“You too, Mitch,” Jasmine said with a big smile. “Thanks again for taking time with us tonight.”
“You’re welcome. It was my pleasure.”
It wasn’t until they were in the car that Jasmine swung around to face Belle, her eyes wide. “What on earth happened between the two of you?”
Belle started up the car then glanced over at her sister. “Nothing. Why?”
“Nothing?” Jasmine said with a scoff. “The tension between the two of you was thicker than Mama’s gravy.”
“Ugh, really?” Belle said as she pulled away from the curb. “None of us like to be reminded of that.”
“True, but it’s also true that the tension between you and Mitch was thick, thick, thick.” Jasmine paused then said, “Seriously though, Belle, what happened?”
“Nothing like what you’d think,” Belle told her. “I might have gotten a bit demonstrative in my thanks for the work he is doing on the building. It kind of made things awkward between us.”
“Well, no kidding. You don’t normally do demonstrative with anyone who’s not family, and even then it’s iffy. Why did you start with Mitch?”
“I don’t know. He’s just made me feel comfortable. Being around him was easy, almost like he was family.”
“Except he’s definitely not,” Jasmine reminded her.
“Yeah,” Belle murmured. “He’s definitely not.”
And that was the problem. If he were family, this wouldn’t be an issue at all.
So was he avoiding her or were their schedules just not lining up?
In the two weeks since the evening visit with Jasmine, Belle had gone to the site a few times, but on none of those occasions had Mitch been there. Of course, it wasn’t as if she’d let him know she was going to be stopping by. It was just that, given what she knew of the other times he’d been at the site, she’d kind of thought he’d be there.
She was of a mixed mind as to whether or not it was a good thing that they hadn’t run into each other. On the one hand, there was the awkwardness of that moment between them in her unfinished office and then the evening when she and Jasmine had gone to the reno to look around. That awkwardness made her want to not see him again.
But then she remembered how she’d enjoyed the conversations they’d had, how easy he’d been to talk to. She’d enjoyed the friendship they’d been building, and she wanted that to continue. Seeing him again was the only way to get things back on track.
As she left the reno site, Belle tried to put it all out of her mind for the time being. It was Friday, which meant she had plenty of other stuff that needed her attention. Taking the time to stop by the reno site had been an impulse, but now she needed to stop thinking about Mitch and that situation and to start focusing on the wedding the next day. It was a big one that she’d been helping plan for almost a year. She’d be relieved to have it behind her.
She’d agreed to stop by the church in the afternoon to check and make sure that all the decorations had been set up the way the bride wanted. In some ways, this couple reminded her of Gabe and Maya. Not their wedding itself, since this couple was having a large event. They were getting married in a church like Gabe and Maya, but their reception afterward was being held in a huge hotel ballroom.
It was more the sweetness of the bride that reminded her of Maya, and the groom—from the handful of times she’d met him—had a gregarious personality that was reminiscent of Gabe. The two of them together were sweetly affectionate, and Belle had found it endearing—if not a little nauseating at times. But even as much as she had enjoyed working with them, Belle would be glad to have this wedding in the books.
The stop at the church didn’t take long. Everything was as it should be, which freed Belle up to make a couple more stops at vendors for other wedding errands before heading back to the office. She thought about stopping at the reno site but decided that might be a bit of overkill in her efforts to get hold of Mitch. Maybe she’d text him over the weekend to see how he was doing. Friend reaching out to a friend. The fact that he hadn’t contacted her over the past couple of weeks didn’t fill her full of confidence regarding the future of their friendship.
Maybe Mitch had decided that he wasn’t interested in a friendship if he couldn’t have a relationship. Maybe it was a relationship or nothing. Maybe he’d decided that she was selfish, just as she’d wondered herself, in pressing for a friendship after rejecting his attempt to ask her out on a date. And maybe she was…
The next day, Belle was at the church by late morning, overseeing the final preparations. The fresh flowers had been delivered, and she helped attach them to the candle displays along the aisle. She made sure that the table where the bride and groom had wanted a guestbook was set up as they’d requested. There were so many little details that she and Stace, her assistant for the day, hadn’t been able to take care of until the last minute.
When the second floral delivery arrived with the bridal party’s arrangements, Belle checked them all over to make sure that they were what had been ordered, in particular, the bride’s bouquet. Stace took the boutonnieres to the room where the groom and his men were all gathered. When she reappeared a few minutes later, she held a small gift and an envelope in her hands.
“He wants us to give this to the bride,” she said as she handed them to Belle. A smile curved the corners of her lips. “So romantic.”
Belle found herself agreeing as she tucked the small gift and the envelope into the box with the bridal bouquets and walked down the long hallway to the room where the bride and her bridesmaids were getting ready. She found the young woman with her six bridesmaids surrounded by makeup and other beauty and styling paraphernalia.
She set the box with the bouquets on a nearby table and took out the gift and envelope. The bride smiled as Belle approached her where she stood with her mom. The older woman dabbed at her eyes.
“Neil wanted me to give this to you,” Belle said, holding out the gift.
The bride’s smile widened further as she took it. “He’s such a romantic.”
She opened the card first, emotion playing across her face. When she glanced up, Belle could see tears glistening in her eyes, and she hoped that they didn’t spill over, forcing her to redo her makeup. As she opened the gift, her mom leaned over and sighed.
“That’s beautiful, darling,” she said. “Let me put it on you.”
Belle watched as the bride’s mom lifted a dainty bracelet from the box and fastened it around her daughter’s wrist. The bride held it up, and Belle could see a small heart dangling from the chain. Belle stepped back as the bridesmaids gathered around their friend.
The loving couple surrounded by friends and family. Emotions bubbling to the surface. Everything was as it should be for their special day.
Satisfied that the bride was taken care of, Belle slipped out of the room and headed down the hallway, wondering why she was feeling so moved by everything that day. It wasn’t as if she didn’t deal with weddings like this every weekend. It was like whatever had happened between her and Mitch had made cracks appear in the walls around her heart. The emotions she could usually keep out when she attended weddings day in and day out were now slipping through the cracks, settling into her heart. Making her feel in a way she hadn’t in a very long time.
When she’d been a teen working at the bridal shop—in the time before Andre—Belle had been all about the feelings. She loved seeing the brides find their perfect dresses. She loved being the one to assist her mom at the weddings she’d helped plan. The highlight of her week had been to stand at the back of the church and listen as the bride and groom pledged their love to one another. Her heart had longed to one day experience that same love.
But then, everything had changed. And she’d been okay with that.
So why was it changing back now? Why were her emotions once again being pulled to the surface by the weddings? She didn’t want it because she didn’t want that to be her path in life. Her emotions might
be telling her differently, but she knew what was best for herself.
However, maybe she could just let herself enjoy the emotions for a bit longer. She’d watch Emily and Neil say their vows, enjoying the love they would pledge to each other. Then tomorrow, she’d tuck it all away like she had five years earlier and go back to how things were. The status quo. Her status quo.
Her earpiece beeped, and she touched the button on it to connect her to Stace. Belle paused just shy of the foyer, so she didn’t disrupt the conversations of the people who were beginning to gather there.
“What’s up?” Belle asked, her gaze on the growing crowd.
“The minister just told me that the pianist called him to say he’s running about ten minutes late.”
“Okay. Have the person in the sound booth play the CD I gave him earlier.” Belle had always known to prepare for things like that. If there was a possibility that anyone vital to the ceremony could be late, she had a backup plan. This wasn’t the first time the pianist who was supposed to play the prelude ended up being late. Which was why she made sure she had a CD of appropriate music, as approved by the bride and groom, to give to the sound booth person in the event of a late pianist. “Also tell him…”
“Tell him what?” Stace’s voice faded into the distance as Belle stared at the couple standing not that far from her.
For a moment, she wondered if it was Gabe—she wanted it to be Gabe—but she knew better. The woman standing at his side most definitely wasn’t Maya. Though her hair was dark, it wasn’t as dark as Maya’s, and her features didn’t have the exotic Asian look to them that Maya’s did. And she was clearly with a man who wasn’t Gabe. Her arm was linked through his, her hand resting on the gray suit covering his arm as they conversed with another couple standing with them. Something she said made Mitch look down at her, a smile of affection on his face.
He’d told her he had no significant other, but that had been two months ago. Clearly, that had changed. Suddenly, the distance between them seemed to be explained more by this than by the awkwardness from their moment in her office.
Numbness began to spread through her body, smothering the pleasant emotions that had existed just moments earlier. Belle was grateful for the lack of feeling because she didn’t want to experience the pain that would confirm what she’d known, even if she’d been denying it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Mitch looked around the bridal shop reno, grateful to see that work had progressed even though his time there had been limited recently. That hadn’t been on purpose, although he had to admit it was possible that he might have avoided the site even if other circumstances hadn’t kept him away.
For a moment—just a moment—when Belle had hugged him, hope had flared into a huge raging bonfire. For a moment, he’d thought that maybe she felt something like he did. That hope had lasted until she’d stepped back, a distancing smile on her face. It had thoroughly squelched any flame of hope in him.
The meeting a few nights later had only been bearable thanks to Jasmine’s presence. He had appreciated her enthusiasm for the renovation. Belle had had similar enthusiasm up until that moment between them in her office. After that, things had been…different.
“We managed to keep things on track even without your supervision,” Mark told him as he thumped him on the shoulder.
Mitch glanced at him to see a smile on his face. “Very funny, dude. I never expected anything less.”
“Everything okay?” Mark asked.
“Yeah. I just felt I needed to pay a bit more attention to some of the other work sites after the problems we had at the new build. Turns out, we were having similar issues at the other site in that same subdivision. Ethan wasn’t happy. Bennett wasn’t happy.” Mitch lifted the hard hat from his head and ran a hand through his hair before replacing it. “And I wasn’t happy.”
“Everything okay now, though?” Mark asked.
“I hope so,” Mitch said. “We can’t both be spending so much time on this site.”
Mark put his hands on his hips. “Do you trust me with this job, Mitch?”
“I do, Mark. That’s why I’ve been able to focus on the other sites for the past couple of weeks.”
Mark didn’t say anything for a minute, the noises of the men working filling the silence. “Miss Jacobs has been by two or three times to see how things are progressing.”
“I hope she was okay that I haven’t been here to oversee things.”
“Yeah. I explained that you were busy elsewhere.” Mark paused. “Funny though, she hasn’t been here at all this week.”
“Could be she’s busy too.” Mitch hoped that was the case. “As the nice weather progresses, there are more and more weddings. I’m sure she’s got a lot on her plate.”
Mark turned his focus from Mitch to the work area. “Well, we’re just waiting for the inspections on the electrical and the plumbing. Once they’ve signed off on those, we’ll start on the final touches. The built-ins, the flooring, the paint. We’re in the homestretch.”
Mitch was glad that in spite of his distraction, work at the reno site had continued without issue. He was a bit surprised that Belle hadn’t stopped by, or that she hadn’t tried to contact him at all since the night she and Jasmine had stopped by. Not even to tell him their paint choices. That information had come from Jasmine via email.
“Let me know if she stops by, will you?” Mitch asked. “I want to know if she has any concerns.”
“I’ll be sure to let you know and to pass on any concerns if you’re not here.”
“Thank you,” Mitch said. “Now let’s have a look around.”
When he left an hour later, Mitch felt more at ease now that he’d seen for himself that everything was progressing as it should. The only thing that made him uneasy was the lack of communication from Belle. Up until that moment in her new office, she’d been in fairly regular contact with him. Not just for business, but also as a friend.
But then…nothing. Silence from Belle should have made him happy because he’d thought that was what he wanted. Only, now he wasn’t so sure. Maybe having her as a friend was better than no contact at all. Could he get over what he felt for her even with her still present in his life?
Later, as he sat in his apartment, Mitch held a brief battle with himself before finally pulling up a text screen on his phone.
Sorry I haven’t been on site when you’ve come by. Been dealing with some issues at other sites which have kept me tied up.
He hoped to have an immediate response, but it was over ten minutes before he got a reply from her.
Belle: No problem. It looked good the last time I stopped in.
Yep. I stopped in there today. Once the inspections are finished, they’ll start with the finishing touches. Flooring, paint, etc.
Belle: I look forward to seeing the end result.
Mitch waited to see if she would say anything further, but after five minutes, there was still nothing else from her. He couldn’t understand what had happened. Yes, there had been awkwardness that night, but it wasn’t like they had kissed or made out. She’d hugged him, and while, yes, he might have wanted more, the fact was that nothing more had occurred.
Nothing that had warranted the distance that had suddenly developed between the two of them.
Maybe he should see if they could meet. Could he make up a reason—a business reason—for them to meet for dinner again?
When his phone beeped, Mitch looked at it, anticipating another text from Belle. Instead, it was a message from Gabe.
Gabe: Yo, bro! Maya wants to invite the Disney princesses to the Canada Day weekend at the cabin. Is that okay with you?
Mitch smiled, happy that the perfect excuse to hang out with Belle had just been handed to him.
Sure. That’s fine. The more, the merrier. Right?
Gabe: You know it!
Mitch hoped that if it had only been schedules that had kept them apart, Belle wouldn’t hesitate to accept Maya’s in
vitation. There would be a good crowd of people up at the cabin, so if she really wanted to avoid him, that would still be possible. Given the number of people coming, and how the configuration of the family had changed in recent years, they wouldn’t all be staying at the cabin like they had in the past.
Discussions earlier in the year had ended with several family members deciding to rent camping sites and RVs. Last he’d heard, Bennett and Grace, Ethan and Makayla, and Sammi and Levi had gotten three sites close together in the campground, not far from the family cabin. He wasn’t sure how many of their family friends might also have reserved sites at the campground.
There would still be plenty of people at the cabin though. He, Gabe, Tristan, Kenton, and Dalton along with Kenton’s girlfriend’s son and her brother would be in the boys’ room.
The girls’ room would have Danica, Sierra, Maya, and Kenton’s girlfriend, Avery. There would still be room in there if Belle and her sisters came. There was also a motel and a hotel nearby for people who wanted more privacy or who didn’t mind spending the money on more luxurious accommodations.
He knew that his parents—and probably Maya and her mom—had more exact numbers of who would be with them for the weekend since they were planning the food. Mitch decided that he wouldn’t ask if Belle had accepted the invite or not. If she did show up, he hoped that maybe they could get back to whatever it was they had before the awkwardness of that moment—because it really was just a moment—had occurred.
He still had the rest of the week to get through before the holiday weekend though, so Mitch turned his focus to what was needing his attention.
Once he’d finished the last of his work for the week on Friday, Mitch stopped by his place to grab his bag and then headed to the house. His dad had asked him to swing by to pick up some of the stuff they were taking to the cabin for the weekend.
It was a bit of a madhouse when he got there. He wasn’t even sure he could call it organized chaos.
“So what did you need me to take out?” Mitch asked his dad when he finally found him in the family room.
A Touch of Romance Page 19