Bella shook her head. “I don’t mind at all.”
After getting a beer, I sat back down and we started to eat. The pasta was, as expected, delicious. “Thanks for cooking dinner—it’s really good.”
“You’re welcome. I love to cook, and it’s nice to cook for someone besides me or my folks. I think they’re getting sick of me crashing their dinners.”
“I think we need to make this a habit. Next time, I’ll cook for you.”
She smiled. “Deal.”
We ate for a minute or so in silence before Bella spoke again. “I heard Greer mention something about Kyle training his new partner.”
I nodded. “Yeah, she’s doing well. Damn thing is a klutz, though.”
Bella jutted out her lower lip in a pout, and my dick jumped in my pants. Look away from her mouth…look away.
“Aw, don’t be that way. I’m sure Jack was a little clumsy when he was little.”
Jack lifted his head and barked. I looked at him and nodded. “She didn’t mean it, buddy.”
Bella let out a roar of laughter. “Jack, I didn’t mean to offend you by suggesting such a thing.”
Jack let out another little bark, then put his head down. Bella looked at me with wide eyes.
I shrugged. “He’s sorta sensitive.”
“I see that.”
After shoving some pasta into my mouth and chewing, I asked, “How are things at the store? It seems like it’s gotten to be pretty popular, especially your baskets.”
A look of happiness spread over her face. “I do like doing the baskets. They’re fun. And the store is really doing well. Of course, we do better in the spring and summer with folks wanting to tour the apiary, but the café part of the store is getting a name for itself too. My folks aren’t as thrilled. It was hard to convince them to do the little store, and that was when the café was only going to be a simple spot to grab coffee and a sandwich. It’s grown a lot. More than I thought it would.”
“They don’t like it?”
She shrugged. “You know my mom and dad. They hate change. Just opening up the shop a few years back was a huge adjustment. When I decided to open the café, they both said I was crazy. But it’s working, and now with Candace coming on board and helping me when she can, I really think things will take off.”
“I’m happy for you, Bella. I really am. I know how much you love the apiary, and now with the store doing so well, I’m sure your grandmother would be real proud of you.”
Her eyes met mine and they misted over with unshed tears. Bella had been super close to her grandmother Pearl, her mom’s mother. I knew she missed her. “Thank you. I think she would have really liked the store. You know how much she loved to cook, and if she could sell anything that had to do with bees, she did. The basket idea was actually from her. She loved to do up little picnic baskets for us. I remembered how much I loved them. It’s fun for me to make them for people.”
“I do remember her love of cooking,” I replied with a chuckle. “I still say she made the best apple pie I’ve ever had.”
Bella’s eyes widened. “You better not let your mother or Willa hear you say that.”
“Trust me, I’m not that stupid.”
Another giggle slipped free, and my chest squeezed with a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a very long time—pure happiness. I loved seeing Bella happy. Loved having her actually carry on a conversation with me even more.
I stood and reached for her plate. “Did you need to get back home soon, or do you want to watch a movie with me?”
She chewed on her lip for a quick moment. “You’re not tired?”
Nodding, I replied, “I’m exhausted, but I need to unwind, and Jack and I usually watch a movie at night.”
I wasn’t even aware I was holding my breath while I waited for her answer.
“I’d love to watch a movie with you both. But only if you let me pick.”
Glancing over at Jack, I let out a dramatic sigh. “What do you think, boy? Can we trust her with that?”
Jack jumped up, ran over to Bella’s side, and barked. She looked up at me and grinned.
“Okay, you get to pick the movie.”
Bella glanced down at Jack. “Don’t worry, I won’t pick anything that has to do with Jane Austen.”
Arabella
The brilliant smile that lit up Hunter’s face made my heart thunder in my chest. I loved knowing it was me who put that sparkle in his eyes simply by agreeing to watch a movie with him. It also broke my heart, knowing I was the one who’d robbed him of it so long ago.
“You cooked, I’ll clean,” he said.
“I don’t mind helping you—”