Page 28 of Belle Amour

“I'm pretty sure he only wanted to get married because he thought his parents would hate me based on what my mom was, and he was always looking for ways to get under their skin. The joke was on him, though, because I won over most of the family with Eleanor’s help. Did his grandfather call me the daughter of the Whore of Babylon? Yes. And did his grandmother alternate between Jezebel and Lilith? Yes. But everyone else accepted me after his parents gave their approval.” She glanced over hershoulder at him with a smirk. “Not to brag, but I think a lot of them preferred me to Eddie.”

Bastian was putting conditioner through her hair as she spoke, and his eyes narrowed when she mentioned what Eddie’s grandparents called her. “Are grandma and grandpa still alive?”

“As far as I know.” She shrugged, clearly not the least bit concerned about them or the way they had referred to her, but it made Bastian’s blood boil. Mirabelle had been put down, marginalized, and, in some cases, abused most of her life because of who and what her mother was. It enraged Bastian because Mirabelle had no control over who her parents were, and for all her faults and issues - and there were plenty, Bastian wasn’t a fan - Vivi Adrien did her best for her daughter, including getting sober when she found out she was pregnant and staying clean after her birth.

“Names?”He asked, trying his best to sound casual but already planning to see what he could dig up on them to shut them down should they say anything to her. No one called his Mira a whore.

“Henry and Ellen Shea. Why?”She glanced at him, looking amused, like she already knew what he was thinking.

“No reason.” He dropped a kiss on her shoulder and began to lather up her puff. Then, moving her hair to one side, he scrubbed her shoulders and back and changed the subject back to the women in the gym. “I didn't catch their names, but one ofthe women said she and her husband Benji were in Perth while you were married to Eddie.”

“Ah.” She nodded, arching her back into his touch. “Lila and Benji. We never met face to face; we just exchanged Christmas cards. She was probably with Caroline; they were very close, if I remember correctly. Caroline is a sweetheart. She hada baby girl just before I found out about Eddie; I sent her a quilt I had made for her by an old client of ours, and she was very grateful.”

“Mmm.” Bastian hummed as he moved lower down her back. He wasn’t really paying much attention to her explanation of Eddie’s family dynamics, still trying to figure out which of his clients would have some information they would be willing to pass on about Henry and Ellen Shea that he could use to his advantage.

“You're dwelling on the whore comment, aren't you?” Mirabelle giggled as she turned around, sliding her hands up his arms, over his shoulders and linking them behind his neck. Distracted by the feeling of her wet, soft body pressed against his, he wrapped his arms around her waist and tried to look innocent.

“What? No, of course not.”He brushed it off, letting the water rinse her off as his hands roamed up her back. He considered starting something far more interesting and satisfying than discussing Eddie’s family, then remembered they needed to talk.

“You are.” Mirabelle shook her head, her stormy ocean eyes dancing with amusement as she looked up at him. “They're in their late eighties, Bast. Let it go.”

“Being old is not an excuse to be a rude prick and dried-up old clam.” He grinned as he leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. “As long as they behave, I will.” Turning off the water, he guided her out of the shower and handed her a towel. “Come on, let's go eat breakfast and talk.”

“Talk?” She glanced up at him as she put her hair up in the towel, and he could see she was a little nervous.

“Yeah, Mira, talk. But don't worry, you're not in trouble.” He grinned as he wrapped a towel around his waist, covering up his excitement from having her naked in his arms. “Let’s go, Bunny; breakfast is on the coffee table; it just needs thirty seconds in the microwave.” He tapped her ass as he passed and headed to the bedroom to get dressed.

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting in the living room, warmed-up breakfast sandwiches and coffee in their hands. Bastian smiled at Mirabelle, whose knee was bouncing nervously. She looked both resigned and anxious to have the conversation, which Bastian understood; he felt the same way.

“Relax, Bunny.” He smiled and took her hand. “I just want to know where we are so I'm on the same page with you. Cause what happened last night, while extremely, incredibly enjoyable and joining me in the shower just now, is not taking it slow.”

“I know.” She nodded sheepishly. “I know I have been all over the place since you told me how you felt. I did want to take it slow and figure things out, figure out my feelings. Because while I know I love you and want to be with you, I think I was in shock that you really wanted to be with me. It took a little while for what you said about our love being more, being deeper, to sink in and take hold.”

“When Robert asked if we were together, that was the moment it sank in.” Mirabelle put her sandwich down and held his gaze. “I didn’t want to say no; I realized you were right; our love is deeper and so much more than anything Disney could come up with. I wanted to be yours and for you to be mine, not because of the wedding or Eddie and Casey or anything else, but because that’s how it’s supposed to be. It took someone outside of us to ask for it to click, and I had a moment of panic that you would say no when I needed it to be yes.”

“As for taking it slow,” She lifted a shoulder and smiled at him. “I think that may be impossible, and I don't want to because you're right; it's been twenty-one years of us - mostly me - denying how we feel about one another, and I just want things to progress naturally. However, that may be.”

“Okay, Bunny, I'm good with all that.” Bastian smiled, delighted that she had decided to let things progress naturally. “I'm actually really relieved about all that. I was gonna respect whatever you wanted, but for whatever reason, seeing you half-naked last night almost killed me. I was about to get up and relieve myself when you started talking in your sleep.”

“Really?” Mirabelle grinned, and Bastian could see how good hearing that made her feel. “Cause you've seen me naked and at various stages of naked many, many,manytimes.”

“I know,” Bastian agreed. “And it's always driven me crazy, but I was able to push it down or aside most of the time. Having you there with your tank top riding up, just giving me a peek of your breast...” he bit back a groan as he thought about it. “Fuck Mira, it was such a turn-on.”

Mirabelle smirked, looking pleased with herself. “I'll keep that in mind. What's the plan for today?” Surprised by the change in topic, Bastian had to stop and think for a second.

“I found a couple of different art galleries to check out this morning, and we’re going to Luna Beach this afternoon.” Bastian decided not to mention his surprise for her; she would pester him until he told her. “I was able to get a couple of extra tickets for the concert tonight if you’d like to invite Eleanor and Robert.”

Mirabelle’s eyes lit up, and she leaned over and kissed him excitedly. “You’re incredible!” Bastian chuckled as she pulled back and picked up her phone to text Eleanor.

“Yeah, yeah.” He finished his coffee and stood up. “Come on, let’s go check out some art.”

Chapter Nineteen: Luna Beach

Bastian and Mirabelle spent the rest of the morning visiting art galleries around Ann Arbor. Mirabelle was thrilled to find a few paintings by local artists who met her taste and talent requirements. She loved artwork and always wanted to support local up-and-coming artists. Her tastes and choices had become more refined after she became friends with Eleanor, but she had collected so many from her travels that she had filled her condo, their office, and his condo. Bastian fully admitted to not being an art aficionado and left that to Mirabelle, much the way she left her fashion choices to him.As he placed the carefully wrapped paintings in the trunk of their rental car, Bastian wondered where she was putting them. His place, her place, and the office were full, and the storage room in her condo building was full of artwork that she would rotate out every few months or so. “What's the plan for these, Bunny?”

“Remember that ocean conservation group in Namibia?” She passed him the last painting with a smile. “The one Marie and I fundraised for? They're expanding their staff and doing such a great job that we wanted to help out again. We're going to host a silent auction and fundraising party after we go to court. Sort of as a pick-me-up after her divorce.”

“Ah.” Bastian nodded in understanding. The Namibian non-profit had been one of her favourites since she had come across them online. Bastian had to agree they did great work,but he preferred to support local nonprofits. “Well, let me know what I can do to help with that.” He shut the trunk and walked around to the front of the car, climbing into the driver's seat as she got in on the passenger side.

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