Lucky Stars (Ghosts and Reincarnation #5)(55)
Author: Kristen Ashley

“Poppet,” Jack called and her head tipped to look up at him.

“Do you think the baby could withstand a shot of tequila?” She paused briefly before finishing, “Or three?”

“No,” Jack replied instantly.

Belle’s gaze dropped to his throat.

“I didn’t think so,” she muttered with disappointment.

In any other mood, Jack would find this amusing.

Considering he’d just been interrupted in his continuing efforts to win Belle’s trust at the same time making their situation significantly more complicated, so complicated it was a knotted mess from which she could never extract herself, he was not in such a mood.

Therefore Jack guided Belle back into the study wondering if he could politely rid The Point of his mother, Lila and Rachel without overly upsetting Belle.

At the very least for Sunday afternoons.

Chapter Twelve

The Thunderstorm

Belle

Belle stared out the window of Jack’s study, both her hands resting on her baby bump.

The white-capped waves were rolling out as far as the eye could see and the wind had picked up. Even though there were only fluffy, white clouds in the sky, Belle knew from ten years of living in England, five of those in Cornwall, that the weather was going to turn.

Jack had gone somewhere. He told her he’d return shortly but didn’t tell her where he was going.

Belle only hoped it wasn’t to break his mother’s fingers though she couldn’t imagine Jack would do that even though he sounded like he very much wanted to.

She was contemplating how she felt about her day with Jack (indeed, her last three days with Jack) and everything that had happened.

In other words, she was trying to figure out how she felt about the fact that Jack clearly didn’t dislike her frequent, quiet reveries. This was something Calvin hated and thought was weird and shared these thoughts frequently. Frequently enough for Belle to stop doing it when he was around.

In fact, Jack seemed not only to accept them but, on some strange level, to enjoy them. After Calvin’s persistent avowals of hatred for them, Belle couldn’t believe this was true. Nevertheless, the more she fell into them around Jack, the more she sensed Jack’s contentment when they happened.

She was also trying to figure out how she felt about Jack hiring a shop assistant for her, driving her to work and spending a day in her store not because he wanted to but because (she was certain) he was protecting her from the media.

This was beyond nice, polite, simply protecting the mother of my unborn child thoughtfulness. It was something else, something more.

Much more.

Additionally, she was trying to figure out how she felt about the fact that it was very clear…

No.

It was vehemently clear that Jack was thrilled he had fathered a child during a one night stand. Belle thought that was every man’s worst nightmare.

Not Jack’s.

But further, he seemed just as thrilled (if not more so) that he’d fathered that child through Belle.

Most men would not be thrilled about this in any way, shape or form.

Jack seemed delighted.

Belle found this weird though, she had to admit, it also made her secretly happy. Not only for herself but also for their child.

And she was trying to figure out what Jack meant when he told her she’d meet his PA, Olive, saying this in a way that inferred Belle would be around for a while. Not the while it would take for her successfully to birth their child but the kind of while that said she’d not only meet Olive, she’d get to know her.

Which would mean Belle would be a fixture in Jack’s life and not the kind of fixture that he’d see when dropping off their son at her cottage or picking him up or speaking with her on the phone to discuss his grades.

A different, extremely more fixed, fixture.

She was also trying to figure out how she felt about the fact that she was letting him sleep with her and she’d allowed him do the delicious things he’d done to her on the couch.

But mostly, she was trying to figure out how she felt about him not thinking she was the brazen hussy she thought she was behaving like but instead that he was a “very lucky man” that she behaved this way with him.

The memory of him saying that (and calling her “my love” while doing it), made her scalp tingle and her belly curl in a way that was nearly (but not quite) as nice as the amazing orgasm he’d given her. Something which didn’t embarrass her in the least (well, not after he’d said the things he’d said and held her so tenderly after she’d had it).

She was further trying to figure out how she felt about living in a haunted castle. Something that seriously weirded her out but something she seemed to be able to do (with Jack around, that was).

And, lastly, Belle was trying to figure out what her next move was.

She could either trust Jack would keep her safe and believe in all the things he was saying not to mention the way he was behaving.

Or she could flee to the wilds of South America and live in a tree house in the rainforest.

She was coming to no conclusions but considering the many dramas that seemed to befall her moment to moment and thus befall the baby she was carrying, she felt it important to reassure her child.

So she pressed her hands closer to her belly, looked down and said, with more hope than certainty, “Okay, sweets, it all seems very crazy right now, there’s a lot happening but I promise it won’t be like this forever. It’ll calm down and life will be normal and boring.”

On her last word, her body gave a small jolt and her head came up as she felt Jack behind her.

His arms went around her, one hand joining hers at her belly, his other arm wrapping around her upper chest to pull her against his tall, hard body.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts she hadn’t heard him approach and was completely still when his mouth went to her ear and he said low, “I’m not sure it’s a good idea to start lying to our child at this early stage. With your mother and grandmother, I doubt things will ever be normal and boring.”

Belle turned her head to look at him, he lifted his own and their eyes caught.

“Your mother isn’t exactly sedate and unassuming,” Belle reminded him with no disapproval in her tone whatsoever.

Jack grinned and Belle’s belly did a flip.

“This is true,” he agreed good-naturedly.

As if to prove this fact to them, Joy swept into the room, a bottle of tequila held aloft, announcing grandly, “I’ve got the tequila!”

Jack and Belle shifted slightly to watch her entrance.