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Belle had finally decided to act on her feelings. Each time the man she loved came to the flower shop, her father hid her in the back room like he was about to steal her. How she wished it would happen… She had heard the kids talk of the scary man going to buy ice cream at 4 o’clock, so she went there to check the fact herself.
In no time, she had her dad agree to her leaving the flower shop to go work at the ice cream parlor. The owner of the shop, a tall blond woman named Ingrid, wasn’t too keen on hiring her, but Belle insisted so much she ended up taking her on for a trial period.
Working here was nicer than the flower shop. People who came to buy ice cream weren’t planning on giving their cone to the lover they cheated on or to relatives they barely knew and didn’t like anyway. The best part of her day had yet to come, and after Ingrid surprisingly left her alone to run some errand, she began fidgeting. Maybe a small cone of vanilla would help.
Mr. Gold was a busy man. Taking care of his pawnshop, collecting rent and making deals with people who wouldn’t be able to hold their end of the bargain took a large amount of his time. But when he wasn’t making people miserable and enjoying it, he liked to have a nice glass of whiskey or a cone of ice cream. These days, it was so hot he had taken the habit of going to the ice cream parlor just down the street for a break at four o’clock.
He opened the door and smiled to himself as he noticed the place was empty of children. They must have finally understood that coming here was a new routine of his. Pity. He liked terrorizing them — and their parents — with a single glare. His smile dropped when he saw the woman behind the counter. She was a small brunette with eyes of the deepest blue. A pretty girl, by any standard. Gold had caught a glimpse of her in the florist’s shop once or twice, and often wondered who this beauty was. Since the florist always refused to answer him each time he asked about her, he supposed she was his daughter. He didn’t expect to see her here. And most certainly not in a uniform, standing behind the counter of the ice cream parlor while eating a vanilla cone.
“A decent thief would have closed the place before savoring the loot, dearie.”
He startled her and she almost dropped her cone.
“What have you done to the owner of the place?” he asked when he noticed they were alone. “Did you lock her up in the freezer and left her to die?”
To his surprise, she laughed at his dark humor and nasty grin. For a moment, he was lost between wondering if she was crazy, and failing to remember when was the last time he heard someone genuinely laugh in his presence.
“Don’t worry about Ingrid, she had something to do and left me in charge. Maybe you should worry about yourself. You’re the only witness, after all.”
She kept smiling, she jokingly threatened him, and she chuckled in the sweetest way. Did she not know who he was? She had to since her father was indebted to him.
“I’m Belle, by the way.” She paused, probably waiting for him to introduce himself too, and went on when he kept silent. “What can I get you, Mr. Gold?”
“So you know who I am.”
The words slipped out of his mouth before he could think, but the woman’s smile only grew brighter.
“Of course I know the infamous Mr. Gold. Everyone does.”
But not well enough, it seemed. If her father hid the deal he made with him from her, it was about time she discovered his true nature.
“It’s your first day here, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It’s a bit chilly, but I already like it very much.”
“Too bad I’m going to get you fired, then.”
Her smile disappeared instantly. It should have please him, but for some reason, Gold didn’t feel the usual satisfaction of holding someone’s life in his hands. She recovered quickly and smiled at him with a hesitant but mischievous grin.
“I know you like making deals, so… perhaps we could strike one?”
It seemed this woman was full of resources. He couldn’t wait to hear what she had to offer. Perhaps crushing her last hope would make him feel better.
“I’m all ears.”
“Would you forget what you saw for a free ice cream?”
Gold scoffed at her naïvety. She really didn’t know him at all.
“I hope you’re planning on extending that offer for at least a year.”
“What? Don’t be greedy. I can’t get you free ice cream for more than a week, or Ingrid would notice.”
“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to start looking for a new job.”
Victory felt biter when she sighed and looked down in defeat. To think that a handful of seconds ago, she was laughing and smiling… Not that he actually cared about her, or wanted to befriend her, god forbid. But she said she knew about him and still acted like he was a respectable man. Somehow, he had to reward her for that. He was about to suggest another deal, when she looked up and abruptly said:
“How about a kiss?”
“I’m sorry?”
He couldn’t have hear right. A beautiful woman like her, kissing an old monster like him? It was the stuff of fairy tales. Nasty fairy tales, at that.
“A kiss,” Belle said again. “For each cone you buy, you get a free kiss.”
She was slightly blushing and biting her perfect lower lip. Yet she stared at him in the eye, as serious as expectant. Damn, he was fidgeting with his cane and starting to sweat. He couldn’t believe this woman was making him nervous like a teenager on his first date.
“Would that be only for a week too?” he blurted out.
Did his brain stop working? He certainly felt like it did. At least, his stupid reaction made her chuckle and her smile widened.
“For as long as I work here,” she promised with a too wide grin.
There had to be a catch somewhere. Gold had struck so many deals he knew exactly when one was too generous not to hide something. Yet it had been so long since he received any kind of affection, that this once, he would gladly fall in the trap for this lovely woman’s lips.
“Well then, I hope you won’t find a way to get fired any time soon.”
“Do we have a deal?”
It felt strange to hear those words from someone else. From her, it sounded like an alluring promise. How could a young beautiful woman get excited at the idea of kissing the vile fossil he was? He would probably never know. At least, he was relieved she didn’t comment on his no doubt obvious embarrassment at being seduced by a superb creature like her. Hell, he even felt himself starting to blush. He hoped the ice cream would help him to cool down.
“We do, dearie. We do.”
For a moment, they kept looking at eachother with something akin to longing in their eyes. It was too good to be true, but Gold would have done many a thing to prevent the end of this wonderful dream.
“I’ll have a simple chocolate cone,” he finally said, eager to get his kiss.
Belle clumsily reached for the scoop and avoided looking at him the whole time she made the cone. Was she regretting making her deal already? If she didn’t, she would later.
By the time he took two dollars out of his pocket, Belle had finished and was walking around the counter with the cone in her hand. In the short seconds that kept them apart, both of them seemed equally terrified. Gold had no idea why either of them had agreed to do that, but feeling her soft lips pressed against his cheek and her dainty hand’s grip on his shoulder for support was worth every awkward second he spend in this place with her. When she released him, both looked a bit out of sort and strangely happy. Belle bit her lips to stop smiling to no avail, while Gold surely looked like a proud fool.
“I added some caramel as a topping, I hope you don’t mind,” she said as she hold his chocolate cone out to him.
He took the ice cream, mindful of how their hands brushed.
“Not in the least.”
For a moment, he hesitated to say something more. She certainly looked like she expected him to, but nothing came to his mind. So he left before he definitely made a fool of himself.
“Have a nice day… Belle.”
“You too, Mr. Gold.”
It felt weird to call her by her first name, too much informal for a first meeting, especially when she used his last name. But she had kissed him, hadn’t she? Maybe he would ask her full name tomorrow. Yes, maybe he would.
Belle looked out the window to watch Gold walk up the street to go back to his shop. As first meetings went, this one hadn’t tuned so bad. She had certainly thought it would get terrible with a man like the terrifying Mr. Gold. Yet with her, he was almost like a shy teenager. Belle’s smile shone like a Christmas tree that would have easily lit up the whole town where it night. She jumped when Ingrid came back.
“So, what did I miss?”
“Nothing, really. Nothing at all…”
Belle looked again at Gold, and asked with an awfully faked nonchalance:
“When did you say you would decide on hiring me?”