Page 74 of Chasing a Highland Dream

The message was from Olivia. They’re already here? Thank goodness! She hit reply immediately.

I’m okay but I think Aiden’s psycho ex is here!

Olivia sent another message.

Look outside!

With no little trepidation, Bella opened the front door and stepped out as Aiden was holding the wrist of the blonde woman. ‘Candace, please, let’s talk and I’ll explain. It was… it was all research!’ A police car pulled into the entrance to the courtyard and she watched as Harris and Mel exited the vehicle.

The blonde woman turned profile on and it was then Bella spotted her huge baby bump. ‘You had to research the naked body of yet another woman, did you, Aiden? And have you told her that your wife is heavily pregnant? And how about your agent’s secretary, Susie? You didn’t tell her either! Well, she knows now because I went to see her! Let go of me!’

Bella gawped in shock as Aiden the lying hypocrite’s dirty deeds were aired for everyone to hear. What a shithead!

Harris and Mel approached Aiden. ‘Come on, Aiden, release Candace now, you’re going to hurt her. Think of the baby,’ Harris said, hands held aloft.

‘You keep out of this, PC Plod!’ Aiden spat, his fist now clenched and held up.

‘Come on now, you need to calm down,’ Harris insisted. ‘You’re going to get yourself arrested.’

‘Piss off!’ Aiden said. ‘Candace, I didn’t sleep with Susie and I didn’t sleep with Ailsa. They’re lying.’

Ailsa took two steps forward from her position by the police car. ‘I’m sorry but I’m not lying,’ she said. She was now fully dressed. ‘He… he told me he was Carrick Murphy, and his wife’d had an affair, and how he was hiding here to get away from her new boyfriend who’d made threats.’

Bella gasped. So it’s a line he’s fed others! Slimeball! Bloody lucky escape!

Aiden growled, and as Harris lurched to try to stop him, Aiden swung and his fist connected with Harris’s cheek.

Candace dashed over to the police car and Mel joined Harris as he said, ‘Aiden O’Dowd, I’m arresting you under section 89 of the Police Act 1996 for assaulting a police officer.’ He went on to cuff him and read him his rights as Bella looked on in complete and utter bewilderment.

‘You’re being stupid, you know that?’ Aiden hissed. ‘I bet all this is because you think I have a thing for your girlfriend.’ He glanced over at Bella and sneered. ‘I don’t. She was rubbish in bed. You can have her.’

Bella gasped, her eyes wide and a desire to slap the lying cheat rose within her.

‘You just admitted to having another affair!’ Candace shouted as she too glared at Bella.

‘Watch your head, Aiden,’ Harris said as he manhandled the disgraced author into the back of the police car.

At that moment, Harris glanced back and made eye contact with Bella, whose hand covered her mouth as she watched everything unfold. He leaned forward and muttered something to Mel, to which she nodded and gestured for him to go.

Harris jogged over to Bella. ‘Hey, sorry about all that, are you okay?’ he asked, dipping his head to look in her eyes.

‘I’m… I’m okay. But I… I swear I didn’t sleep with him, Harris.’

Harris winced. ‘It seems he’s well versed in lying. Turns out his lover down in London found out he was still married and contacted his wife. But it’s not the first time he’s done this allegedly. Uses his pseudonym reveal to seduce women. Makes me sick, especially when his wife is seven months pregnant. If you ask me, he’s a narcissist. Anyway, I’d better get going.’

Bella nodded and Harris turned to leave. ‘Harris!’

He stopped and turned around. ‘Yes?’

‘He was wrong, you know. What he said when he saw you leaving. I wasn’t disgusted by you, for what it’s worth. And I know there was the incident where you thought I sounded horrified about spending time with you when you overheard me talking to Granny that time. But… I really don’t feel that way. I wish… I wish you hadn’t believed him when he said those awful things.’

He frowned and stepped closer. ‘Believed him?’

She bit the side of her bottom lip. ‘Yes. You walked away and looked so hurt. And then you didn’t come to stay last night so I presumed things were over.’

He closed the gap between them and cupped her face in his hand. ‘You read the whole thing wrong, Bella. The way he acted simply confirmed what I’d been thinking about him. And I’m sorry I didn’t come over, but my shift ran late and I didn’t want to disturb you. Then time got away with me today. That’s all. But you and me… this is real. It’s not over at all. It’s only just begun, and I can’t wait to see where it takes us.’ He smiled. ‘I’m crazy about you, Bella Douglas.’

Now Bella’s heart was racing for a different reason. He was crazy about her. He’d said it aloud and she could see the sincerity in his eyes; he meant it. ‘I’m crazy about you too,’ she replied with a wide smile.