Page 28 of Bookworm and the Beast
* * *
The kitchen was surprisingly cozy for a mansion.
Of course, wehadwalked through a butler’s pantry the size of my apartment on our way here, but the kitchen itself was warm and sweet-smelling with a narrow center table made of worn, knife-scarred oak.
Mrs. Potts and I were seated on opposite sides of it. I was working on my third cup of tea, and the chef had not only served the lemon layer cake—every bit as delectable as advertised—but he’d also tried to tempt me with several types of cookies and a tray of bite-sized brownies.
“Mr. Bestia—he has the sweet tooth,” he explained in a thick French accent.
“So do I,” I confessed. “It’s a good thing I don’t live here, or I’d be as round as that wine barrel in the corner.”
Mrs. Potts smiled fondly. “I find that hard to picture. Jack does spend a lot of time exercising. I think it’s less about burning calories than stress relief, though.”
That caught my attention. I’d been finding it difficult to reconcile the hard, forbidding man I’d met today with the open, generous, and loving boy Mrs. Potts had described for the past hour.
“He sounds almost like a different person,” I said, hoping to lead her to divulge more about his recent life. “When did he change?”
Mrs. Potts’ expression shuttered, becoming impossible to read. “It’s been a difficult year,” was all she said.
I puzzled over it. What could be so difficult about Jack Bestia’s life? He lived in a mansion, had millions of adoring fans, the looks of a movie star, and based on the most recent pictures I’d seen of the two of them together, an adoring girlfriend as well—who, by the way, was one of the most stunning women I’d ever seen.
“I’d imagine his girlfriend has been a source of support,” I ventured, suddenly hungry for any morsel of information about the woman who’d managed to catch Jack’s eye and capture his heart.
Mrs. Potts glanced quickly at the kitchen door then down at her teacup. Speaking quietly, she said, “Their relationship ended some time ago. He hasn’t been in a good place since then.”
Oh.Now I was beginning to understand. Maybe she’d broken up with Jack because he was such a grouch.
Or maybe he was such a grouch because she’d broken up with him.
A shimmer of excitement went through me. Now we were getting somewhere. I felt like someone was pulling back the curtain at the wizard’s palace, giving me a peek at what was really going on here in Oz.
“Why did they break up?” I asked eagerly.
Mrs. Potts glanced at the door again then met my eyes. Hers were filled with uncertainty. “I probably shouldn’t say, but I do wish people knew the truth of it all. She wasn’t—”
The kitchen door burst open, cutting off her words and stealing my breath. Jack walked in.
“I thought I might find you two in here. Harrison said you hadn’t left yet.” Pinning his surrogate mother with a hard look, he asked, “Having a nice chat?”
She smiled and patted the stool beside her. “We certainly are. Why don’t you join us? We finished the last of the lemon cake, but there are still quite a few cookies left.”
“No thank you,” he said with exaggerated politeness. “I’m not in the mood for cookies right now. I would, however, love a word with Ms. Hamelin, if you’d be so kind as to step out of the kitchen with me?”
His uber-calm tone made me nervous, as did his attempt at a friendly expression. He did not look away but waited patiently for my response.
My pulse thrummed in my veins, and there was a queasy feeling in my stomach that had nothing to do with too many sweets.
I nodded and pushed back from the table. “Thank Monsieur Laplume for me,” I told Mrs. Potts. “And thank you for the lovely chat. It’s been so nice meeting you.”
She took my hand and patted it. “You, too, dear. Enjoy your stay in Eastport Bay. I hope our paths will cross again.”
Not likely, I thought, as I made my way to where Jack was standing with one hand on the swinging door, ready to push it open for me.
Or maybe ready to push me through it and right on out the front door as well.
His face was completely devoid of emotion, but as I passed close by him, I sensed a surge of heat, as if a powerful firestorm crouched just beneath the calm façade, ready to leap out and reduce me to rubble at any moment.
I scooted past him into the hallway, putting a more comfortable amount of space between us.
