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Belle stepped back into her bedroom in the morning still drying her hair with a towel. She saw the light blinking on her phone indicating there was a message. Smiling, she hurried to her nightstand and scooped up the phone. It was a text from Hunter, saying he was about to shower then would come pick her up. He’d sent the message seven minutes ago. Belle calculated she still had maybe an hour before he’d arrive.
She straightened her hair quickly and pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans with a T-shirt and a white hoodie. She put on the sneakers she’d been wearing that day she first met Hunter at the lake, then did a quick makeup job and decided she was ready.
The whole time, her mind was on the conversation she’d had with Lisa. What if Hunter had bought an engagement ring yesterday? What if he planned to propose to her today? Where would he do it? How should she react? Was she ready for that?
“Yes or no?” she asked her reflection in the mirror.
She loved him.
But is he the one?
I don’t know.
“God, I hope he doesn’t ask today,” she told herself.
There was a soft knock at the door of the apartment. Belle knew it was Hunter, and she couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face as she took one more look at the mirror before hurrying to open the door. He stood there with a good-sized stuffed dog in his hands, outstretched like an offering.
“Who could ever love a beast?” he asked.
Belle burst out laughing and laughed so hard she doubled over, one hand clutching the door frame, the other on her belly. She looked up and saw Hunter looking down at her with a confused, worried expression on his face and that only made her laugh harder.
“That’s not the first time I’ve said that,” he told her hesitantly.
Belle fell to her knees and leaned against the door frame and her laughter redoubled. She felt tears running down her face. She tried to talk, to tell him everything was okay, but all she could get out were a few strangled gasps before she continued laughing.
Hunter shook his head. “Well, when you’re done, Mr. Snoopy and I will be on the sofa,” he said, stepping carefully around her and going to sit down with the stuffed dog in his lap.
Belle laughed for another minute or so, then pulled herself together and got to her feet, wiping at her eyes. “You’ve ruined my makeup,” she said as she came to sit down beside him on the couch, taking one of his hands in both of hers.
“What was so funny about that?” Hunter asked innocently.
Belle felt the laughter threatening to come back and had to fight it down. She cleared her throat and grinned. “Umm. Well, Lisa made a joke yesterday about you saying that before we have sex.”
“She’s heard?” he asked, his face showing surprise for a moment before he grinned.
“No,” Belle said. “She thought she was making it up, but my reaction gave away the fact that you actually have said it.”
“Oh boy,” Hunter said, shaking his head. “She probably really thinks I’m a freak now.”
“Poor girl said she just doesn’t understand white folks,” Belle confirmed.
“Mr. Snoopy was just telling me the same thing on the way over here,” Hunter said, glancing down at the stuffed dog in his lap. “Actually, he said humans, but, whatever.”
“I suppose Mr. Snoopy is an apology for ghosting me yesterday,” Belle asked, looking from the dog to Hunter, who dropped his own eyes sheepishly back to the white and black dog. It was wearing a green shirt.
“Yes,” he said softly.
“And Mr. Snoopy is the best name you could come up with?”
“I figured you’d change it,” he said.
“Hmm. Let me see him.” Belle took the offered gift. “This is from Build-a-Bear,” she said, noting a tag on the shirt.
“I might have had it for a couple of days,” he admitted.
“Anticipating needing an apology gift?” she asked.
“No,” he said, his face reddening. “It was supposed to be a regular gift.”
“Well, it’s very cute,” Belle said, looking into the black eyes of the toy animal. She moved it to read the shirt. In white letters were the words “I love you” over the flowing outline of a white heart. Belle leaned over and pecked Hunter on the cheek. “I love you, too.”
He smiled at her and asked, “Are you ready for breakfast?”
“Thanks to the Beast, I need to fix my makeup,” she said. “Give me a couple of minutes.”
Belle returned to her room, where she put the dog on the bed near her pillows, then quickly wiped away the smeared makeup and touched up her face. “Let’s go,” she said as she returned to the living room and scooped her keys out of the bowl near the door.
It was a gray, cloudy day with gusty wind and the promise of rain. Autumn leaves rustled in the trees and rattled along the street. Belle was thankful she’d chosen the hoodie. Hunter was dressed in faded jeans, hiking boots, a dark green sweatshirt and a tan windbreaker. She could smell his cologne as they settled into his SUV and she realized just how much she had missed the smell of him the previous day.
She wondered again if there was an important question he was going to ask her today.
Yes or no?
She couldn’t think about it. “Where are you taking me for breakfast?” she asked as he started the engine.
“The fanciest Waffle House in the state,” he answered.
Belle gave him a quizzical look. “Aren’t they all pretty much exactly the same everywhere you go?”
Hunter laughed. “If you’re in it, it’s the fanciest one in the state.”
Belle laughed and shook her head. He wouldn’t dare propose in a Waffle House. She felt sure of that.
The little box-shaped restaurant was busy and filled with the buzz of conversation and the smells of breakfast and coffee. An almost stereotypical blonde waitress in her forties escorted Belle and Hunter to a booth under a window and left them with menus and the fading aroma of a cheap perfume. She returned a few minutes later with coffee and orange juice and took their orders.
“What were you up to yesterday?” Belle asked when the waitress hustled off again.
There was a flicker that passed over Hunter’s face. His eyes looked troubled, but only for a moment. “I just had some errands I had to do,” he said. “No big deal. I missed you every moment. What did you do?”
“Nothing much,” Belle said, still curious but sensing he didn’t want to talk about it. She prodded around the edges for more information. “How are your parents?”
“They’re good,” he said. “I talked to Mom a couple of days ago. All she wanted to talk about was you. When am I bringing you back? When am I—” He broke off suddenly and reddened in the face.
“When are you what?” Belle teased, suspecting she knew what his mom had asked.
Hunter grabbed the white plastic salt shaker and began turning it in circles on the table. A smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. Finally, he shrugged. “Nothing,” he answered. “She really likes you.”
“I like her, too,” Belle said.
“What do you want to do after we enjoy this lovely repast?” Hunter asked.
“I need new underwear,” Belle said mischievously. “How about the mall so I can go to Victoria’s Secret?”
She saw him try to hide the wince. “Anything my lady desires,” he said.
“Then we can shop for candles and body lotion,” Belle added.
“Yes, m’lady,” Hunter agreed. “Maybe when we leave the mall we can stop for tampons and mammograms.”
“And pedicures?”
Hunter gasped as if shocked. “Did you even need to ask? Of course there’ll be pedicures! They’ll paint my toes pink with glitter.”
Belle laughed so loud several people turned to look and smile at them. “Oh my God,” she said. “Someday I’m going to paint your toes like that just for making me laugh like that.”
His smile was deep and full of emotion. “Anything you want, Belle. Anything at all.”
Her own smile faded and she reached across the table and took his hand in hers. “I did miss you yesterday.”
“I missed you, too.”
“You make me feel so good,” she said.
He squeezed her hand gently and looked into her eyes with fierce intensity. “You are the jackpot of my life. The best prize. Every day I wake up knowing I don’t deserve you, that there are a million guys out there better for you, but I’m so thankful you’re mine. I mean that Belle.”
She squeezed him back and shook her head. “You’re mine and I’m yours.”
Before he could say anything else the waitress arrived and started sliding plates onto the table. Belle found her mouth watering over the waffle, bacon, and eggs. They ate quietly for a little while, Belle’s mind running with his words, the look on his face when he said them, and thoughts of rings and proposals. Would he do it? Was today the day? Did she want him to do it? She kept picturing him down on one knee, looking up at her with the look he’d just had on his face. Was she ready to say yes?
“You’re deep in thought,” Hunter said.
“Huh?”
He grinned at her, a fleck of scrambled egg in the corner of his mouth for a just a moment before his tongue pulled it in. “Those beautiful eyes of yours were seeing things far, far away.”
Belle felt the blood rush into her cheeks as she thought about where her mind had been. She cleared her throat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she told him.
“I hope those were thoughts about me,” he teased.
“Should I get anything other than underwear at Victoria’s Secret?” she asked.
His mouth turned up in a slow grin. “Well now,” he began, “We could certainly look around. It just might be that I was looking into a little surprise adventure where Old Victoria would be the perfect outfitter.”
“An adventure?” Belle asked, stabbing the last bite of waffle.
“Don’t trouble your pretty little head about it,” he said. “I’ll take care of everything.”
As she chewed, he pulled out his cell phone and scrolled and tapped at the screen. Finally, he smiled and turned it to show her a lushly carpeted hotel room with a huge Jacuzzi tub near a king-sized bed.
“After our pedicures?” he asked.
“That looks expensive,” Belle said, trying to mask her excitement. The carpet looked to be six inches deep and soft as a baby’s hair. The tub was marble with gold plumbing, and the room seemed somehow both dazzling with natural light but also filled with a soft romantic hue. It was lovely and she wanted it, but was worried about the money, especially with her employment status. She knew she couldn’t afford to contribute to the cost. She hadn’t really intended to go shopping, but felt like she needed to now.
“You’re worth it, baby,” he said. “I want to do this. If you do.”
“If you think you can...” she said. Her mind told her that was the kind of place he was likely to get down on his knee and offer her a ring. “I’d love it, but only if you can really afford it.”
He shrugged and refused to meet her eyes as he picked up the check from the table. “It’s by far not the most expensive thing I’ve bought this week.”
Belle felt her heart jump all the way up to her teeth, where it pounded like an African war drum. She tried several times to swallow it back down, and finally had to take the last drink of her juice. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, trying to sound casual. “Did you buy a boat to put on the lake?”
He laughed. “I wish. Are you ready?”
Belle dabbed at her mouth and they left the table. Hunter paid the check and they left the restaurant. Hunter opened the door of his Nitro for her and Belle was just about to step in when something caught her eye under the seat. She reached down and picked up a red rose petal.
“What’s this?”
The color ran out of Hunter’s face. He stared at the red piece of flower in her hand. His lips tried to make words, but couldn’t. Belle felt herself go from teasing curiosity to fearful apprehension. She’d thought the rose petal was probably one left over from his plans for this evening, but the look on his face told her that was not what was going on here.
“Hunter?”
Belle bent and looked under the seat. There was a piece of yellow paper crumbled under there. She pulled it out and saw that it was a florist’s receipt for a dozen roses paid for yesterday in Tulsa. The receipt clearly said the roses had been carried out, not for delivery. He had not given her roses today. There were no roses in the vehicle. She looked at him questioningly.
“You bought roses yesterday,” she said. His face took on a pained look. “Not for me,” she added softly.
“Hailey,” he whispered.
Belle saw her hand open and let the rose petal fall away. It fluttered and turned and twisted on its way to the pavement of the parking lot. Her other hand pushed the wrinkled receipt against Hunter’s chest. “Hailey.” The word was dry and crumbly in her mouth. Her face was hot and she felt the tears coming, but she didn’t want him to see. “Go away, Hunter,” she said, her voice cracked and trembling. “Go away.”
“Belle...” He reached for her, but she slipped away, his fingers sliding off her jacket. She shoved her hands into her pockets and walked, not looking back, ignoring his voice calling out to her. Then his steps, hurried, catching up, and she knew she couldn’t outrun him. The tears were hot and wet on her cheeks. She wheeled on him just before he came beside her.
“Your dead fiancée!” she shouted. They were in the middle of the parking lot. An elderly couple getting out of a blue car turned to look at them. “You’re still in love with her. She was your jackpot. She was the love of your life. Go mourn her, Hunter. Go love her memory and leave me alone.” She jerked away from his reaching hand. “Go away or I’ll scream.”
She turned and started walking again. Behind her, he called her name several times. “Let me at least take you home,” he begged. She kept walking, the tears burning her eyes. She turned right at the edge of the parking lot and kept walking.
Sometime later, she wasn’t sure how long, she blinked and realized the tears were no longer there. Her eyes were puffy and her face felt swollen. She wanted to lie down and sleep. Belle looked around and saw that she had wandered into an older residential area and was walking on a cracked and buckled sidewalk under the protective arms of wintering hardwood trees. The neighborhood was quiet, deserted, lonely and as empty as she felt. Her phone was ringing. Hunter’s ringtone. She pulled it from her pocket and rejected the call. She called Lisa.
“Can you come get me?” she asked when her friend answered.
There were more than a dozen text messages from Hunter and nine voicemails. Most of the text messages asked her to talk to him. One was longer.
Please, Belle. I went to her grave to tell her I had found somebody new and that I’m happy. I’m moving on. I’m in love again. I swear. I didn’t tell you because I was afraid you wouldn’t understand.
Belle deleted the text messages and the voicemails and waited for Lisa to find her.