“What?” the women said joyfully.
“Of thirty percent!”
“What?” Santiago said, not so joyfully.
“A raise,” Belle repeated firmly, “as our household will be doing without a butler. Their extra responsibilities deserve it.”
She made a good point. Santiago scowled at her. And he had to admit to himself that having a butler, especially a sniffy one like Jones, hadn’t added much to the comfort of his home life.
“Fine,” he said grudgingly, then turned to the others. “Don’t give my bride reason to regret her generosity. There will be no second chance.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Back to your duties.”
“Right away!”
Mrs. Green scurried back to the enormous ovens, her plump face alarmed. “Oh, no—my salmon puffs!”
Taking Belle aside in the hallway, he growled, “Thirty percent?”
She lifted her chin. “They will be worth it.”
“Right. And here I thought the most expensive thing would be getting you a new wardrobe.”
“What about
this?” She smiled, lifting up the huge diamond ring on her left hand. “I can’t even imagine how much it cost.”
Try free, he thought. He cleared his throat, then brightened. “And your earrings.” Those, at least, had been specifically purchased for Belle.
She touched one of the diamonds dangling from her ears. “You could have bought me fake ones, you know. No one would have been able to tell the difference, least of all me. Big waste of money.”
“You really are terrible at being a gold digger.”
“I know,” she agreed. She looked down at her ring. “It’s beautiful, but it makes me feel guilty. This ring could have probably bought a car.”
When he’d bought it five years before, the amount he’d spent could actually have bought a house. But of course he’d bought it for a different woman, so Belle had nothing to feel guilty about. He was tempted to tell her, but kept his mouth shut. Somehow he thought this was one situation when no woman on earth, even an ardent environmentalist, would think highly of recycling.
The doorbell rang again, and he saw the seven-foot-tall Kip head for the front door. Flinging it open, Kip glared at an ambassador, who looked startled, and his skinny, bejeweled wife, who looked terrified.
“Oh, dear,” Belle sighed, following his gaze.
“I’m not sure Kip has the right skill set to be butler,” Santiago said, hiding a smile.
“Let’s go take over for him.”
He frowned at her. “Answer the door ourselves?”
“What, don’t you know how?” Giving him an impish smile, she took his hand. “Come on, Santiago. Let’s give ’em a big Texas welcome.”
Her hand was warm in his own, and as he looked down at the curve of her breasts revealed above the neckline of her gown, a flash of heat went through his body. “I thought you were afraid of society people.”
“I am.” She added with a rueful laugh, “But my mama always said there’s only one way to get through something that scares you, and that’s by doing it.”
Looking at the resolve in Belle’s beautiful face, at the gleam in her dark eyes and her half-parted ruby-red lips, Santiago was tempted to give her a counteroffer: that they throw all the guests out, lock the door, and make love right here, on the table between the flowers and the cream puffs.
Instead, as the doorbell rang again, Belle pulled him toward the door.