Chapter13
Belle
Iwoke up with a nervous sort of energy.I was excited about my date at Maverick's this evening.And I couldn't stop thinking about what we'd done in my store last night.
I couldn't walk down that aisle without my face heating and my body remembering the way he touched me.
I'd never done anything like that before.It felt so freeing to forget about everything for a few minutes and just feel.It was exciting, and I wanted more.
We were eating at his house tonight, and I wasn't sure what he expected.We'd already gone over that line, and it was reasonable to assume that anything could happen tonight.
I was going to be alone with him in his house.I wanted to see where he lived and how he'd decorated it.It could tell me a lot about who he was as a person, beyond what I'd already seen.
It was distracting when I needed to focus on other things.
When Clara texted me to go to coffee at lunch time, I was grateful to have the opportunity to talk to someone about what was going on in my head.
I turned the sign to Be Right Back and headed toward Meg's coffee shop.Clara waved to me from her place in line.
She hugged me."Thanks for meeting me.I wanted some girl time."
"It's good to get away from the store," I said.
We ordered our drinks and sat at a table by the window.
"How are things with your store?"Clara asked.
I cradled my warm drink."I'm getting a steady stream of customers.People seem to enjoy kids' story time, and then they linger afterward, usually picking up a toy or a book to take home.I'd like to add more events like that.Especially when construction is done and I'll have more room."
"How is the renovation going?"
"It's noisy, but otherwise, it hasn't been an issue."
Clara waggled her brow."What's it like to work with Maverick?"
He gave me an orgasm, so I'd say it's more than satisfactory."It's been…good."
She raised a brow."Angela mentioned something about you two having history."
Angela was in the store when he first came by to give me an estimate for the patio.That interaction was uncomfortable."We had a thing in high school?—"
Her eyes lit up.
"A tiny thing."I held my fingers apart to show her how small it was."He asked me out, then stood me up."
She winced."Ouch."
I looked away, watching a woman walking with her two kids."He said we were too different."
"And now?"
I sighed."I'm not sure.He took care of me that day when I was sick, and then he stopped by the store last night."
She leaned close."What happened when he stopped by?"
It was weird because we hadn't been friends that long, but I felt like I could trust Clara with something like this.She was nothing like my old friends who would have shared anything I said to them in confidence."He said he was done trying to stay away from me.Then he kissed me."
She fanned herself with a napkin."That's like something out of a romance novel."
