Beauty and Her Boss

CHAPTER TWELVE

MAYBE THIS HAD been a mistake.

Deacon sat across the table from Gabrielle. The table was done up with a light blue linen tablecloth. Fine china was laid out. The yellow napkins were folded into the shape of bow ties. A vase of yellow roses had been placed in the center. This was Mrs. Kupps’s doing. The last time the table had been so fancy had been before the accident. These days, he ate at his desk with a tray of food. No flowers. No company.

What had he been thinking to invite Gabrielle to breakfast? Perhaps it was the fact that when she smiled, the whole world was that much brighter. And when they talked, she didn’t hold back. She was filled with optimism. He gave himself a mental jerk. That line of thought could get him into trouble—big trouble. It was best to focus on the business at hand.

But that would be easier said than done with the table all decked out to impress Gabrielle. When he’d mentioned all the needless fuss to Mrs. Kupps, she’d clucked her tongue at him. She told him he needed to do everything he could not to run off Gabrielle, as she was the sunshine in his otherwise gloomy world. It was as if she was worried that he’d grow old alone. He was not some beggar, desperate for anyone’s attention.

Is that what Gabrielle thought of him, too? Did she think that he was pathetic and deserving of her sympathy? He would show her. He did not need anyone’s pity. He was not some charity case.

“You know this isn’t going to work.” His words came out terser than he’d intended.

Gabrielle glanced up from where she unfolded the yellow napkin and placed it on her lap. “Which part doesn’t work?”

“All of it. Every single last piece of it.” That wasn’t exactly true, but he was in no mood to be generous. If they were adversaries, then perhaps she wouldn’t feel obligated to be nice to him—to let him kiss her.

He watched her closely. He was waiting for her to leave. However, the only visible sign of her discomfort was in her eyes. They widened, but she didn’t move. He knew a lot of people would have turned tail and fled by now. But not Gabrielle. She was made of sterner stuff. But he should have figured that when she’d volunteered to take her father’s punishment.

She adjusted her napkin and at the same time avoided his gaze. When she glanced back up at him, she said, “I’m assuming you are referring to the fund-raiser plans and not the meal.”

“Of course.”

She nodded. Then she set about removing the lid from the dish of scrambled eggs. She was going to eat? He was setting up for an argument and she was acting as though everything was perfectly fine. Everything wasn’t fine.

He couldn’t take her lack of reaction any longer. “Are you just going to sit there and ignore me?”

“I’m not ignoring you, but Mrs. Kupps went to a lot of work to prepare this meal and I think it’d be a shame to let it go to waste.”

“You’re hungry?”

She smiled at him. “Of course I am. I’m sure you’ll feel better after you eat.”

He wanted to disagree, but his gaze moved to her plate. The food did look good. “But what about the problems with the fund-raiser?”

“They aren’t going anywhere. We can deal with those later.” She scooped up some bacon and added it to her plate. When he didn’t move, she said, “Do you want some bacon?” When he didn’t respond fast enough, she added, “If you don’t hurry, there might not be any left. I love bacon.”

He did, too. He held out his hand for her to pass the serving plate. She hesitated as though she weren’t so sure she wanted to share, but in the end, she passed it to him.

It was really hard staying upset with her. She was either a very good actress, good enough to be in the movies with him, or she tried not to let things ruffle her. Either way, he was going to have to figure out a different way to deal with her. Because all his huffing and puffing didn’t appear to deter her.

Gabrielle continued to fill her plate. “I can’t believe Mrs. Kupps made us all of this food.”

“She was more than happy to do it. For so long now, she’s been begging me for things to do and I’ve been putting her off.”

“I take it you don’t have breakfast like this very often.”

“No. Not at all. Not since, well, you know.” He didn’t want to bring up the accident. Not this morning. But since Gabrielle had entered his life, his appetite was back.

Gabrielle buttered her toast. “Well, I will make sure to tell Mrs. Kupps just how good this is.”

“I’m sure she would love to hear it. I must admit that I’ve been lacking on the compliments lately.”

“I’m sure she understands that you’ve been going through a lot.”

When they’d finished their meal, which took much longer than he was accustomed to taking to eat, he found himself in a better frame of mind. He assured himself that it had nothing to do with what Gabrielle had said about him needing to eat, and more to do with the fact that he was right about this fund-raiser and he would prove it to her.

Mrs. Kupps brought more coffee and then cleared the empty dishes. Both of them complimented Mrs. Kupps on the delicious food. The woman’s cheeks grew rosy as she thanked them.