Beyond Beautiful (Love in Providence Book 2)

by Heather MacKinnon

  Remy: Hey, I’m on my way home from Gramps’. Did you have dinner already?

  Me: Nope. Still at work actually.

  And now he mentioned it, my stomach rumbled. I gave it a pat with a promise to stuff it later. First, I had to finish what I was doing if I had any hopes of going home before midnight. I shoved my phone in my pocket and got back to work.

  A little while later, there was a knock on the front door that stopped me dead in my tracks. When Sonia left hours ago, I’d locked up after her since I knew I’d be staying late. Who would be knocking on an art gallery’s door at this time of night?

  I peeked around the corner as discreetly as I could, and my stomach dropped when I saw who was knocking. With a shake of my head, I hurried over and unlocked the glass door.

  “Remy. What are you doing here?”

  He held up a pizza box with a wide smile that made my stomach cramp. “I brought dinner.”

  My heart pounded in my chest as he stepped around me and walked into the gallery. I locked the door again and hurried to catch up to him.

  “What do you mean you brought dinner?”

  He spun around and faced me while walking backward through the long room. “You said you hadn’t eaten, and I hadn’t eaten, so I thought I’d bring you some food and we could eat together.”

  I stopped in the middle of the space and crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t have time to stop for food.”

  He shook his head. “You can’t just skip dinner, Belle. You’ve been working a lot of hours lately and you need to take care of yourself. Let me help.”

  If I were to rearrange the words he’d just said, it almost sounded like he wanted to take care of me himself. But that had to just be my imagination, right?

  I huffed and brushed past him. “Fine. Let’s go back to my office.”

  I don’t know why, but I was irrationally angry that he’d shown up like this. Who did he think he was? Coming to my job unannounced, bringing me dinner, being thoughtful and shit. It was completely out of line.

  I whipped open my office door and stormed inside, Remy’s heavy footsteps right behind me. When I made it to my desk, I turned around and found him standing just a few feet away, a confused look on his face.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked.

  No. Everything was not okay. Not even a little bit.

  I blew out a breath and looked away from him. “It’s fine. I’m just busy. I don’t really have time for this.”

  He set the box down on the desk and closed the distance between us. His big hands reached up to circle my biceps. They were warm and firm, and I desperately tried to stifle a shiver at the contact.

  “Belle, look at me.”

  Images from the night we’d spent together sped through my head at his request. That was something he’d said over and over to me. That he wanted to see me as he entered me. That he wanted to watch me as I came. The memories were enough to dampen my panties, and this time, I had no chance at suppressing the shiver that raced down my spine.

  “Belle.”

  His voice was insistent, and I knew he wouldn’t give up until I gave him what he wanted. I released a deep breath and looked up into his soft chocolate gaze.

  “If you want me to leave, I will. I just wanted to make sure you had some dinner.”

  My heart thundered in my chest as I read the sincerity in his eyes. I wiped my sweaty hands on my slacks and looked away again.

  Why was he being so sweet to me? I’d been a bitch this morning and had given him even more attitude when he showed up tonight. What was it that kept him coming back? What made him keep doing these thoughtful things for me?

  Finally, the questions that raced through my head fell from my lips. “Why are you doing this?”

  His head jerked back like he hadn’t been expecting the question. The fingers around my arms tightened slightly as he looked away for a moment. When he looked back, there was an easy smile on his face, but his eyes told a different story. They were darker than before, and serious, and so filled with unnamed emotions that I almost had to look away.

  “I’m just trying to be a good friend.”

  I was so caught off guard by his answer that more words spilled from me that I’d intended to keep to myself. “Is that what you are?” I asked so softly he wouldn’t have heard me if he wasn’t so close.

  His eyes darted away before meeting mine again. “I’m trying,” was all he actually said, but I had a feeling it wasn’t all he wanted to say.

  Suddenly, the temperature in my little office rose to a stifling degree. Remy’s body was encompassing mine, making it feel like there wasn’t enough room to breathe. All I could smell was his intoxicating scent. All I could feel were his warm hands on me. All I could see was the soulful brown color of his eyes. It all melded together and messed with my head and tightened vices around my internal organs.

  Time seemed to stand still as we looked into each other’s eyes, saying things there that neither of us would say aloud. Finally, it all became too much for me. Too close. Too soon. Too real.

  I stepped back, breaking the spell and dislodging his hands from where they held me. With a shake of my head, I turned to my desk and cleared some papers out of the way so we could eat. “So, what’d you bring, anyway? It better not be pizza again because you’ve already bought me one of those today.”

  He chuckled behind me, the sound a little strained, but I ignored it. I felt the heat of his body as he stepped up next to me and reached around to open up the box he brought. “I got us a calzone to split. Is that okay?”

  My mouth salivated at the golden cheesy dough before me. “What kind of calzone?”

  “Cheese.”

  I nodded in approval. “Sticking to the classics. Good move, MacAlister.”

  He laughed again, this one seeming more genuine than the last. “Glad I have your approval.”

  He took a seat in the extra chair while I grabbed us some tissues and a couple bottles of water from the fridge in my office. When I turned around, I found him cutting up the calzone with a set of plastic utensils he’d brought with him.

  I could have stood there and thought about how strange my life had become, but I didn’t. Right now, I was hungry and a new friend of mine was treating me to dinner. It didn’t need to be anything more than that.

  “How’s the setup for the show coming along?” Remy asked once we were both seated and digging into the food.

  I swallowed my first bite and shrugged. “It’s going. Thankfully we have some movers coming tomorrow to do a bunch of heavy lifting. Hopefully we’ll get a lot done.”

  Remy nodded and took a sip of his water. “Why are you here so late tonight?”

  “Bailey stopped by for lunch and I lost track of time. I needed to make up for it.”

  “Ah. So, Bailey got to you too.” He sighed. “I thought we’d have more time before they figured things out.”

  I doubled over, choking on the food in my mouth. Remy patted me on the back roughly as I tried to regain control.

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  I sat up, still wheezing with my eyes watering and probably smudging my eyeliner. Taking a quick sip of water, I croaked, “Figured what out?”

  It couldn’t be that me and Remy hooked up. There was no way Bailey and Ryder knew what we’d done together. I’d been so careful, and I thought Remy was doing the same. Had his brother said something to him? If Ryder knew, that meant Bailey knew too. Why didn’t she bring it up at lunch?

  Remy’s dark brows furrowed. “Figured out they didn’t want to wait to get married.”

  My shoulders slumped as all the air gusted out of my lungs.

  Holy shit.

  That was too close for comfort.

  “Why? What did you think I meant?”

  I met his gaze, my own eyes wide. “Um. What?”

  He tilted his head to the side as he examined me. “Why did you almost just choke yourself? What did you think I was talking about?”

/>   “Oh. Um.” I looked around the room, stalling for time while simultaneously trying to think up a plausible lie but nothing was coming to me.

  “Belle.”

  I sighed and turned to face him. “Yeah?”

  “Spill.”

  I slumped in my chair and fastened my eyes on the calzone on the desk. “I thought you were saying they figured out that we slept together.”

  He was quiet for so long that I looked up to see if I could catch his thoughts on his face. Unfortunately, there seemed to be too many to name.

  “Would that be such a bad thing?”

  I nodded vigorously. “A really bad thing.”

  He sat back in his seat and studied me. “Why is that? Are you embarrassed we were together?”

  My head went from bobbing to shaking furiously. “No. Of course not. Any girl would be lucky to take home a guy like you.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I pressed my lips firmly together before anything else stupid could pass through.

  His lips curled into a smile. “Then why don’t you want them to know?”

  “Because then they’re going to get all kinds of ideas I don’t want them to have.”

  “Like what?”

  I sighed. “Like double dates. And joint weddings. And matching houses in the suburbs,” I said as a shiver raced down my spine.

  He chuckled and shook his head. “Ah, right. And that’s like a nightmare for the woman afraid of commitment.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “I’m not afraid of commitment. I just don’t want it. That’s not the same thing.”

  He laughed again. “Well, whatever the reason, there’s no need to worry. That secret is still ours.”

  Damn it. Now that sounded intimate. A word I needed to keep far away from our situation.

  “Let’s eat so I can help you finish up and give you a ride home.”

  “You don’t have to do that. Bringing me dinner was plenty.”

  He waved my words away. “I want to help. You just tell me what needs to be done and I’ll do it.”

  “Remy. You’ve already worked a full day and probably spent hours taking care of your grandpa. That’s on top of buying me both lunch and dinner. Really, you’ve done enough.”

  “Belle. It’s late and Providence can be dangerous at night. I’m not leaving here without you. Either you put me to work, or I sit back here dicking around on my phone until you’re done. One of those choices gets us both into bed much sooner, but it’s up to you.”

  Ugh. I knew what he meant but hearing him say us and into bed in the same sentence did dumb shit to my girly parts. Finally, I relented, knowing he was just as stubborn as I was.

  As Remy helped me finish up for the night, my thoughts ran wild. It made me think about how often I’d pushed help away in my life when maybe I didn’t have to. And how often I’d pushed people in general away when maybe I shouldn’t have. It made me realize that maybe I’d gone twenty-eight years pushing when I should have been pulling.

  Chapter 19

  Belle

  Saturday passed by in a blur, and before I knew it, Sunday was here. The day I was supposed to go with Remy to his grandpa’s house.

  Why had I agreed to this?

  It felt too much like I was a girlfriend he was bringing home for the first time, but I couldn’t back out now. I also couldn’t deny that I was interested in meeting Remy’s grandpa and learning more about him. Even if that was the last thing I should have been doing.

  I rolled over in bed and draped an arm across my eyes.

  It seemed like no matter what I did, Remy was there. He made me coffee every morning and drove me to work, even on Saturday. He’d brought me dinner at the gallery for the second night in a row, despite my protests. And now I’d signed up to spend a whole day with him.

  Thankfully, I had an ace up my sleeve.

  I’d been messaging a few guys in my dating app and I had one that wanted to take me out tonight. Part of me wanted to go just to prove to myself that I wasn’t hung up on Remy. That I could date other men and it wouldn’t matter because Remy didn’t mean anything to me.

  But the other, and unfortunately bigger and louder, part of me screamed this was a bad idea. That I’d have an awful time and it wouldn’t get my mind off the one guy I was trying to forget anyway. Worst of all, I had a feeling it would hurt Remy if I went on another date and that was the last thing I wanted to do.

  Even though we’d only lived together a week and our friendship was still new and tentative, I’d reluctantly realized that I’d come to care about him. But only as a friend, of course. There was no other option there.

  But still, he was a friend, and the last date I went on obviously bothered him. I didn’t want to do something else that might jeopardize the truce we’d found in our relationship.

  I rolled back over with a huff and punched the pillow beneath my head.

  I shouldn’t have cared what Remy thought. It shouldn’t have mattered how he felt about me dating. I was single. I had no ties and nothing holding me down. I was allowed to date who I wanted, when I wanted. So, why did the idea of this date make me feel so uncomfortable?

  With a groan, I pulled myself out of bed with the intention of finding some coffee. I’d already used up too many brain cells that morning as it was. I needed to set thoughts of Remy aside and just do what made me happy.

  I just had no idea if this date would do that or not.

  I opened my bedroom door, and the smell of sizzling bacon assaulted my nose.

  “Morning, Belle!”

  Remy was standing in front of the stove, wearing only a pair of gym shorts, a tank top, and those damn glasses. If that wasn’t already sexy enough, he was also frying, not only bacon, but big, fluffy pancakes as well. My mouth salivated and I honestly couldn’t tell if it was because of the man or the food. Most likely a combination of the two.

  “Coffee’s already made, and this should be done in a few. I hope you like pancakes.”

  Son of a bitch.

  How the hell was I supposed to keep my distance from a man who looked like that in a tank top and cooked me breakfast? I was weak. Thick arms and fried pork would be what finally did me in.

  “You made breakfast?” I asked stupidly.

  He turned to me with a grin and my dumbass heart thumped harder.

  “Yeah. I took the morning off, so I figured I could cook some breakfast. Pancakes and bacon okay? If not, I could whip you up an omelet or something.”

  Are you fucking kidding me?

  “Remy, why are you doing this?”

  He frowned, his eyes fixed on the pancake he was flipping. “Doing what?”

  “This,” I said motioning at his exposed biceps and the delicious smelling breakfast on the stovetop. “Why are you cooking me breakfast?”

  He shrugged. “Well, I was cooking breakfast for myself, but it would be rude to not cook you something too, right?”

  I folded my arms across my chest. Who the hell asked him to be so logical this early in the morning? I opened my mouth again, not even really sure what I was going to say, but I’m positive it would have been snarky, when he interjected.

  “Could you grab me a couple plates? I don’t want these to burn.”

  I huffed out a breath and turned to grab the dishes from the cabinet. When I handed them over to him, he looked up and smiled at me like I’d given him his first-born child and not a stupid plate. Which made my heart pound harder and made me even angrier.

  “If you wanna pour us some drinks, I can bring this over to the table in just a minute.”

  I narrowed my eyes at the back of his head and spun around to storm over to the fridge. Apparently, my frosty demeanor was doing nothing to dissuade him. In fact, the nicer he was, the more wind it took out of my sails, which was annoying too.

  “Juice or milk?” I called tersely.

  “Orange juice is good, thanks.”

  I shot him another irritated look but of course he didn’t see it with his ba
ck turned to me. I realized by now that I was being irrational, but I needed some defense. Something that could help build that wall back up between us. Because waking up to a sexy-as-sin man cooking me breakfast was blurring all kinds of lines in my head. Lines that I’d tattoo onto my brain if necessary.

  I poured us two glasses of juice and took a seat at the seldom used kitchen table. Moments later, Remy walked over with two steaming plates full of golden pancakes and crispy bacon. My mouth watered again and, this time, I knew it was all from the food. Thankfully.

  I looked up at him, taking a moment to trace the lines of his biceps and the intricate tattoos with my eyes. He really was fucking magnificent.

  I cleared my throat. “Thanks for breakfast,” I mumbled.

  He shot me a wide grin and passed me the syrup. “Anytime.”

  I grimaced as I shoved a forkful of pancake into my mouth. This would not be a regular thing. I refused to let Sunday breakfast with my one-night stand be something I did every week. But I shoveled food into my mouth instead of responding. It was safer that way.

  Remy chuckled, and I looked up into his twinkling brown eyes.

  Yes. They were fucking twinkling behind his sexy glasses.

  “I guess you were hungry, huh?” He pointed at my half-empty plate with his fork.

  I shrugged and wiped my mouth with a napkin. “I guess so.”

  Either that or I was desperately trying to keep the bitchiness at bay by burying it with his delicious breakfast.

  I really had no reason to be reacting like this and I blamed Remy. I didn’t want him to do nice things for me. I didn’t want him to be considerate. If anything, being a douche would have been a small mercy at this point.

  The sweeter he was to me, the harder it was to remember why I’d drawn this line between us and glued my feet to my own side. It made me think stupid things I had no business thinking about. Like what it would be like to have him cook me breakfast all the time. Or how it would feel to get his eyes to twinkle at me like that more often. Or worst of all, what it would feel like to have those thick arms around me again.