodnight, officer.’ Aiden was clearly ready for the conversation to be over. ‘Nice to see you under more friendly circumstances.’

Mel giggled. ‘Oh aye, that was an interesting night, wasn’t it? I should think you weren’t expecting to be thrown to the floor by a woman on your first night at the castle.’

Harris kept his gaze fixed on Bella. ‘Well, we’ll be off. Come on, Mel, back to the station; let’s allow these good people to enjoy their evening.’ Mel rolled her eyes and nodded her head sideways at Harris.

Bella stifled a giggle. ‘Bye, Harris. Nice to see you again, Mel.’

Aiden opened the door to the restaurant and Bella walked inside. ‘The poor guy’s got it bad for you,’ he said as the maître d’ showed them to their table and handed them each a menu.

Bella scoffed. ‘Don’t be daft. He was on duty, that’s why he was all serious.’

Aiden gave a knowing look but clearly decided to change the subject. ‘So, shall we have a nice bottle of wine? What do you prefer?’

‘I’m no wine connoisseur but I really like Pinot Noir.’ She hoped she hadn’t said the wrong thing. If she was honest, it all tasted the same to her, apart from the cheap rubbish that gave you a hangover just by looking at the tacky label.

‘Pinot Noir sounds good.’ The waiter came over and took their drinks order, then they sat in silence as they perused their menus for a while.

Bella took in her surroundings, something she couldn’t help doing. The walls were covered in a beautiful gold damask paper and there was an ornate light fitting hanging from a circular gold leaf-effect panel on the ceiling. It was very opulent, very classy. Tea lights glowed from the centre of each table, adding to the warm, intimate ambience.

Bella wondered where the evening would go and if things might turn into a date after all.

She really hoped so.

20

Bella and Aiden made small talk about their family and friends for a while but, as they finished their melt-in-the-mouth steak main courses, and Aiden topped up her drink, he asked, ‘So, I remember you saying you like crime novels. Who are your favourite authors?’

Bella took a sip of the red liquid in her glass and relished the warm sensation on her tongue. She still wondered if she had inadvertently read anything by him. ‘I have quite a few go-to authors, but I love Ian Rankin. Especially the Rebus novels. And I’ve read everything Lisa Jewell has ever written. And, of course, Ann Cleeves is a favourite too. I love the Vera series especially. But I think my absolute favourite author has to be Carrick Murphy. His writing is… ugh, amazing. He has this way of describing places so you feel like you’re there, part of the story, witnessing it all play out. His books should be made into movies in my opinion. I’d be the first in the queue to see them if they did. Although he hasn’t released anything in absolutely ages, which is weird as he’s usually so prolific.’ Realising she had waffled, and the wine was going to her head a little, she asked, ‘How about you? Do you like Carrick Murphy? What do you like to read? And who inspires your writing?’

Aiden chuckled. ‘I’ve heard good things about Carrick Murphy but it may surprise you to hear I rarely read crime novels myself. I’m actually more into urban and dark fantasy these days. Authors like Ben Aaronovitch and Joe Abercrombie. I love their characterisation and world building.’ He sipped from his glass and continued, ‘I enjoy writing crime and thriller books, though, don’t get me wrong, but I find it difficult to read the genre I write in. Probably paranoia about a clash of stories or something, I don’t know.’ He took another small sip of his drink before carrying on, ‘I suppose I was initially inspired by the likes of Ian Rankin and Irvine Welsh, though. Scottish authors who write about Scottish people and Scottish places. Like I said, I may be Irish born but I have a strong affinity with Scotland.’

‘The other day, you said you write under a pen name but then seemed a bit reluctant to tell me any more about it. Is it an “I could tell you, but I’d have to kill you” situation?’ She grinned.

Aiden placed down his glass and his expression became serious. He frowned and glanced over his shoulder, causing Bella to worry her joke was somehow a little too close to reality.

He chewed his lip for a moment and leaned forward. ‘Look, I know I seemed a bit off about that, I shot off without giving an explanation and I’m really sorry I did that. But I really do have good reason.’ She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed nervously. ‘It’s been a stressful time for me. Embarrassing, too.’

Bella widened her eyes. ‘Okay. I’m sorry to hear that. Stressful and embarrassing in what way? If you don’t mind me asking, that is?’

He pulled his lower lip between his teeth and closed his eyes for a few seconds. ‘Severe writer’s block.’

Bella leaned forward and rested her hand on his arm. ‘Oh no. That really sucks, I’m so sorry.’

He gave a swift wave of his hand. ‘Oh no, it’ll be fine. I’m being badgered to get the book done but I want to get it right. More pressure.’ He sighed. ‘This trip is a last-ditch attempt to spark something in me. The castle location is apparently meant to inspire me for the next book in the series, which has now been two years in the making. No good when I usually write three to four in one year. It all stemmed from…’ He swallowed hard. ‘I had some… erm… issues… it wasn’t great there for a while.’

Bella’s stomach knotted for him. ‘You don’t have to tell me anything, it’s fine.’

Aiden sighed. ‘It’s all right. I can tell you. You might see Harris calling in on me too.’

Bella sat bolt upright. ‘The police are involved?’ she almost hissed. ‘What happened?’

‘Kind of… yes… but not in the way you might think. Look, it’s better if I just explain. Shall we go through to the bar?’