Page 34 of A Highland Family Affair

Olivia’s stomach flipped with excitement at the thought of dressing her favourite actress again. ‘I’m so glad you’re going to be acting again. You’re so talented, it will be lovely to see you do what you love again.’

Ruby tilted her head. ‘I can definitely say the same about you designing again.’ She narrowed her eyes briefly. ‘Actually, the production team is searching for filming locations. I think Drumblair would be absolutely perfect. Would you be interested in the castle being used as a film set? I could put in a good word.’

Before Olivia could reply, Brodie said, ‘That would be so cool. What’s the film about?’

‘It’s a Georgian period drama about a young woman who inherits a castle. Quite scandalous seeing as that didn’t happen back then. Much like yourself, really, Olivia. It’s almost a Georgian version of your story.’

‘That sounds amazing. Although I’m not sure, it sounds like it could be a lot of upheaval,’ Olivia said and chewed her lip.

‘Maybe I can pass your details on, and they can contact you. It might not be as intrusive as you think. Worth considering as they will pay to use the place and the money could go towards renovations and repairs.’

Olivia pondered for a moment. ‘Give them my details. We can always see what they say.’

Brodie’s face lit up. ‘Brilliant. Thanks, Ruby.’

13

Once in the car again, the scenery on the journey north towards Portree was as stunning as Reid Mackinnon’s paintings and Olivia could see why he found it so inspiring. Purple, grey and green-tinted mountains sat in the distance wearing snowy caps like the froth on a cappuccino. Bare-branched trees stood sentry as they travelled, taking in the breathtaking views surrounding them.

Eventually they arrived at Portree and Brodie pulled the car down the hill towards the harbour depicted in the painting they had just bought.

‘Oh, my goodness, Brodie, look at this place. It’s just as pretty in real life.’

‘Aye, it is. Anyway, come on, let’s get out and get some photos before we head back. The sun’ll be setting soon.’

She climbed out of the car and inhaled the fresh, salty air. The sky overhead had changed to a dusky pink and purple, but the temperature didn’t match its deceptively warm appearance. She shivered and turned to take in the rainbow-hued buildings lit by the golden glow of the late afternoon sun. There was a seafood restaurant, a ticket office for boat tours, a hotel and some quaint little gift shops, each painted a different colour.

When she turned to face Brodie, he was holding one of the wrapped canvases. ‘Why have you brought that out? There’s nowhere to hang it here,’ she teased.

‘Seeing as the breeze has dropped a bit, I thought you might like to open your surprise,’ he said with a shrug. ‘Here seems like the perfect spot.’ There were only a few people around and they were going about their own business, so she figured why not.

‘Okay, if you’re sure you wouldn’t rather wait until we get back to the guest house?’

He shook his head and smiled. ‘Nah, here’s good.’ He rested the package on the harbour wall, and she took it from him. ‘Go ahead. I want to see your face.’

With bubbles of excitement vibrating inside of her, she carefully unstuck the tape holding down the paper. As she lowered the covering, she gasped and lifted one hand to her mouth. ‘Oh, Brodie,’ she said as tears spilled over from her eyes.

Before her on the canvas was Drumblair Castle as a stunning backdrop to the painting, perfectly captured as if the artist had visited regularly, but it was what, or rather who, was in the foreground that stirred up her emotions. Standing in front of the castle was Olivia, in a stunning long white lace wedding gown, just like her mother’s, that in itself was enough to make her cry, but she was flanked on either side by her parents. She missed them both so much it made her heart ache and what she saw before her was a scene she knew she would never get to experience in reality, yet Brodie had created it for her. Her father was wearing a kilt in MacBain tartan and her mother was wearing her favourite pale blue dress, both parents beaming proudly and appearing just as she remembered them. Reid had captured their features so perfectly it could have almost been a photograph.

As she sobbed at the thoughtful gift, Brodie, behind her, said, ‘I know how much it hurts that your mum and dad won’t be at your wedding. And I know how much you would have loved to see their faces when you came down the stairs in the castle wearing your mum’s dress. So, I thought I would have Reid create a memory for you so you can imagine them being there when we get married next year.’

She gasped and turned to face him, finding he was down on one knee, smiling up at her and holding aloft a small blue velvet hinged box, his eyes glistening with emotion too.

‘Olivia MacBain, you are the real love of my life. The only woman I want to spend each and every possible moment with. I’ve loved you since I was a stupid teenage boy who didn’t know how to handle his feelings. But now I know what I want for the rest of my life. And that’s to be with you. Will you do me the honour of marrying me?’

With shaking hands, Olivia carefully placed down the precious canvas on top of its wrapping, and walked over to where he was. She too crouched and cupped his face in her hands. ‘Of course I will,’ she said in a half-laugh, half-sob. He stood and pulled her to her feet so he could kiss her as a ripple of applause could be heard behind them. It appeared they had attracted quite a crowd.

He took out the familiar-looking sparkling diamond ring from its box, removed the ribbon that had been tied around her finger for almost a year and slipped the diamond band into its rightful place. Another rumble of applause could be heard as well as phone cameras snapping away.

The couple turned to face their audience and Brodie simply said, ‘We’re engaged!’ at which point another, even louder applause occurred along with cheers and whistles.

A man who had been standing in the doorway of the restaurant, surrounded by waiting staff, approached them. ‘Congratulations, both of you. From all of us with our best wishes.’ He handed over a bottle of chilled champagne and the men and women standing by the restaurant applauded once more.

Later that evening, as they lay in bed, both floating in a rapturous bubble somewhere out by cloud nine, Olivia turned to face Brodie.

‘You planned it all, didn’t you? You proposed to me at the place that’s depicted in the painting I chose.’

He tenderly stroked her cheek. ‘It didn’t matter which painting you chose from Reid’s gallery; we were going to whatever that location was and I was going to propose there. So you’d have a memory of where our engagement happened and a place we could return to, to celebrate.’