Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Kace
The beauty of a small town is that I was able to search for Bellamie Welton in Peach Bottom Valley and find a few newspaper articles about her–a paper trail teaching me that she’s big into helping kids and the community and that she’s a sales associate at Peaches and Jeans, which is exactly where I’m headed.
Recalling the photos of her surrounded by children, happiness radiating from her soul, I struggle to contain my excitement over the future I see for us. A future Loren would never approve of. A future that might not sound as great to her if I info-dump it without getting to know her first.
And since I haven’t thought this through, I’m not sure how getting to know her better is going to make life any easier. Shouldn’t I stay as far away as possible? Avoid the inevitable torture of–I can’t allow the thought of her being with another man to enter my mind.
I can’t explain it, but I’m drawn to her.
It’s not until I’m partway to her workplace that I realize that she and Loren shouldn’t have the same last name. But I’ll take that stroke of luck.
Pulling into the parking lot of the women’s clothing store, with no real plan other than introducing myself, I head inside. There’s nothing wrong with getting to know my best friend’s sister.
There she is, standing behind the counter. I'm taken aback by her beauty. It's not that I forgot how beautiful she was, but up close, without the nuisance of my mask impeding my sight, she’s even more striking.
Did she just gasp? I tell myself not to read too much into it.
“Welcome to Peaches and Jeans. How may I help you?” Her generic but friendly greeting makes me certain she doesn’t recognize me. It’s unlikely Loren had any reason to show her a picture of me.
So many ways she can help flash through my mind, making my cock thicken along my thigh. After a false start trying to talk, I clear my throat. “I need to buy a gift… an outfit.”
She narrows her gaze and a tiny pause passes before she says, “On, okay. Let’s start with who it’s for.”
Good question, since the only woman I’d buy anything for is her.
Another good question is if she paused because she recognized my voice.
I’m not ready for any part of this illusion to be shattered, not ready to tell her who I am.
I shove my hands in my pockets to covertly wipe the sweat from my palms. “A friend.”
“Like a girlfriend?”
I can’t have her thinking that even though my fantasy of breeding her can’t ever happen thanks to Loren. “No, I don't have a girlfriend. She’s… well, not really my friend. She’s my sister.”
Shit! I’m not going to need Loren’s help tanking my chances with Bellamie. My chances… which are already zero because I respect Loren as my best friend and business partner. “Sorry, she’s like a sister… She's my friend’s sister.”
Bellamie laughs. I can add the most beautiful laugh to her list of positive traits. “Okay, what’s your friend’s sister’s style?”
Fuck. As much as I’ve mocked Loren’s use of big poster-sized pieces of paper to map out plans, my natural ability to wing it is falling short.
“The stuff you're wearing. She wears that kind of stuff. She's your age, your build. In fact, I bet, if you tell me what you like, she would like it.” The words roll out of my mouth into a pile of possibly incoherent babble.
Bellamie rounds the counter and I get a whiff of sugar cookies again. So sweet. I force a cough to cover the ridiculous inhale I just took.
“Is this outfit for a special occasion?” She motions to the dressier end of the store. “Or do you want something casual?”
Bellamie’s in jeans and a baggy sweatshirt. I point toward her jeans since my tongue is lost in the fantasy of finding out just how sweet she is.
She steps to one of the jeans displays. “Light or dark? Loose or a tight fit?”
Pre-cum leaks onto my thigh. “A tight fit, like yours.” My words hit my ears and I have to take a second to play them back to make sure I didn’t say more.
My responses are equally as unimpressive as we move to the shirts. She points to one of the mannequins. The Christmas shirt on display reads, Nice in the streets, Naughty in the sheets.
“Are you? I mean, is that something you would wear?” Why can’t I pull it together?
“Yes.” Her grin tells me that she might be answering both questions.
Opting to save my sanity, I tell her I’ll take it all and ask her to ring me up.
Sliding my credit card out of my wallet, I realize she’ll see my name. I insert it back into its slot and go for cash.
I’ve already made the timing for an introduction awkward, and I’m about to miss my chance completely. She's so fucking kind, no matter how stupid I act. “You've been really helpful. Let me give this to you as a thank you.”
“What about your friend’s sister?”
“She’s been a very naughty girl.” I growl, going into Krampus mode. “Who deserves to be punished.” Why the fuck did I do that?
Her eyes go wide, then she blinks and narrows them. Does she realize she brought her hands together? If only I had my ropes.
“Krampus?” Her timid tone hints at doubt.
I nod, because I can't think of anything to do other than bend her over this countertop, slap her ass, and fuck her.
“How did you find me?”
That's her question? She's not freaked out? Then I don’t have to lead with being her brother’s best friend. “I asked around after the parade and got lucky. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
She shrinks away. Not what I was going for. Waving her hands, she says, “Why wouldn’t I be okay? That’s the most… fun I’ve had in a long time. Sorry about my brother. I hope he didn't get you in trouble.”
“No trouble at all.” At least not until he finds out I tracked his sister down. I can’t help it if he doesn’t realize she’s perfection.
Why couldn’t I have met her before I met him? She’s the first woman I’ve had a connection to in a long time. It also helps that she doesn’t know that I’m wealthy.
She takes her perfection to the next level when she cocks her head to the side. “Why did you buy me clothes?”
“Would you go out with me?” I’m totally out of control. How do I take that back?
“What?”
Very good question. I attempt to save the situation. “In theory. If you met me like this instead of as Krampus?”
“That’s why you bought me clothes?”
I rake a hand through my hair as if that will untangle my brain, then point at the clothes, hitting all-time high levels of nervousness. “You wouldn’t be able to say you don't have anything to wear. But those are just a thank you for helping me win the other night.”
But she looks more nervous than me. “I can't.”
“I should have just given you the gift. Sorry, I’ve made this completely awkward.”
“It’s not you.”
“Theoretically… Pretend the other night never happened. Would you…” I’m still being a selfish jerk for not telling her that I know her brother.
She rolls her eyes. “You mean because my brother got all bossy? Definitely not.”
Have I misread everything? Is this a one-way attraction–payback for all of the dates I ended immediately after dinner because I felt nothing for the woman.
I step away, sullen, but she reaches out. “Wait… I mean it’s not because of my brother.”
She has no idea he is involved.
“It's complicated.” She shakes her head as if it's not worth explaining.
Except I have to know. “‘It's complicated’ isn't the answer I expected from a woman who told her brother off so soundly. So let's start with this… if it wasn't complicated, would you go on a date with me?”
“Yeah, but I have a thing next Friday and…” She looks away. “I can't commit to anyone right now.”
That doesn’t make much sense, but I can work with it. “Okay, so if there was no commitment… We could simply show up at the outdoor ice rink at six tomorrow, grab food from one of the foodtrucks, then ice skate afterward.”
“That sounds a lot like a date.”
“Would it help if you knew I didn’t live here and I’m only here for two more days?” I really didn't want to say that to her, but maybe it will get her to a theoretical yes.
She laughs. “Actually, in theory, it does.”
“Great.” I smile, nod, and can’t figure out what else to say so I head to the door. How far did I step over the line? Guess I’ll find out tomorrow at six.