(Author Note: My apologies to everyone, who has been waiting for the next instalment. My mother, sadly, passed away at the end of January and it has been one hell of a emotional rollercoaster and bouts of writer's block. Hopefully, this lives up to previous chapters of this story and I hope you enjoy it.)

Smoothing her hands down the front of her white cotton dress, Belle sucked in her lower lip and bit into the plump flesh, while she regarded her reflection in the full-length mirror on her wardrobe door. It didn't feel real. None of it did since Wednesday night. Going into work on Thursday, she had felt guilty all morning until she got the nerve to approach Granny. It shouldn't have been so easy. It should have been a problem to get a week off at short notice. Instead, Granny had beamed a smile at her, telling her 'Leave it with me, honey' as she had reached for the landline in her cramped little office, under the stairs in the B&B. Less than an hour later, Granny had come to her in the diner, touching her arm to draw her attention away from a couple, as she had been taking their order, and said, 'Enjoy your week off'. Crossing paths with the girls, they had all wished her the same, while also telling her to 'Have fun with lover boy'. It had and did blow her mind that they had all been willing to do this for her. Allowing her to be the selfish one. Showing her that they appreciated her, and the times she had covered for them.

Too bad, someone else couldn't be happy for her to have some time off for herself.

Belle shook her head as she turned away from her mirror and was confronted with the sight of her suitcase, sitting open on the bed, waiting for those last-minute items. Placing her hand on the edge of her suitcase, her eyes roamed the room. Scaling the different items on her bedside, on top of her chest of drawers, to the shelf of books above her drawers. It felt like she was missing something, but other than packing the kitchen sink, Belle couldn't put her finger on what she had forgotten.

Sighing, her gaze dropped to the clothing neatly piled inside of her suitcase, hating how her father had put a downer on her mood. It had been late Thursday night, when she had gotten home from her shift at Granny's. Greedily taking some extra hours to make up for the loss of tips, she'd have the following week. Her father had been planted in his usual chair. Reclined to the max, legs outstretched in front of him, the beer in his right hand propped on the arm of the chair, watching something on the TV. Hesitantly, Belle had edged through into the living room and had loitered in the doorway, fretting over her father's reaction.

"Dad," She had nervously played with the hem of her blouse. "I won't be able to help out next week. I'm going out of town."

"Yeah, sure." Had been his response, disbelieving her.

Her eyebrows had flexed together, etching a brief shallow line in her brow. "No, dad. I'm serious." Belle had persisted. "I'm going out of town next week."

Her father had permitted her a quick glance of his dark blue eyes, before they had rolled at her statement and had returned to the TV. "Don't be silly, Belle. I need you here and I can't afford for you to go away."

Annoyed with being called, 'silly', her tone had become firmer as she had reaffirmed her previous statements by going further this time. "Dad, I'm going away next week with my boyfriend, whether you need me or not. It's happening."

"Boyfriend?" Her father had questioned, zapping the TV with the remote to mute it.

"Yes," She had given his question a short nod of her head. "With my boyfriend."

His eyes had scrunched up into guarded slits. "Boyfriend? What boyfriend?"

"I've been seeing him for a couple of weeks now, and he asked me to go away with him." Belle had told him, sticking as close to the truth as she could.

His large chest had expanded with the deep breath he had taken, before he had hit her with his accusation. "Is that code, is it? Boyfriend? For your pimp? For your client?"

"What?" Belle's voice had croaked as it had reached a high octave.

His big bulky arms had firmly crossed over his chest as he had remarked. "Your mother would be disgusted with your antics. I always knew Ruby would lead you astray. All those Saturday nights, scantily dressed." He had shaken his head, while his face had turned red with fury. "I should've known better! My daughter, the hooker!"

"Excuse me!" She had shouted across the room at him, shocked. "I am not a hooker! And neither is Ruby!"

"Then where did the money come from?" He had queried, gesturing wildly towards the kitchen.

"Does it really matter where it came from?" She had fought back. "Just be glad I had it and I was able to help you!"

"Of course, it fucking matters!" Her father had exclaimed, uncrossing his arms to grab at the arms of his chair, preparing to launch himself out of his chair.

Belle had given him a hard look. "Isn't my word good enough for you?"

"Then tell me, where you got the money from, if it wasn't from some sleaze-ball client!" His face had been a deep shade of red.

Waving her hands at her uniform, she had declared to her father. "From working at Granny's! From picking up extra shifts! From going without!"

Belle hadn't been exhausted, when she had gotten home from her fourteen-hour shift at Granny's. But by the time, Belle had given up arguing with her father and had stormed up the stairs and into her room, slamming the door behind her, flinging herself down onto her bed – She had been exhausted. Physically, mentally, emotionally – Tired. Her fury at her father had prevented her from sleeping. Muffling her screams and shouts into her pillow, Belle had been at the precipice. Where she could've easily jumped off her bed, took her stash of money and a bag of clothes, and skipped town for good. She had known, lying there in the dark, she didn't deserve his mistrust after everything she had done for him. Had given up for him. Had put herself through. Yet, she had still questioned herself, wanting to know what she could've done to earn his distrust.

Though she had smiled during the day, it had been hard for her to shake off their argument. It had hung around her neck like a heavy chain. Weighing her down. Even the bottle of wine Ruby had brought with her on Friday evening hadn't helped.

"I can't believe he said that about you." Ruby had shaken her head, then had pointed to herself with the hand holding her glass of wine. "Me, I can understand." Then she had pointed at Belle. "But you? Is he mad?"

"I'm starting to wonder that myself." Belle had grumbled, picking up her glass of wine to take a large sip of it.

After putting down her glass of wine, Ruby had turned to Belle's wardrobe, suggesting. "You should tell Eddie and he can beat some sense into him."

"I'd like to see that." Belle had smirked behind her glass of wine, whilst she had envisioned Mr Gold beating some sense into her father.

"Me too." Her friend had concurred as she had reached inside the wardrobe and unhooked a dress, turning to present it to Belle. "What about this one, in case you go out? Not too slutty. Classy enough, if you go to a swanky restaurant."

Squinting her gaze at the dress, Belle had tilted her head to the side. She had bought it a while ago. One of those, which had caught her eye when it had been on sale, and she had thrown caution to the wind and bought it without a second thought. The navy ruched dress had clung to her hips, squeezed at her waist and comfortably held her breasts, when she had tried it on in the store. It had never been out of her wardrobe. Saved for some Saturday night, which had never come. It was too good to waste on a night at the Rabbit Hole. She had other dresses for those nights. No, this dress was too classy for that, but… It would be perfect for a night out with Mr Gold. So, the dress and another pair of her 'deadly heels', as he had dubbed them, had been packed into her suitcase - Just in case.

While the bottle of wine had gone down easy, packing Belle's suitcase for Sunday hadn't been so simple. Not knowing what was going to happen during their week away, had made packing impossible. It was why Belle had asked Ruby to come round in the first place. She'd never done the 'weekend away with a boyfriend'. And even though Mr Gold was not her boyfriend and this was not a relationship. Belle had a part to play. Nevermind that she had been genuinely nervous and excited about going away with him.

"He's given you no idea of where you're going, or what you're going to be doing?" Ruby had asked, inspecting the contents of Belle's wardrobe with her hands propped on her hips.

"Not really." She had said, twisting the top half of her body to return her glass to her bedside table. "Said we'd be staying at his cabin."

Crooking her neck to see Belle over her shoulder, Ruby had repeated Belle's answer. "His cabin?"

"Yeah, his cabin." Belle had confirmed.

Ruby had thrown her hands up as she had pivoted round, grinning wildly at Belle. "What's the point in packing then? He's going to have you bound to his bed for the week, in the middle nowhere, where no one can hear you scream, and fuck you senseless all week!"

"Shush, Ruby! Keep it down!" She had urged, wary of her father hearing them downstairs.

"Just pack your toothbrush, a change of underwear, and you'll be good to go." Her friend had suggested with a wicked grin.

Belle had wished it could've been that simple, whilst she had grinned at Ruby's suggestion. She would've followed through with her suggestion, if it had been a real relationship. Turned up at his door, toothbrush in hand, ready and eager to give herself to him in whatever way he wanted.

Except, she couldn't.

And Belle had no choice, but to make do with going through the motions with Ruby. Picked out some of her nicer outfits. Secretly smirked at the lingerie choices, Ruby had held up. Got herself lost in her little fantasy and had briefly forgotten what her father had said the night before. Enjoying the sweet taste of what could've been, if this had been a real relationship.

Her phone beeped and buzzed on her bedside table, calling to her. Shuffling the two short steps, Belle canted over and picked up her phone, and read the message as she straightened herself. 'On his way', three simple words. She stared at Mr Gold's message until the screen of her phone darkened. It was hard to ignore the whispering voice, reminding her that Mr Gold didn't do anything for nothing. Lowering her phone to her side, Belle was well aware that he must have had an agenda for inviting her to his cabin. Afterall, he was Mr Gold – ruthless, determined, unwavering.

Unconditional kindness wasn't one of his qualities.

Moving back towards her open suitcase, Belle stopped in front of her shoulder bag instead, sat propped up against her case, and flicked back the flap of her bag to stow her phone inside of it. As she moved some things aside in her bag, she decided she could fit another book in her bag. Turning to the bookshelf above her chest of drawers, she considered how long it had been since she'd had time to read. To lose herself in the pages of a good book.

Her hand hovered over her copy of 'Pride and Prejudice'. The copy Mr Gold had sold to her. As her fingertips touched the splintered spine of the book, Belle recalled the day as if it was yesterday. He still wore the same aftershave – rich, spicy cedarwood. Apart from the streaks of grey peppering his hair, darkening his brown roots, Mr Gold looked very much the same as he had that day. Handsome, confident, the same dazzling sexy smile. Whereas, Belle hoped, she was very different from the girl, who had been brave enough to enter his shop, but had been right to bolt from there, running all the way home with the book clutched to her chest. Back then, he would've eaten her up for breakfast with his sexual tastes. The girl, who had purchased the book, had been very naïve about Mr Gold. Which was why, as she selected the book off the shelf and held it in her hand, looking at the worn cover, she had her own agenda during their week away.

Turning back to her bag, she slid the book into the space she had made and threw the main flap back over her bag, and grabbed the long strap to sling over her right shoulder. She glimpsed at her bedside clock, while she closed up her suitcase and ran the zip around the flap. As she picked up her suitcase and put it down on its wheels, and extended the handle, Belle did one last glance around the room, unable to shake the feeling she'd forgotten something. It wasn't until she had wheeled her case a couple of steps towards the door, she stopped and looked at the bed.

The stash of money.

Bothered lines creased her forehead as she gazed thoughtfully at her bed. She'd never worried about her father finding it before. The shoebox was stashed so far underneath her bed, you wouldn't have known it was there, unless you knew. But now, her father knew she had money in the house. Possibly a large amount of money. Would he snoop around the house for it, while she was gone? Had it really gotten to the point where she couldn't trust her own father? It was a troubling thought, which had her frozen in place. Did she dare to leave it? Give him the benefit of the doubt? It hurt to think about her father in such a way, but when it came to money…

Straightening her back, Belle shook the thoughts out of her head and exited her room, yanking the door close behind her, refusing to join him in his game of distrust.

At the bottom of the stairs, she parked her suitcase near the front door, plonked her shoulder bag down beside it and grabbed her denim jacket from where it had hung on the banister. Her gaze was fixed on the open doorway to the empty living room, while she put on her jacket. The fresh argument, from last night, replayed in her head. Her father had stood in front of the fireplace, his broad arms crossed in front of him. He had been adamant, he wouldn't be giving her a ride to Granny's to meet her 'client', as he put it. Too determined to be right, he had refused to listen to her.

Belle was well aware, it would've been easy to slip down to his level, but she had to keep her head above his accusations and pray everything would work out in the end. No matter what he said about her, he was still her father. Her only family, bar Ruby and Granny. But even that excuse was wearing thin.

"And an asshole." She mumbled to herself as she flicked her hair out from the collar of her jacket.

Dropping her arms down to her sides, it wasn't supposed to be like this. Belle was supposed to be excited. Anxious, even. Her biggest fantasy was about to come true and, as usual, her father was ruining the moment. Just like he'd been doing since he'd convinced her to drop out of college. Anytime, there was a chance for her to enjoy herself, something would happen. Somehow, he would need her.

Like the time, Ruby and she had been going to a concert, and he had called, panicked, needing her. Or the time, they had arranged to meet some guys in Yarmouth, who they had met at a club the previous weekend. Her father had become suddenly ill, and had needed her to stay home and care for him. Then… The last time, was when Ruby and Belle had been discussing going away for the weekend, sat in the kitchen downstairs. Her father had come in and informed them that he was actually going away that weekend. To a 'florist seminar' – yeah, right – and had needed her to cover the shop. Thinking about it, it must've been years since Belle had crossed the town line. Blowing out a quiet breath, she hated all those times, and the ones she had forgotten, where she had let him stop her from doing what she wanted. From being who she wanted to be.

Pulling out the handle of her suitcase, Belle hoisted her shoulder bag off the floor and slung it over her shoulder, preparing herself to leave the house, saying out loud as she moved to the front door. "Not this time, dad."

Belle opened the front door, by twisting the small knob of the Yale lock, and wheeled her suitcase outside, pausing long enough to exchange the handle of her case to her other hand, and yanked the door shut, making the letter box clatter. Today was the day, things were going to change. They had to. And the first thing, in her power to change, was her mood. She had dreamt of this for too long, to allow her father to ruin it for her. Belle French was going away with Mr Gold, for the week, alone, to his cabin – And she was going to enjoy herself, regardless of people's agendas.

Waltzing up the path from the house to the sidewalk, she mindlessly glanced to the end of the road, not looking for anything in particular, and turned left out of the gate, taking her normal route to Granny's. For the first time, she wondered who Mr Gold had gotten to be her 'Eddie'. They'd briefly discussed it, while they'd been sitting in his car Wednesday night.

"I need a boyfriend." Belle had told Mr Gold.

"What?" He had questioned, crinkling deep lines into his forehead, killing his sly smile.

Her hand had instantly reached out to him, touching the soft fabric of his cotton shirt, wanting to reassure him. "Just for a ruse." Belle had softly smiled at him. "Everyone wants to meet him."

"Whose everyone?" Mr Gold had asked with his head slightly turning away from her, suspiciously eyeing her.

"Ruby, Granny… The girls at work, mostly. They're constantly asking about him." She had told him, unconsciously clasping at a small amount of his shirt, worried he'd overreact again.

"And what, pray tell, have you been telling them?" He had smoothly inquired.

"That his name is Edmund Bertram. Eddie, for short." She had informed him.

"Edmund Bertram?" His left eyebrow had dramatically arched at her. "As in, Edmund Bertram from Mansfield Park?"

The corners of her lips had twitched. "You've read it?"

Mr Gold's eyes had peered at her through tight slits and had ignored her question. "What else have you been telling them?"

"He's a businessman, lives in Portland, travels weekly to Freeport on business. Divorced… Has a grown kid." She had innocently divulged to him.

"Does he now…?" His head had canted to the side as his eyes had darted to different points of her face. "Sounds vaguely familiar."

A rush of panic had sped through her veins, tightening the grip she'd had on his shirt, creasing the soft fabric, as she had hurried to explain herself. "It was easier to stick somewhat to the truth. I'm sorry, but… The lie I told Ruby, to explain where I was going, just ran away from me and before I knew it, Granny and the girls all knew about Eddie, as well."

As he had spoken to her, his arm had slipped off the back of the seat to suddenly cover hers, which had been clutching at his shirt. "You remember the disclosure agreement you signed, when we started this arrangement? Where we're not supposed to talk to anyone, about what goes on between us?"

Her mouth had gaped at him. Not because of his questions, but because his thumb had been drawing tight, small circles on the back of her hand. The soothing caress had been distracting, relaxing and a turn on. Three very different emotions, bundled together. Confusing her.

"Yes." She had whispered as her gaze had narrowed on their hands. "I remember."

There had been a short pause before Mr Gold had clicked his tongue at her, while he had faintly shaken his head from side to side at her, and had said. "It's a good job, I've got a soft spot for you, Miss French. Otherwise, I'd sue that tight little ass of yours…" The left side of his lips had pulled back into his customary, sly smile. "Or, I could spank it, until it's a beautiful shade of red."

Belle had shifted on the seat, holding his gaze as she had drawn in her lower lip and bit it. Him and his goddamn mouth. It was a playful tease. She could hear it in his voice. But nevertheless, his threat had taken her back to his house, to the sitting area of his kitchen, where he had spanked her, branding her with his bright pink marks, which she had seen when she had showered. The tingle of the aching marks had sent a shiver all over her body and had centered back to her core. Bringing her right leg partially back into the car, the movement had squeezed her thighs together, stemming the wetness that had threatened to seep from her.

"What exactly do you want me to do, Miss French?" Me Gold had queried.

"Huh…" The sound had escaped before she could've stopped it, earning her a wide grin from him.

"About your boyfriend." He had clarified, while peeling her hand from his shirt to clasp between his hands on top of his right leg, folded underneath his left, so he could face her.

Belle had gulped and had stared at their joined hands, befuddled at the sight of them.'This is not a relationship', she had reminded herself. It meant nothing. He had simply been holding her hand. Sex was sex, and this was definitely, irrefutably, not a relationship!

With a firm shake of her head, she had torn her eyes from their hands and had met his gaze, telling him exactly what she had needed. "I need someone to be Eddie."

The plan was to end the relentless questions everyone had. 'When are we going to meet this Eddie of yours?'. 'Don't you have any pictures of him?'. 'Are you hiding him from us?' was Ruby's favorite, whilst throwing in her trump card, 'I'm your best friend'.

The innocent lie had snowballed into an avalanche, suffocating Belle and forcing her to conjure up more lies to explain away their questions. The added burden of Granny's questions had been Belle's tipping point. The older woman had done her best over the years to be a substitute mother. Treating Belle as one of her own. She deserved better than lies, but that was all Belle had to offer her, when it came to 'Eddie'. At least, by giving them a face to the name, it would gag their questions for a while.

Well… Belle hoped it would.

Following the sidewalk around the corner onto Main Street, Belle couldn't help glancing in the direction of her father's shop. His white van sat outside, a sure sign he was there. A part of her wanted to divert to his shop and insist he come to Granny's with her. Before today, she would've turned around and gone to his shop, and begged him to come with her. But not today. Today was a new day, she told herself.

Resolute in her decision for her change, Belle hurried across the street to Granny's side. Hopping from the road onto the sidewalk, her suitcase was forced to skip up the curb and almost caught the back of Belle's foot. She glanced behind her, mindful of her case as she took the tight turn into the patio area of Granny's. There were a few people seated outside, enjoying the morning sunshine with their breakfasts. Some of them gave her a quick wave, or called 'Morning' to her, as she climbed the porch steps, with her suitcase chasing her up the steps.

The blind on the other side of the door clattered as Belle pulled open the door. Peering inside, all the tables were occupied, as per usual for a Sunday morning. It was normally Belle's best day for tips. Wheeling her suitcase inside, she felt a small sprang of regret for the tips she'd missed out on as she parked her suitcase beside the door and sat her shoulder bag down on the floor in front of it. Her tips helped to cover the rent for the shop, and whatever was left, went in her stash money. She was going to feel the loss of them for a couple of weeks, but it'd be worth it, she told herself as she strolled to the end of the counter. Especially, if she was able to fore fill her agenda – No one could put a price on knowledge.

Looking round, some of the customers wave and smile at her. It was still a shock, so many people had come in to wish her a good time. Such a strange thing, but really nice at the same time. So many people cared about her. Unlike her father, she thought, rolling her eyes.

"Hey! There you are!" Someone called, triggering Belle to look across the diner and she genuinely smiled at Ruby, as her friend sauntered across the diner to the middle booth, delivering the occupants food order.

"Looking busy as always." Belle commented to Ruby, watching her approach.

Letting her gaze roam around the room, Ruby cut through the gap in the counter to the other side, commenting to Belle. "This is quiet, compared to an hour ago. It was like a zoo in here."

"Enjoy it, while it lasts." She smiled, knowingly.

Ruby placed her hands on the counter and leaned towards Belle, lowering her voice as she said. "Enjoy your freedom, while it lasts."

She rolled her eyes at Ruby, while a blush burned her cheeks. "Stop it." Though, she wouldn't say no, if that's what Mr Gold wanted to do. "It's not like that. It's so we can spend some time together, getting to know one another."

"You keep telling yourself that." Ruby said, inclining herself back to her side of the counter. "But the rope burn bracelets will tell all, next week."

Giving Ruby a flat look, Belle did her best to conceal her smirk as her friend grinned widely at her. Inside her worn pumps, her toes were scrunched up tight, enjoying the image Ruby had planted inside of her head. Being tied down to the bed, spread out for him, while Mr Gold teased, caressed and stroked her wherever he wanted. Driving her crazy. She had never been against the idea of being tied up, but he made it so delicious, when he did it. And she could completely trust him, like she had done at his house, when he'd spanked her. Just thinking about it, made her bite down into her lower lip.

Belle really hadn't meant to go to his house on Wednesday night. She had told him the truth. She had been on her way home from the club, but her mind had been easily distracted. Like it had been, while he had been away. With the added fuel of Saturday night, seeing all those new things, seeing him, smelling him… Belle hadn't been able to stop touching herself. Desperately squeezing her thighs together. Fiercely rubbing them together, while she had worked, needing some kind of friction to ease the burn. If it hadn't been for the extra toilet breaks, where she could touch herself, pretend it was him, she would've gone mad.

All of those thoughts, the memories, the fantasies, had swirled around inside of her mind as she had walked home from the club. His fingernails etching enticing lines into her skin. The feel of his firm, soft hands touching her, caressing her, skimming all over her body. His bulging hard on grinding into her sex as she had given him a lap dance. The way his tongue snaked all over her body, licking, tasting, teasing her. The exquisite feel of his fingers probing her entrance, knowingly touching her exactly where she wanted, where she needed him to touch. And the feel of his cock inside of her… Oh, God…

As she had walked with her head bowed forward, she had chanted to herself, over and over again, 'This is not a relationship'. Wanting her desire for him to go away, but it hadn't. No matter how many times she had reminded herself, she hadn't been able to stop herself wanting him, from craving his expert touch.

So, when she had lifted her head, giving up on her pointless chant, it had been a surprise, and a thrill, when she had found herself on her street. Two doors down from his house. 'Fuck it', had been her response to the bodiless voice, reminding her that this wasn't part of their arrangement. Ignoring the voice, she had climbed the steps of his porch. Arguing to herself, that she wanted him and he had offered to meet her, wanting to make up for Saturday evening.

And that he did, Belle remarked to herself, grinning at the memory.

"Belle French, you're such naughty girl." Ruby accused, pointing her finger at Belle as though she could read her thoughts.

"You don't know the half of it." She commented, with her grin growing wider.

"Know the half of what?" Granny asked as she hefted a tray onto the counter, clattering the glasses and cups inside of it.

Both of them looked at Granny, their eyes flashing wide with surprise, but it was Ruby who was quick to answer Granny. "We were just talking about what I told you yesterday, about her dad."

"Yeah, he's convinced Eddie's my 'client' too." Belle shared with them, shaking her head as she said it.

While Granny grumbled, she picked two of the larger glasses out from the tray. "I'll make him pay double and extra for his pickles from now on."

A crease formed between Ruby's perfectly plucked eyebrows as she angled herself to see her grandmother behind her, as Granny stowed the glasses onto their shelf. "Extra for his pickles? That'll definitely teach him a lesson."

"For a man like Maurice French, the best place to hit him is his pocket." She shared with them, whilst turning back to pick up two more large glasses, and paused to tell them as she turned back to the shelf. "Bertha wouldn't get the same satisfying response from him."

As Ruby rolled her eyes and spoke to Belle, the blind on the door clattered with the door being opened. "Talking of Bertha, she was threatening to show it to Eddie, when he turns up."

"Yeah," Belle chuckled. "She said that to me, when I was leaving last night."

Granny swivelled round to collect two small glasses from the tray, when her gaze flicked towards the door. "Don't worry, young man, you can sit at the counter. We only bite, if you're stingy with the tip."

"As much as I'd love to stay, I've actually come to collect this one." A male voice proclaimed to Granny.

Absently, Belle glanced to where the voice had come from, and instantly did a double take, shocked and surprised to find the strange man, who had been in her father's shop the other week, standing a couple of feet from her. A sure smile on his face, with his eyes fixed on her. Her gaze narrowed a little at him. The flamboyant clothes he'd worn the last time they'd met, had been replaced with a boring pale blue shirt, tucked into a pair of beige trousers, with a dark brown belt secured around his waist. Her mind waved a red flag at her, but Belle couldn't understand the implication of it. The look on his face held her attention. It was something, she would've associated with a boyfriend, or a girlfriend, gazing at their significant other. Which is what had her dumbfounded in that moment – He was staring at her.

Her eyebrows marginally lifted before she twisted to look behind her, naively thinking someone else was behind her. Mr and Mrs Cornwell, regulars, occupied the table behind her. There was no one else. Turning back round, her gaze fixed on him and his smile.

"Belle." Ruby called her name.

Blinking her eyes, disbelieving reality, Belle turned her focus onto Ruby and was greeted by Ruby and Granny's stares. "Yeah…?"

Unleashing her white toothy grin, framed by her bright red lipstick, Ruby nudged her head in the man's direction. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Introduce you…" Slowly, Belle turned her head enough to see the man.

"There's no need, sweetie." He professed in a sickly sweet voice and moved to stand closer to her, easily sliding his arm around her waist to ease her into his side. "I'm capable of doing it myself." His smile widened at her before he diverted it to them, dazzling them. "I'm Eddie."

As Belle absorbed the information, she felt her face scrunch and twist, and then turned her head to look at him. 'I'm Eddie' echoed inside of her head as she studied his face. He was her Eddie. He was the man Mr Gold had sent to facilitate her request. He knew Mr Gold. Her brows pushed together as a random question crossed her mind, 'Had he come for flowers that day, or on business for Mr Gold?'.

"I'm Ruby." Flicking a thumb at her grandmother, she added. "And this is my grandmother, Granny."

Removing his arm from around Belle, he hastily stepped forward, offering his hand first to Granny and then to Ruby. "It's a pleasure to meet the two most important people in Belle's life."

Granny angled her head forward, peering over her glasses at him in her usual manner, when she scrutinised people. "I'm not interested in your charm, young man. As long as you don't hurt my Belle and look after her - you, me and Bertha will get along fine."

"Bertha?" He asked, moving his gaze from Granny and Ruby to Belle beside him.

"Don't worry." Ruby waved off Granny's unsaid threat and leaned forward onto the counter with her forearms, asking him. "I wanna know where you're taking Belle."

"Sorry, but it's a surprise." He said, wrapping his arm around Belle again, beaming her a smile.

Her lips flexed into a smile, but Belle didn't feel it. She hadn't really considered what to expect, when she had asked Mr Gold to get her a 'boyfriend'. Standing beside this man, who was handsome in his own right and seemed to be a smooth talker, her disappointment was evident. It would've been impossible for Mr Gold to be her 'stand-in boyfriend'. She had to have been dreaming, if she'd imagined, it would've been him coming through the door. No matter how much her heart skipped a beat at the thought of it.

Granny crossed her arms over her chest, giving them both a flat look over her glasses. "Be sure to drop by, when you bring our Belle home. Then you can tell us all about it, over some of my infamous lasagne."

"Oh, I don't know about that, Granny." Belle quickly stepped in. "Eddie's normally very busy."

With a nod of his head to the side, a carefree wave of his other hand, 'Eddie' offered to Granny. "I'm sure, I could arrange it, so I can come back and tell you all about it, Granny."

"Really?" Ruby glanced at Granny and then complained as she turned back to them. "You'll make time for Granny, but not for me."

"I told you, he was..." 'Eddie' held up his hand, stopping Belle and intervened with his own apology. "My deepest apologies, Ruby. It's true, though. I've been very busy with work lately, but I'll try and make more of an effort in the future."

"Eddie, if you've got to work, you've got to work." Belle touched her right hand to his chest, drawing his gaze to her, while giving him a very pointed look.

He smiled softly at her and placed his left hand over hers on his chest. "Sweetie, it's not a problem." His head shook slowly from side to side as he turned his charming smile on Granny and Ruby. "Trust her to be thinking of other people, instead of herself." Then his attention came back to her. "I want to spend more time with you, and get to know you and your friends better."

"You don't need to do that." She said, through gritted teeth.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. This wasn't what she had planned. He wasn't supposed to make promises, especially ones she couldn't keep. This was a one-time thing. A band-aid to shush the constant questions. Buy her some time, where their interest would be sated and their queries would be few and far between, allowing their arrangement to run its course. Not encouraging them. Inviting their intrigue. Promoting future occasions, where 'Eddie's' presence would be needed.

"Sweetie," He crooned in the most annoying tone. "Surely, by now, you've realised I'd do anything for you."

Belle had a strong urge to throttle him as Ruby muttered loudly. "Apart from coming out for dinner with her best friend."

'Eddie's' smile spread further, revealing the whites of his teeth, whilst he turned his gaze on Ruby. "Which I'll make up for in the future." He winked his left eye at her. "I promise."

"Eddie." Belle warned in a low voice.

"It's about time, someone put our Belle first." Granny stated to them, causing Belle to whip her attention from 'Eddie' to Granny. "Don't look so shocked, honey. I've told you before, you need to put your own needs first. If Eddie is genuine about his intentions, then he's alright with me."

"And with Bertha?" Ruby asked, out of the side of her mouth.

With a sly look out of the corner of her eye, Granny said. "For now."

Raising an eyebrow and slightly turning his head to look at Belle, 'Eddie' quietly inquired again. "Whose Bertha?"

"Don't worry about it." Belle reassured him, patting his chest with her hand covered by his.

"Okay…" He dawdled out, looking uncertain.

Taking advantage, she told him, making their excuses. "Anyway, we should better get going. Shouldn't we, Eddie?"

With a short nod of his head, he agreed with her, saying. "Yeah, we should actually. We've got a long drive ahead of us."

"A long drive…?" Ruby mused. "Cabin in the woods… Must be somewhere remote, where no one can hear you scream."

While Granny looked confused at Ruby, Belle's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before she shook her head, pushing against 'Eddie's' chest to set him off in the direction of the door. "Somewhere, where we can appreciate the natural beauty and enjoy each other's company."

"I know what kind of natural beauty 'Eddie's' going to be enjoying this week." Ruby said with a wink at him, chuckling.

"You have to make everything dirty, don't you?" Granny queried, peering over the rim of her glasses at Ruby with her arms crossed.

"What?" Ruby turned her head to look at Granny. "It's only the truth."

Shaking her head, Granny gave Belle a soft smile, telling her, "Enjoy your week off, honey." Then she looked at Ruby as she pivoted to head back to the kitchen. "And you, Missy, can get back to work."

Scowling, Ruby turned to follow Granny, giving them a small wave of her hand. "Get back to work? I haven't stopped all morning!"

"And you won't be stopping all afternoon, either." Granny said, whilst pushing open the swinging door to the kitchen.

"That seemed to go well." 'Eddie' whispered to her, shifting to her side, sliding his arm around her lower back.

Belle slightly angled her head to the side, peering up at him from the corner of her eye, as they walked to the door together. "Yes…"

"What?" He asked, moving ahead of her to the door, pivoting to keep her in front of him and his back to the door.

"You were making promises to see them again." She hissed at him in a low voice, quickening her step to close the space between them, with a sly glance around the room.

"Wouldn't you expect your boyfriend to say such things?" He inquired, pointing a finger to himself.

Stood close together, in front of the door, Belle told him. "Yes, but this isn't exactly a normal 'boyfriend/girlfriend' situation, is it?"

His eyes flashed wider at her, full of amusement. "From what I've been told, it's a very strange situation."

"Yes." Her lips pressed together, disliking the fact, she didn't know what Mr Gold had told him about their arrangement. "So, why don't you grab my bags, like a good boyfriend, and we'll get out of here?"

"Of course, sweetie." 'Eddie' smiled at her, revealing that shallow dimple in his cheek.

Huffing out a short breath, Belle pushed open the door to Granny's, causing the blind to clink, and crossed the threshold onto the porch, holding the door open for her 'stand-in boyfriend' as he wheeled her suitcase out with her bag hooked over his shoulder, smiling like a Cheshire cat at her. She watched him walk her suitcase down the stairs, openly scrutinising him, as she closed the door. He looked like an average guy in his normal attire. Though, even his flamboyant dress sense hadn't made her suspect him, taking him at face value, when he'd bought flowers for his wife. If he did indeed have a wife. Knowing he was associated with Mr Gold, made her question everything she knew about him… As limited as her knowledge was of him.

It wasn't so much, she was questioning… 'Eddie'. It was Mr Gold, she was questioning. Dissecting the possible reasons, he could've had to send 'Eddie' to her father's shop to see her, if that had been the purpose of his visit. Had Mr Gold sent him to check up on her? Make sure she wasn't discussing their arrangement? Is that why he overreacted, when he found out Ruby knew some version of what was going on between them? Was he actually ashamed to be associated with her? Needed to keep her his dirty little secret?

Belle forcefully shook the thoughts from her head and set off down the steps after 'Eddie', abandoning her train of thought. Whatever he had learnt, from visiting her father's shop, had been zilch. She hadn't said anything about Mr Gold, or their arrangement. The truth was, she'd hardly shared anything with this man. Nothing, which couldn't have been learnt from anyone else in town.

The trunk lid of the sleek black Audi was up in the air, as 'Eddie' loaded her suitcase and shoulder bag into the back of the car. Her right eyebrow arched high at the car. Belle had never seen a car so low before, or alloy wheels so large with minute tyre walls, or the windows as black as night. The car spoke volumes of wealth. Looking at 'Eddie', and keeping in mind his usual choice in clothing, the car didn't suit him. She didn't really know what car would suit him, but this mean looking,expensive machine, wasn't it. But then, neither would a clown car. Something more exotic, and obscure… but outrageous.

"Come on, kid." 'Eddie' called as he pressed a button on the hatch of the trunk, setting the door off to close itself. "Jump in."

"Okay, sweetie." She gave him the widest smile she could muster, when he looked over the top of the car at her.

The right side of his mouth curled up, appreciating her humour. "Come on," He encouraged, nodding his head vaguely to the side. "He's waiting for you."

As Belle approached the passenger door, he opened his door and ducked inside. With her hand on the door handle, she paused for the briefest of moments and sucked in her lower lip, sinking her teeth into it. This was it. Nearly a decade of pining for a man, she couldn't have. A forbidden infatuation, she had been burying for years. A fantasy, which had been hard to ignore, was coming true. There was nothing else standing between her and it. Taking a steadying breath, Belle pulled the latch and stepped into the car with a broad smile on her face.

Inside of the car, her eyes widened at the feel of the soft leather under her hand as Belle shifted to get comfortable in her seat. The interior was as black as the exterior, highlighted with chrome and subtle red lighting. Mindful as she closed her door, she was careful not to touch anything. The centre of the dash had several screens, with a vast selection of buttons surrounding them and were littered down the console dividing the front seats. Eyeing them, she was reminded more of NASA space shuttle than of a luxury car. Moving her eyes over the interior, taking it all in, 'Eddie' stabbed at a large button on the dash, causing the car to growl to life.

"Shouldn't be too long." 'Eddie' commented, whilst reaching over his shoulder for his seat belt. "He's waiting just outside of town."

"Right…" She murmured, mirroring his action.

After Belle had twisted to grab her belt and was turning back round to connect it to the buckle, a hand was presented to her. "Sorry for not introducing myself earlier." He grinned at her. "I'm Jefferson."

After clicking her belt into the buckle, Belle looked at his hand, at his face, then took his hand to shake it. "The first time we met, or just now?"

A shallow dimple formed in his right cheek as he smirked at her. "I didn't envision our paths crossing again, otherwise I would've introduced myself the first time."

"I didn't realise you worked for Mr Gold." She stated.

His left eye scrunched up at her comment before his face relaxed, and told her, placing a hand on the gear selector between them. "I'm more of an associate than his employee."

"I've never seen you around town before." She confessed as Jefferson selected drive and flicked up a button on the centre console, setting off a whirring sound at the back of the car.

"I can assure you; I've been around." Jefferson smiled at her.

As he crooked his neck to see over his shoulder, his fingers flicked up the indicator and he pulled away from the curb, while Belle probed him. "Have you been associates for long? I can't imagine it's been a long time, since, like I said, I've never seen you around town before."

"It's been a while." He offered as his answer, being vague.

"So… Like before he moved to Storybrooke, or more recently?" She wanted to delve deeper, intrigued to know more.

All she got out of him was half a smile and glance of his greyish blue eyes. Her brows twitched together.

"How did you two meet then?" She tried again.

Jefferson refrained from answering her and after a few seconds, Belle realised he wasn't going to give her any straight answers. It was somewhat irritating, but Belle easily let it go, turning her gaze to focus out of her window as she clasped her hands in her lap. She had all week to achieve her agenda. By the end of their week together, Belle wanted to learn as much as she could about Mr Gold. Peel back his layers to see a side of him, she was convinced, no one had gotten to see before.

Her father's shop drifted by the window, triggering off a floodgate of thoughts. Would things be as bad, if her mother was still alive? Was this always going to be Belle's future – working herself to the bone, exhausted every night, desperate to escape – whether or not her mother had crashed that spring morning? She liked to think, it would've been different. That she would've got to stay at college, complete her degree, find a job, settle down with someone, whilst always being welcome home by her mother's loving arms. Dropping her gaze down to her laced fingers, Belle felt the guilt hit her like a tonne of bricks, as a tiny part of her, was pleased things had turned out the way they had – Because she wouldn't have been spending the week with Mr Gold, otherwise. No matter how many parallel universes were out there, this may have been the only one, where she got to do this.

And there was no way, with that thought at the forefront of her mind, Belle was letting her father ruin her chance. Regardless of what he thought she was doing, or how she made her money, or how she spent her nights out. Her father had held her back for too long. She'd given up so much for him. Did whatever she could for him. This was her moment to be selfish. To be the Belle, she wanted to be.

"Nearly there." Jefferson announced.

Lifting her head, she saw they were on the south road out of Storybrooke and were slowly coasting around the bend, gradually climbing the hill out of the bay. At the pinnacle of the bend, the green 'Leaving Storybrooke' sign stood out from the surrounding wilderness. As they passed it, Belle sucked in an involuntary breath. 'It's really happening…', she thought to herself. The situation was too much of a dream to accept as reality. Her heart was pounding inside of chest. Her inner muscles were clenched as her mind raced with all the possibilities. Her palms felt sweaty. Her thoughts tumbled away from her. Picturing evenings spent discussing books, sharing stories, touching hands, caressing, moulding lips, sucking, teasing fingers, probing… She drew in her lower lip and bit it, hard.

The road began to bend the other way and level out, with the trees on either side of the road growing denser. The motion of the car began to slow down. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jefferson's head turn to check his mirror, while his finger pushed up the turn signal, indicating they were turning left. Ahead, on the left, Belle saw the small clearing approaching. She licked her lips, realising it was the parking area for the scenic overlook, which looked out over Storybrooke and the harbour. It was also a popular spot amongst the kids, known as 'make-out point'. Had been for years, even when Belle was a teenager. Though, she'd never been there herself with anyone.

With no one coming the other way, Jefferson swung the car across the road and traversed onto the gravel parking area. The black Cadillac was parked to one side, out of sight of the road, unless you purposefully looked for it as you drove by. At night, you wouldn't have seen any parked cars in the darkness.

No wonder, it was so popular with the kids.

The gravel crunched under the tyres as Jefferson pulled up beside Mr Gold's Cadillac. Angling her head to see pass Jefferson, she could see there was no one inside of the car, waiting for them. Her gaze went to the path, leading to the overlook, whilst Jefferson unbuckled his seat belt and opened his car door, stepping out in one motion. Belle glanced at him, seeing only his backside before he closed his door. She reached for the buckle of her own seat belt, when a bright flash of lilac, coming down the path from the overlook, caught Belle's eye.

"Dad! Dad!" A young girl called, waving her arms excitedly. "Mr Gold's doing magic! Come and see!"

"Woah there, Gracey! Careful!" Jefferson chuckled as Gracey stumbled over the logs, lining the perimeter of the parking area.

Grabbing her father's hand, the young girl began dragging her father to the path. "Come and see! It's real magic!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Slow down!" He urged, helplessly following her down the path.

Curious, Belle released her seatbelt and opened her car door, climbing out with a quick glance around the secluded spot. She pushed her door closed and traipsed down the path after them, keenly leaning forward to spy further ahead. Their voices were a little muffled, but grew louder the closer she got to them. Angling herself to the left, Belle spied around the corner as she got to the end of the path, finding Gracey kneeling on a bench, leaning heavily onto the table between her and Mr Gold, eagerly watching his hands on the other side of the table. Jefferson stood at the end of the table with his arms folded, watching the little show.

"See, there's nothing in my hands." Mr Gold showed his hands to them, flipping them over to show the backs of them as he spoke. "Now, watch carefully."

He held up his left hand, so the back of his hand was facing Gracey, his fingers closed together with his thumb tucked into the side of his palm. Excitedly, Gracey wriggled as Mr Gold wrapped the forefinger of his right hand over his left thumb, wriggled it and… The end of his thumb popped off, startling Gracey. Mr Gold's eyebrows raised and his mouth formed the perfect shape of an 'O' as he met Gracey's shocked expression.

It was then, Mr Gold's brown eyes flicked up to her, meeting her gaze. Belle pursed her lips together, sheepishly, before a smile formed for him. It was daunting to see him. The dream was reality. This was happening. Belle French and Mr Gold were going away, to his cabin, for the week, alone. Her thighs squeezed together as the fantasy ran away with her.

Gracey hunching further over the table to inspect his hands, drew Mr Gold's attention back to the young girl, who was giggling at his predicament. Scrunching his brow at her and then down at his hands, he tilted his head to the side, inspecting the stump of his thumb before he shoved the tip of his thumb back into position, reattaching it. Gracey was near enough climbing onto the table, trying to get a better look at his thumb as he made a big show of bending it, making sure it was reattached and working.

"Wow, proper Houdini!" Jefferson declared, dryly, clapping his hands.

"Do it again! Do it again!" Gracey demanded, bouncing up and down.

Sitting back on the bench, Mr Gold shook his head at her. "Oh, no, Gracey. Not again. I've done it too many times already. I might not be able to get it back on again."

Gracey wagged her finger at him. "Do the coin trick, then!"

"Gracey," Jefferson started in a stern tone, but it softened as he spoke to her. "Not now, darling. Maybe next time, when you see Mr Gold, he'll show you some more magic tricks, but we've got to go and you know Mr Gold's a busy man."

A little dejected, Gracey clambered down from the bench, she had been knelt on, and straightened her skirt with a small sad, 'Okay'.

"Here." Mr Gold held out his hand to her, a dollar coin laid in the palm of his hand. "For next time."

"Really?" She asked, beaming a toothy grin at him.

"Really, but…" He closed his hand around the coin, turned his hand over and opened it again, revealing the dollar coin had disappeared. "You need to keep it safe, because…" Leaning forward, his hand went to her ear and pulled back to show the dollar coin to her again. "It's magical and it can quite easily disappear, if you're not careful."

"I'll be careful, Mr Gold! I promise!" Gracey vowed as she took the coin from him, staring intently at the shiny silver coin.

"Good girl." He told her with a soft smile.

Jefferson touched his hand to Gracey's shoulder as he asked Mr Gold. "She wasn't too much trouble?"

It was the most heartfelt smile Belle had ever seen on Mr Gold's face as he said, looking at Gracey. "Not at all."

"Good." Jefferson smiled down at Gracey, who was cautiously watching her tight fist, holding the magical dollar coin, then Jefferson sprung his gaze round to Belle, as though he'd just remembered her. "Ah, Belle's bags are in the back of my car." He said, turning back to Mr Gold.

Peeling back the left side of green suede jacket, Mr Gold reached inside and withdrew his phone, and propped his arms onto the table, saying to Jefferson. "If you could put those in my trunk, I'll transfer your payment."

"Okay, boss." Jefferson gave Mr Gold a quick salute, then placed his hand on Gracey's shoulder, prompting her. "Say goodbye to Mr Gold, Gracey."

"Bye, Mr Gold." She said, without taking her attention away from her hand.

"Goodbye, Gracey." Mr Gold told her, lifting his gaze from his phone to watch her be escorted away by Jefferson.

"Have fun, kid." Jefferson mumbled to Belle as he passed by her, both his hands on his daughter's shoulders, steering her towards the path.

Turning to follow them with her eyes, Belle was hit with a vivid memory of her mother. Sat on the workbench, propped up in the corner, a book perched against her bent knees, hungrily tearing through the pages of the thick book. Vaguely, she remembered her mother trying to prompt her to help tidy the shop. 'Belle, could you grab a broom and sweep the back room?', 'Could you start bringing in the buckets from outside?', 'Maybe, you could pack up your homework and your books, Belle?'. With a shake of her head and a loving smile, her mother had directed Belle off the bench, had held her jacket while Belle put it on and had guided Belle through the shop, with a hand at the base of Belle's neck, steering and propelling her daughter forward as her mother had turned off the lights and had shut things down for the night. Casting her eyes down, Belle hated that she hadn't treasured those moments more with her mother. Reading too many books, instead of cherishing the short amount of time, she'd had with her mother.

Hindsight was a bitch.

"So," Mr Gold drawled, pulling Belle out of her regrets. "Did it go as well as you'd hoped?"

Belle slightly twisted to see him sat at the table, his phone laid on it in front of him, his hands clasped together above it, with his forearms braced on the edge, waiting expectantly for her answer. Her whole body tingled at the sight of him. His hair was combed to the side, perfectly in place. The collar of the green suede jacket was turned up, hugging the back of his neck. The white shirt underneath called to her, drew her eye to the top buttons he had left undone, teasing her to peek through the gap at his smooth chest. The lure of him was undeniable – a three-piece suit or casual clothing - Belle wanted him.

"Hmm…" She wrapped her arms across her chest, preventing her from running over and delving her hands inside his shirt, as she pivoted on her feet to face him. "Jefferson played his role very well… Too well."

The corners of his lips twitched. "He has a flair for the dramatics at times. I thought it'd come in handy for your ruse."

"It's funny, actually. I met him a couple of weeks ago, in my father's shop." Belle bravely poked him.

"Did you?" He queried, raising his eyebrows in surprise at her remark.

"Hmm…" Her head nodded at him. "Yeah, came in and bought some flowers for his wife, made small talk."

Mr Gold's head lifted, protruding his chin out, before his head fell back down, telling her. "Must have been buying flowers for his late wife."

"Late wife?" She questioned, crinkling her brow.

He nodded his head as he pressed his hands down onto the table and pushed himself up from the bench. "Yeah, she died not long after Gracey was born."

Bowing her head, guiltily, Belle felt sorry for Gracey and Jefferson, personally knowing their heartache. "How terrible for them."

"Yes, well…" He commented as strolled across the small space between them, putting his phone into the inside pocket of his jacket, while close by, there was the sound of an engine roaring to life. "Some people have the luxury of ignorance."

Her head angled to the side, whilst her eyes grew into slits, sensing there was a hidden meaning behind his words. "What do you mean?"

"You don't miss something, you've never had." He proclaimed, stood in front of her.

"Oh…" She uttered, studying his face.

Composed, regal – Mr Gold didn't look any different than he usually did. Yet, as Belle considered him as he peeled back the right side of his jacket, reached inside and claimed his sunglasses, she felt he was hiding something. His words were generalised. An opinion shared by most. But there was something, hidden below the surface, as Mr Gold slid his sunglasses into place, being the perfect picture of indifference. The further she regarded him, the more she became convinced that his opinion came from his own experience, rather than the populace's opinion.

"Shall we?" Mr Gold held his left hand out towards the path.

Glancing to the path, Belle couldn't help the wide grin that spread like wildfire across her lips. Her toes were clenched tightly, inside of her pumps. With a tidal wave of excitement flowing through her, flooding down to her fingers and crashing downward to her toes, to then rush back through her limbs to centre in her chest. Making it feel too tight to take a breath. There was nothing to stop her now. Not her father, Ruby, or work. Only Belle could stop herself from taking the final step towards her fantasy, and she took the step without a second thought.

The sunlight peeking through the gaps in the branches danced up and over the bonnet of the Cadillac, and jumped up the windscreen onto the roof, sliding easily down the rear window to drop off the rear of the trunk. From behind the cover of his sunglasses, Adam peered out of the corner of his eye at Belle, sitting in the passenger seat beside him. Her fidgeting distracted him. She had been still at the beginning of the journey, but grew more restless the further they got into their journey. Adam was used to people being nervous around him. From tenants, to the townsfolk, to his past adversaries in the courtroom, and he enjoyed unsettling people with just his presence. Yet, seeing her beside him, squirm more and more, troubled him.

Turning his gaze back to the road, he hadn't considered she would be uncomfortable in his company. Maybe, the backdrop of The Club and the pursuit of pleasure, had helped to take her mind off the unease she felt with him. It was just another reason for him to lodge under the other reasons, why this was a bad decision.

Madness had entered his mind Wednesday night, when he had foolishly run with a surprising need to be her hero, to offer her a chance of salvation, while inviting her into the sanctum of his privacy. It hadn't been until after he had watched her go down the alleyway, behind her house, and had slipped through the back gate, it had dawned on him. He had invited her to go away with him. To spend a week with him. In his most coveted place in the world, where no one, other than Neil, was permitted. It must have been madness, he had deduced on his journey home, half paying attention to the road, while the argument between his head and his heart had ensued. The whole thing was insanity – his feelings, his fantasies, his invitation. He was old, smart and wise enough to know better. But as his Cadillac had rocked to a stop on his drive and he had moved the gear selector into park, a small smile had graced his lips.

Flexing his grip on the steering wheel, he hated the evil voice that had hoped Belle wouldn't have been able to get the time off work. It had been short notice after all. Granny's was the main hub of the town. Morning, noon and night. The place was always bustling with people. It would've been understandable, if Granny had said no. Hell, if an employee of his own had come asking the same thing, he would've fired them. However, when his phone had beeped on his workbench and he had picked it up to see 'Miss French – I got the week off', the voice had quietened and he had smiled.

Adam had found himself smiling far too often and a definite spring had been in his step. How she had managed to turn his world upside down without him knowing, was puzzling him. Nothing, he had done with Belle, he hadn't done with any other woman. He had broken them in before, had shown them the ropes, and had dominated them to the end of their tethers. There was still so much for Belle to learn, so much he wanted to show her. With these troublesome feelings, tormenting him, distracting him, he needed to draw a line through them and prove to himself that they would never work. Whatever this was, whatever he felt for her, was not enough. Love, desire, infatuation – Adam knew, one or all of these things, would never be a sufficient reason to bare himself to her.

Cora had taught him that cruel lesson.

Breathing in deeply, he let his foot off the gas and let the car coast for a few yards before he used his middle finger to push down the turn signal. Belle's whole body jolted as she took note of his action. He allowed himself a noticeable glance in her direction, while he applied the brake, preparing to take the turn into the hidden entrance of the track, leading to his cabin. The road began to bend to the right. On the edge of the shoulder, was a wall of tall bushes concealing the entrance, making it easy. Her eyes were the widest he had seen them, when he suddenly took the turn, flicking his eyes from the entrance to her nervous face.

"Is this it?" Belle inquired, leaning forward to get a better look out of the window.

He told her with an easy smile, when she snapped her gaze to him. "Just a little way down this track and we'll be there."

"I thought it'd be closer to town… But then I thought, it'd be further away from town… But it's… Not that far at all, is it?" She babbled at him, while her eyes bounced from the view out of the windscreen, to her passenger window, to his driver's side window, repeating over and over.

"It's far enough." He commented.

An easy silence settled as the Cadillac rocked slightly from side to side, like it always did during the short trek down the track. Glimpsing at Belle, Adam felt like he should say something more to her. Settle her nerves. Reassure her that she was safe with him. What he could tell her alluded him, given that his reputation served its purpose and put people on edge around him. So, he pursed his lips, missing the opportunity and detesting himself, his past and the reputation, which had served him well for a long time.

The track narrowed as it curved through an arch of the dense bushes. Then opened out onto the front of the cabin, looking idyllic and picturesque in the early afternoon sunshine. Adam fell in love with it, every time he saw it. The original cabin and the land had caught his eye shortly after he had moved to Storybrooke with Neal. He had paid a little more than the asking price, in aid of quickening up the purchasing process, but it had been worth it in the end. While they had stayed in the older cabin, enjoying weekends away and some weeks during the summer, Adam had made it his pet project to prepare the land for the new cabin that stood before them in the clearing. With too much time to think after Cora had dumped him and Neal had gone to college, the completion of the cabin had served as the perfect distraction. A lot of his weekends had been spent there. Overseeing the development of his dream. Doing as much of the work as he could himself. Everything inside of the cabin was an extension of himself. The wood, the stone, the furniture, the way the light shone through the windows – Adam had envisioned all of it. Which is why, he must have suffered a short break in sanity, when he had invited Belle to his personal haven.

"Oh my God!" Belle murmured as she angled herself forward to see the upper floor windows, while the car sedately rolled to park in front of the cabin. "This, is your cabin?"

"Last time I checked, it was." He teased with the left side of his mouth crooking into a smile, as he put the gear lever into park.

She twisted to give him a hard look that instantly softened, giving way to the most incredible smile Adam had ever seen. "It's just…" Her eyes drifted to the cabin. "So stunning."

"Yes," Adam studied her profile as he said. "It is quite beautiful."

Belle turned her head to look at him, beaming a wider smile. "I can't wait to see inside."

Turning off the engine, he slid the key out of ignition, telling her with a grin. "Better not keep the lady waiting then."

It couldn't have been possible, but Belle's smile became enormous before she became a blur of activity, pulling the latch of her door, clambering out of his car and rounding the front of the Cadillac to get to the front door of his cabin. He observed her, bewildered. Not more than ten seconds ago, he was chastising himself for making her uneasy. As he watched her, taking in the flower beds at the front of the cabin, Adam was confused by her excitement. And again, like so many times already that week, he smiled, genuinely smiled at being wrong.

"These roses are beautiful!" She exclaimed, bent over, inspecting one of the large blooms of a rosebush.

Grasping the latch of his door, he pulled it and opened his door, saying as he got out of his car. "I added a new mulch to the beds in the spring. Must have done the trick."

The door clunked shut as Belle said, standing up right. "My mother would've loved these." She turned her gaze to the mirroring flower bed behind her. "She used to grow roses in our back garden."

"I remember." A piece of bark was kicked to one side as Adam started towards the cabin, joining her on the small stone path to the front porch, pocketing his car keys in his jeans as he walked towards her. "She gave me some great advice on growing roses."

"She did?" Her head snapped round to meet his gaze; her surprise evident on her face.

Adam removed his sunglasses as he answered her quizzical question. "During one of the yearly inspections, we got chatting about it. I had often asked her advice on growing certain plants. She was a very clever lady, your mother, and very knowledgeable."

"Yeah," Belle's lips pursed together for a brief second, as her eyes moistened. "She loved her plants and flowers."

Spontaneously, his right hand reached out to her and his hand clasped her upper arm, while his fingers gave her a reassuring squeeze. "Are you okay?"

She breathed in heavily through her nose and readily nodded her head at him, waving her hand at his concern. "It's just… It's nice to hear someone talk about her."

He smiled at her, then waved his hand holding his sunglasses at the cabin, suggesting to her. "Shall we?"

"Yes!" Her mood immediately changed and she bounced the couple of steps onto the porch, twirling round to tell him with a smile. "I still can't believe I'm here!"

"Indeed, I was surprised, myself, that Granny had given you the week off." He agreed as he followed her onto the porch, stowing his sunglasses in the pocket of his jacket and then delved his hand into another pocket to retrieve the keys to the cabin.

Her smile wavered before Belle casted her gaze away, schooling her features, saying under her breath as he passed her. "Yeah… That too."

While selecting the required key from the small selection, Adam coiled his upper body to look back at her, unsure of what exactly she had said and of her meaning. She met his curious look and flashed him a smile as she grabbed the flaps of her denim jacket and wrapped them tightly around herself. Shrugging his brow, he let his curiosity go and turned back to the front door, taking a step closer to it. He felt, rather than heard or saw, her take a step closer. As the key went into the lock, Adam glanced over his shoulder to see her hovering close behind him.

'She doesn't belong here.' The vicious voice insisted. 'Whatever you feel for her, isn't real. It's a craving that'll pass.'

But as Adam looked at Belle, he didn't feel any truth in what the voice was telling him. He had mused over it several times. Dissected it. Built it back up, layer by layer. Went through it, every which way he could contemplate. Though, it scared the hell out of him to open the door to his cabin, let her see his underbelly, he couldn't think of any other way to see if this would work.

If he had whisked her away, flying her to some remote hotel, where no one knew them and put them somewhere alien, it wouldn't have been real. What he and Milah had shared, during her stay in Scotland, had been some sort of a fantasy. The Milah, who had cheekily suggested, they meet for a drink to commiserate her loss and celebrate his win, had been an illusion. That night in her hotel room, she had been compliant, playful and one hell of a fuck. Whereas, the real Milah he had met in New York, when he had joined her, had been the polar opposite. Combative, overbearing, and heartless. Although, Adam would admit, he hadn't really felt anything for her, so her heartlessness wasn't an issue with him. But with Neal, that had been another matter.

The lock clicked back as the key finished its turn and Adam shifted his stance, turning his back more to Belle, blocking her view of his face. Coolly, he blew out a very quiet breath. His heart was pounding in his ears. His veins vibrated throughout his entire body.

The significance of this week meant nothing to Belle. The impact of her staying in his sanctuary was lost on her. If she could fit into this part of his life, be with him, then he could dare himself to think of something more. If she couldn't fit and proved him right, that what they had was just physical. Then their agreement would run its course and he'd set her free.

Adam pushed down on the handle and pushed the door open, letting it swing wide open on its own, while he stepped aside, holding out his arm as an invitation. "Ladies first."

Her smile was shy as she hesitantly took a step over the threshold, glimpsing at him over her shoulder, for what appeared to be reassurance. He motioned with his already extending hand to go ahead. Taking another step into the entryway, her next step was slower, whilst her eyes scanned the large open plan living space. As Belle took another step, moving away from the doorway, Adam stepped inside behind her, pocketing his keys in his jacket.

"Wow…" Her whisper was loud in the quiet cabin.

It was easy to follow her gaze from the large kitchen area, across to the piano sitting in the far corner, to the sunken sitting area in the middle, then on to where his small office was situated, with his bedroom door nestled amongst its bookcases. Her head tilted to follow the staircase upstairs to the walkway above, connecting the two bedrooms above, as she moved further away from the entryway. Clasping his hands in front of him, he followed her with his eyes. Belle clearly stood out from her surroundings, but she didn't look out of place. Straightening his back, rolling his shoulders, he was happy and vexed about it at the same time.

Twirling round to face him, Belle walked backwards towards the kitchen area, smiling at him. "This is not what I imagined at all."

"And what was it, you imagined?" He inquired, remaining in the entryway.

"Something a lot smaller." She confessed, letting her gaze climb to the skylights above, in the exposed roof, beaming light down onto the sitting area.

Casting his gaze up, he said. "There's no limitation, when you're dreaming. Only the limitations of your imagination."

Belle's hand came to rest on the back of a stool at the breakfast bar. "That's pretty profound."

Adam smoothly moved his attention to her, while appearing indifferent. "That's reality, dearie. Think big, or get stuck at the bottom."

It was evident his words had hit her, from the rapid blink of her eyes, the rapid dissolve of her smile and the parting of her lips, to the heavy sag of her shoulders. He offered her nothing. No little smile. No small shrug of his shoulder. Adam had meant to hit her. Being kind to her wouldn't prove that incessant voice wrong, and it wouldn't serve his agenda.

"I'll get your bags and then show you to your room." And he turned away from her to head back outside.

When he reached the trunk of his car, Adam breathed out heavily through his nose as he claimed his car keys from the right pocket in his jeans. He couldn't be kind to her. It didn't serve his agenda for the week. He needed to prove they wouldn't work. Otherwise, Adam had to fully commit to his feelings and accept them, and tell her. Let himself grow closer to her. Open up about things he had kept hidden. The thought of doing that with anyone, scared him. Sharing himself with Belle - absolutely terrified him. Opening up his heart again? The one time he had allowed himself to do that, Cora had plunged a dagger into his back and through his heart. And if what he felt for Belle was true, it would destroy him, if she broke his heart.

Being alone was a more agreeable option.

With his hand in his pocket, grasping his keys, his gaze settled on a spot of the trunk lid, where the paint gleamed in the sunlight. He didn't care what Jefferson thought, he was wrong. How could loneliness bother him, when it was all, he'd ever known? His faithful companion through his childhood, his university days, his days at his father's law firm, his marriage to Milah… Every day since Neil had left for college and to start his own life away from Storybrooke. No, he wasn't lonely. Never had been a day in his life.

"I thought you had your sex club thing, if you got lonely?" Jefferson had queried from his perch, on one of the workbenches in the back of Adam's shop.

"I'm not lonely." Adam had hissed, hating the allegation.

"Then why go to all this trouble? For her?" Jefferson had flicked his hand in the general direction of Granny's. "If it's not for business, or money, then it must be personal."

Lifting his eyes from the figures he had been reading, he had glared over his reading glasses at Jefferson. "If I believed I needed someone to analyse what I'm feeling, I'd visit Doctor Hopper's office." He had stabbed his finger at Jefferson. "I pay you to do a job. Not to be my shrink."

Jefferson hadn't shied from Adam's glare. In fact, he had grinned across the room at Adam.

"So…" A smug look had appeared on Jefferson's face. "Instead of me trying to find her boyfriend, you want me to pretend to be her boyfriend." His eyebrows had flexed before he had said. "Eddie."

Relaxing his features, Adam had nodded his head, saying. "Pick her up from Granny's, on Sunday, pretending to be 'Eddie', and deliver her to me."

"Do we have a backstory for 'Eddie'? Or can I go wild with it?" Jefferson had asked, waving his hands wildly through the air in front of him.

As he had spoken, Adam had returned to reading through the rent figures. "He's a divorced businessman."

There had been a loud snort, from where Jefferson had been sat. "Really? A divorced businessman?"

"Yes." He had said before he had raised his gaze, from the papers in his hands to Jefferson again, giving him a pointed look. "Problem?"

"Oh, no, boss!" Jefferson had shaken his head, with his hands held up in surrender. "Just clarifying the details."

"I'll message Miss French, when you're on your way to Granny's." He had told him, while returning to his figures.

"So, what's the deal between you and Miss French then? There must be something going on between you, for you to go to all this trouble for her." Jefferson had swiftly changed the subject.

Ripping his reading glasses from his face, Adam had slammed his hands holding the papers and his glasses down onto the workbench, declaring to Jefferson. "My business is my business, Jefferson! I thought you were well aware of this, by now! Or should I find someone else to do this job?"

"No, no! You don't need to find anybody else! I'll do it, I'll do it!" Jefferson had insisted.

Slipping his glasses back into place, relaxing his shoulders, he had angled his papers to read the figures again, as he told Jefferson. "Good, because I just want this done without any further questions. It's simple enough job. Pick her up and bring her to me."

There was a little squeak of air being sucked in through a tight gap before Jefferson said. "It's just makes me curious, that's all. First, you ask me to find out who her boyfriend is, and now, you want me to play her boyfriend."

"Jefferson." Adam had growled out the other man's name in warning, exasperated with conversation as he had dropped his papers again, fixing his gaze on Jefferson.

"I know, I know!" There was no remorse in Jefferson's tone, just a smug grin. "But I don't get what you're getting out of this, if it's not business. Normally, you want information or something doing for your own gain. But this…" He had wafted his hand through the air, trying to find the right word. "Is weird, if it's not personal."

"Would it shut you up, if I said it was personal?" Adam had demanded, tired with the conversation, as he snatched his glasses off his face again.

Jefferson had pouted his bottom lip out in thought. "No, I don't think so."

"You're infuriating, do you know that?" He had claimed, tossing the papers and his glasses onto the workbench.

"I can be." There had been no hesitation with his agreement. "But it's never been so easy to get under your skin before, so she must mean something to you." Jefferson had shared his deduction.

Staring at Jefferson, he had realised Jefferson had been right. Keeping his cool was something he took pride in. He had canted back into his chair, making it squeak, while he had let out a heavy breath as he scowled across at Jefferson's mischievous grin. This was just another reason he had chalked up to why they wouldn't work, why he couldn't allow himself to love her. For love was a weakness.

Well… The kind he felt for Belle was.

Adam slammed down the trunk of the Cadillac, his gaze on the cabin, on the open doorway, seeing her stood in front of the breakfast bar in hid mind. His relationships with Milah and Cora had hardened him, but Belle made him want to be soft. To wrap her up in his arms, protect her, provide for her, be at her side with a fierceness he had never experienced. Looking down at his splayed hand on the trunk lid, Adam refused to be weak. It torturous to want her in so many ways, but he couldn't trust himself. His own heart had betrayed him, and his mind was quickly turning disloyal to join ranks with his heart. That's why this week was so important to him. Regaining control of himself, of his world. By the end of their week away, Adam would prove his own prophecy to be right – They could never work.