by Sarah Hegger
Adam made a great listener. He even suggested a thing or two. “I get it,” he said with one of his white smiles. “A place where a woman can rediscover her inner beauty.”
Bella waved off his offer to refill her wineglass, wanting to stay clearheaded throughout this date. More advice from Liz, along with her rattiest pair of panties. Because, according to Liz, the sort of panties no woman would want any man to see her in made the best form of willpower. Beige grannies with sagging elastic would do the trick. “So, how come you know so much about this?”
Adam blushed and darn, it looked sweet on him. A flush of color high on his cheekbones, his gaze not meeting hers. “Google,” he mumbled.
“Say what?”
“I Googled it.” Adam laughed and filled his wineglass. “When I found out what you did, I Googled it so I wouldn’t make an idiot of myself in front of you.”
Did that not beat all!
“I like you, Bella.” He took the wineglass from her hand and set it aside. “Much more than I should. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”
An alarm tinkled in the back of her mind. This was only their second date, but his big brown eyes stared right into hers, softening as he studied her face.
“I know it’s too soon,” he whispered, cupping her face. “And I know we’ve just met.” He gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “It’s crazy. I know it’s crazy, but when I’m with you . . .” He feathered her lips with his. “When I’m with you, I can’t seem to keep my head straight.”
Bella responded to his tentative kiss and brought her arms around his neck. What girl didn’t want to hear what he’d just said? Her unease disappeared under the onslaught of feel-good. Nobody had ever even hinted that they’d lost their head over her. Adam could have any woman he wanted. He had the looks, the charm, seemed to make a good living, and he’d chosen to say these things to her.
Adam slid his tongue into her mouth on a groan, deepening the kiss, taking over her mouth.
It was all a bit overwhelming. Bella tried to keep up, but Adam seemed to be totally into the kiss. Not that she wasn’t. Just not as much.
He pressed his weight into her.
Bella braced. If he kept coming, he would have her on her back, and the part of her not engaged in the kiss resisted.
He broke off the kiss and slid his mouth to her neck. “You’re so goddamn beautiful.”
She jumped as he lightly nipped her skin.
His hands slid over her ribs, heading north.
He leaned into her.
Bella pulled back.
Adam’s breathing sounded sharp and jagged, color flagging his cheekbones.
They were out here alone, and a shiver went down her spine. Not a jump-his-bones shiver but something else. This time she paid attention. “I think we should slow down.”
“Slow down?” Adam reared back a little. “Are you kidding me? All I did was kiss you.”
True, but the pressing back, the hands on her rib cage, the fingers very close to her breasts spoke of intention. Inside, her people-pleaser jumped up and down. This was so awkward. Bella wriggled a couple of inches between them. “Like you said, we’ve only just met. I’m not the sort who jumps into these things.”
“These things.” Adam sneered. The expression morphed into a smile. “I want you, Bella. More than I should. Don’t you want me?”
She did. Sort of. She liked him. She even liked his kisses. “Y . . . yes.”
“Well, then.” Adam tugged her across the blanket toward him. “I’m an adult. You’re an adult. Let’s see where this thing takes us.”
Bella ducked his descending mouth.
His hands tightened around her hips. “No?”
“I just want to—”
“Take things slow.” He pushed himself away and stood. “Any slower and we’d be going backward.”
His erection pushed against his zipper. Running impatient fingers through his hair, he turned his back on her.
“I’m sorry.” The words came out of her mouth before she could stop them. Even as she said them, another part of her brain jumped in and argued with her. She had nothing to be sorry for. Things had gotten a little heated for her and she’d pulled back.
“You know, Bella,” he loomed over her, “I didn’t have you pinned as a cocktease.”
That was too much and Bella stood up. “That’s a disgusting word and don’t you call me that.”
“What else would you call it?” He waved his arm over the blanket. “I went to all this trouble. You came out here with me. That sends a man a signal. A signal that a grown woman takes responsibility for.”
Words clustered up in angry groups in her brain but jammed trying to make it out of her mouth. “I want to go home.”
He dropped his head, hands balled into fists. When he looked up again, his expression was apologetic. He stepped toward her. “No, I’m sorry.”
Bella backed up.
“I’m an asshole.” He stopped and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. “A total dick. You just make me so hot and I lost my temper.”
Yeah, she might buy that from a high-school kid, but even then, it would be a stretch. She hadn’t made it out of high school with her virginity intact by giving it up to the first guy to throw a tantrum when she wouldn’t put out. “I’d like you to take me home.”
“Come on, sweetheart.” Expression pleading, he held out his hands. “I know I screwed up, but we could still have a nice evening.”
She rather thought not. The picnic was nice, he’d been very thoughtful, but that didn’t give him a free pass to behave like that. “It’s getting cold. Please take me home.”
Adam’s jaw clenched, his eyes flashing pure rage at her.
For a nasty moment, Bella expected him to refuse. And then the contrite expression returned and he shrugged. “I only have myself to blame. I’ll take you home.”
They packed up the picnic in a tense silence. Well, she stayed silent. Adam filled it with cheerful chatter. He even tried a joke or two, and Bella managed to force out a chuckle.
She didn’t relax until he drew up outside her house. Before he could open her door, Bella hopped onto the curb. The urge to get away from him rode her hard, but she still managed to thank him for the picnic.
Adam nodded, pulling away from the house with the slightest squeal of tires.
“You’re back early.” Liz popped out of her front door. Again, she hadn’t brought her coat with her and stood with her shoulders hunched over. “I felt sure you would be much longer and not be coming home alone.”
Suddenly, Bella didn’t want to tell Liz some half-truth and pretend everything was fine. “Have you got time for a glass of wine?”
“Always.” Liz peered closer at her face. “What happened?”
“Wine?”
“You know me.” Liz followed her into the house.
With atypical forbearance, Liz waited until Bella had their glasses filled and they were sitting at her kitchen table before she demanded the story.
Bella took a slug of her wine and told her.
“What a dickhead.” Liz slapped her palm against the table. “He called you a cocktease?”
“Uh-huh.”
“On the second date?”
That brought Bella up short. “What does the second date part have to do with it?”
“Well, everyone knows you have to wait until at least the third date for a girl to put out.” Liz rolled her eyes.
“You put out on the third date?”
Liz gaped at her. “You don’t?”
“No.” Bella’s cheeks grew hot. Third date? Why was she only hearing about this now? “I wait until the time is right.”
Liz hooted with laughter. “And when is that?”
“I don’t know.” This entire conversation made her feel stupid and naïve. “Are you sure about this third-date thing?”
“It’s not like it’s written down anywhere.” Liz grinned at her, taking some of the sting out of the words.
“But if you like a guy and he likes you, sometimes you don’t even make it to the third date.”
Bella sat back in her chair and went over her shallow dating history. It didn’t take long. “I’ve never done that.”
“Maybe you should try it next time.”
“Maybe I will.” She matched Liz’s taunting tone. Then her bravado crumpled. “But probably not. I would never get the sound of my nana’s voice out of my head.”
“That would certainly put a damper on things.” Liz smiled into her wineglass and sipped. “But this thing with Adam, that’s screwed up, girl.”
“Tell me about it.” Her night crashed down on her again. “And it started out so well.”
Liz nodded. She made slow circles on the table with the base of her wineglass.
“What?” Bella had never known her to be this quiet. “What are you not saying?”
When Liz looked up, her face had grown serious. “I dunno.” She shrugged and failed to lighten it up. “Something is a bit off here.”
“With Adam?” Bella refilled their glasses. Maybe her warning voices weren’t crazy after all. “In what way?”
Liz blew out a long breath. “Look, I’ve managed to date just about every asshole to cross my path, so I’m probably not the best person to talk about this. You might want to try Pippa.” She cleared her throat. “But the flowers, the texts, tonight, it’s all kind of... intense.”
The word clanged home with a clear, pure tone. “Yes. That’s it. It is intense. I mean, I don’t want to sound ungrateful or anything, but the flowers were a bit much.”
“See.” Liz looked smug. “I mean, who sends an arrangement that size to someone they just met?”
“Two,” Bella said.
Liz clacked her glass down on the table. “He sent you flowers twice?”
“Yeah.” Bella went for a light shrug, but her skin still crawled. “Both huge. And lots of texts. Kind of all the time.” She didn’t like the way this stacked up. There went her dating prospects. “You think I should stop seeing him?”
“Yup.” Liz grabbed the bottle and refilled their glasses. Funny; Bella hadn’t counted her intake now, just when she was out with Adam. “I’m getting a weird vibe.”
Her too. Bella stood and fetched her list from the fridge door. “You know what?”
“What?” Liz cocked her head.
“People told me to stop pining over Nate, and did I listen?”
“I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say no.” Liz grinned.
“Give the lady a gold star.” Bella slapped the list on the table between them. “I knew I should get over him. I knew they were telling me the truth, but I went for it anyway. And where did it get me?”
“Drinking cheap wine with a middle-aged divorcée on a Saturday night?”
Something about Liz’s tone made her sad, and Bella said, “It’s the best Saturday night I’ve spent in a long time.”
For a moment, Liz’s expression softened, and then she snorted. “I don’t know which one of us that makes the sadder one. I’m voting for you.”
“Of course you are.” Bella let her get away with the diversion. She’d seen that little spark of pleased Liz hadn’t been quick enough to hide. “We have a plan to get us through Christmas. We’ve decorated.” Bella tapped her nail on item one. “We’ve gone out there and mingled. That’s item three. Two is some sort of volunteering, but I really haven’t gotten around to looking into it.”
Liz perked up and rustled in her seat like a roosting hen. “I have an idea and you’re gonna love it. It’s a multitasker.”
Chapter Twelve
Monday morning brought a steady stream of internet orders. Bella hadn’t heard anything more from her family, but the good business might go a ways to appeasing Nana. In fact, if things got busier, she might have to work out a better system for filling and packaging all the orders. Maybe she’d even be in a position to employ someone. The thought trickled through her on a thrill of anticipation.
Mondays tended to be quiet and she got busy with her Christmas decorating. Not a plastic reindeer in sight. Hate the pink as she did, she was stuck with it until Matt could work his magic, so she went for a Christmas bling theme, adding touches of sparkle and glitter.
The bell over the door tinkled as she finished positioning a banner of glittery snowflakes over the front of her service counter. Speak of the devil. “Matt!”
“Hey, Bella.” He responded to her smile with one of his. “And before you ask, Pippa is doing great. Jo is working too hard but seems to be enjoying it. I haven’t heard from Isaac, Eric is still a dog, and Nate is Nate.”
“I wasn’t going to ask.” She tried to get a bit huffy, but he had her there.
“Yeah, you were.” He pulled a tube out from under his arm. “Because you always ask and you genuinely care what the answer is. Now come and see what I have for you.”
“My plans?” The words came out in a breathy whisper. The plans for her new store. The world went blurry for a second. She wanted to do this so much, but there would be so much grief when she did.
Did she dare? How could she not? “Show me.”
Matt strode over to her, snapping the elastic band off the tube of drawings. “You sure you want to see this?”
Bella couldn’t seem to keep her feet still, shifting back and forth. “Yes.”
“Sure-sure?”
“Matt!” He was killing her here.
“Okay.” Matt laughed and spread the plans out on the counter. “But just so you know, I had Pippa give me a hand with these.”
There, spread on her service counter, lay one of her biggest dreams. Suddenly, Bella didn’t want to look. What if she didn’t like them? Or worse, what if she loved them?
“Okay, first things first.” Matt stabbed the plans with his big forefinger. “We need to move this counter toward the back of the store.” He pointed to her wall of shelving. “Which means that has to go.”
Finally, Bella dragged her gaze onto the plans. Her breath hitched. Tears formed and dropped onto the paper.
“Bella?” Matt’s handsome face creased into a frown. “If you don’t like them, I can change them.”
“No.” Bella tried her best not to cry, but too late, she was already blubbering. “They’re great. Better than great. They’re perfect.”
“Damn, girl.” Matt pulled her into a rough side hug. “You had me worried there for a moment.”
Scrounging up a Kleenex, Bella mopped herself up. “Show me.”
“Okay, so over here,” Matt jabbed at the plan and then pointed to the back corner, “Pippa thinks we should put in some decent fitting rooms.” He pulled a face. “And I’m under strict instructions to make sure the lighting is good. I guess that’s a thing or something.”
“It totally is.” Bella gave one more sniffle. “Unless you’ve been swimsuit shopping under bad lighting, you can’t know the torture.”
“All right, then.” Matt nodded. “Good lighting you’ll get.”
“Is this the size?” Bella leaned closer to the drawing.
“Yeah. Pippa, again, insisted on me making them a little bigger than standard.”
The bell tinkled over the door. A massive bouquet of roses, above a pair of polka-dotted red and pink leggings, trotted through.
“Where do you want them?” Debbie’s voice emerged from behind the blooms. “Only tell me quick because these are heavy.”
Being the world’s original nice guy, Matt leaped forward and wrestled them away from Debbie.
Round cheeks glowing, Debbie bounced around him. “More flowers for Bella.” She poked her finger in the previous arrangement and tutted. “You need to water these or they’ll die.”
She bustled into the back and the faucet turned on.
“Where shall I put them?” Matt craned his head around the side of the arrangement.
On the sidewalk. Bella resisted the impulse and pointed him to a low coffee table in front of the divan. Hurrying in front of him, s
he cleared away a couple of magazines to make space.
“You’re keeping me in business.” Debbie emerged with a coffee mug and watered the dry arrangement. She gave Matt a severe glance and then beamed at Bella. “That man of yours could teach the men around here a thing or two.”
Grinning, Matt crossed his arms. “Some men don’t need flowers to keep their woman happy.”
“Oh, you.” Debbie went bright pink. “Now, remember to water the new ones too.” As she stared at Bella, she rocked from her toes to her heels. “There’s a card.”
“Is there?” Bella tried to look at least a little interested, but she’d recognized Adam’s handiwork.
Debbie shoved her hands in her back pockets. “Aren’t you gonna read it?”
It didn’t look like she had much option with both Matt and Debbie staring at her. “Okay.”
She plucked a white card from its holder.
“Forgive me. Give me a chance to show you what a great guy I can be. Adam”
Pretty much as she’d expected.
“Well?” The word exploded from Debbie. “I don’t know how you can just stand there. If it was me, I’d be jumping for joy. The guy sure does know how to apologize.”
Debbie had written all the cards. Of course she knew what they said.
“Uh-oh.” Matt raised an eyebrow and peered at her. “He must really have screwed up.”
“He did.” Bella crumpled the card and tossed it in the trash.
Debbie’s mouth drooped as she stared at the crumpled little card. “Are you sure you don’t want to keep it?”
“I’m sure.” Managing a smile in Debbie’s direction, Bella straightened her skirt. “Thanks for bringing them around. They’re beautiful.”
“No problem.” Debbie trailed out the door, casting a couple of forlorn glances over her shoulder.
“These are from the same guy.” Matt pointed to all three bouquets.
Bella nodded. She really didn’t want to talk about Adam.
“Wow.” Matt shook his head. “He must screw up a lot.”
It dragged a laugh out of her. Matt was always good for that. “The first ones weren’t for screwing up.”
“Yeah?” Matt studied the flowers as if they were alien invaders. “What did he send those for?”
