The Lawson Boys: Marty (31 page)

“Oh yeah.”
Belle flicked the duster over the top books. “I sort of expected
more gossip. You know, about Trevor and me and what I did.”

Holly pulled
herself up to sit on the counter. “There was some, but it seems ol’
Trev is old news really fast.”

“I’d have
thought me shouting out to the world that I wasn’t a - you
know…”

“Virgin? You
can say it, you know.”

Belle narrowed
her eyes at her best friend. “I know. Virgin. There, happy?”

“Ecstatic.”
Holly beamed.

“Anyway, I’d
have thought that would still be going the rounds.”

“Sorry to break
it to you, Belle, but your five minutes of fame with Trevor has
passed on.”

“Thank God for
that.”

“However…”
Holly held her hand out to Mary, who reached behind the counter,
whipped out a newspaper and slapped it briskly into Holly’s
outstretched palm. “You have another five minutes of fame.”

Puzzled, Belle
stopped dusting.

Holly flipped
the newspaper to the middle where the gossip section lay. Gravely,
she looked at Mary. “Do you want to do the honours?”

“My dear, the
floor is yours. Proceed.”

Mystified,
Belle titled her head in silent query.

Holly read
aloud. “
‘Who was spotted kissing Marty Lawson, one of the most
sought-after bachelors of the decade? None other than The Other
Woman, Belle Broune. Looks like she’s moved on and has her sights
set on someone unattached! Will this country mouse succeed in
capturing a man this time? Only time will tell!’
”

Holly and Mary
looked expectantly at her.

Running across
the small space separating her from the counter, Belle grabbed the
newspaper from Holly and scanned the page. Oh Lord, there it was!
The photo Tyrell Baker had taken from the café window of Belle and
Marty in the car, Marty’s big hand cradling her nape as he kissed
her in what was obviously a hot kiss and not a peck on the
lips.

“Oh geez.”
Belle groaned.

Chapter 9

Mary shook both
hands and whistled. “On fire, sweetie!”

“Now that is a
photo to cut out and keep, something to show your kids when they’re
teenagers and you want to embarrass them,” Holly informed her
cheerfully.

“Now that’s
what I call a woman taking charge.” Mary studied the photo with
admiration. “What a hottie.”

“
He
kissed
me
,” Belle protested. “It was his idea!”

“I do take all
the credit.” The familiar, cheerful, deep voice came from the
doorway, and in walked the hottie himself.

“Nice photo.”
Holly smirked.

Mary smiled
widely. “
Really
nice photo.”

“Why, thank
you.” Marty smoothed down his t-shirt which was tight enough to
show off his impressive biceps, his pecs, and a hint of the six
pack abdomen that had Mary practically drooling.

Belle rolled
her eyes. Her boss wasn’t making any attempt to hide her
appreciation of Marty’s tall, muscular physique. To be truthful she
could drool a little herself, especially because she knew just how
good it felt to have that muscular body pressed hard against her,
but right now she had other issues. She waved the newspaper in his
face. “You knew?”

“Alan showed it
to me this morning. You were already gone so I came straight here.”
Plucking the newspaper from her hand, Marty leaned down and pressed
a light kiss to her lips. “’Morning, honey.”

“Awww,” Holly
said. “Isn’t that nice.”

Although still
a little shy of it in public, Belle was becoming more used to
Marty’s easy, warm displays of affection. There was no denying that
she enjoyed the sensation of his lips on hers, as well as the
languid warmth that that always spread through her belly whenever
he touched her. She smiled up at him. “Hi.”

Tucking her
into his side with one arm around her waist, Marty held up the
newspaper and studied the photo. “You look hot.” He winked wickedly
at her.

Mary’s
expression went all soft. “Oh, you are such a sweet boy.’

“I doubt that,”
Holly said dryly.

“Wait until you
get to know me more,” Marty assured her, “I’m a real
sweetheart.”

“Never mind
that.” Belle pointed at the photo. “What about this?”

“What about
it?”

“You don’t have
a problem with it?”

“Why should I?
I am the most sought-after bachelor of the…” Marty checked the
print before announcing with relish, “decade.”

“And modest to
boot.” Holly was amused.

“Just telling
it like it is.” Marty flipped back the hank of blonde hair falling
devilishly over his brow.

“Seriously.”
Belle tapped the photo. “I’m not only The Other Woman, I’m also now
The Country Mouse, and everyone is wondering if I’ll catch
you.”

“The most
sought-after bachelor of the decade.”

“Whatever.”

Marty
laughed.

“How can you
not be even a little concerned?”

“Why should I
be?”

“When your
mother sees this-”

“Honey, she
already knows I’m here chasing you.”

Belle sighed.
“You really don’t care, do you?”

“Nope,” he
replied cheerfully. “Do you?”

Did she? Belle
stared up at him, watching the humour fade from his face as the
silence lengthened. Did she really care that everyone saw the photo
of her kissing Marty? That everyone knew?

It hit her with
clarity.

Hell no.

Hell no, she
didn’t care. In fact, she was damned proud that a man like Marty
Lawson would want her, that he couldn’t keep his hands off her,
that he didn’t care who knew that he was chasing her, though to be
fair, everyone would probably think it was the other way around.
And come to think of it, if everyone thought she could so easily
capture a man like Marty, well, what did that make her?

She smiled
slowly.

Marty’s eyebrow
quirked.

“Hey,” she
said. “I’ve upgraded.”

“Huh?” Holly
leaned forward on the counter to peer closer at her.

“My pursuit of
a man has resulted in me apparently capturing the most sought-after
bachelor of the decade. I want everyone to know my taste has
improved.” Without thought, she reached down, grabbed a good
handful of Marty’s taut backside through his jeans and squeezed
lightly.

He jumped,
Holly laughed, and Mary fanned herself.

Belle blushed
as soon as she realised what she’d done. “Oops.”

Eyes gleaming
wickedly, Marty leaned down to whisper into her ear, “You are so
gonna pay for that later, you little witch.” Before she had a
chance to reply, he released her with a hearty pat on her derriere,
gave Holly and Mary a half bow accompanied by a wink, and left the
shop.

“Oh boy.” Mary
fanned herself with the newspaper. “I’m having a flush and it’s
nothing to do with menopause.”

Feeling a whole
lot lighter, Belle laughed and resumed dusting.

“Want me to
keep this photo for you?” Holly held up the newspaper.

“Oh yeah.”

“Wise
choice.”

“I’m making a
few of them lately.”

“That you are.”
Jumping off the counter, Holly made for the door, pausing only to
pat Belle on the shoulder. “I couldn’t be happier.” She walked out
the door.

The rest of the
day passed with its usual busyness, though a few more people than
normal entered, and those who didn’t know Belle well enough kept
glancing at her while apparently shopping. Normally this would have
made her feel awkward, but this time she simply smiled at them and
asked if they needed help.

Those who did
know her, such as several ladies from the garden club, openly
congratulated her on her handsome boyfriend and made no attempt to
be subtle about checking out his photo, with Mrs Harris telling
anyone who would listen that she’d personally met the Lawson boy
and he was built to please a lady, which produced giggles from her
companions.

When nothing
further was mentioned by anyone about it, and her phone didn’t ring
hot off the cradle that night, Belle knew she really was just a
five minute news item that would blow over as quickly as had her
scandal with Trevor. She wasn’t a socialite, famous, or really
newsworthy except for a bit of gossip that would be forgotten
within a couple of days. By next week, it would all be a
memory.

That suited her
just fine.

It was also a
reminder that what she held special, her ideals and beliefs,
weren’t shared by everyone - and that wasn’t always a bad
thing.

Going into the
bathroom to shower and change before Marty arrived, Belle knew one
thing for sure, if it hadn’t been for her scandal she’d never have
met Marty and experienced everything that made her so happy. For
that alone, she’d have done it all over again.

When the
doorbell rang, she unlocked it to greet Marty, Alan and Sugar, who
was tucked under Marty’s arm. At the sight of Belle, Sugar yipped
and wriggled.

Laughing, Belle
held out her hands and Marty relinquished the tiny dog, stooping
forward to plant a smacking kiss on Belle’s lips as he did so. “You
look as fresh as a daisy.”

“Thank
you.”

“I could pluck
you right now.”

“Cripes.” Alan
rolled his eyes as he walked past them into the house, the bags of
takeaway dangling from his hands. “Really suave, Lawson.”

“Yeah.” Marty
shook his head even as he twirled a brown curl around his finger to
tug her closer. “Sorry about that, Belle. I made you sound like a
chicken.”

“Hmmm. You’re
not getting slack in the compliment department, are you?” Holding
Sugar eye-level, Belle arched an eyebrow at her. “What’s your
secret to keeping your daddy’s devotion?”

“She’s just
cute.” Marty ruffled Sugar’s hair, grinning widely. “Just like
you.” He tugged her curl.

“Smooth
talker.” Placing Sugar down, Belle watched as she scampered into
the house in search of Cleo.

“Good to see
the two getting on,” Marty observed as Cleo came bolting out of the
kitchen with her tail fluffed out like a bottle brush to disappear
into Belle’s bedroom with Sugar prancing along behind her.

“Last night
they were playing, remember?” Belle closed the door behind him.
“Cleo just likes to pretend she’s startled. Give it a few
seconds.”

Sure enough,
Sugar shot out of the bedroom with Cleo on her heels. They skidded
into the kitchen, followed by the sound of a food bowl clattering
across the floor. Peering around the doorway, Marty and Belle
observed Sugar licking cat biscuits off the floor while Cleo sat
primly on the kitchen bench watching, eyes wide and tail idly
swishing. Cleo blinked lazily at Belle and meowed at Marty, who
promptly picked her up, laying her on her back in one arm as he
rubbed her belly.

“Sexy beast,”
he said fondly, and her purring filled the air. Slyly he glanced at
Belle. “I seem to remember someone else purring last night.”

“You weren’t
rubbing my belly,” Belle retorted.

His eyes
flashed wickedly. “No, I was rubbing something else. Same thing
really.”

Cheeks
pinkening even though she laughed, Belle wondered if she’d ever get
over feeling a little shy in his presence when he was referring to
their heated escapades. She loved it, revelled in the way he
enjoyed her body so openly, but once out of the bedroom and away
from the heat, she seemed to still retain some shyness.

Mysteriously
attuned to her moods already, Marty said softly, “It’s all right,
honey.”

And just like
that, he relaxed her. His words soothed her mind, the deep,
reassuring tone sliding through her to smooth her slightly jittery
nerves, washing over her like a warm blanket, calming her.

“I don’t know
how you do it.” She looked up at him as he stopped before her. “I
don’t know how you know what I’m thinking and feeling. It’s…”

“Nice?” His
smile was as gentle as the kiss he brushed across the tip of her
nose.

“Comforting.”

“As long as it
works, because all I ever want for you is good things.” He winked.
“Luckily for you, I’m one of those good things.’

“I’m surprised
you didn’t say the best.”

“No need to
remind you when you obviously know it so well.” Laughing, he kissed
her again, light and easy, but his hand at her back was strong,
reassuring, and the way he slid it down to lay against the
beginnings of the swell of her buttocks was protective. And a
little sexy. Oh yeah, Marty held all the aces in the deck of cards
when it came to exuding protective and sexy vibes.

Belle was
still surprised at times that those vibes were all directed at her,
but not once did she resent it. She welcomed it, revelled in it,
knowing she’d never tire of it.

“You lovebirds
coming?” Alan called from the lounge room. “The movie is going to
start any minute and I’m starving.”

“Coming.” Marty
sighed. “Why did I bring him again?”

“Because he’s
your best friend, been baby-sitting the dog, and he’s a really nice
bloke?” Belle suggested.

“Nice bloke?
Alan?”

“Sure. I like
him.”

“Thank God for
that, because he tends to say things that offend people.”

“Only because
he speaks his mind.”

“How do you
know that?”

“Hey, when you
had to fly back to the city to sort out some work issues for two
days, he stayed back here in town, remember? He came to tea both
nights. We had some good chats.”

Dubiously,
Marty looked from the direction of the lounge to Belle.

She smiled.
“Yep, some real good chats. Your childhood was a little wild,
wasn’t it?”

“Whatever he’s
been blabbing, it’s all lies.”

“And your teen
years, well, lover boy, your reputation isn’t just fable, is
it?”

Rather than
make excuses, Marty simply shrugged and smiled back at her. “You
got any complaints with my experience?’