Again - nods to Notting Hill in this one. And I don't own Notting Hill or Once Upon a Time.
Chapter 13
Nick, Bae, Emma and Ruby sat in the back room at Nick's shop, staring at the tapestry that Belle left for him. "So – this cup – she dropped it, and broke it, and you kept it." Bae said.
"She just chipped it. And yes. I took it home and when she stayed with me I told her that – it was all I had to remind me of her." Nick said. "I'm pretty sure she did it from memory." Jefferson entered the room to put a few items away while the rest of them continued to talk. "She also said to me before she left – 'Right now I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her'." Nick said. They were all silent for a moment.
"Shit." Emma said.
"And you let her go." Ruby said, then she bit her lip.
Jefferson let out a quiet cough then said "Idiot." under his breath, then coughed again.
"No. No, you did the right thing, dad." Bae said. Nick turned and looked at Emma and Ruby, and both of them shook their heads. Nick then turned to look at Jefferson. Jefferson mouthed the word 'idiot' at him once again, then left the room.
"Oh fuck, I made the wrong choice, didn't I?" Nick said.
"You still love her?" Emma asked.
"Yeah." Nick said.
"Then go after her, dumbass." Emma said.
"How? Emma, she's leaving for Los Angeles, she's probably already gone, and if she's not she's probably checking out of her hotel." Nick said.
"Do you know where she's staying?" Emma asked.
"She usually stays at the Carlyle, that's her favorite." Nick said. "Even if she's still there – it's almost noon, she's probably checking out right now and there's no way I'll make it there in lunchtime traffic."
"Maybe you can." Emma said.
"Emma, do not get involved in this, I forbid it." Bae said angrily.
"You FORBID me? Fuck you!" Emma said angrily at Bae. She took out her phone. "Yeah – Smee. You on patrol today? Good – come over to Nick's shop. Hey, remember last year when I covered for you and said you owed me one. Well this is the one you owe me, get your ass over here right now." Emma said, and she hung up.
"What are you doing?" Nick asked.
"Get your jacket, Nick – we're going for a ride." Emma said, and she walked out into the main store area. The others followed.
"Emma – don't you dare do this or else -" Bae said.
"Or else what? You know what, Bae? Just because you can't get your shit together enough to make a real commitment doesn't mean that other people can't or shouldn't have the chance to." Emma said.
"You're just gonna leave your son here?" Bae asked.
"I'm leaving him with his father and his aunt for about an hour, if that, I'm assuming you can handle it." Emma said. "Do I need to call a sitter?"
"Henry will be fine, we'll take care of him." Ruby said. The door to Nick's shop opened, and officer William Smee, one of Emma's colleagues, entered.
"So what's the big emergency?" Smee asked.
"Give me your keys." Emma said.
"What? You're on maternity leave!" Smee shouted.
"And you owe me, now give me your damn keys." Emma said, and she held out her hand.
"If you get me in trouble, Emma –" Smee began.
"Just chill. Go have a cup of coffee or a donut or something." Emma said. She turned to Nick, who had put his jacket on. "You coming?" she asked him. Nick followed behind Emma.
"Good luck, daddy!" Ruby said.
"Aren't you gonna wish him good luck too, Bae?" Emma asked. Bae glared angrily at Nick and Emma and stomped into the back room. "Fuck him – let's go." she said to Nick.
Emma turned the sirens on as soon as she and Nick sat down in the car. "How much trouble will you get in if you get caught doing this?" Nick asked.
"A shitload, why?" Emma asked.
"Just wondering." Nick replied. Emma maneuvered in and out of traffic, sirens blaring the entire time. They reached the Carlyle hotel in record time. Emma pulled up near the hotel just as a limousine had parked in front of it. Nick saw a small group of about a dozen or so photographers waiting outside the hotel. He got out of the car and saw Belle walking toward the limo with an Asian woman whom he assumed was her manager, as well as a couple of security guards. Emma got out of the car and stood next to him.
"If you don't go after her, I'm going to arrest you." Emma said.
"For what?" Nick asked.
"I don't know – criminal stupidity. I risked my ass AND my career to get you over here. GO!" Emma said angrily. Nick walked as fast as he could toward the crowed of photographers. There were also a small group of autograph seekers standing outside the hotel. Belle stopped to greet them, sign a few things and pose for some photos. The photographers shouted questions at her the entire time.
"Belle!" Nick called out, as loud as he possibly could, but Belle didn't hear him, his voice blending in with the cacophony of sound. He was unable to get near her as she approached the limousine. "Belle!" he called out again, but she continued to ignore his call as it blended in with all of the other voices that surrounded her. He knew he had to do something that would get her attention. "Martha Francis!" he finally called out. Belle looked up, not expecting to hear that name shouted at her in a crowd of paparazzi. She finally saw Nick in the crowd. "Yes!" Nick shouted at her. "Is it too late to say yes?" he asked in a shout. Belle could barely hear him through the crowd, but she knew exactly what he was saying. Belle broke away from her security team and shoved herself through the crowding press, and she darted toward Nick.
"Belle, what the hell are you doing!" Mulan shouted after her. "Go get her!" Mulan said to the two security guards, who pushed through the photographers and followed behind Belle. Belle reached Nick's side as the cameras surrounded her.
"Is it too late to change my mind?" Nick asked. Belle shook her head.
"No." she replied, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. The paparazzi went wild, snapping photos left and right as they kissed for nearly a minute. Belle's security team reached her.
"Miss French, you have to go." one of the men said.
"He comes with me." Belle said, gripping Nick's hand tightly. The two security guards ushered Belle and Nick toward the limo as the paparazzi continued to snap photos and shout questions, none of which Belle answered. She never let go of Nick's hand as they carefully maneuvered the crowd. When they reached the limousine, one of the men opened the door and Belle entered, with Nick following behind.
When the door to the limo was closed, Belle and Nick sat facing Mulan, who looked Nick up and down.
"Who the hell is this?" Mulan asked.
"Mulan – this is Nick Gold. Nick, this is my manager Mulan."
"Nice to meet you." Nick said as he extended his hand.
"Yeah." Mulan said, and she reluctantly returned the courtesy. "What is he doing here?"
"He's coming with me." Belle said. "To the airport." Belle turned to Nick. "I still have to go to LA, but I'll be back in two weeks, and then we'll sort everything out from there, alright? Unless you want to come with me."
"To California?" Nick asked. "Now?"
"Sure. You can ask Jefferson to watch the shop, right? Or Ruby maybe – it won't be for long." Belle suggested.
"Belle I don't have any luggage or anything at all with me." Nick said.
"Do you have your ID?" Belle asked.
"Well yes, but -"
"Then you can come with me. I'll text my assistant Ariel back in LA and have her pick up whatever you need – clothes, toiletries, anything you like. She'll probably have it all at my house before we even land. Please say yes." Belle said.
"I – alright yes." Nick said as he laughed a bit, and Belle pulled him into a kiss. Mulan made a face.
"Belle – he doesn't have a plane ticket." Mulan said.
"Then get him one." Belle said.
"The plane leaves in less than three hours." Mulan said.
"Well then you'd better start making phone calls, right? I want him on that plane with me, sitting NEXT to me, or I'm not going." Belle said.
"You have interviews and business meetings scheduled all day tomorrow. And now pictures of you are going to be all over the web kissing this guy today. What am I supposed to tell Aurora to say about that?" Mulan asked.
"'This guy' is the man I love, and he has a name, and I'm not going to hide him or my feelings for him any longer. You will treat Nick with the same respect you treat me – or we're going to have a problem. Now get him a ticket." Belle said angrily. Mulan glared at both of them.
"You heard her." Nick chimed in, and he gave Belle a kiss on the cheek. Mulan reluctantly picked up her phone and started making calls. Belle smiled at Nick, and he put his arm around her and pulled her into a kiss. "You did that tapestry from memory, didn't you?" he asked.
"Yeah. You liked it?" Belle asked.
"It's beautiful." Nick said.
"Our chipped cup." Belle said as she smiled at him. "I love you."
"And I love you." Nick replied, and they began to kiss again.
"Okay, do I really need to watch this, can't you wait until you get to your place in LA?" Mulan remarked.
"We've waited long enough." Belle said as she snuggled up to Nick.
"I suppose you'll be doing this the entire flight too?" Mulan asked.
"How long is the flight?" Nick asked.
"Five or six hours." Belle replied.
"Maybe half the flight. I'm assuming we'll eat at some point, right?" Nick asked.
"I'll probably want to take a bit of a nap too, I'm still not quite adjusted to the time change." Belle said.
"Alright, so that's what, about two hours for a nap, about an hour for dinner, and – yeah half the flight, that sounds about right." Nick quipped. Belle laughed and kissed him again.
"Great. I'll make sure I'm sitting far enough away so that I don't have to watch. Or maybe I'll just move to coach." Mulan said as she made a face. Belle and Nick ignored her as they continued to kiss.
Nick glanced around in awe as he entered the foyer of Belle's house. It was almost ten o'clock in the evening in California. Neither of them slept on the plane as they hoped they would – they were far too caught up in conversation and kissing and cuddling and just being together to even think about sleep. When they landed at LAX, Belle suggested dinner. Nick felt he wasn't dressed for anything too fancy, so they settled on a local semi-fast food hamburger chain. They were both exhausted from the flight and jet lag. "Come on – let me show you around." Belle said, and she took Nick's hand and led him through the house. Her house was practically a mansion – Nick had never even been in a house this big. Even in his days working on Wall Street, most of his business associates lived in apartments in Manhattan, and those who didn't came into town to conduct business.
"Belle – you live in this big house all alone?" Nick asked.
"Well I'm not here all the time but – yes." Belle said. She took him into the living room. This is my main living room, I have a big screen TV, sound system – you're free to spend whatever time you like in here." she said. He then followed her into the kitchen. "Ariel knew that I'd be home for a couple of weeks and she knew you were coming so I'm pretty well stocked with food. You can help yourself to whatever you like, use the stove, oven, whatever. My dining room is next door – your tapestry is hanging in there. I eat in the kitchen here when I'm alone though most of the time." Belle said.
"Do you have map? I'm liable to get lost in here." Nick said. Belle chuckled a bit.
"I'll show you the rest of the house tomorrow, as well as the grounds. I'm really tired, I just want to go to bed." Belle said.
"Yeah – me too." Nick said.
"All the bedrooms are upstairs, are you able to -" Belle began.
"I can manage stairs, Belle, as long as you have a railing." Nick said. They went back through the living room and headed up the stairs.
"Ariel probably put everything she bought for you in the guest room, let's check." Belle said, and he followed her into one of the bedrooms. Belle opened the closet and it was filled with an entire wardrobe of clothes for Nick.
"Jesus Belle, what did she do, buy the entire fucking men's department at the store?" Nick asked.
"Well she probably wasn't sure what you liked, but everything should be your size. Anything you don't want I'll donate to charity." Belle said. "There's probably more in the dresser – pajamas and underwear and things. All of your toiletries are probably in the attached bathroom. I know you said not to buy shoes because of your leg – we can go shopping for those tomorrow, I should be done with all of my meetings by about three."
"How much money are you spending on me, Belle?" Nick asked.
"You don't worry about that, alright?" Belle said. "Nick, if this is going to work, the reality is I do have money and I do have more than you and I don't mind sharing it with you. Are you okay with that?"
"It'll take some getting used to but – yeah. Alright." Nick said. "Belle, um – where do you want me to sleep?"
"Where do you want to sleep?" Belle asked. "I mean – you can have the guest room or – you can stay with me." Nick was quiet for a moment. "Nick, I don't expect you to share a bed with me if you're not ready for that yet. It's your call. My room is the door right across the hall." Belle said. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and left the room. Nick searched through the dresser drawers and found a pair of pajamas to wear – actually there were about ten pair to choose from. He went into the bathroom, took a quick shower and got ready for bed. He thought about whether or not sleeping with Belle right now was a good idea. They did talk the entire flight, and over dinner, and they talked through quite a bit of their frustrations regarding their relationship. Their talking left Nick very confident that all of this was going to work out, it would just take time. Perhaps it was best that they not rush into things this time, he decided. Nick climbed into the bed in the guest room, and he soon found himself tossing and turning just as he did that night on the sofa in his apartment. He was exhausted and jet-lagged and staying up all night was just not an option for him. He sighed and got out of the bed, picked up his cane, and ambled across the hall. The door to Belle's room was open, and he entered. She was already in bed. He wasn't sure if she was asleep or not, so he carefully lifted the covers and quietly got into bed with her. Belle rolled over and snuggled up next to him. "Took you long enough." she whispered.
"Couldn't sleep." Nick replied as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Neither could I." Belle said. "I have to get up early so – help yourself to anything you want for breakfast when you get up tomorrow. I'll probably be out on the patio for my meetings, you'll find it." Belle said.
"I won't bother you, you'll be busy." Nick said.
"I'm not hiding you, Nick. I want people to know we're together. Just come downstairs dressed, Mulan will be here most of the morning and if you come out to greet someone who's interviewing me in your pajamas she'll have a fit." Belle said.
"Okay." Nick said, and he kissed the top of her head. "I missed you so much, Belle. I don't ever want to spend another night away from you."
"You won't. I promise." Belle said, and they both drifted off to sleep.
Nick awoke the next morning and rolled over to reach for Belle, and found himself alone in her bed. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock – it read 10:41. Jesus, he never slept this late, and that was what, after 1:30 New York time. He got out of bed and went into the guest room. He looked through the closet of clothes that Belle's assistant set up for him. He didn't even have half this many clothes at home – so many choices. Some of them were very nice and far too expensive in his opinion, and some he wouldn't wear if you paid him. There was actually a pair of leather pants in there, what the bloody hell was he going to do with those? Nick settled on a pair of jeans and a white button-down shirt. He shaved, combed his hair, and headed downstairs. His first stop was the kitchen, where he found an abundance of any and every type of food imaginable. Belle already had a pot of coffee brewing so Nick helped himself to that, and he settled on making himself some scrambled eggs and toast. He sat down in the kitchen to eat. The size of Belle's house was overwhelming, and he couldn't imagine how she could bear to live in this place all by herself. She had been living such a lonely, isolated life all this time – Nick knew she had only a handful of friends but it was doubtful that she entertained that often. It's almost as if she were being kept prisoner in this place – a prisoner by choice, but it was no less isolating. After he finished his breakfast, he looked at the clock – it was just after 11:30. He set out to find Belle. She said she'd likely be on the patio, wherever the hell that was. He really wasn't joking last night about needing a map. Nick wandered through the house a bit until he heard voices coming from outside the sliding doors attached to the far end of the living room. Nick quietly opened the doors and stepped outside. Belle was sitting on the patio deck with a young, handsome man – they were talking and laughing. Nick felt a twinge of jealousy hit him as he walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders in a rather possessive manner. Belle turned around and looked up at him.
"Hi. Thought you might sleep all day." Belle said as she stood up. She turned to face Nick and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Nick, this is Philip." she said. Philip stood up and shook Nick's hand.
"So you're the bloke who's stealing my Belle away from me?" Philip teased.
"Come on, sit." Belle said, and Nick sat down at the table with them. "Did you have breakfast?" she asked.
"Yeah." Nick said. "I thought you had meetings all morning."
"Oh, I was done with those by eleven. Philip called and I told him to stop on over, he just lives a few blocks away. I have another boring meeting with my financial adviser at one and then – I'm all yours for the rest of the afternoon." Belle said playfully. "We'll do a bit of that shopping and then – whatever else you like."
"Oh god, she's got you shopping with her? Don't do it mate, she'll have you give your opinion on every damn thing she tries on, tell you you're an idiot when you actually say what you truly think, and then you'll end up sitting outside of a dressing room holding a purse and looking like a damn fool. Trust me – stay home." Philip said.
"I've already gone down that road with her, unfortunately." Nick said.
"You're both terrible, I'm not that bad." Belle said. Both Philip and Nick look at her with disbelief. "Shut up. And anyway, we're not shopping for me, we're shopping for you."
"Oh that's even worse." Philip said.
"Well, I'm willing to endure a variety of tedious activities as long as I get spend time with my Belle." Nick said as he took her hand and smiled at her.
"Awww, you're so sweet." Belle said, and she gave him a quick kiss.
"Just remember, I warned you mate." Philip said. Nick laughed a bit.
"Belle didn't tell me you were a Londoner." Nick said.
"Yeah. Born and raised. I play mostly Yanks though – it's part of the secret plan for the Brits to take over here. Invade their television shows and films and then we'll conquer from there." Philip teased. "There are more British actors in Hollywood than in Britain, I think. Speaking of acting – I um – I've got my new script done and I finally found a backer for the film and – I was kind of hoping you'd take the lead role for me again."
"Philip, I'm taking a break for a bit after we leave LA. Nick and I want to spend some time together, I'm staying with him in New York. I'm sorry." Belle said.
"Well, it just so happens that I'm shooting it in New York, I'm already in the process of finalizing the permits for the outdoor work and booking sound stages. Hopefully we start filming in three months, four tops. Belle, just give the script a look, I'll bring a copy over tomorrow. I told my backer you were my first choice and he said if you don't take the role he has three actresses he wants to offer the part to and they're all raging bitches and I really don't want to work with them." Philip said.
"Well, Nick and I will talk it over and I'll get back to you." Belle said.
"Belle, if you want to do the film, do the film. I don't want to be holding you back." Nick said.
"No – we make these choices together now, we talked about that on the plane." Belle said. "I'm going to go make some us some sandwiches, do you want anything?" Belle asked Nick.
"I just had breakfast." Nick said. "Some iced tea would be good though."
"Okay – be right back." Belle said, and she left the patio.
"I'm really glad you and Belle are working this out, I just want you to know that." Philip said. "I've never seen her this happy before. I know she kind of fucked things up with you there for awhile, but I really hope you can get past all of that. This is a big step for her, and a very brave one. She got into the Hollywood bubble when she was very young and naïve and she's never really grasped the concept that she doesn't have to stay in it to still have a career – not until she met you. Just be really patient with her. She loves you."
"I know." Nick replied. "So the whole film is shot in New York?"
"There's a couple of scenes that we might move to Vermont if we can get the permits, for some outdoor scenes. But that would be two or three days tops, and you're welcome to tag along, it might be a nice little holiday for the two of you." Philip said. "But other than that, it'll be in the city, mostly on a sound stage and a few street scenes. It's all going to be shot in the daytime, and I understand you work all day in your shop so it really won't affect your time together much at all. I will work around her schedule as much as possible, I swear. Please get her to say yes. Tell her that I said my backer wants Ashley Boyd if she's reluctant, that'll get her to agree." Nick laughed a bit.
"Yes, that would probably do it." Nick said. "I'll see what I can do."
"Oh, and uh – you're probably going to have to endure all the wankers in the press over the next few weeks. My advice – ignore them. They'll go away eventually. No one is that interesting to be following around all hours of the day and night, it just seems that way in the moment." Philip said. "By the way – you do get that the only reason that Belle invited me here today is she wanted to get my stamp of approval on you, right?"
"I figured as much." Nick said. "So – am I approved?"
"Well, you're a huge improvement from fucking Tyler Gaston, I'll give you that much. And my mum's from Glasgow so that automatically gives you a few bonus points right there."
"No fucking way! You're half Glaswegian?" Nick asked.
"If you tell anyone I'll kill you." Philip said. "You just don't hurt Belle and we'll get on fine."
"I have no intention of doing any such thing. I love that girl like I've never loved anyone in my entire life." Nick said.
"Good. Welcome to the insanity of dating a famous actress, mate. Good luck – you'll need it." Philip said.
"I like Philip." Nick said as he stood in Belle's room that night, still dressed. Belle was removing her jewelry and shoes as he spoke. "Most Londoners are prats but – he seems like a nice bloke."
"I'm glad – I want the two of you to be friends." Belle said.
"And he was right about the shopping thing, you know." Nick said. Belle got up and walked over to him.
"Am I really that bad?" she asked as she put her arms around his waist and faced him.
"You, my dear, are the most annoying woman to shop with. Out of all the activities I'd enjoy doing with you, shopping ranks – pretty damned low on the list." Nick said. Belle laughed and gave him a kiss.
"Well, if we're being honest about things – you're a slob." Belle said.
"I beg your pardon." Nick said. Belle walked away from him and reached down on the floor – she picked up the pajama set he was wearing the night prior. "Well what was I supposed to do with those, I don't fucking live here and I have no luggage."
"I do have a laundry chute, I have a service that comes in twice a week when I'm here, put it in the laundry chute and it will get cleaned."
"Like I'm supposed to know where anything is in this fortress." Nick said. Belle sighed and walked out into the hallway and showed him as she tossed the clothes down the chute.
"I thought you would at least figure it out, but you couldn't even find your own hamper at your apartment so I shouldn't be surprised. And don't bother with the clothes you wore here, I already picked those up this morning." Belle said.
"This is from the girl who leaves dishes everywhere. And you call ME a slob." Nick said. "Anything else you'd like to complain about?"
"Yes." Belle said. "You haven't kissed me enough today."
"You were in meetings most of the day and I didn't think that the shopping mall was an appropriate place for a massive amount of PDA." Nick said.
"So it's up to you to figure out a way to make up for all of that lost time then." Belle said. "Or do I have to do everything?" Belle threw her arms around Nick and kissed him, and he kissed her back as she began to push hem backward until they had reached her bed, and she shoved him backward onto it. She began to unbutton his shirt, and then she kissed him up and down his bare chest.
"Belle. Are you sure we should um – well, do this?" Nick asked as he gently pushed her off of himself. "It's not that I don't want to Belle – I DO want to, but –"
"You're afraid I'll leave you again." Belle said.
"It is a bit of a pattern with you." Nick said, and he sat up. Belle sat up with him.
"Nick – that first night, you asked me to stay forever. And I never answered you. I'm giving you my answer now. I want forever." Belle said. She touched his cheek and looked him in the eyes. "I want longer than forever if that's possible. I love you." Nick kissed her once again.
"Would you um – would you be willing to go with me to my therapist when we get back to New York? It's just my experience that talking these things through with a neutral third party – well, it helps. And I want to resolve any problems before they start if we're really going to make a go of this." Nick said.
"Of course I would." Belle replied. "We don't have to wait if you don't want to – we can see my therapist here in LA." Nick laughed a bit.
"You see a therapist?" Nick asked.
"I'm an actress Nick, of course I do. It's kind of a job requirement." Belle said. "Nick, I do love you. I know that I hurt you and I know that sorry doesn't even begin to make up for that. I will spend the rest of my life making up for that if I have to." She kissed him softly on the lips. "If you want to wait – we'll wait. I'm pretty tired anyway." Nick grabbed her and kissed her.
"Maybe we've waited long enough already." he said as he began to remove her top. He lifted it over her head then fumbled with her bra until he unhooked it and removed it as well. He pushed her back onto the bed and began to kiss her on the lips, down her neck, and he worked his way down to her breasts, caressing them gently with his tongue.
"Are you sure?" Belle asked.
"Belle, if I don't have you soon I'm going to explode." Nick said.
"Well – can't have that, can we?" Belle said. She reached around his neck, grabbed his hair, and pulled him close. "Just make sure you pick up after yourself, I won't have your clothes lying all over the floor. I'm not your maid."
"Does this have to be done right after or can it wait until morning?" Nick asked.
"Morning is fine." Belle replied.
"Well alright then." Nick said. He removed his unbuttoned shirt and flung it onto the floor. "Now where were we?" he asked, and he kissed her once again.
The next morning, Nick had been awake for nearly an hour, watching Belle as she slept nestled in his arms. The last two nights he half expected to awaken only to find that all of this had been a dream. But it wasn't. He was here, with her. He loved her. She loved him. She promised forever. He knew there would be difficulty ahead, especially with her career and – well, with Bae, who still hadn't spoken to him after he left despite several messages that Nick left for him. It was about 8 a.m. California time when his cell phone rang – Nick reached for it carefully, trying not to disturb Belle. "Hello?" he whispered quietly.
"Hi Daddy." Ruby said.
"Hey sweetheart. How is everything there?" Nick asked.
"Daddy, um – have you and Belle looked online lately at the gossip sites?"
"Ruby, why would we waste our time doing that? Why are you wasting your time with it, I've told you not to repeatedly." Nick said. Belle began to awaken as Nick spoke to Ruby. She shifted her weight in his arms and nestled even closer to him. Nick gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head and began to run his fingers through her hair.
"I'm gonna send you a link in a text – I think you need to see it. Call me after you do so we can figure out what to do next." Ruby said. "And don't worry, it'll all be okay." Ruby hung up the phone and Nick got a puzzled look on his face. What on earth was she talking about, he wondered. He glanced down at Belle, who was still half asleep in his arms.
"I'm sorry about that, sweetheart. Go back to sleep." Nick whispered.
"Who was that?" Belle asked groggily.
"Just Ruby. She's texting me a link from a gossip site, probably more bullshit." Nick said. His phone alerted him that he had a text message. Belle sat up and reached for his phone and Nick grabbed her wrist. "No – we talked about this on the plane, we're not worrying about the press, right?"
"I just want to see what it is." Belle said, and she pulled away from him. She grabbed his phone and opened up the text. "Oh, good lord. This was what they came up with?" she said. Nick took the phone from her and looked at the article. There was a photo of Nick and Belle kissing in New York outside of the hotel. The photo caption read "Beauty and the Beast."
"Nick, I'm sorry – I told you they're cruel, you don't deserve that." Belle said. Belle had only glanced at the photo and caption, but Nick was reading the entire article.
"This is all about me, Belle. My store, my KIDS, my past – why the fuck do they even care?" Nick asked.
"Because you're dating me. You're a celebrity by association. Sorry." Belle said.
"They'll swarm my shop. Good lord, they'll probably call Milah if they haven't already, god only knows what she'll say to them. Belle I don't mind them talking about me, I signed up for this when I said I wanted to be with you, but they don't have ANY right to hound my children." Nick said.
"I'll get Aurora on this – see what she can do." Belle said. Belle reached up and touched his cheek. "And you were kind of a beast last night – just a little bit." she teased. "Don't worry – they'll move on from you once they find someone else to harass."
"Right." Nick said, and he set his phone aside and sighed.
"You sure you still want to be with me? It'll probably get worse before it gets better." Belle said.
"You don't mind having a 'beast' for a boyfriend?" Nick asked.
"I like beasts." Belle said, and she rolled on top of him and kissed him. "Especially hot Scottish ones."
"Beauty and the Beast had a happy ending, didn't they?" Nick asked.
"They did." Belle replied.
"Well, then there's a lot worse they could call us, I suppose." Nick said, and he pulled her into a kiss. Nick's phone rang again. He sighed as he let go of Belle and looked at the caller ID. "Bae." he said as he answered the phone. "How are you?"
"Fine." Bae replied. "You with Belle?"
"Yeah." Nick replied. "I'm happy, Bae. I'm really happy."
"Yeah, well you won't be as soon as you hear what I have to say." Bae said. "Remember when I said I'd look into the whole Regina thing? It's taken me longer than I thought it would, but – dad, the company that produced most of Belle's films – guess who the prime stockholder is in that company."
"You're fucking kidding me." Nick said.
"The evil queen herself." Bae said. "I was able to get one of my techno geek friends to break into her accounts and it looks like she had been giving kickbacks to some guy in Hollywood named Leroy Miner. Does that name ring a bell to you?" Nick glared into space angrily.
"What's wrong?" Belle asked.
"Sweetheart, why don't you go get us some breakfast, I have some things to discuss with Bae." Nick suggested.
"Alright." Belle said. She got up and left. Nick returned to his call.
"Leroy was Belle's agent. She fired him when she found out that he had tried to block her from doing the August Booth film. He knew about those pictures that she took way back when and Belle suspected him of being the one to leak them to the press." Nick said.
"Okay, this is all starting to make sense. Dad, ever since Regina took over Regal, the company has lost money every year. And it's lost even more since YOU left – apparently Regina isn't as skilled at running a business as she thinks she is. She realizes that she needs help, and that's why she's been after you to come back. With you on board, the company stands a chance." Bae said. "The only money maker she's really had has been the film company that Belle's been working for. Belle's films have been their highest grossing product. If Leroy was her manager, that means he was getting ten percent for his fee from Belle, plus whatever kickback Regina was giving him for getting her to do another film. When Belle went off to work with August Booth – Regina lost money. My guess, and this is just a guess – Leroy got those pictures published to send Belle running scared in the hope that August Booth would dump her and she'd go back to him and to Regina's company. When that didn't happen -"
"Regina sent the paparazzi to my place hoping that would do the job." Nick said. "Murder is still illegal in New York, right?"
"Last time I checked." Bae said.
"Damn." Nick replied. "I don't want you to tell a soul about this, Bae. When I get back to New York – I'll take care of Regina personally."