Marcus sighs again, his gaze forlorn.
“Yes, she’s beautiful and Faith has a lot of her mom’s features, but I’m glad my daughter didn’t inherit her mom’s food issues. It’s terrible to say this, but I’m glad we got divorced in part because Samantha was constantly worrying over Faith’s eating habits. It was getting compulsive, and with the separation, I was able to get my daughter away from that.”
I shake my head.
“I’m happy too, and you don’t have to worry because Faith doesn’t have any problems with food. She’s like me. She’s got quite an appetite.”
Marcus laughs. “Yes, my daughter certainly appreciates food, and why not? It’s one of the greatest pleasures in life.”
He squeezes my hand with a smile, and companionably, we continue to walk through the conference until I spot the Cherry Bliss booth up ahead.
“Oh wait, here it is,” I say, a bit nervously. “I have to make a good impression.”
Marcus grins. He merely leans down and kisses me thoroughly, uncaring of who sees. “You’ve got this, Bella. Good luck. I’ll hang out at the Starbucks so they’re not wondering who your stalker is.”
I nod, giving him another squeeze of the hand, and then my boyfriend melts into the crowd. That leaves me to approach the folks at Cherry Bliss on my own.
“Hi, I’m Bella Samuels from the Crème boutique over in Medina. I’m a big fan of your products.”
A tall woman with perfectly-done red lipstick stands and holds out her hand. “That’s great to hear!” she says with a laugh. “I’m always happy to learn that people love our products because I formulated most of them myself! I’m Linda Cherie, by the way, the founder and CEO of Cherry Bliss. Now, tell me more about yourself.”
Our conversation is off to a great start, and soon we’re chatting like two girlfriends who’ve known each other for ages. We talk for a full hour, and by the end, I’ve convinced her to let us carry her line. It’s astonishing and she waves as I leave.
“Good talking to you, Bella,” she calls. “Let’s connect again soon.”
I nod happily before leaving the conference center and immediately head to the in-hotel Starbucks.
Marcus smiles when he sees me, nursing a cup of black coffee in the corner.
“I take it that went well?”
I practically jump into his arms.
“Better than well! I did it. Cardine is going to be impressed.”
Marcus kisses me again. “I knew you’d nail it. I’m so proud of you, honey, and this calls for a celebration.”
I bask in his praise, glowing with pleasure.
“Thank you, and I couldn’t have done it without you because I was so nervous going into it.”
He grins and pats my bottom lightly.
“I just drove. You did all the hard work, sweetie. Never underestimate yourself.”
With that, I smile happily at him and wind my arms about his broad shoulders. It feels good to be like this, out in the open and affectionate for the world to see. I know Marcus enjoys it too because he merely shifts me closer, and captures my mouth in a breathtaking kiss.
“Marcus, people will see!” I gasp with a blush when he releases me.
“Let them see,” he growls in my ear. “You belong to me, and I want people to know.”
His possession sends a warm rush through my veins, and with a knowing smile, Marcus takes my hand to lead me upstairs to our hotel room. After all, we have the weekend together and even though we’re supposed to spend time at the conference, the privacy will be pleasurable as well.
7
Bella
The next day, we head to the convention center again. After a few hours, my feet are starting to hurt from walking so much because the problem with this vast conference space is that it’s too vast. There’s so much to see, so many booths to explore, and so many products to try. But I have to walk to sample it all.
“This is amazing,” I say, my eyes roving from exhibit to exhibit. “I can’t believe I get to be here. I hope someday I’m one of the people showing off a booth.”
“You will be,” Marcus says with an encouraging squeeze to my hand. “Why, are you interested in starting your own make-up line?”
I nod happily.
“That would be a dream, and it’s what a lot of successful make-up artists ultimately do. They get really famous for their artistry, and then release a line of cosmetics, which, by the way, is where the real money is.”
“Hmm,” Marcus nods thoughtfully. But then he changes the topic abruptly. “Are you hungry, sweetheart? Ready to take a break?”
I giggle.
“Starving. I think there’s a food court downstairs. Let’s check it out.”
As we leave for lunch, I ask Marcus how his career has been lately. After all, we’ve been talking so much about my job that it only seems fair to spend some time on his career. Although, come to think of it, he’s been around a lot more than usual these last couple of weeks.