Simply Being Belle (17 page)

She took the ice
cream with a smile, simultaneously stepping aside to allow him to pass.  “I
could,” she admitted.

Belle noted he was
wearing well-worn blue jeans that hugged his muscular thighs.  His sky blue
polo shirt accentuated his eyes.  He was so handsome, she felt her heart quicken
and she swallowed over a lump in her throat.  She suddenly remembered their
near-kiss a couple days before.  Her face reddened at the memory, and Dare
noticed.

“Are you all
right?”

“Fine,” she said
too brightly.  “At least, I will be, after I have a bowl of ice cream.”

He grinned,
seeming satisfied with her response.  He followed her into the kitchen, where
she pulled two bowls from a cupboard and two spoons from a drawer.  Dare sat at
the dinette, and she joined him there.  “Oh, I forgot the ice cream scoop,” she
said.

She retrieved it, and
then took a chair again.  She passed Dare the scoop and watched him curiously.

“I hope you don’t
mind my stopping by.”  He grinned ruefully as he began scooping ice cream into
the bowls.  “I needed to get out of my house for a while.  Bianca is driving me
crazy.  The woman talks non-stop.”

Belle smiled uncertainly,
and he continued.  “I had no idea she’d be dropping in.”  He grimaced
dramatically.  “And no idea she’d be staying for several weeks.”

So, Bianca was
staying with Dare for quite awhile?  She felt a pique of annoyance, though why
she did was beyond her.  She certainly held no claim to him.  She hardly knew
the man.  “Is she vacationing here…?”  Her words trailed off.  She didn’t want
to be intrusive, but had to admit, she was curious.        

“She’s moving here,”
he said succinctly, as he closed the ice cream carton and then passed Belle her
bowl.  “In fact, it turns out she’s brought her fiancé, Miles, with her.  He
showed up at my place moments ago.  It seems they’ve decided I’m their
designated realtor and landlord until they find a place of their own.”

“They’ll be
staying with you?”

He nodded, and then
winced dramatically.  “Miles and I were roommates during law school.  Living
with him then tested my patience more than…”  He took a shoring breath and
forced a smile.  “Truthfully, Bianca tested my patience tonight.  She was
attempting to give you the impression she and I are, well … you got the drift. 
Anyway, I’ve known her for years, and apparently, since I used to give her
dates a hard time—she’s like a sister to me—she decided to pay me back.  Sorry.”

Belle wasn’t
certain why he was apologizing to her.  The nature of his relationship with
Bianca was really neither here nor there to her.  As the thought entered her
mind, she knew she was blowing smoke.  She was interested all right.  Very
interested. 

“How long will
they be staying with you, do you think?”

He grimaced again. 
“No telling.  Guess I’ll just have to make the best of it.”

She nodded, unsure
what more to say. 

“Don’t get me
wrong, I’m glad to see them,” he said with a rueful smile.  “It’s just, with
the Rodriguez case nearing a close, and my having been assigned several other
cases, and me hoping to…” 

He watched her,
seeming to assess whether or not to continue.  Belle sensed he changed his tack,
deciding to leave something unsaid.  “Anyway, with so much on my plate, the
prospect of helping my friends settle into Lawton over the next few weeks seems
daunting.”

“Maybe I can
help,” she offered.

“I could use all
the help I can get.  Bianca is going to drive me bonkers, not to mention Miles…” 
He gave a humorless laugh.  “He’s a one-man wrecking crew.”

“Will your friends
be renting, or do they plan to buy a home?”

“I think they’ll
rent to start out,” he said.

“If you could give
me some idea what they’re looking for, I can be on the lookout for you … them. 
It’s not as if I don’t have the time…”

Dare slipped an
upside down spoonful of ice cream into his mouth, his eyes fixed on her face. 
He slowly dragged the empty spoon from between his lips, all the while eyeing
her speculatively.  “You’re still fighting every second of this vacation,
aren’t you?  My advice to you, Belle; embrace your time off—treasure it.  I
mean, how often do you get six weeks off to do whatever you please, whenever
you please?”

She hadn’t exactly
thought about her vacation in those terms.  She viewed it more as a banishment
than a vacation. 

“What are your
friends doing now?” she asked. 

Dare shrugged. 
“Don’t know.  They’d been apart all of the better part of a day, and by the
looks of their reunion, you’d have thought they hadn’t seen each other in
months.  Thought I’d give them some space.  I guess you can’t fight love,” he
said finally, his eyes snaring hers.

Belle shifted
uncomfortably under his intense scrutiny, and pulled her eyes away.  She
definitely sensed Dare felt unease about having his friends living with him,
and she also sensed he was attempting to communicate something to her, though
she couldn’t fathom what that might be.   

The two ate their
ice cream in silence for a moment or two, each lost to their respective
thoughts.  “Are you feeling better?” he asked, breaking the silence.

“Oh, I suppose,”
she answered.  “Ice cream tends to improve any situation,” she added with a
grin.

“I agree,” he
said, returning her smile.  “I’ll probably be eating a lot of it over the next
several weeks.”

Belle met his
gaze, noting his eyes twinkled with good humor.  Clearly, he liked his friends,
but bemoaned the timing of their extended visit.  She could certainly
understand that.

“Uh, Belle, one more
thing.  About our beach trip tomorrow…”

“You have to
cancel.”

He nodded.  “I
hate to.   I really do.  Miles wants to start the apartment search first thing,
and I’m definitely in agreement we should start sooner than later.”

She smiled.  “Not
a problem.”

“What about next weekend?”

She furrowed her
brow, searching her mind.  Did she have anything planned?  She’d have to
consult her calendar.  “Can I let you know?”

He nodded, seeming
disappointed that she hadn’t readily agreed.  He cocked his head slightly,
studying her.  “You need a day away,” he said with conviction.  “I promise to
show you a good time.”

“Why is everyone
so intent on telling me what I need?” she asked, not bothering to mask her
annoyance.

He tipped back in
the chair, smiling broadly.  “What do you want, Belle?” he asked suddenly.  “Out
of life, I mean.”

She shook her
head.  “I, uh, have what I want.  A rewarding career, good friends…”  She
winced.  “Well, most of the time, my friends are fairly good…”

He chuckled. 
“What about a husband, children…”

“I … want to be
married someday, and I’d love to have children.”

He nodded, seeming
satisfied with her answer.  “When?”

She was taken
aback by the question.  What did he mean ‘when’?  It wasn’t as if she had a
timetable for such things.  Admittedly, she really hadn’t found the time to
give much thought to marriage and children. 

He surprised her
with another question.  “If you do get married, when will you actually see your
husband and children?” he asked curiously.  “Millicent tells me you often start
work at six a.m. and usually stay until late evening.  Doesn’t leave much time
for anything else.”

She didn’t answer
him, instead turning the tables on him.  “What is it you want from life, Dare?”

He leaned forward
in the chair, his elbows on the table, and his eyes fixed on her face.  “Like
you, I want a rewarding career.  Unlike you, I won’t sacrifice my own happiness
to achieve it.”

She stood up,
reached for the ice cream bowls, and moved to the sink.  She needed a moment to
gather her thoughts.  Is that what she was doing?  Sacrificing her happiness? 
Wasn’t she happy?  Or, did she ever slow down long enough to find out?

When Dare suddenly
appeared beside her, she startled.  “I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to scare you,”
he said.

To her surprise,
he turned her to face him.  She stared uncertainly into his eyes, noting the
flecks of blue that seemed to meld and darken.  He leaned closer to her,
searched her face, and smiled.  He finally leaned in and kissed her softly on
the lips.  When he pulled back, he watched her with a satisfied grin.  “I’ve been
wanting to do that again since we kissed on the waterfront.”

She swallowed.  “Really?”

He nodded,
grinning triumphantly.  “You see, I know what makes me happy, Belle.”  And then
he kissed her again.

As Belle put collars
on Tri and Cy, and then attached a leash to each, she shot a quick glance at
the clock.  Was it really early evening already?  The day had sped by, yet she
realized she hadn’t done anything particularly noteworthy with her time.  She
had made a conscious decision to forgo starting a new project of any kind, and
instead had caught up on some light housekeeping. 

She’d decided to
give up the hobby search.  If she happened upon one that struck her fancy, she’d
give it a go then.  But it was simply too tiring trying to force the decision. 

It had been over a
week since she had heard from Dare, other than a quick phone call from him
early in the week.  He had thanked her for leaving a listing of available
apartments on his front porch.  Belle had devoted an afternoon perusing the
Internet in search of rentals she thought his friends might like.  She
suspected the young, professional couple might enjoy the amenities of the
recently revitalized downtown neighborhood and suggested as much in a brief
note.

Belle’s thoughts
had often drifted to Dare during the past week.  After he’d kissed her, she had
thought she might see more of him, and had admittedly been pleased by the
prospect.  So much for her decision not to date lawyers, she realized, but as
yet, she wasn’t dating Dare or anyone else. 

He had seemed to
disappear from her world and she couldn’t help wondering why.  Apparently he’d
changed his mind about the beach trip too.  Of course, she hadn’t sounded
especially eager to accompany him to the coast when he’d asked, so maybe he had
made other plans.  Obviously, he’d made other plans.

With a long sigh,
she pushed thoughts of him from her mind.  She closed and locked her front door
behind her and followed her eager dogs to the sidewalk.  Initially, they seemed
intent on walking her, until they finally settled down enough to trot alongside
her. 

The threesome
moved at a fairly brisk pace, and Belle found herself heading in the direction
of Dare’s home.  She realized she might look rather suspect if he happened to
see her and she decided to turn back and head in the opposite direction. 

As she walked
along, she spied a man jogging toward her, and didn’t realize it was him until
he drew near.  A broad smile creased his face as he recognized her.  He came to
a stop beside her, reaching out to pet the dogs.  “Well, hello, all.  Out for a
little exercise, I see.”

Belle nodded in
response.  “I thought the boys could use an outing.  They were bursting with
energy today.”

He drew in a deep
breath, to slow his breathing.  It was apparent by the rise and fall of his
chest he’d been moving at a quick pace until he’d spotted her.  “Mind if I join
you?” he asked with a cheerful smile.

“If you like,” she
said. 

Dare surprised her
when he reached for Tri’s leash.  She passed it to him, and the dog seemed
pleased with the development, pausing briefly to lick his hand.    

They walked
quietly along, Belle casting furtive glances at Dare.  Dressed in a t-shirt and
shorts, and boasting a healthy sheen of perspiration on his brow, he was the
embodiment of male masculinity.  His nearness caused her heart to quicken, and
she silently scolded herself.  The man had, for all intents and purposes, blown
her off.  Perhaps he just wasn’t in to her, she had decided.    

He turned, caught
her staring, and flashed a quick grin.  “How’ve you been?” Before she could
answer, he spoke again.  “Hey, I want to thank you again for the listing of
apartments you compiled for Miles and Bianca.  Wow!  That must have been work. 
The notes in the margins were especially helpful and I appreciate how you
color-coded the particular amenities of each location so they were easy to
identify.”

She shot him a
suspicious glance.  Was he making fun of her?

“Really, the list
was a great help,” he said chuckling.     

“Did your friends
find a place?”

He nodded.  “They
found an apartment down by the waterfront.  You were right to suggest the
downtown area.”

“When do they move
in?”

“They hope to
start moving in on the first.”

Belle nodded,
digesting his words. 

“How’s the
vacation coming along?  Any luck with the hobby search?”

She shook her
head.  “I’m done with that.  I’ve decided to slow things down and try to get a
few things done around my place.  Nothing major,” she added, lest he return to
work and tell Millicent she was overdoing things.

He nodded, seeming
pleased.  “I’ve been busy myself,” he said.  “And I want to apologize to you for
not calling about the beach trip.”

She watched him
curiously, wondering if a further explanation was forthcoming.  It was.

“Besides the
Rodriguez case, Millicent has assigned me three others.  Frankly, Belle, I
don’t know how you do it.  It’s no wonder you spend so many extra hours at
work.  I’ll tell you what, though; I do understand why you dedicate yourself to
your clients.  The work can be immensely gratifying.”

She nodded.  “It
is.  How is Rosaria, by the way?”

“Good.  I saw her
Saturday, which is why I wasn’t available for our beach outing.  She called
early in the week and happened to mention she might need some help getting her
stuff moved.  While she knew Biggs was providing trucks, she wasn’t sure how
many able bodies would be onsite to help.  I stopped by for a while to see if I
could do anything.”