Corrieshalloch Gorge, Scottish Highlands

I've always disliked having to share a bed - yes, yet another pet peeve of mine!

I've only really been in one situation where I ever had to do it often - with Donnie, of course - and I loathed it. We never officially lived together during our various on-and-off-agains, and I'm very glad about that because my quality of sleep was even worse when I had to share with him. He snored, he starfished, he'd try to snuggle in the wriggliest of ways.... while I would lie there wide awake, staring furiously into space and imagining the many ways I could murder him.

With Owen, though, it's different. Of course it is. He doesn't snore. He doesn't try to take over my entire bed as if it's his god-given right. We drift off to sleep with our arms wrapped around each other after kissing for what might have been many hours, and I actually sleep soundly for most of the night.

When I wake, Owen is still fast asleep. The early morning light is flooding into the room through curtains I only half-heartedly closed the previous evening, and it's an unbelievably flattering look on him. Messy hair, the colour of dark caramel, falls forward over his forehead; his handsome features are illuminated, golden lashes appearing even longer as they rest against those tanned, lightly freckled cheeks. The tiniest of smiles teases the edges of his full mouth, and I resist the urge to push my forefinger into the more pronounced dimple in amongst his stubble.

Owen Sullivan is in my bed.

I don't want to wake him just yet; I want to admire him in this relaxed state. Capture this moment forever, perfectly framed in my memory, so it doesn't slip away somehow.

He stirs ever-so-slightly, fingers curling more tightly around my arm, and a contented sigh drifts out between his lips. My insides clench together as he gradually eases his way into consciousness. Light brown eyes blink sleep away, and he squints in my direction, finally focussing in on me.

"Phew," he says quietly, his grin lopsided. "I was really worried this was all going to be a dream."

He needs to stop saying things like this before I start to fall for him. Who am I really kidding though - I've been hovering on the high board since Sunday, but somewhere along the line, my foot slipped and instead of a neat, controlled dive, I'm tumbling haphazardly and unable to get my bearings.

I'm already falling. Hard.

"Were you watching me sleep?" He adds suspiciously, rubbing his eyes and propping himself up on his elbow.

"No," I protest, flushing. He smirks, seeing right through my lie.

"I know you're not really a breakfast person, but I'd love it if you'd join me today," he says softly, reaching out to stroke my hair.

I can no longer say no to him. And I can't resist his lips either when he pulls me closer.

I'm not sure how I'm going to keep my hands off him today, I think to myself as he closes my door behind him five minutes later, away to get ready for the day. I'm also not sure how I'm going to hide my feelings from Debbie and Michelle. And do I need to worry about my brother now, too?

Head reeling, I check my phone as I head towards the shower. I can see Nessa sent me a message just after midnight.

Talked things through ❤️ x

A photo of her newly be-ringed left hand accompanies that caption. I'm delighted for her.

Congrats! Can I choose my own bridesmaid dress? (Assuming I get to be a bridesmaid, obviously! 🤣) xx

Breakfast is actually very good. I know from my somewhat limited experience of actually going to breakfast that some hotels only offer limited hot options, or their continental buffet selection can be sadly lacking. This one, however, has an incredible array of fruit, yoghurt, meats, cheese, and pastries to help yourself to, plus at least eight or nine meals to choose from. I order the scrambled egg with smoked salmon and make myself a "breakfast dessert" of toast and raspberry jam. I already know this is going to be way too much for me. My stomach isn't used to this much food pre-9a.m.

Plus, it's also churning with anxious delight as Owen slips a warm hand against my bare leg, under the table where the others can't see. My skin burns where he touches, heat spreading outwards from that point. He squeezes lightly before letting me go, and my shaky exhale of air contains a mix of both relief and disappointment.

"How are your eggs?" He asks me, and I choke back the urge to joke "unfertilised". It's hard to think straight when he's so close and smells so incredible. I want to just press my nose into the side of his face and breathe him in. Hell, I want to do a lot more than that. But Debbie and Michelle are sitting opposite, clearly looking for weaknesses in my armour like vultures searching for prey, and I must resist all of my most basic instincts.

Nessa and Kieran make their appearance then, and it's time for us all to "ooh" and "ah" over the ring as they make their big announcement. I'm glad to see Nessa looks much happier now than she did last night, and the tension I'd originally failed to notice from earlier in the week seems to have drained away. Thank goodness.

"So . . . When are you headed back to Glasgow?" I ask my brother. I try to make my voice as casual as possible, but his eyes narrow nonetheless.

"You trying to get rid of me?"

"Of course not," Nessa interjects, shooting a conspiratorial smile in my direction. "It's just that this is meant to be a girls' trip, after all."

He nods towards Owen with a laugh. "Sully being here kinda spoiled that plan, did it not?" You have no idea, Kieran. "Don't worry, though. I need to be back at work tomorrow, so I was thinking I'd stay until late afternoon, if that's okay?"

And so we find ourselves joined by Kieran on today's trip. It's not ideal, but at least I know he's not going to be around for long. I just need to continue to try and play it cool in the meantime.

Look, in the grand scheme of things, I know it's not a big deal if Kieran finds out about us. He's not really got any right to try to play the 'big brother card' here. He and Owen are mates, sure, but as far as I'm aware, they're not that close, and they haven't seen each other in years. And let's not forget, Kieran has actually just proposed to my best friend, so he can't exactly take the high road here. But I would prefer not to have yet another person putting whatever this . . . situationship is under the microscope just yet. I'm still trying to work out what's happening myself.

Corrieshalloch Gorge, somewhat of a mouthful to say, and our first stop today, is only a short drive away from Ullapool. After we've parked, Owen opens the gate for us, and we head down the winding walkway towards the waterfall.

I've fallen back in the group to allow Owen to catch up with me, and his hand lightly brushes against mine, lighting me up from inside. The impish grin he shoots me lets me know that the touch was no accident. Especially since it's followed by him gently squeezing one of my bum cheeks. That somewhat distracts me from my surroundings.

This means I'm several steps onto the suspension bridge crossing the gorge - the shaky suspension bridge - before I realise it. I take one look at the falls on my right - The Falls of Measach, Owen informed us earlier - watching the water spurting into the dark canyon below, and realise this precarious structure we're currently swaying on is the only thing preventing us from joining the waterfall on its kamikaze plunge towards earth.

And I freeze up completely.

"There's a viewpoint if you just follow the path around," Owen shouts to the others - crazy daredevils that they are, they've already made it to the other side of 'The Bridge From Hell'. He hasn't moved from my side, clearly sensing I'm not remotely okay.

"Um . . . How high up are we?" I clutch onto the railing and force myself to stare directly ahead, rather than focussing on the drop below. I can feel myself start to panic. Heights have never really been my strong point. I can't even stand on the glass floor at Blackpool Tower.

"200 feet," Owen tells me, and my scrambled eggs consider making a break for it.

"Oh, crap," I whimper. Panic washes over me in a torrent, much like the waterfall beside me. I need to get off this bridge, but my legs are shaky, and my feet are refusing to move; my fear is doubling up as Superglue apparently. And my knuckles are rapidly turning translucent.

"You're scared of heights?" Owen asks, his voice gentle.

"Apparently," I mutter between panicked gasps. "I mean, I knew I didn't like them. I just didn't realise just how much until now."

A couple of tourists, speaking what might be German and draped in camera equipment, wander casually past on the way back from the viewpoint, and the bridge wobbles dangerously. I shudder, and Owen wraps a warm arm around me.

"You're okay," he whispers, hugging me tightly to him.

"I'm pretty sure I'm about to die." Face buried in his shoulder, I let out a watery, nervous laugh.

"The bridge is perfectly safe, Mirren, honestly. But I'm going to get you back onto solid ground. Just trust me." He pries one of my hands from the railing. "Don't look down, and just let me lead you."

Trying not to whimper, I loosen my other hand's grip on the rail ever-so-slightly and allow him to guide me off the bridge. He keeps murmuring reassuring words in my ear - I can't quite make out what he's saying, due to the noise of the falls and what feels like the blood rushing through my ears, but it calms me somewhat.

Until the other sounds start to die down, and I hear him whisper, "and you've got an incredible arse".

Momentarily forgetting my surroundings, I pull back and look accusingly at him. "Have you just been saying dirty things this whole time when I thought you were comforting me?"

He pulls me one more step further, and I realise I've made it off the bridge. "Not the whole time," he defends, then winks. "I may have also said something flattering about your boobs though."

That shouldn't really make me melt, but somehow it does. I start to giggle through my tears.

"Thanks, Owen. I kinda fell apart there, but you . . . put me back together." I'm practically cringing already as the words emerge from my mouth. How mortifyingly cheesy. The Mirren Show fanbase - if there are any left - must be throwing popcorn at their screens right now.

He doesn't seem to register the high cheddar factor, though. Instead, he's pushing my hair out of my face, his gaze suddenly serious. "I always will," he says softly.

Wow.

And, maybe it's because I feel like Ross in Friends after his "near death experience" (insert eye-roll here), but my guard is well and truly down at this point, and I can't resist grasping the back of his neck and pulling him closer. I spend very little time thinking about where my friends are - although I hope they're not in view - and I go in for the kiss I've been longing for since he left my room this morning.

It's probably not my best attempt - I'm still shaking with adrenalin and not really in control - but I feel like I need to show him how I feel. He groans ever-so-slightly as I capture his lips, sliding my tongue into his mouth, and he responds for the most delightful of seconds before he gently pushes me back. "We can't. Not here. Not now." His forehead is pressed against mine, as he laughs ruefully. "We can't get carried away. God knows I want to, though . . ."

"Fair enough." I nod. I know he's right. I brush one last kiss against his lips. "You should probably catch up with the others and make sure they're okay."

"They're all fine," a familiar voice says behind me, and we both freeze for a millisecond.

Oh shit.

I whirl around to see Kieran standing there. His arms are folded across his chest, and there's an assessing look on his face. He's definitely witnessed at least part of the kissing.

I'm expecting bro-code related recriminations. Me having to pull that whole "well, you're marrying my best friend" argument out of my bag of verbal ammo. Possibly even a bit of violence aimed towards Owen.

What I was not anticipating was my brother's face breaking into a tentative grin.

"Well, it's about bloody time," he says, rolling his eyes.

What the hell?

So who else wants to wake up next to Owen??? 🙋‍♀️

I have to admit I wasn't really feeling this chapter so much at first, but then I got to the bridge part, and I just fell even more in love with Mirrowenium!

And what on earth is Kieran all about??? 😱

If you want to see the bridge that Mirren had her freak-out on, you may wish to check out the tiktok link I've provided below - you can see how it sways, as well as get an idea of just how high it is above the gorge! Having been on it myself, I can confirm it's pretty damn terrifying . . .

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJKuYgm3/

I hope you are enjoying the story! Please vote, comment, and share if you are. 💜