“Yasmin,” Belle smiled at the other woman shyly. She hadn’t seen her since that awful morning and she hoped her reaction to Belle being pregnant with Jack’s child and living at The Point would be a far sight better than Miles’s had been. “It’s lovely to see you.”
Yasmin responded as Jack’s hand moved to the small of Belle’s back and he guided her into the room.
“Not as lovely as it is to see you. After the drama and the resulting media brouhaha, I thought I might be persona non grata at your shop. Now, seeing as Jack got you up the duff, I can come shopping anytime.”
Belle did a little stutter step at her words and heard Joy emit a soft giggle, her mother laughed outright but her grandmother was glowering at Jack’s hand at Belle’s back.
Jack pressed more firmly into her back, his warm body got protectively closer and he led her to the empty chair to the right hand side of the head of the table. He pulled it back for her and she sat in it, looking up and over her shoulder at him as he assisted her with pushing it back in.
Then she watched him seat himself at the head of the table.
Then she recognised she was falling into another trance so she shook herself out of it and looked at the table.
Everyone was watching her again.
She realised she didn’t reply to Yasmin and belatedly, she said softly, “You’re always welcome at the shop.”
“Goody,” Yasmin smiled. “I’m coming today. I hope you’re stocked up because I got my allowance from my trust fund last week and I can’t ask Daddy for a supplement unless I use every last penny.” She turned to Gram. “I do that every month. It drives Daddy insane.”
“I bet it does,” Gram mumbled but she was grinning.
“Well, he was practically absent during my childhood. He was two hours late to my first wedding because of some urgent meeting. And he didn’t show at all at my second wedding because someone was doing something in Geneva that he had to sort. A monthly supplement soothes the pain,” Yasmin blithely replied, her words meant to be amusing but Belle heard the hurt under them and her eyes slid to Jack.
Jack was watching Yasmin, a look of tender concern on his handsome face and at the sight of it, Belle’s stomach did another sweet, little dip.
Then his head turned, he caught her gazing at him, she felt the warmth hit her cheeks and she immediately looked down at her place setting.
“Belle,” he called and her eyes went to his ear.
“Yes?” she asked.
He didn’t speak for a moment then he said quietly, “Poppet, look at me.”
With some effort, her eyes met his.
And he didn’t look annoyed or impatient.
He looked amused and affectionate.
It was a good look.
She licked her lips.
Then he enquired. “What did you do with my dogs?”
“Your dogs?” she asked, forgetting entirely that he had dogs, that she liked his dogs, that she spent a good deal of time with his dogs and she also forgot her first name.
“Baron and Gretl?” he prompted, his mouth twitching. “I left them in your room this morning.”
She gave herself a mini-mental shake and told herself to pull it together.
“Yes, of course, um… I let them out.”
“Did they eat?”
“Eat?” she parroted stupidly as she’d again lost the thread of the conversation because she’d become fascinated with watching his mouth form words.
“Yes, eat,” his mouth said then he grinned.
She tore her eyes from his mouth and muttered, “No, I didn’t think of that.” Her gaze lifted to his eyes. “Do you want me to go do that now?”
He shook his head but looked like he was trying not to laugh. “No, love, you don’t have to feed my dogs.”
“Okay,” she whispered and for some reason this made him chuckle.
Belle hadn’t heard his chuckle in a long time and she forgot how very much she liked it.
Elaine, the housekeeper, came in at that point and as Belle and Jack ordered their breakfasts, Belle decided it was a much better plan to engage someone else in conversation before she made an even bigger idiot out of herself.
However, when her eyes moved to the others at the table, they were all again watching her and Jack. Yasmin was doing it with a broad smile. Joy was pressing her lips together but you could see her eyes dancing. Mom was looking at Jack in a way that Belle just knew she was getting a feeling in her bones. Gram was glaring at Jack and Belle with a look on her face that heralded Belle, at some point during the day, being given the third degree.
And therefore Belle decided instantly the table was no safer than Jack.
Though, Belle had been wrong about the third degree coming from Gram at some point during the day.
She’d decided to dish it out right then.
“Can I ask, at this juncture, what you were doing in Belle’s room this morning?” Gram demanded of Jack.
Belle felt her heart sink and she knew it was only courtesy that drove Jack to answer her grandmother.
“We had a chat.”
“I can see you had a chat. Everyone can see you had a chat,” Gram snapped. “Yesterday, you two were entirely different beings than you are right now. If you were in each other’s presence, which was rare, the animosity veritably crackled. At least it did from you.” Her eyes narrowed on Jack. “Today you two are all sweetness and light. What gives?”
“Mom, cut it out,” Belle’s mother, as usual, unwisely decided to go head to head with Gram and entered the conversation.
Gram glared at Mom. “Don’t tell me to cut it out.”
“I’m telling you to cut it out,” Mom returned. “Leave them be.”
“I won’t leave them be. Leaving them be got Belle knocked up!” Gram’s voice was rising.
Belle put her elbow to the table and rested the side of her head in her hand.
Regardless of her embarrassed posture, her family didn’t let up.
“In her current condition that can hardly happen again,” Mom returned, Gram’s eyes bugged out and Belle closed her own eyes before opening them again when her grandmother retorted.
“That’s not the point!” Gram snapped.
“Then what is the point?” Mom snapped back.
“I don’t know!” Gram shouted and looked at Jack. “You were present at this chat. Maybe you can tell us the blasted point!”
“Oh lordy,” Mom muttered at the same time Yasmin giggled and Joy mumbled, “Oh dear.”
Belle wished silently for the floor to open up and swallow her just as Jack spoke.
“I think the point, right now, Lila, is that you’re embarrassing your granddaughter and I’ll ask you to stop doing it.”
Belle’s head snapped up and her neck twisted so fast it made her dizzy.
The air in the room took on an edge.
“Jack…” Belle whispered.
His eyes moved to hers and he said gently, “I’m speaking to Lila now, poppet.”
“You shouldn’t rile her,” Belle advised.
He turned his torso toward her and asked, “Are you enjoying this conversation?”
She hesitated before responding honestly, “Not really, no.”
He turned back to the table, his gaze moving in the direction of her grandmother and stated firmly, “Then this conversation is over.”
Belle chanced a glance at the table and saw Gram looked fit to be tied but Mom was grinning ear to ear.
“Told you!” Mom announced, pointing at Gram then her finger moved to Belle. “Told you too.”
“Told them what?” Joy asked and Belle saw her mother’s body give a small twitch as her face lost a goodly amount of colour.