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Bella grabbed her fleece. She wasn’t usually the kind of person who got flustered, but she was definitely blushing. “I was just going. Thanks for the coffee, Billy, and let me know about that other matter. There’s no need to come out with me.”
“Bella . . .”
Ignoring Billy’s outstretched hand, she bolted out the back door, ran down the steps, and got into her car. She pressed one hand to her hot cheek as she started the engine, and carefully backed out. She’d wanted to kiss him again. Would have kissed him if Chase Morgan hadn’t interrupted them.
* * *
After checking the time, Bella drove back to town and parked up close to the village store. Her best friend, Maureen, who owned and operated the shop, looked up as she came through the door.
“Hey! I wasn’t expecting to see you until tomorrow at knitting club.”
Bella glanced around the store, noting there was someone working at the checkout, and turned back to Maureen. “Have you got a minute?”
“Sure! What’s up?” Maureen walked her through into the private part of the store. “You look kind of flustered.”
Bella dumped her purse on the table and rushed over to check herself out in the mirror. She scrubbed at both her cheeks.
“Maybe it’s hormonal? Yes! That’s got to be it! Maybe I’m just all confused right now.”
“You’re not the only one who’s confused.” Maureen regarded her warily. “What’s going on?”
Bella collapsed beside her old friend on the couch. “I wanted to kiss Billy Morgan.”
“So?”
“That’s all you’ve got?” Bella asked.
“Well, he’s a good-looking guy, he’s a widower, and his son is a multimillionaire. What’s not to like?”
“But I’m not looking for a man!” Bella said. “I’ve never wanted to kiss someone like that before.”
“Not even your husband?” Maureen looked mildly curious now.
“Of course I wanted to kiss him, but this is different!”
“Why?” Maureen shrugged. “He’s a man, you’re a woman. It’s only natural.”
“Not for me,” Bella said fervently. “What am I going to do?”
Maureen just looked at her as if she was nuts, but maybe she was nuts. “It seems you have two choices here.”
“Okay.”
“You can kiss Billy Morgan, or you can not kiss him.”
“That’s not really helping, Maureen,” Bella growled. “He’s my friend, he lives here, and I can’t spend the rest of my life avoiding him if everything goes wrong.”
Maureen shrugged. “Then don’t avoid him.”
“But what if I want to kiss him again?”
“You think you’ll want to do that?”
“Yes.” Bella nodded.
“Then maybe you should listen to your gut and kiss him until you no longer want to kiss him, and have fun with it.”
“Fun?” Bella practically levitated off the couch. Sometimes she could see where Nancy, Maureen’s daughter, got her outspokenness from. “I don’t do fun, and you know it. I was always the sensible one while you and Leanne Miller were being crazy. I drove you home, let you crash at my house, mopped up your tears.”
Maureen grinned at her. “So maybe this is your time to cut loose and be the wild and crazy one?”
“I’m over fifty!” Bella protested.
“And so is Billy, which means it’s all quite legal,” Maureen pointed out.
Bella sank back on the couch. “He might not want to be kissed either.”
“Oh, come off it. You know when a man wants to kiss you. Did he run away screaming?”
“No, he seemed quite interested in the idea.”
Maureen patted her shoulder. “Look, I have to get back, but how about you talk it through with Billy? You know that thing we always tell our kids to do when they’re having issues with a relationship?”
“Won’t he think that’s terribly presumptuous?” Bella asked.
“Honey, you’re over fifty. Half your life has already been lived, and time is rapidly running out. How about you forget about your manners, and just have an honest conversation with the guy?”
