Fourteen
Bel waited until Tate was due home before she told him that she was going to stay. The heart-melting smile that broke out across his face pushed aside any lingering doubts she may have had about jumping into this whole thing, feet first. They decided to cook dinner together to celebrate.
‘Here’s to us and a new beginning,’ he toasted as they sat down to eat.
‘There’s even more good news,’ Bel said after taking a sip from her glass. ‘I got a job.’
‘Doing what?’
‘Working in a bookshop.’
‘It could be worse,’ he said. ‘You could have been working in a supermarket or something.’
The insult took her momentarily by surprise. She pretty muchhadbeen working in a supermarket. ‘I’m really looking forward to it,’ she said quietly.
‘You don’t have to work right now if you want to take your time and find something better.’
‘I’ll need a job to afford rent when I find my own place,’ she reminded him, trying to shift the disappointment his offhand remarks had caused.
‘Why would you find your own place?’ he asked. ‘There’s no point if you’re going to be spending most of your time here.’
Bel blinked. He was asking her to move in? ‘I can’t just leech off you,’ she protested weakly.
‘You’re not. I won’t be here all the time, so you’ll have the place to yourself a lot and I’ll have someone to keep an eye on things while I’m away.’
She took another sip of the red wine and savoured its smoothness, feeling its warmth deep within her as she paused to consider this. His logic sounded, well, reasonable, but still …
Tate reached out and slowly slid his hand up her thigh beneath the table, and Bel felt a different warmth spread through her. Suddenly their topic of conversation didn’t seem very important. She was probably overthinking this. Bel traced her fingers up Tate’s arm, returning his provocative smile, and dinner was left to go cold on the table as they continued their celebrations in bed.
Later, Bel sighed happily against Tate’s chest. Only a few weeks earlier, if someone had said she’d have a charming,gorgeous man wanting her to relocate across the country and move into his luxe apartment, she’d never have believed them. What was there to think about? She’d manifested her dream man and the universe had delivered him. This was what she’d wanted.
‘Are you crazy?’ Emma almost shouted down the line.
‘I really like it here, Em,’ Bel said. ‘I’m not ready to come back.’
‘But you have a job, remember?’ Emma reminded her.
‘I’ve handed in my notice at Dwyers’.’
‘Handed in your notice? Can’t you ask for longer leave? Do you have any idea how hard it’ll be to get a job when you come back?’
‘I have to jump in completely or I won’t jump at all. I’ll deal with that problem if it arises.’
Emma let out a short huff. ‘What if you’re wrong about this?’
‘What if I’m not?’ Bel shot back, smiling to herself.
‘Okay,’ Emma said, and Bel could picture her friend throwing her hands in the air dramatically. ‘You’re a grown woman and you can make your own decisions. I am happy for you, Bel. I’ve been waiting for so long to see you this happy.’ She let out a long sigh of defeat. ‘I’m being selfish. I’m not sure what I’ll do around here without you.’
The two women went silent as Bel felt a rush of gratitude for this friend who’d been beside her since childhood. She waslike a sister, and Bel knew she was going to miss her terribly. But the excitement of doing something so spontaneous and adventurous tempered the sadness.
‘Well, what are you doing with your house?’
‘I’ll probably rent it out.’
‘Don’t sell it,’ Emma said flatly. ‘Just in case.’
Bel hadn’t planned to sell it. It had been her gran’s house and had far too much sentimental value to sell off without a great deal of thought. Despite what her friend might be thinking, she wasn’t a complete idiot. She understood how impetuous this all seemed, but she wasn’t jumping into it without a safety net. At the same time, she didn’t really want to entertain the thought of what if it all went wrong; that felt like it was dooming any possibility of a happy future.
