A Touch of Romance

by Kimberly Rae Jordan

  Belle wasn’t surprised when she felt no disappointment at Rory’s words. After all, it was what she’d suspected all along. It would be just one more way that Andre would hold control over her life. She’d told him she was evicting him from her mind and yet, he was still finding a way to thwart her efforts.

  “He’s a really nice guy,” Rory said.

  “What?” Belle tried to bring their conversation back into focus.

  “Mitch. He’s a great guy, and he’s concerned about you.”

  If Belle heard that word one more time, she was going to scream. “I know he’s a nice guy. I’ve worked with him.”

  “Don’t you think it’s time you opened your heart to him, Belle? Give the guy a chance.”

  “A chance? A chance to do what? Break my heart? Because sooner or later, he’ll decide I’m too much work. That my anxiety or my need to control things doesn’t fit in with his version of how a relationship should work. Or he’ll be upset that the business demands so much of me and that I don’t have time for a family.”

  “I’m pretty sure that the issues of the business and family can be addressed. You always wanted a family, and Mom has given the green light for you to hire additional staff to help you out. As for your anxiety and the need to control things, talk about that with him. Communicate about them. Mitch strikes me as someone who is able to take things in stride.”

  There was a part of Belle that wanted to take Rory’s advice and just throw all caution to the wind and give Mitch a chance. To embrace all the things she’d wanted as a teen. A husband. A family. The business. Well, now she had the business at the expense of the other two.

  “I already told him no,” Belle said, ignoring the vice that tightened around her chest at the memory of that conversation. “That there couldn’t be anything between us.”

  “Reconsider, sweetie,” Rory said gently. “Don’t let Andre and your fears rob you of the possibility of love. At least pray about it. See what God gives you peace about. Just don’t outright dismiss something without considering that Mitch might be the man God has prepared for you.”

  Her initial thought was that she knew better than anyone—even God—what was right for her. That was foolish, of course, but thinking that way allowed her to embrace her decision more fully. It was also why she hadn’t prayed at all about the situation with Mitch. Her mind had been made up from the moment she’d sensed his interest in her and her heart had reacted for the first time in a long while.

  “This whole thing with Andre makes it even more imperative that I stay away from Mitch. Who do you think that message was directed at?”

  Rory frowned. “Had you said something to him about Mitch?”

  “No, but back when C&M started work on the building, Mitch and I were eating lunch at the food carts on Portage when we ran into Andre. Mitch’s shirt had the company logo on it, so I’m sure it didn’t take Andre long to put two and two together. He probably figured that we were a couple because Mitch came to my defense.”

  “So you think Mitch is the target of the message?”

  “I don’t know who else it could be,” Belle said. “So I don’t want to do anything that would antagonize Andre further. I made my decision, and now more than ever, it seems important that I stick to it.”

  Rory gave her a frustrated look as she shook her head. “I think that Mitch should be the one to decide if he wants to take that chance.”

  Belle just stared at Rory. However, unlike Jasmine, who found the look intimidating, Rory just returned it with one of her own. Her lawyer look, as Belle, Jasmine, and Ariel called it. Belle was prepared to wait it out, but then it appeared that Rory was too.

  “Oh my word, you two,” Jasmine said when she walked into the room a minute or so into the staring contest. “You both win, now move on to something else.” Jasmine moved to stand between them, physically breaking the line of sight between Belle and Rory. “Enough.”

  Rory got to her feet. “Fine. But seriously, Belle, think it over.”

  Belle didn’t say anything as Rory gave Jasmine a quick hug before leaving the office.

  “What was that all about?”

  “I’ll tell you later,” Belle said, not wanting yet another lecture. “Was there a reason you came in here?”

  “Yeah. Another bouquet of flowers was delivered.”

  Belle shot to her feet. “What? From Andre?”

  “I’m not sure. This one seems…different. But I didn’t open the card since it’s addressed to you.”

  She rounded the desk and headed for the office door, Jasmine on her heels. When they got to the receptionist desk, Belle paused. The flowers Andre sent were always either roses or orchids. He’d often said that he wasn’t so cheap as to buy common flowers like carnations or daisies. The expensive gesture was always more about him than her. At first, she’d viewed his actions as romantic, but by the time she’d found the courage and strength to walk away, she knew the gestures—always made in public—were about making him look good in front of others.

  This bouquet was different though. It was made up of a riot of color. Yellow. Purple. Pink. Red. Orange. And all different kinds of flowers. As she approached, she could see carnations, daisies, and tulips along with some flowers whose names she didn’t know. It was a truly beautiful bouquet—so different from the ones that Andre usually brought or had delivered.

  Surely this one wasn’t from Andre. She didn’t want to believe that he was capable of such a lovely gesture. Reaching out, she plucked the card from amongst the blooms and studied the writing of her name. After being with Andre for so long, she knew his handwriting, and this wasn’t it. The sprawling letters were bold and not the perfect penmanship that Andre had.

  Belle slid a finger underneath the flap and opened the envelope. After a brief hesitation, she slid the card out and read it.

  Princess ~ I know you’re not one for romantic gestures, so please just view this as a gift from a friend. Someone who wants you to see the beauty of flowers. To know that they don’t have to come bearing ugly messages. I hope you can enjoy them, but if not, feel free to share their beauty with others.

  Mitch

  She felt a mixture of relief and delight as she realized that the flowers weren’t from Andre and that they were from Mitch. He was right, she just didn’t see the sense in gestures like that when such offerings could be made without the sentiment to back them up. Romantic gestures like flowers or candy were the easy parts. The simplistic ways of showing love and affection. Far more important were the actions that needed to be in a relationship in the long term.

  Andre’s actions had spoken to the true nature of his heart, but she had been too caught up in the words and the gifts to see that for herself until it was too late. She appreciated what Mitch was trying to do, to reclaim the gesture from a manipulative man who was trying to control her long after she’d left him.

  It might actually be working because even though flower bouquets weren’t really her thing, she wouldn’t send Mitch’s off to the women’s shelter the way she did Andre’s. Before she could stop herself, Belle leaned forward, taking a whiff of the flowers closest to her.

  “Who’re they from?” Jasmine asked.

  “Mitch,” Belle said, handing her the card. As Jasmine read it, Belle touched the sprigs of tiny white flowers poking up between the blossoms.

  “Well, that was sweet of him.” Jasmine gave her back the card. “I assume I’m not sending this bouquet away?”

  “No. You can keep it right here for everyone to enjoy.”

  “You don’t want the flowers on your desk?” Jasmine asked.

  “They’ll be appreciated more out here, especially given how little time I’ll be spending in my office this week.”

  “True.” Jasmine leaned close to the bouquet. “What a beautiful arrangement. Are they from one of the florists we use?”

  “I’m not sure. I didn’t see anything indicating where they were from. I’ll have to ask Mitch.”

&n
bsp; “Are you going to thank him?”

  Frowning, Belle turned to look at Jasmine. “Of course I will. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because you would probably be happier avoiding him.”

  Jasmine wasn’t completely wrong in that assessment, but Belle wasn’t going to be rude and ungrateful after the effort Mitch had made. Especially after the tension of their last meeting. Tapping the card against her palm, Belle headed for her office. Once there, she picked up her cell phone and brought up her text screen.

  She composed several different texts in her mind before just tapping out a simple, straightforward message.

  Thank you for the bouquet, Mitch. The flowers are very beautiful.

  Though she wanted to reiterate that the flowers changed nothing between them, Belle couldn’t find it within herself to do that. Knowing what she did about Mitch, she knew the flowers were an extension of who he was.

  Mitch: You’re welcome. : )

  Belle sat staring at the phone, waiting for another text from him, but soon it became apparent that he wasn’t going to add anything. She’d braced herself to have to fend off another attempt by Mitch to get her to reconsider. Instead…nothing.

  She was almost disappointed.

  For the next few days, things were quiet at the site. Well, as quiet as it could be with construction still going on inside. The last of the inspections would be completed that week to verify that all the plumbing and electrical work had been done correctly. Then they’d have their final building inspection the following week before they began work on the finishing touches.

  As long as everything went according to plan for these last few steps, they would finish on schedule. Maybe even ahead of time. Then Jasmine would be able to supervise the installation of the new furnishings in time for them to move the end of August. He could only imagine the hassle it was going to be to move all the dresses from the old shop to the new one.

  During a tour of the shop at the beginning of the reno design process, he’d been shocked at the huge number of dresses that were available for brides to try on. In his mind, there were really only so many different styles of dresses, but apparently, he’d been wrong about that. So very wrong. No wonder salespeople got over-the-top excited when a bride finally made up her mind about a dress.

  He had no idea how a bride narrowed down that choice. But apparently, they did, because as far as he knew, Maya had already chosen her dress. Out of the hundreds in Belle’s shop, she’d managed to find the one.

  “Hey, boss,” Mark called down the stairs. “Belle’s here.”

  Mitch took a final glance around the room that would be the employee lounge then took the stairs two at a time back to the main floor. As he came around the corner, he spotted Belle standing near the entrance, her purple hard hat on her head.

  “Hey, Princess,” he said as he reached her, figuring that if she didn’t tell him to not call her that, he would. Despite everything, he found himself still wanting to have the closeness of a friendship with her. Whether that would be where they found themselves after the fallout of what was going on now was debatable. “What brings you by?”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Belle stared at him for a moment, and Mitch wondered if she was going to object to his use of the nickname, but instead, she just said, “I haven’t been by in awhile. I thought I’d see how it’s been going.”

  “That’s great. C’mon, let’s start downstairs. I was just down there checking over a few things.”

  Belle nodded and walked beside him to the stairs behind the staircase that led to the second floor. Mitch led the way, glancing back to make sure she was following. The wide stairs were still just rough wood, the finishing touches yet to come.

  “The sewing area is all complete. We’re just waiting for the inspection. This area required the most electrical work since we had to accommodate the sewing machines.” He led the way into the large brightly lit workspace. Because it was in the basement, they’d wanted to make sure it had plenty of artificial light.

  “These are great,” Belle said as she ran her hand along one of the raised work tables. “So much better than what the seamstresses have now. They’ll have a ton of space to work on the dresses, and there’s plenty of space for forms and sewing machines as well.”

  “The areas for the brides to try on their dresses for fittings, are out here,” Mitch said, walking to the door. These weren’t as lavish as the ones upstairs, but they would still have plenty of space for a bride to model her dress.

  “Having two areas will be great,” Belle said. “Right now, we can only schedule one fitting at a time.”

  He showed her the employee section which would be a place with large lockers where they could safely store their coats and personal belongings while they worked. It would also have a table, a small kitchen area, and some couches when it was all done. The employee washrooms were also in that same area.

  “It’s looking so much like Tristan’s 3D model now,” Belle said as they made their way back upstairs.

  “Yep. As we get closer to the end, it looks more and more like it.” After giving her a tour of the main floor, he paused before going up the stairs to the second. “Not a lot has changed on the upper floor since you were last here, but we have done a little more of the finishing work.”

  When Belle headed up the stairs, Mitch had no choice but to follow. He just didn’t want a repeat of what had happened the last time she was up there with him. Well, actually, he wouldn’t have minded a repeat if there wasn’t such a sure chance that the result would be the same as last time.

  After they walked through the consultation room, Mitch led the way to her office, but this time, instead of stepping into the room with her, he lingered in the doorway. She looked around then went to stand at the window.

  “Has there been any more graffiti?” she asked as she turned back around.

  “No, but we’ve had someone on site through the night ever since Monday. We’ve told him to be discreet in hopes that we can catch whoever is doing it, but perhaps that person saw or sensed something that scared them away.”

  “So we’ll have to continue to have someone on site once the store has opened if we don’t catch them, eh?”

  “You never told me what Andre’s business was.” Mitch moved further into the room. “I didn’t know that he is your competition.”

  Belle scoffed as she waved a hand dismissively in the air. “He’s not competition. Why do you think he tried to lure me away from my mom? I’m good at my job. I learned from the best. He thought getting me would help him and hurt my mom.” Her expression seemed regretful as she turned away from him to face the window again. “I suppose it worked for awhile, but my mom had managed the business on her own before me, and she managed to do it on her own again after I left with Andre.”

  “You didn’t want to keep working with your mom?”

  She let out a sigh as she crossed her arms. “I was young. I saw a chance to prove myself, I guess. To have a say in how a bridal business was run. To get out from under my mom’s thumb. Andre saw my desire for all of that and played me like a violin.”

  “How did you meet him?”

  “There’s a bridal fair each year,” Belle said as she turned to face him again. “Andre approached me when I was working at our booth one year. He seemed to know exactly what to say. How to get my attention. Flowers. Candy. Intimate dinners. Jewelry. He went all out, and I fell for it.”

  “You thought he was your Prince Charming,” Mitch stated.

  She gave him a weak smile. “I was more like my mom than I cared to admit. But thankfully, I grew up fast and found my way out.” Her expression hardened. “And I learned never to repeat my mistakes.”

  While Mitch was grateful that she’d gotten away from Andre, it was disheartening to him to now have to deal with the aftermath. The knowledge that she refused to give him a chance because of what Andre had done to her.

  “You’ve taken the business and run with it. What
has his business done?”

  “Well, he’s still in business, but he’s limping along. We’ve heard through some of our customers that he’s botched a couple of weddings and messed up a few dresses. Nothing too major, but honestly, in this business, even the smallest slip-up can ruin a bride’s day, and that’s not what you want to happen.”

  “So perhaps Andre really hasn’t been able to replace you,” Mitch said.

  “Not in the business anyway. I have no doubt he’s replaced me in his personal life.”

  Mitch let his gaze drift past Belle to the view out the window. “He might end up doing what he can to sabotage your business.”

  “But why wait til now? He’s had years to try to do that.”

  “This new building is proof—very visible proof—that Belles & Beaus is doing fine. Better than fine. Your business is flourishing. Maybe as long as you were at the old location, he could imagine you were just getting by like he was. But purchasing and renovating this building means that you’re more than just getting by. You have what he wants.”

  Belle took a step toward him. “So what do we do? How do we prove that the damage is from him?”

  “I have no idea, to be honest. Short of catching someone who then turns on Andre, I’m not sure what to do. I doubt Andre would do anything malicious himself.”

  “I had finally decided I was doing something to get past Andre.” Belle frowned and turned away from Mitch. “And now this. He’s causing even more issues for me.”

  Mitch went to her side, resting his hand lightly between her shoulder blades when what he really wanted to do was give her a reassuring hug. “We’ll figure this out. Rory is going to find out if there’s something the cops can do.”

  Belle shook her head. “She already said there’s nothing they can do to Andre without direct proof that he’s involved.”