“I see it,” he said. “It’s not as bright. More faint. But I can see it.”
She grinned as he smiled.
Bella was smart, beautiful, and interesting. He could spend hours here listening to her talk about stars. He had a better time with her tonight than any dates he’d had in a very long time.
“Harvey,” Darrin called. “C’mon. Ice cream!”
He didn’t give a damn about the ice cream. All he cared about was getting to know this wonderful woman in front of him.
Bella smiled. “Come on. They’re calling us.”
He started to follow her. “Thank you for a wonderful evening. You made me stop and enjoy something I wouldn’t ordinarily do.”
“Sometimes we get so busy that we forget the wonderful little things in life. You spend countless hours setting goals, planning, working like a perfectly oiled machine. When was the last time you went walked barefoot in the sand, took a vacation, or even took a nap?”
“I get it. I work too much. I’m missing out on so much. But I’ve got too many deadlines. I can’t stop.”
She smiled. “Yes, you can. I’m telling you to stop and smell the damn roses! The purpose of life is to live it, to enjoy it. You are probably the kind of guy who goes to the ski slopes and thinks about nothing but the work at the office.”
He grinned. “But what can I say? I’m a perfectionist like my father.”
“Like the ancient philosopher, Confucius wrote: “Better to be a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.”
“Duly noted. And you’ve really given me something to think about.”
“You can keep working. But just make some time for yourself. Trust me; you’ll be much happier this way.”
Eddie came over and handed them each a bowl of ice cream. As Bella went to sit down, he pondered. She made a great point. He didn’t want his life to pass him by and have regrets on his deathbed. No other woman had ever made him think about that. He’d never done the little things, like catching fireflies on a hot summer night. Usually, dates consisted of a fancy dinner, wine, and a show. Bella was showing him a completely different look at life. He was seeing how magical it could be through her eyes.
Chapter 7
Bella settled into her job over the next few weeks and found that she had virtually no use for her paycheck apart from buying a new swimsuit and some snacks from the grocery store. She called Madison to offer her money to help with cooking school, but her sister declined, insisting that Bella save the money for college. In a short period, she had more money in the bank than she’d ever known. She got to know Mariel, the stablehand, pretty well and went out one night with her and Greta for a beer.
The women giggled into their Coronas as Mariel arm-wrestled a guy for the next round. She won and he actually paid up. It was a wonderful night, and she, and Greta, and Marion were becoming fast friends. Going out and having a blast was exactly what she needed. She even got a few phone numbers. She met a blond named Ed, a dark haired guy named Paul, and a hot redhead named Frank. All of them were pretty wasted, so she didn’t plan on calling them back.
Bella was an early riser, usually the first of the staff in the main house besides the morning cook. It had fallen naturally to her to sneak any female overnight guests out the back way. She knew now how to send for a car, to offer the girl a cup of coffee or juice to take with her, and be friendly but brisk, hustling the visitor out before anyone could get a glimpse of her. Since Harvey and his girlfriend broke up, Harvey had been drinking a lot and sleeping around. It was seldom the same girl twice.
In only a few weeks, she’d ushered no fewer than seven girls out the back door, leading them to the discreet town car parked by the stables. Only one of them had cried. Several had tried to get Bella to pass on a message or a note to Harvey, and she always nodded as if she totally understood and would do everything possible for them. She’d hand the notes to Harvey, but she was sure he had never called the women again. What on earth did they think they were doing? Going home with a notorious (she’d seen Google results on him now) playboy billionaire wasn’t the road to a lasting romance.
She initially had a crush on Harvey. But this wasn’t the kind of man she wanted in her life. She knew he’d only break her heart. So she went out of her way to keep everything platonic.
Though he never mentioned the morning getaway service for his girlfriends, Bella was positive he knew she was taking care of it. In fact, once or twice, he’d given her what seemed a grateful or conspiratorial nod as he headed
out for a morning swim. She liked to watch him swim (from behind the curtains) while she drank her juice. The long, smooth strokes of his muscled arms, the twist and flip of his body underwater as he changed direction pushing powerfully off the side for another lap always left her dry mouthed and distracted all day.
In fact, she was thinking about Harvey in his black bathing suit, towel over his shoulders, blond hair dripping beads of shimmering water down the line of his square jaw as she worked. She was using cotton swabs dipped in vinegar to clean the tracks on the sliding door when her phone beeped. She finished up the dusty track, discarded the swab, then checked the alert. Marnie and her sister Jade had just checked in on Facebook at a hotel in Phoenix. Bella had barely seen Marnie since they were in school together but they used to play volleyball on the same team, and it would be so fun to see those girls. She tapped out a message to the sisters asking if they’d like to meet up that night since she was living outside Phoenix. Excited, she continued her work, waiting for a response. She didn’t hear Harvey enter the room until he spoke.
“Hunting for lemon cake crumbs down there?” he teased.
“Not at all. I’m cleaning,” she said.
“You’re scrubbing at that like it’s offended you personally.”
“It has. There was a trail of dust and dead bug parts in this track, and it has no business in your home.”
“I salute you. My home is clean and bug-free thanks to you and your colleagues.”
“Yes, without us you’d be overrun with the crispy legs and wings of dead insects.”