“Belle –” he started but she blathered on.
“Okay, so, this is obviously going to be weird, considering our brief history. So, for this to work, um… me being here, living with you, maybe we should have rules.”
“Belle –” he repeated and she still didn’t look at him when she kept talking.
“Like, you know, maybe you shouldn’t be allowed to sleep with me, or, um, wake up with me, or, um… both. That’s a good rule.”
“Belle –” he said yet again but she kept right on talking.
“And, maybe you’re not allowed to kiss me anymore.”
“Are you allowed to kiss me?” he asked and she heard it, plain as day, there was amusement in his voice.
Her eyes flew to his face and she saw it plain as day there too.
“No,” she answered. “No kissing. None at all. Either you or me.”
“I don’t agree to that rule,” he retorted, throwing back the covers.
Her body went solid in fear and she realised, again too late, that she should have run from the room or locked herself in the bathroom or thrown herself out of a window or something.
She still had time but her feet refused to move.
She watched him get out of bed. She noted he was wearing a pair of dark grey, drawstring pyjama bottoms that looked way too good on his behind and then he started walking around it, toward her.
“Either me not kissing you or you not kissing me. Especially you not kissing me,” he stressed and stopped in front of her, his hand coming to her jaw, his voice dipping low and rumbly. “You’ve never kissed me like that before. That was nice, poppet.”
“Another rule!” Belle announced way too loudly, taking a step back and away from his hand which dropped to his side. “You can’t call me ‘poppet’ anymore.”
He grinned. “I don’t agree to that, either.”
She blinked at him. “Well, do you agree to the first one, the no sleeping together?”
“Certainly,” he replied without hesitation and her body relaxed only to go ramrod straight again when he continued. “Unless I’m in the mood.”
“The mood?” she whispered and he took the step toward her that she’d taken back and both his hands came to her jaw, holding her captive.
“The mood,” he repeated then went on terrifyingly. “And you should know, I’m guessing I’ll be in the mood quite a bit, poppet.”
“This isn’t funny,” she whispered, her heart in her voice but even though she knew he could hear it (he had to be able to hear it), he smiled.
“You’re right, it isn’t funny. I’m also not laughing.”
“You’re smiling,” she accused.
“That I am,” he agreed.
“Stop doing it,” she demanded.
“I can’t.”
“Why not?” she asked in a voice edged with hysteria.
“Because now I know,” he answered.
Her body stiffened to the consistency of marble but her mouth still was able to form the words. “You know what?”
“I know why you’re avoiding me,” he replied.
“I’m not avoiding you,” she semi-lied.
She kind of was.
Heck, who was she kidding? She definitely was and had been doing it for three weeks.
“You’re avoiding me, Belle. And you’re doing it because you want what we started in the stables, what we started in that bed, what we had four months ago. You want it just as badly as you’re terrified of it.”
“It’s hormones,” she semi-lied again. It could be hormones, what did she know? She was no pregnancy expert (although she was learning).
“It wasn’t hormones four months ago.”
He had her there.
“I have another rule,” she began, jerking her face from his hands and taking another step back, running into Baron and then stopping and lifting her chin to Jack. “No talking about four months ago.”
“Yesterday, I would have agreed to that.” He took another step toward her, negating the distance she’d gained, and leaned in. “Today. No fucking way.”
“Why?” she fairly shouted.
“Because now I want to know, when we both know how good it was then, how good it can be again, why you’re so damned scared of it. So scared of it, you’d latch onto any excuse you could find and walk away from it, and me, without looking back.”
She lifted her chin further and lied, yet again (she was seriously going to hell), “I’m not scared of it.”
“You bloody well are. You’re scared out of your skin.”
“Am not,” she snapped.
“Oh yes you are.”
“No… I… am… not!” she shouted.
He got even closer, his hands coming to her hips and dared, “Then kiss me.”
Her body did a little jerk and she stammered, “Wh… what?”
“If you’re so in control then kiss me. Prove to me you can take it or leave it.”
She shook her head. “I’m not going to kiss you.”
“Scared?” he taunted.
“No!” she snapped.
She saw his eyes smile even though his mouth did not. She remembered the first time she’d seen him do that and just how beautiful she thought it was then.
It was no less beautiful now.
“Liar,” he muttered, breaking into her thoughts.
“I’m not lying,” she lied.
He didn’t reply.
She watched him warily.
He studied her with amusement dancing in his green eyes.
Finally he whispered, “This is going to be interesting.”
Belle didn’t like the sound of that.
Before she could find something, anything to say to convince him he was wrong, he bent his neck and kissed her forehead.
But he only moved away a scant inch when he said softly, “All right, poppet, I’ll let you off the hook for now.”
“What does that mean?” she asked in a shaky voice.
His hand moved from her hip to cup her jaw and his thumb slid along her cheekbone. “That means I’ll see you at breakfast.”
He bent again to touch his mouth to her trembling lips and, once he’d done that, his thumb trailed along her lower one.
Then without another word, he turned and walked to the door.
Hand on the knob, he looked at her.
“Do you want the dogs?” he asked.
Belle, standing like a statue, tilted her head down to look at Baron and Gretl who were both sitting at her sides, tongues lolling happily, grinning up at her, tails sweeping the floor.
She mutely looked back to Jack.
He’d asked if she wanted the dogs like he asked it every morning during their years long relationship before popping off to get ready for breakfast.
Not like they’d had their first ever Jack’s Multiple Personalities Melodrama in her bedroom.
She wondered to herself if he was mad.
Then, for some bizarre reason, she answered him out loud, “Yes.”
At her answer, he gave her a sexy grin, one she’d never seen before, one that looked almost playful.
Her belly did a delightful dip.
“See you at breakfast, poppet.”
Then he closed the door.
Then she stared at it.
Then she looked down at Baron.
Then at Gretl.
When Belle’s attention turned away from him, Baron woofed.
When Belle’s attention turned away from her, Gretl licked her hand.
“For some reason,” she told the dogs, her voice still tremulous, her fingers moving to scratch behind their ears, “I think I’m in trouble.”
Baron woofed again and Belle could swear he was agreeing with her.
* * * * *
Belle walked on leaded feet to the breakfast table, dillydallying in the hopes that she’d sit down just in time for Jack to eat his last bite of toast. That way she could keep her promise without actually keeping her promise.
&n
bsp; This was a risky endeavour.
The downside was Jack cottoning onto her game and getting scary angry.
The upside was Belle keeping her sanity.
For some reason, she lost it when she was with Jack.
All her life, she’d been a sane person. Very sane. In fact, her mother and grandmother might even say too sane.
With Jack, she was not.
Considering she’d soon be responsible for another living being, she thought it important to behave like a sensible adult, not a brazen hussy.
She was already losing the Mother of the Year award and she hadn’t even had her child.
She’d done everything she could do to delay her arrival at the breakfast table.
She’d showered, done her makeup and styled her hair all twisted softly back in big bun at her nape, a few tiny braids blended in, some wispy hairs here and there at her face and neck. Very romantic and innocent virgin looking.
Then she spent a good deal of time deciding what to wear.
Since the weather had been quite warm and sunny, she decided on a violet-coloured cotton sundress that she designed. It had an empire waist, a deep v-neck with a ruffled trim and a slight a-lined skirt that hit a couple of inches above the knee. She paired this with silver, flat Capri sandals with a rose at the toe.
Although the deep v-neck was slightly risqué, it was a sweet Audrey Hepburn type of outfit and everyone knew Audrey Hepburn was no hussy.
As she approached the door to the dining room, she saw movement down the hall and stopped in the door to watch Jack walking toward her.
Clearly her efforts at dillydallying had all been for naught.
He had a sleek, black mobile phone to his ear that looked like something George Jetson might own. He was wearing charcoal-grey trousers with an elegant pinstripe, a crisp, light blue shirt and a black, midnight blue and grey patterned tie was hanging loose from his opened collar.
His eyes were on her.
She felt a trill race up her spine that ran along her scalp and made her shiver.
She realised she’d frozen when he stopped close and put a hand lightly to her waist.
Only then did she understand her mistake. She should have been cool, calm and casual and given him a jaunty wave before entering the dining room.
Instead, she’d stood gawking at him like a lovesick teenager.
Proof positive that she lost her sanity around Jack.
“Right,” he said into his phone, his eyes never leaving hers. “E-mail it. I’ll be in the office this afternoon and we’ll discuss it then.”
He flipped his phone shut without saying good-bye and his gaze travelled the length of her.
When his eyes came back to her face, he asked softly. “One of yours?”
Belle, who had fallen into a Gentle Jack Trance, nodded.
“It’s lovely,” he murmured on a small smile.
“Thank you,” she murmured back and saw his smile deepen.
She was staring at his mouth, her own lips parted, her eyes glazing over, her body starting to lean into his magnetic pull when she heard her grandmother’s call.
“Morning kids!”
Belle’s body jerked and she snapped out of the trance. As she did this, she saw Jack’s mouth go tight and his head turned to look in the dining room.
Belle turned too and she saw everyone there, including Yasmin. And all of them were watching Jack and Belle like they were viewing an awe-inspiring, award winning play.
“Yasmin,” Belle smiled at the other woman shyly. She hadn’t seen her since that awful morning and she hoped her reaction to Belle being pregnant with Jack’s child and living at The Point would be a far sight better than Miles’s had been. “It’s lovely to see you.”
Yasmin responded as Jack’s hand moved to the small of Belle’s back and he guided her into the room.
“Not as lovely as it is to see you. After the drama and the resulting media brouhaha, I thought I might be persona non grata at your shop. Now, seeing as Jack got you up the duff, I can come shopping anytime.”
Belle did a little stutter step at her words and heard Joy emit a soft giggle, her mother laughed outright but her grandmother was glowering at Jack’s hand at Belle’s back.
Jack pressed more firmly into her back, his warm body got protectively closer and he led her to the empty chair to the right hand side of the head of the table. He pulled it back for her and she sat in it, looking up and over her shoulder at him as he assisted her with pushing it back in.
Then she watched him seat himself at the head of the table.
Then she recognised she was falling into another trance so she shook herself out of it and looked at the table.
Everyone was watching her again.
She realised she didn’t reply to Yasmin and belatedly, she said softly, “You’re always welcome at the shop.”
“Goody,” Yasmin smiled. “I’m coming today. I hope you’re stocked up because I got my allowance from my trust fund last week and I can’t ask Daddy for a supplement unless I use every last penny.” She turned to Gram. “I do that every month. It drives Daddy insane.”
“I bet it does,” Gram mumbled but she was grinning.
“Well, he was practically absent during my childhood. He was two hours late to my first wedding because of some urgent meeting. And he didn’t show at all at my second wedding because someone was doing something in Geneva that he had to sort. A monthly supplement soothes the pain,” Yasmin blithely replied, her words meant to be amusing but Belle heard the hurt under them and her eyes slid to Jack.
Jack was watching Yasmin, a look of tender concern on his handsome face and at the sight of it, Belle’s stomach did another sweet, little dip.
Then his head turned, he caught her gazing at him, she felt the warmth hit her cheeks and she immediately looked down at her place setting.
“Belle,” he called and her eyes went to his ear.
“Yes?” she asked.
He didn’t speak for a moment then he said quietly, “Poppet, look at me.”
With some effort, her eyes met his.
And he didn’t look annoyed or impatient.
He looked amused and affectionate.
It was a good look.
She licked her lips.
Then he enquired. “What did you do with my dogs?”
“Your dogs?” she asked, forgetting entirely that he had dogs, that she liked his dogs, that she spent a good deal of time with his dogs and she also forgot her first name.
“Baron and Gretl?” he prompted, his mouth twitching. “I left them in your room this morning.”
She gave herself a mini-mental shake and told herself to pull it together.
“Yes, of course, um… I let them out.”
“Did they eat?”
“Eat?” she parroted stupidly as she’d again lost the thread of the conversation because she’d become fascinated with watching his mouth form words.
“Yes, eat,” his mouth said then he grinned.
She tore her eyes from his mouth and muttered, “No, I didn’t think of that.” Her gaze lifted to his eyes. “Do you want me to go do that now?”
He shook his head but looked like he was trying not to laugh. “No, love, you don’t have to feed my dogs.”
“Okay,” she whispered and for some reason this made him chuckle.
Belle hadn’t heard his chuckle in a long time and she forgot how very much she liked it.
Elaine, the housekeeper, came in at that point and as Belle and Jack ordered their breakfasts, Belle decided it was a much better plan to engage someone else in conversation before she made an even bigger idiot out of herself.
However, when her eyes moved to the others at the table, they were all again watching her and Jack. Yasmin was doing it with a broad smile. Joy was pressing her lips together but you could see her eyes dancing. Mom was looking at Jack in a way that Belle just knew she was getting a feeling in her bones. Gram was glaring at Jack and Belle with a look on h
er face that heralded Belle, at some point during the day, being given the third degree.
And therefore Belle decided instantly the table was no safer than Jack.
Though, Belle had been wrong about the third degree coming from Gram at some point during the day.
She’d decided to dish it out right then.
“Can I ask, at this juncture, what you were doing in Belle’s room this morning?” Gram demanded of Jack.
Belle felt her heart sink and she knew it was only courtesy that drove Jack to answer her grandmother.
“We had a chat.”
“I can see you had a chat. Everyone can see you had a chat,” Gram snapped. “Yesterday, you two were entirely different beings than you are right now. If you were in each other’s presence, which was rare, the animosity veritably crackled. At least it did from you.” Her eyes narrowed on Jack. “Today you two are all sweetness and light. What gives?”
“Mom, cut it out,” Belle’s mother, as usual, unwisely decided to go head to head with Gram and entered the conversation.
Gram glared at Mom. “Don’t tell me to cut it out.”
“I’m telling you to cut it out,” Mom returned. “Leave them be.”
“I won’t leave them be. Leaving them be got Belle knocked up!” Gram’s voice was rising.
Belle put her elbow to the table and rested the side of her head in her hand.
Regardless of her embarrassed posture, her family didn’t let up.
“In her current condition that can hardly happen again,” Mom returned, Gram’s eyes bugged out and Belle closed her own eyes before opening them again when her grandmother retorted.
“That’s not the point!” Gram snapped.
“Then what is the point?” Mom snapped back.
“I don’t know!” Gram shouted and looked at Jack. “You were present at this chat. Maybe you can tell us the blasted point!”
“Oh lordy,” Mom muttered at the same time Yasmin giggled and Joy mumbled, “Oh dear.”
Belle wished silently for the floor to open up and swallow her just as Jack spoke.
“I think the point, right now, Lila, is that you’re embarrassing your granddaughter and I’ll ask you to stop doing it.”
Belle’s head snapped up and her neck twisted so fast it made her dizzy.
Lucky Stars Page 15