Becoming Bella by Sarah Hegger (9)

The rest of the evening went so smoothly, Bella had to keep reminding herself they were on a first date.

Adam stayed attentive throughout. He didn’t even peek at Blythe Barrows’s on-display cleavage as she served their meal.

Bella accepted a lift home from him happily.

The ride down the mountain stayed light and fun. Adam drove a brand-new Lexus, as clean inside as the gleaming exterior. Only when he stopped in front of her house did tension ooze into the car. Here it came, the awkward moment. The how-well-did-this-date-really-go moment.

“Thank you for a lovely evening.” Bella squeezed the words out a little breathily. And, seriously, could she have picked anything lamer to say than that? She needed a crash course with Liz on dating repartee. On second thought, she shuddered to think what Liz would blurt out in this situation. All of which kept her from having to think about this moment.

Adam watched her with a slight smile. “You seem uncomfortable.”

“I am.” Bella let out her held breath. “This is always the worst moment.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” Adam turned off the ignition and shifted to face her. “I had a great time tonight, Bella. I’d like to do it again soon.”

“Me too.” Anytime now, the universe could step in with a good line or two.

Leaning closer, Adam cupped her cheek. “I’d really like to kiss you.”

“Okay.”

His lips against hers were firm, nice. He smelled great, woodsy and fresh all at the same time. Adam pulled away slightly. “Relax, Bella, this is as far as my move goes.”

Officially, the most ridiculous woman anyone had dated ever. “It’s not that. I haven’t done this in a while.”

“Dated?”

“Yes.”

“Kissed?”

“Yes.” She needed to stop this before they stumbled over her three-year dry period. A time and place for letting that out of the bag would crop up, but the first date wasn’t it. Bella pressed her mouth to Adam’s.

Adam tasted nice, nice enough to start a small flutter in her belly, nice enough to raise her body temperature. Okay, the earth didn’t move, bells didn’t ring, and her knees stayed firmly where they should. But nice was good. A good start anyway.

Adam drew back and stroked her cheek. “Good night, my Bella.”

“Good night.”

He came around the car and opened the door for her. His handsome face wore a gentle expression as he kissed her cheek. “I’ll see you soon?”

“Sure.” Bella made it up the walkway and into her house without tripping over her feet. She closed the door behind her and leaned against it. She’d done it. Her first date that didn’t feel like she’d used a stand-in for Nate.

Bella floated into Mugged the next morning and went all out on a double mochaccino with whipped cream. She hesitated over the chocolate croissant and then went for it. Tinker Bell had curves and she rocked them. This being Saturday, she opened a little later than the weekdays.

A bouquet of flowers took up most of the space in front of the door. A seriously large bunch of flowers that she had to hop over to get into the store. Leaving her coffee and croissant on the store counter, she went back to pick them up.

Red roses, rich and velvety, with dark blue irises poking out between them. She pulled the card of the plastic holder.

Lord, Debbie must have had a field day with that over at the florist’s.

* * *

Nate met Daniel at one of the fancy bars where the new rash of tourists hung out. Daniel must have changed one helluva lot to be hanging out in a place like this now.

Jo looked up from behind the bar as he walked in and nodded. She moved down the bar to put two glasses of wine in front of another customer. She’d lost weight in the last couple of months and her jeans now hung low on her hips.

“Hey, Jo-Jo. Didn’t you work last night?” He eased onto a barstool.

Her smile didn’t quite hide the dark smudges under her eyes. “Yup. They’re busier than expected, so I got to pick up a couple of extra shifts.”

“You coming to Pippa and Matt’s thing later?”

She shrugged. “Depends what time I get off shift. I’ll try to show my face later.”

“Do that.” Jo had her fair share of pride. Stiff-necked like the rest of the Evans kids, so Nate chose his next words carefully. “Doesn’t all this work mess with your studying?”

Out came her stubborn chin and he cursed himself. “I know what I’m doing.”

“I know that.” He grabbed her hand from across the bar and gave it a squeeze. “You look tired is all.”

“I’m okay.” Her face softened and she returned his squeeze before dropping his hand.

“You let me know if that changes.” He held her stare. “I’m not rolling in it like Eric and Matt, but I’ve got enough set aside to help my little sister out.”

Shit! Jo must be tired because she dropped her head, but not before he caught the glimmer of tears in her eyes. “I’m okay.”

“I know that, but you don’t have to fly solo on this.”

“Yes.” She sniffed. “I do.” Her gaze met his, hers full of resolve. “I have to do this on my own. You get that, don’t you?”

He did get it, and Nate nodded. Jo, Isaac, and he owed their big brother Matt everything. When Dad died, Matt had stepped in like some kind of modern-day superhero and taken over as man of the house. He’d turned down a full-ride scholarship to run their dad’s failing business. Matt did everything. Put food on the table, propped up their mother, and even kicked their asses to get their homework done.

Isaac had disappeared, having some sort of late-life rebellion. But he and Jo, they’d had their rebellion on Matt’s watch, and they both would die before they made their adult problems Matt’s.

Happily married to kick-ass Pippa and in business with Eric, Matt had found his bit of magic now. He’d sacrificed everything for them, and Nate would be damned before he asked Matt for one more thing. He nodded to Jo. “Yeah, I know.”

Down the bar, a blond guy signaled Jo for his check and she moved away.

The guy from the other night, the night that had started an ongoing series of filthy morning shower sessions with Bella playing the starring role in his imagination. The guy looked up, caught him watching, and nodded a greeting.

Jo came back and ran the guy’s credit card.

“You know that guy?” He kept his voice low enough not to reach the other patrons.

Jo glanced at the card. “Adam,” she read. “Adam Smith. Yeah, I think he’s staying at the resort.”

The guy gave Nate a bad feeling. “Stay away from him.”

“Huh?” Jo eyed him askance. “I serve him drinks. What’s your problem with him anyway?”

“I dunno.” Because he really didn’t, and some part of him got that he was being a dick for no reason. “Just a feeling I get.”

“Uh-huh.” Jo cocked her head and grinned.

“What?”

She smirked. “This have anything to do with the fact that he was in here last night with Bella?”

“No! What?”

“Last night.” Jo leaned her elbows on the counter, her eyes laughing at him. “He and Bella looked pretty cozy.”

“Did Bella drink?” He didn’t want to think about the bolt of unadulterated possessiveness that shot through him.

“A little.” Jo moved back and grabbed Adam the Dickhead’s credit card and the slip.

“Well, next time she comes in with him, you cut her off at one.”

Jo scrunched her face at him. “Are you serious right now?”

“As a death threat.” And he ought to know what happened to Bella when she went over her limit.

“Sure, Nate.” Jo rolled her eyes. “I’ll start cutting off my paying customers at one drink. Or do you think I should substitute with soda?”

Smart-ass. Nate tried to hide his grin and failed. He was being a jerk. If Bella wanted to get hammered and strip in front of Adam the Dickhead, it really was none of his business. “Just keep your eye on her, if you can.”

“Will do.” With a perky salute, Jo went back down the bar.

Adam signed his slip, nodded to Nate, and left. He almost collided with Daniel on his way in. Both men nodded to each other and moved away.

Daniel Carver hadn’t changed much. He looked older, but then, they all did. His face was leaner and he’d bulked up some, but Nate would still have picked him out in a crowd.

“Hey.” Daniel took the stool next to him. “Sorry I’m late. I got caught up in a thing.”

Nate’s hackles came up. Daniel’s things did no good for anybody. “What thing?”

In the midst of taking off his jacket, Daniel stopped. He stared at Nate for a moment before he shrugged out of it and laid it over the back of the stool. “A volunteer thing. For charity.” He settled his ass on the stool. “And before you ask, I’m not the charity.”

It dragged a smile out of him, and Nate said, “Sorry. Old habits die hard.”

“No worries. I earned my share of suspicion.” Daniel signaled Jo for a drink.

Jo hesitated, a motion so tiny, Nate nearly didn’t catch it before moving over. “Hey, Daniel. What can I get you?”

“Coke.” Daniel showed his teeth in a tight smile.

“Coming right up.” Jo sounded a little too jaunty.

What the hell? Nate turned from his sister and looked at Daniel. “Something going on I should know about?”

“Like what?” Daniel lied like a man born to it, which was exactly what he was. Daniel came from one of those families that made social workers tear their hair out. Alcoholic mother, flyby father who bounced in and out of the hospitality of the state. You didn’t have to look far to find the reason why Daniel had ended up like he had.

“Like stay away from my sister.”

Daniel opened his mouth and shut it again. He nodded. “No problem, man.”

“I mean it.” Nate kept his eye on Jo as she slid the soda in front of Daniel.

“Got it.” Daniel sipped his drink. He turned to face Nate. “Thanks for meeting me.”

A platitude almost made its way out of his mouth before Nate stopped it. He had to be at Pippa and Matt’s thing in an hour, and he and Daniel had gone way past this. “Why did you want to meet?”

Daniel took a deep breath, turning his glass around on the cardboard coaster. “Yeah, this isn’t so easy.”

Nate’s nape prickled. He didn’t want to hear about another of Daniel’s fast-track-to-riches schemes.

“So, you know I’ve just gotten out of prison,” Daniel said.

Nate nodded.

“And I got into a program while I was inside. AA actually.”

No shit! Nate had to snap his mouth shut. Daniel had always liked his beer, but AA? “You did?”

“Yup. Turns out I take after my mother.” Daniel twisted his glass until the one edge matched with the edge of the coaster. “After you took old Sheriff Wheeler up on his offer, things got a bit more out of hand for me. Actually, they got way, way out of hand.”

“No shit.” This time he did say it out loud.

“Anyway . . . Cut a long story short, I ended up a guest of Uncle Sam, ended up in my first meeting just because I heard they had better coffee than the shit they served the rest of us, and stayed to hear what they had to say.”

Nate knew the program. He’d guided a couple of people into it over the years. “Is this like an eighth-step thing?”

“Ninth step.” Daniel cleared his throat. “This is a ninth-step thing, and if you give me a minute to find my balls, I’ll get right on it.”

“Fuck me.” Nate had trouble getting his head around this. When Daniel said he’d changed, he’d meant changed-changed, like really changed. “I never thought we would be having this conversation.”

Daniel laughed and took a sip of his soda. “Yeah, me neither.”

And when Daniel did a ninth step, he went all out. Spared himself no detail, cut himself no slack. Some of this stuff Nate really didn’t like to think about anymore. It reminded him how close he’d come to slipping off the knife edge. He and Daniel, with a small group of others, had run wild for a few years there. Blurring the line of legal on more than one occasion. Jesus, he’d gotten lucky.

“And that’s it.” Daniel’s hand shook as he reached for his soda and took a swig. “Other than the part where I ask for your forgiveness.”

“You got it.” Nate didn’t even have to think about it. Daniel had paid his debt and, knowing what it was like for ex-cons, would continue to pay it for a while longer. An uneasy silence fell between them. “Do we hug or something now?”

Daniel jerked. “Do you want to?”

“Hell no!”