Yours Completely (Billionaires and Brides 1)

I frowned. My dad hated doctors. Hated them with a passion, especially after what we went through with Mom. I knew he must be in a fair amount of pain to willingly see one.

“I'll see to it,” Charlotte promised, pulling out her phone and making a note. She then looked over at the woman cooking and grinned. “Now, Lucia makes the best omelets and french toast on the entire island and it looks like she's ready.”

I grinned as the apron donned woman came over with two heaping plates of food. She carefully set each plate down in front of my father and I, as if we were her children and she was feeding us breakfast. It smelled like breakfast heaven and had my mouth watering.

“Will Mr. Belrose be joining us?” I asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. After this morning, particularly the way he had smiled, I found myself hoping that he would come and sit next to me. I wouldn't even try to tackle him or anything.

“Bastian? No.” Charlotte shook her head and picked up her fork. “He doesn't exactly do breakfast.”

Lucia made a “harumph” noise as she placed more food on the table. “Not for my lack of trying.”

“Oh,” I replied, doing my best not to be disappointed. “I saw him out on the beach earlier. I thought that since he was up, he would be here.”

“He'll be out on the water until his first meeting,” Charlotte answered, her eyes following Lucia as she put a steaming plate of food down in front of her. She was practically drooling on the table for her omelet. “If he could get decent phone reception out in the cove, he'd take all his meetings out on that paddle-board. Though, I swear, if he breaks another one, I'm going to have to strangle the man.”

“Breaks another one?” I asked. My voice squeaked just a little bit, but luckily no one seemed to notice.

Charlotte sighed. “The things are not that easy to break, but he seems to enjoy destroying them. He can certainly afford to, but it's kind of an ongoing issue between the two of us.”

“Oh.” I smiled secretly to myself, waiting for my food. I now understood why he was sneaking out of the house with the board wrapped up. I wasn't about to tattle on him to Charlotte, though.

“Lucia, no french toast for me please. This looks even better than usual.” Charlotte said, as Lucia put the food down in front of her.

The older woman smiled and wiped her hands on her apron. “Well then, get to eating before it gets cold.”

I looked at my plate, unsure of what delicious thing I wanted to eat first. The omelets were cheesy and gooey with all sorts of perfectly cooked, fresh vegetables and the french toast was thick and steaming. I went for the french toast first, as there was real maple syrup on the table, and nearly moaned. The outside was the perfect level of crispy while the inside was melt-in-my mouth soft.

“Lucia,” I groaned. “This is fantastic!”

She beamed and stood up a little taller. She wore her apron with pride. “Thank you very much, miss. I'm glad you like it.” She wiped her hands on her apron one more time and then went back to the kitchen, turning on the sink and washing dishes while she hummed a happy song.

The mark of good food, silence, sat comfortably around the three of us as we ate. I couldn't believe how good the food tasted here. I could tell that everything was fresh and of the highest quality. Charlotte finished her meal first.

“So what are your plans today? If you tell me your schedule, I can make sure there is food available for you,” she said, getting up and putting her plate in the sink.

Dad pulled out his bag and placed his tablet and one of the maps Charlotte had given us the night before. He had color coded sections and a key on the bottom. “I thought I would take this room,” he said, pointing to a room in canary yellow. He then moved to one in red. “Ava, you can start in this one. Then, we'll switch and double check one another's work.”

“Thus, turning the room orange,” I replied, quickly stuffing another bite of french toast in my mouth as soon as I finished speaking.

Charlotte peeked over my shoulder and saw my red colored room. “Ava, could I come watch you this afternoon? There's a picture in that room that I'm curious about.” She paused, biting her lip, as if afraid I might say no. “It's an impressionist piece, but that's all I know about it. I'm hoping you could tell me more, if you have the time.”

I nodded, trying to swallow my bite of food before talking. “I'd love to teach you, Charlotte. Impressionism is actually one of my specialties.”

Charlotte grinned from ear to ear, her pretty brown eyes glowing. I could already feel the bonds of friendship forming between the two of us. Anyone who wanted to learn more about my favorite style of art had an instant in with me.

I reluctantly swallowed the last bite of food on my plate. I wished I hadn't gobbled it all up quite so quickly, but it was just so delicious that I couldn't help it. I glanced over at my dad's plate to see if he had eaten his as quickly as I had, only to discover most of the food was still on his plate. I was a little concerned since this was a man who usually ended up finishing my plates.

“You okay, Dad?” I asked, snagging a bite of his french toast. It was just as delicious as mine had been. “You've barely eaten.”

He looked down at his plate in surprise. “I guess I still have some indigestion from last night,” he admitted. Seeing the worry written all over my face, he smiled and put his big hand on mine. “Don't worry. I'll be fine. It's just this tooth.”

I stood up, picking up my plate. Dad took a bite and then pushed his at me to take away. I frowned. Our dinner hadn't been anything that should have caused indigestion. I did my best to smile, though. He would be fine. He was as strong as a horse. There wasn't anything that ever got him down. When the rest of us were sick with the flu, he was always the one running around making soup because he didn't catch it. He'd be fine.

“That was delicious,” I said to Lucia, putting our plates in the sink. She looked at Dad's plate and I shrugged. I didn't know quite what to think of it either.

“You ready to get started, Kiddo?” Dad asked, packing his colored maps and tablet into his shoulder bag. I nodded and grinned. I was more than ready.

Sunrise Kisses: Chapter 6