Page 47 of A Highland Family Affair

Under the helmet was a mop of blonde hair.

‘Bella!’ Olivia squealed and she ran to the door. She pulled it open and ran towards the motorbike. ‘Bells! You’re here! You’re not Harris!’

Bella’s face crumpled before she was almost knocked off her feet when Olivia launched herself at her best friend.

She laughed. ‘Erm… I’m definitely not Harris. At least I wasn’t when I set off! I mean I know they say you live with ’em ’til you get like ’em but I hadn’t realised I was there yet!’

Olivia held her at arm’s length. ‘I can’t believe you came here on a bike!’

Bella unzipped her leather jacket. ‘No one’s more surprised about that than me, I can assure you. But they’re kind of addictive once you know what you’re doing.’

Olivia linked arms with her. ‘Well, I’m so glad you’re here and not Harris. Not that I don’t love him to pieces but it’s so good to see you.’

‘You too. And congratulations again. I can’t tell you how excited I am for you. Bloody took him long enough though, eh?’

‘Tell me about it. I was getting a bit worried.’ They walked into the cottage and the others greeted Bella with hugs.

‘This place is lovely. Brodie did well,’ Bella said as she glanced around.

‘We all said the same,’ Mirren added before hugging Bella.

‘And Bella, this is Charlotte, my PA.’

Bella hugged her. ‘I’m so glad she found someone she felt comfortable with. Leaving the castle and my bestie wasn’t an easy decision.’

Charlotte smiled. ‘Yours were big shoes to fill.’

Bella held up her booted foot. ‘I promise it’s just the biker boots. I’m only a size six.’ Charlotte laughed.

Once Bella had changed out of her leathers, she joined the others in the living room where the log burner was now roaring, and the wine was flowing.

In true Mirren fashion, she had pre-prepared and brought a home-made lasagne for their first night and they all sat around the dining table to devour it along with more red wine. Once their meal was finished, they remained at the table chatting.

‘So, Charlotte, I hear you and Kerr are quite cosy these days,’ Skye said.

Charlotte’s cheeks tinged with pink, and she nodded her head. ‘We are. It’s going well and he’s really sweet. We’re spending lots of time together and my son, Will, adores him.’

Olivia watched as Skye and Bella exchanged surprised glances. She glared at them both and they cringed, clearly getting the message.

‘You were married, weren’t you?’ Bella asked and Olivia glared harder, feeling sure Bella might spontaneously combust if she wasn’t careful. Bella smiled sweetly at her in response. Olivia decided they’d be having words later.

‘That’s right. I’ve been divorced for around eighteen months now, though. My ex has gone back to Hungary to run the family business.’

Olivia stood and walked around the table, topping up the wine glasses. ‘That must be hard on William, not being able to see his dad.’

Charlotte hesitated and chewed her lip for a moment. ‘Actually, please keep this to yourselves but… Tabor isn’t William’s biological father. He didn’t want children of his own. Too busy with his horses, I suppose. I think that was part of our troubles, really. William didn’t take his name when we got married either. Tabor didn’t want him to. Said it wasn’t right when he wasn’t his real dad. The thing is… Will doesn’t actually know about Tabor. I’ve been waiting for the right time to tell him. But…’

Olivia was surprised by this admission to a group of women she didn’t know all that well. ‘Oh, gosh. I’m so sorry, Charlotte, I just presumed he was your ex’s son.’ She sat once again, concern for her PA niggling her mind.

Charlotte shook her head. ‘No. I was already pregnant with Will when I met Tabor. When we got married, Will kept my maiden name, Neill. I suggested Tabor could adopt him, but he didn’t want to. I should have spotted that as a red flag right away.’ She laughed. ‘That and the number of affairs he had. I think I was just a bimbo for him to flaunt when the need took him. I’m surprised we lasted as long as we did, to be honest.’ Her voice broke and she placed down her wine glass and scoffed. ‘Good grief, listen to me. This is supposed to be a celebration. Don’t give me any more wine.’ She laughed but it was clear she was embarrassed.

Bella reached and touched her arm. ‘Shit, that’s a bit rubbish. So, what about Will’s dad? Is he in the picture at all?’

Charlotte gave a very small and rapid smile. ‘Sadly not. I’m afraid Will was the result of a very drunken one-night stand. I don’t even remember the man.’ She widened her eyes as she stared around at the other women. ‘God, that makes me sound like such a promiscuous floozy, doesn’t it?’ It appeared to Olivia that she had been bottling these things up and needed to vent – the wine had apparently made that easier.

‘Hey, you’ll get no judgement from us,’ Mirren assured her. ‘Poor wee lad, though. It’s such a shame your ex didnae want to take him on.’

‘He’s done fine so far,’ Charlotte said with a straight spine. ‘I’ve been both mum and dad to him. Although my parents have always been really good to him.’