Page 12 of Bella and Her Beast
“This one may be different. You’ve dated doctors, teachers, lawyers, maybe you need a person who’s in a field that intrigues you. He’s a writer, you love books, he speaks your ancestors tongue, you do too. Hey, it could be something.”
“Okay. Maybe when he comes back in, I’ll ask him if he wants to like, go to a poetry reading or something.”
Joy erupts in a loud clap and cheer. “Yay, my bestie is going on a date, maybe.”
I laugh at her statement and pour the pasta in the boiling water. I open the wine to allow it to breathe while she simmers the sauce and starts preparing the shrimp. The bread is the last thing to prepare and soon, our Shrimp Alfredo lunch is ready. We sit down and self-serve our meal and continue our conversation over various subjects. All the while my thoughts remain on him.
* * *
Greyson
I lie in my bed,my mind locked on Bella. Her beautiful and caring spirit. How my wolf remained calm until she left and then became sad. I now know how he feels. I tried an experiment and stayed at home the last two days to see if maybe it was my carnal ambitions that was getting the best of me, and my wolf hasn’t made a move at all. So, she has to be the one. There is no way he would remain docile if there wasn’t a connection. We’ve tried it before. It never worked out. He would get riled up and even annoyed at the previous women I’ve dated.
“Greyson, are you ever going to get out of bed?” Russell asks, when he brings me my meal and morning paper.
“Good morning to you too, Russ. I am just relaxing.”
“No, I believe what you're doing is called pining, Sir. Even your keyboard is collecting dust because you haven’t been using your study.”
I look at him for a beat before retreating my sight back to the ceiling. It’s still so hard for me to think of a way to tell her the actual reason I’m so drawn to her. As well read as she is, she doesn’t seem to believe in certain things and would likely write them off as fables. I have to think of a way to prove to her that this isn’t a fairytale. That sheisthe one, my fated mate.
“Russell, did you come up with anything on Isabella DeLaCruz?”
“Actually, I did. You care to leave your room and join me in the study, I can show you.” He turns on his heels and exits the room. It’s not that I’m in a lovelorn state, it’s also the comfortability of my bed that keeps me here. I reluctantly get up, throw on some shorts and tee, and head down to the study.
“So, what you got to show me.”
“I did a heritage search on Ms. DeLaCruz and it is quite interesting. Seems her family are immigrants from Cuba and they came over in the seventeen hundreds. They were in Florida right around the time your great-great-great-great-grandfather Maxim Greyson was around.”
This is proving to be all too interesting to me. I pull a seat up and lean in, listening even harder.
“Maxim was to be married to Elena Vallencourt, the daughter of one of the wealthiest men during those times. She had a handmaid named Isa DeLaCruz. Isa and Maxim fell in love. So much, in fact, they planned to run away and marry in another state. But that never came true. He married Elena instead.”
“Is that where this curse came from?”
“That I’m not sure of. I will have to continue my research, but maybe Bella’s family can help shed some light on the subject.”
I need to talk to her about her family past and see if she knows anything. I take this moment to come up with a plan to see her again when she’s not at work. “Russell, do you think you can find the personal number for Bella?”
He reaches into the desk drawer and pulls out a sticky note with a number and address written onto it. “I figured you may want this information. I also took the liberty of having a dozen roses, hand-picked from the enchanted garden, delivered to her this afternoon. She may be hoping for a call from you in about an hour.”
“You are the best.” I give Russ an enormous hug and an excited handshake and start toward the door. “Do you believe she’s the one?” I ask, wanting to know his genuine feelings. Time is nothing we can spare any longer.
“I don’t see why she’s not, sir.” I will have your favorite jeans and shirt waiting for you on your bed.”
I dash off to the shower to start my grooming process for a date tonight if she accepts.
* * *
Isabella
A knockat the door interrupts our dance session. Joy and I always watch videos and try to get the moves down to a science. This is our way to exercise and have fun at the same time. I open the door and see it’s Sam, the same guy that delivers to the library.
“Oh, hey there. Y'all are off today, huh?” He asks peering around catching a glimpse of Joy continuing with our dance lesson.
“Yup. Did you need something?” I inquire, since I’m not expecting anything.
“No, I have a delivery for you.”
