The Secrets of Whitelea

|Chapter Nine|

Chapter Nine

Bella was just coming down the stairs when the doorbell rang. She frowned, wondering who it could possibly be. Douglas was busy at the pub today, Mariam had taken a day off and the cleaners weren't coming until later. She pulled open the door and her expression turned to one of surprise.

James Williams stood on her doorstep with a smile on his face. He looked incredibly neat with a smart shirt on and trousers, a blazer jacket was slung over one shoulder. Sunglasses perched on top of his head, his hair brushed neatly beneath where they were perched. Bella had to say that he looked incredibly good-looking standing on her doorstep in the early afternoon light.

"James," She greeted. "What a surprise!"

"Do you often break your promises?" He asked, ignoring her greeting.

"Depends. Why, which one have I broken now?"

"How about the one where you said you'd go on a date with me?"

"If I'm remembering our conversation correctly, I never promised such a thing."

"Am I not good enough for you?" James asked.

"I never said that." Bella said.

"Let me remind you of our conversation." James cleared his throat. "I said 'Will you go out with me sometime?' to which you made some comment about your mother. I then asked if that meant it was a yes and you answered, and I quote, 'yes, it's a yes'."

"But I could have been lying." Bella said.

"You weren't." James sounded confident.

"What makes you so sure?" Bella asked. James tapped the side of his nose and smiled.

"That's my little secret." Bella smiled. "So, are you coming then?" He asked.

"Let me just get changed." Bella said and darted up the stairs.

Bella thought she had never gotten changed so quickly in her life. She pulled out the nicest summer dress she could find in her wardrobe, slipped into some sandals before tugging a brush through her hair. She glanced at her make-up in the mirror and decided that it would have to do. She had no idea where they were going but wherever it was, they would just have to put up with her looking a bit like a mess. She ran back downstairs again, James had come into the hall to wait for her, closing the heat out. His gaze was drawn to hers as she leapt down the last few stairs.

"You look nice." He complimented her. Bella looked down at herself. It wasn't often she wore white – she preferred the darker colours, especially black – but she thought that today she could make an exception.

"I look far from nice but thank you." She said, smiling.

"The Annabella that I used to know would have taken that compliment and boosted her ego with it." James joked. Bella tensed a little.

"Well," She said with a shrug. "things change."

James held the car door open for her as she stepped into the vehicle. He shut it and darted around to the other side. He grinned at her once he was settled into his seat and they set off. Instead of having the windows open, James had turned on the air-con and cool air was blasting its way through the car, cooling them both down.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked once they'd been driving for a few minutes.

"Someplace nice." James answered. "It's just outside of the village. The food is amazing."

"How many times have you been before?"

"Once." James answered. "But it was a few years ago. It was good food then and it can only improve, can't it?"