“He taught me to be just like him.”
“But I can see in your eyes that you still have some of me in you too. You still have that protective spirit you had as a child."
She was about to cry again. She started to cough.
Peter jumped off the bed and then said, "Mom, take it easy. We want to take you home."
She finished coughing and held her hand up for him to hold again. "Take your own advice. When I get out of here, I want to sit and have a nice dinner with this girl of yours. Your brother and sister picked out nice people to marry, and I want to see you have the same happiness."
John knocked on the door. "Can we come back in?"
Peter held his mother's hand as he called out, "Sure." Then he met his mother's brown eyes, and again he told her how he felt. "Mom, Dad locked you away for years and had you listed as merchandise in a ledger. You of all people shouldn't believe in love."
Vicki and John went white as they stepped inside the room.
Their mother held out her other hand as she answered Peter. "I want for you what I should have expected for myself. I fell for your dad's good looks and charm, but that doesn't mean you will. Trust your heart."
Vicki took the offered hand. "Is everything okay in here?"
Peter didn't let go. He stared into his mom's face. "Yeah. Mom wants all her children together."
Their mom quickly added, "And happy."
John stood beside Vicki with his hand on their sister's waist. "We are, Mom."
His mother nodded. "I intend to get out of here for Peter's New Year's party. There is a family matter that needs to be done in person and not at a hospital."
"We'll all be there." Vicki added, "It's going to be fun to ring in the New Year together. "Or we can schedule something the day you get out."
"Both will be good." His mother nodded.
Peter stared at his family. With Belle at the party, his life would be complete.
Chapter Twenty Three
Belle paced in her room. Had Peter ended the bet, and why hadn't she asked him for details? She should have. The more Jennifer's words swirled in her mind, the more her shoulders tensed.
As the sun set outside her balcony, a knock reverberated in the air. She inhaled and threw open the door. Peter wrapped his arms around her and kissed her.
Her hands didn't curl around him, though her lips tingled from his taste. Her fingers ached to run through his hair, but she balled her hands together to stay at her sides.
He let her go and stared at her, "What's wrong?"
She used both of her hands and pushed him out of arms reach. Peter walked inside her room and closed the door. She stormed into the living room on the first floor. He followed, and then she turned and crossed her arms.
"Peter, that's the last kiss we should have."
He rubbed his chin as he widened his stance. His stare sent heat through her, and it mixed with the molten hot lava of betrayal.
She clenched her jaw as he asked, "Why?"
Her entire body stiffened as she widened her legs, much like he had. Then she lifted her chin to stare at him.
"I need you to tell me about the bet that you'd date me."
His lips parted, and his eyes grew larger. "What happened that you brought it up now?"
"Details. I should be able to ask for them." Her eyes were going to water, but she refused to cry in front of him. This wasn’t worth being the first time she let herself go. She cleared her throat and then stared at him like he was her enemy at war.
"Is what Jennifer said about the bet true?
"Jennifer..." He stepped closer, but Belle blocked and stood behind the sofa. He nodded his head. "At the party, before you walked in, Colt and John both bet me that I couldn't date any woman I set my mind too. I told you I believed everyone has their price."
No. A bet should not change her life. She stormed past him and headed to the door. As she crossed the living room, Peter brushed against her arm. She froze and then pointed to the door.
"Get out now."
His face was contorted, and he didn't move a muscle. "Just wait, one minute. I thought you knew?"
"At the hospital, Jennifer mentioned it. We had so much else going on that I left it on the back burner. I always wanted to know." If he wasn't going to leave, then she'd have to show him out. Her heart hammered in her chest as she yelled, "I hope you speak to your mom and grow close to your family, Peter. I want the best for you. But right now, I'm upset, and I want you to leave."
He came closer. She was close to tears, and no she'd not let him touch her. She stepped away so that the chair on the other side of the living room forced them to have space.
Peter didn't move, like he didn't want to scare an animal as he said, "Wait, Belle. I called off the bet, long before either of those conversations."
She rolled her eyes. Here came the explanation. Her jaw hurt from clenching it, but it didn't matter right now. He had to leave. She crossed her hands and tapped her foot.
"When? When did you call it off? Before we slept together?"
He nodded with those big, sexy eyes of his. "Yes, actually it was."
Another truth or another excuse? Belle's ears steamed. She covered them and refused to look at him. "I don't want to hear anymore."
He walked around the chair, but kept the distance between them. He was closer to the door. "I'd rather talk about this. Belle, I need you."
Her eyes misted. She'd not cry. She never cried in front of an audience. She kept her body tight, and she swallowed her unshed sobs. Her skin was electrified, and she clenched her hands.
"No, you'd rather convince me that I can overlook this. I was right the first time I met you and I said you should leave me alone."
He took a step toward the door. "I called it off, Belle, at my sister's wedding. It's what we talked about with the brother-sister dance."
His entire family knew. Colt was probably in on this. Everyone loved to ensure her life was miserable. She pointed to the door.
"Lovely. Peter, one day I want to fall in love and be with a guy who finds me attractive and has a heart that's available to me. That's not you. You still think everyone has a price."
His hands fell to his side as his voice cracked. "Belle."
She flew past him and opened the door. "Goodbye."
She refused to look at him as he went out the door. As their arms brushed against each other, the sting of sadness hit her hard. She held together and slammed the door shut the moment he walked outside.
Everything hit her at once. She stared into the room and no longer fought to stop the waterworks. Tears rushed down her cheeks, and she sunk to the floor and hugged her knees. One question swirled in her mind. Was it so hard for a guy to ever truly love her?
Night grew darker in the sky, and Belle could barely stand. She used the door to help her, and her limbs shivered from the cold marble floor. Her tears had dried, but she was so numb.