A Touch of Romance

by Kimberly Rae Jordan

  “We have a Bible Study and then usually play some basketball or volleyball in the gym.”

  “No girls allowed?” Belle asked.

  Mitch shrugged. “Once a month we have a mixed group, but honestly, it’s easier to keep them focused, and it allows them to ask difficult questions when the girls aren’t around.” He gave a low chuckle. “Teenagers spend far too much time trying to impress the opposite sex.”

  “Yeah. I remember those days.” Belle sighed. “That need to impress doesn’t always cease to exist even after leaving the teen years behind.”

  Mitch leaned back in his chair and grinned. “Well, don’t feel the need to impress me.”

  Once again, Belle found herself returning his grin as she laughed. “Oh, no worries. I don’t.”

  People came and went from the tables around them, and Belle didn’t protest when Mitch suggested ordering some dessert. It wasn’t that she really wanted more food, but if ordering dessert extended their time together, she was okay with that. It had been a long time since she’d enjoyed an evening out as much as she had this one—at least one that didn’t involve her sisters. She always tended to enjoy those.

  What she’d enjoyed most was that it seemed as if he sensed when there were subjects she didn’t want to dwell on, and he didn’t force her to continue to talk about them. Even her sisters weren’t very good at that. In fact, they were pretty much the opposite. The more they suspected she didn’t want to talk about something, the harder they pressed her.

  Finally, there was no prolonging the evening as the waitress came to let them know the restaurant would be closing soon. When she insisted on paying for her half of the bill, Mitch opened his mouth as if to object, but then, even before she argued her case, he just nodded. Once the bill was settled, they stepped out into the warm night air, and Mitch walked with her to where she’d parked.

  “Thanks for an enjoyable evening,” Mitch said.

  “It was, wasn’t it,” Belle agreed. “And your recommendations made the meal terrific.”

  “Maybe we can do it again sometime?”

  Belle hesitated then said, “Maybe.”

  “I know you’re busy, and truthfully, it’s a busy time for me too, but I enjoyed this evening. It was a nice break from hanging out with my brothers. Which is why I’d like to do it again sometime.” He paused and grinned. “Next time you can pick the place.”

  Belle liked the sound of that. “Sounds like a plan.”

  There was no awkwardness when they said goodbye, for which Belle was grateful, and she found herself smiling as she headed for her apartment. It wasn’t until she got home that she realized she’d received a bunch of texts and a couple of calls from Jasmine.

  She sent a text to let Jasmine know she was still alive, then locked up and went to get ready for bed. As she stood in the bathroom taking off her makeup, her phone rang. Seeing Jasmine’s name on the screen, Belle sighed. Well aware that she’d just keep calling if Belle didn’t answer, she tapped the screen and put it on speakerphone, so she could keep doing her nighttime routine.

  “Hey, Jazzy,” she said as she slathered cleanser on her face.

  “Hey, Belly. Where’ve you been all evening?”

  Belle debated what she should say. In the long run, there was no avoiding the truth because if it came out at a later date, Jasmine—and by then, her mom and other sisters—would assume their evening together held more weight than it actually did.

  She pulled a makeup wipe from the pack. “I was out for dinner with Mitch Callaghan.”

  There was a pause before Jasmine asked, “A date?”

  “No, not a date.” She looked into the mirror to see the smears of makeup across her face.

  “Uh…are you sure?”

  “Uh…of course I am.”

  “Uh…it sounds like a date.”

  “Uh…well, it wasn’t.”

  “Uh…it’s been so long since you’ve been on a date, maybe you just didn’t realize.”

  “Uh…I think I remember.”

  “Uh…I’m not convinced.”

  Rolling her eyes, Belle dropped the dirty makeup wipe into the garbage and reached for another. “Uh…I drove myself there and paid for my own meal. Pretty sure it wasn’t a date.”

  “Then what was it?” Jasmine sounded truly perplexed. As if she couldn’t comprehend how a man and woman could enjoy a meal together without it being romantic.

  “Dinner. Chatting. Talking about the business.”

  “So it was a business meeting over dinner?”

  Belle straightened and stared at her reflection, her face now devoid of all makeup. It wasn’t a look many got to see on her. She had an image to uphold after all, and there were still a few words of Andre’s that she’d never managed to completely erase from her mind. Appearing without a full face of makeup would have inevitably led to him pointing out one flaw or another. Whether it was the freckles that dotted the bridge of her nose or a spot of redness or, God forbid, an actual zit, he would be sure to call attention to them. It had just been easier to make sure that she didn’t give him any reason to point out the flaws that she was already well aware of.

  But even to that day, she still felt the need to cover up the things he’d pointed out as her flaws.

  Dropping her gaze, Belle reached for her toothbrush and toothpaste. “Yeah, I suppose it was some of that. It was nice to get to know him a bit better since he’s working on our building.”

  “Are you going to have dinner with him again?” Jasmine asked, curiosity still strong in her voice.

  It was clear she didn’t believe a word of what Belle was saying about it not being a date, and there was a teeny, tiny part of Belle that didn’t really believe it either. “Who knows. We’re both busy.”

  She began to brush her teeth, hoping that Jasmine wouldn’t ask any more pointed questions, or at least if she did, Belle would have time to figure out an answer.

  “It’s just really odd,” Jasmine said. “You hardly make time to go out for dinner with us, let alone friends.”

  She didn’t hang out with friends because she essentially had none. Another thing Belle could thank Andre for. In addition to alienating her from her family, he’d done the same with her friends. At first, she’d been too embarrassed to reconnect with them, and then her mother had fallen in love and dumped the business in her lap which had left Belle with little time to rebuild broken friendships. For now, she was content with the companionship of her sisters, even if they did drive her a bit bonkers at times.

  Belle rinsed out her mouth and dried her face on a towel. “I went because I only have the one wedding this weekend, and it’s an easy one.”

  “Well, you know…if it were a date, we’d be happy for you.”

  With a laugh, Belle picked up her phone and left the bathroom, flicking off the light as she went. “Considering Mama was ready to shove me in his direction anyway, of course you would be.”

  Listening as Jasmine chatted about her day, Belle set her phone on the bed and changed out of her clothes into an over-sized T-shirt. Its soft cotton embraced her as she slid into bed and curled onto her side. Her conversation with Jasmine didn’t last too much longer, then she was alone with her thoughts.

  But for some reason, on this night, those thoughts weren’t frantic, racing around with all the things she needed to do. Instead, they floated like fluffy summer clouds, drifting softly across a bright blue sky, and not stormy ones, buffeted by strong, turbulent winds. Just a calm, peacefulness that allowed her to drift gently into sleep rather than being chased there by exhaustion from a hectic day.

  Mitch frowned as he stared into his fridge. He shouldn’t be hungry again after all he’d eaten at dinner, but that had been a while ago. His thoughts since leaving Belle and the restaurant had been in direct contrast to how well the evening had gone.

  Grabbing a soda, he shut the fridge and then pulled a bag of chips from the cupboard. He went into his living room and plopped down on the couch w
ithout bothering to turn on any lights. There was enough light spilling in from the streetlamps outside his window that he could see to open his snacks.

  Stretching out his legs, Mitch propped his feet on his coffee table. He set the bag of chips on the couch beside him and rested the soda on his stomach, one hand wrapped tightly around it. He let out a long breath, hating the feeling of whiplash he had from the evening.

  On the one hand, it had gone really well. He’d enjoyed getting to know Belle better, which had been his goal when asking her out. On a date. She may have insisted it wasn’t a date, but he’d wanted it to be. And it had felt like one. That getting-to-know-each-other stage early in a relationship.

  The only problem was that in the process of getting to know Belle, Mitch had realized a few things. A few things that made it pretty clear that Belle was right to insist that it wasn’t a date.

  Mitch didn’t really have a certain type of woman that he was always attracted to, though he seemed to be somewhat partial to blondes. He had a better idea of the connection his heart longed for in a relationship than what he wanted physically in a woman’s appearance.

  As he listened to Belle speak of her work and where she saw her business in ten years, he realized that she truly didn’t have any interest in a relationship. There didn’t appear to be time in her life for a man or, from what he could tell, a family.

  Of course, he hadn’t come right out and asked. That seemed way too much like a date question. Instead, he’d just pieced together things from their conversations as well as observations he’d made from the dinner with her family.

  So it appeared that the things he wanted from a relationship and his future, didn’t align with the things she wanted. Not that he expected the woman he eventually married to stay home and pop out babies, but he did want a family of his own. He wanted a wife who would make time to spend with him. Just as he would make time to spend with her. How could they have a strong relationship if they were both tied up in busy careers?

  Mitch’s head dropped back onto the couch, and he stared up at the ceiling. Guess they really were destined to just be friends. Many of the same qualities he wanted in a wife, he also valued in a friend. Well, aside from the desire to hold hands with her. Hug her. Hold her close. He didn’t generally want to do that with any of his friends. Of course, it had been quite awhile since he’d last tried to develop a friendship—and nothing more—with a woman.

  He was disappointed that there didn’t appear to be any chance of something with Belle. If she wasn’t interested, and if their future interests didn’t seem to align, it pretty much guaranteed that romance was not in the cards for them.

  After eating a few chips, Mitch took a sip of the soda. Gabe was going to grill him on their dinner the next time they saw each other. And for all that Gabe could be clueless about some things, when it came to reading Mitch, he was exceptionally fluent.

  How was it that Gabe, who hadn’t been in the market for a relationship, was the one now making plans to get married? Gabe could quite happily have gone on for years more without seriously dating, let alone getting engaged, and yet Maya had pretty much fallen right into his lap.

  Mitch, on the other hand, seemed to end up interested in women who weren’t planning on getting married and having kids—at least not any time soon—or he just didn’t seem to connect with the women who did have that interest. Every night, he prayed and asked God for a woman to spend his life with, and every day, he tried so hard to trust in God’s timing. But he was getting impatient. Anxious to begin the next chapter of his life.

  Maybe it wasn’t exactly manly to desire a family the way he did, but that’s just how he was. He wanted kids like Bennett, Makayla and Sammi had. A smile curved his lips as he thought about the little girls and how much he adored them. Little Olivia was a particular joy, and the way she lit up when Bennett came around made Mitch both happy and envious. He wanted that love from a child, too. And maybe a son or two that he could teach and guide to adulthood the way his dad had done with all of them.

  Though he’d always appreciated how his parents treated each other and how they’d loved and cherished each of their ten children, lately their example had just made him more impatient and frustrated. Belle had been the first woman in a while who had completely drawn him in…all for nothing.

  With a frustrated sigh, Mitch drained the last of his soda then took the can and chip bag back into the kitchen, trying to be grateful that at least he had gained another friend. One couldn’t have too many of those. Right?

  Right.

  Mitch had to look away from Belle as she stood gazing up at the newly installed window. Thankfully, keeping in good standing with their vendors had paid off, and they’d put a rush on the window at no cost to C&M. So just two weeks after the window incident, the new unbreakable one was installed and looking as beautiful as the original.

  Belle was looking beautiful as well, her face wreathed in a delightful smile as she took in the view. It was the first time he’d seen her since their dinner. Knowing that his heart was already treading dangerously close to falling for her, Mitch had tried to keep his distance. Not that they hadn’t kept in contact. Belle had seemed to take hold of the idea of friendship and run with it.

  Random texts would show up…usually venting about a particularly difficult client. There had been a flurry of funny texts after Gabe and Maya had met with her again. Things Gabe had said that had struck Belle as funny. And they were. Gabe could be hilarious when he wanted to be.

  Mitch had replied to the texts, but he’d refrained from sharing too much about his own job and the frustrations he faced. It felt too…relationshippy, for lack of a better word, and he just wasn’t able to deal with a friendship that felt that way when he wanted more. Thankfully, the couple of times she’d showed up at the building, he’d been away on other job sites.

  Until that day.

  So, there he was thinking how pretty she looked in the magenta colored suit she wore, her hair pulled back smoothly under the purple hard hat. As she came to stand next to him, Mitch wondered why he never got the scent of a perfume when he was around her. There was a muted scent, but it was more like fruity shampoo or lotion, not perfume.

  “It’s absolutely lovely,” Belle said. “As beautiful as Tristan promised it would be.”

  “Yeah. He did a great job making his design work with not just the elements inside the building but outside as well.”

  “I can’t believe how well it’s coming along.” She gave him a radiant smile then turned to look out across the main room. “You’re making great progress.”

  Mitch nodded. “Despite having to wait to replace the window, we’re still on schedule.”

  “Even after the renovations had started, I was still dreading the move. But honestly, I’m starting to get a little excited about the prospect. Not the work involved but being in this place.”

  Mitch smiled at her. “And you’ll have an office with a phenomenal view to boot.”

  “While it wasn’t a requirement, it sure is going to be a nice upgrade.” She turned to look at him. “This next weekend is another fairly quiet one for me. Two weddings but they’re Friday night and Saturday morning. Want to do something?”

  A pit formed in Mitch’s stomach. He knew that she was asking simply as a friend, but his heart wanted to read so much more into her request. The confusing part of it was that there was a part of him that hoped that maybe if they spent time together, she might change her mind about dating him. The logical part of his mind said that that would be an even worse situation because he’d still know that she wasn’t the woman for him. She would still be more interested in her business than in settling down to have a family.

  “Uh, sure. What were you thinking of?” Mitch shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans to keep from slapping himself upside the head.

  “Jasmine was given some tickets to a Goldeyes game. One of the brides she helped a couple of weeks ago is the fiancée of a player, and
she stopped by with several tickets as a thank you. Want to come with us?”

  Mitch had always been more of a hockey man, and in the summer when there was no hockey, it was football. He hadn’t ever attended a baseball game. “Sure.”

  “We’ve got six tickets, so even if Rory and Jasmine both come, we’ve got two extra. Do you know of anyone else who might like to come along? Gabe and Maya perhaps?”

  “You don’t have anyone else who wants the tickets?”

  “No. Rory and Jasmine said they’d come but that they didn’t have anyone they wanted to bring.”

  “I’ll see if they want to come. If not, Tristan might be interested in coming along.”

  “Great. I’ll get you the information. Maybe we can all meet up for an early dinner beforehand.”

  Just like friends, Mitch realized. He gave her what felt like a weak smile, but he hoped it didn’t appear that way to her. “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Excellent. I’m not really much of a sports fan, but I think we could have fun.”

  “No doubt.” If he invited Gabe and Maya, he was sure it would be fun. Even if his heart wasn’t completely in it, he’d probably enjoy himself regardless.

  “I’d better scoot. I have to stop at a potential new venue.”

  Mitch walked beside her to the door. “Do you find these places? Like to recommend to clients?”

  “It used to be that we would scout out locations that we could then recommend to clients, but in the past year or two, we’ve had vendors approach us to be on our ‘approved list,’ for lack of a better term. The companies on that list are the ones who have proven themselves professional and easy to work with. If it’s a new location, they have to show that they take care of all areas of their venue and communicate well before they go on our ‘approved list’.” She gave him a quick smile as she walked past him through the door he held open for her. “I’m off to check out a possible venue today. It seems to have good potential, so we’ll see.”

  “Hope it works out,” Mitch said as they reached her car. “I’ll let you know what Gabe and Maya say about Saturday.”