Read Beautifying Bernadette: A BBW Romantic Comedy (The Jackson Tribe Book 1) for Free Online Page B

Bernie.”
    “That is a lovely name, Bernadette. It makes me think of a royal lady up in a tower.”
    “Well, it makes me feel like a nun. Thus, the Bernie. Hey, Levi? How did you get into my apartment anyways?” Before he could answer, though, a scowl crossed her face. “Oh yeah! Ashley, I’m going to kill that girl! Why would she give my keys to a total stranger? Especially one who had tried to give me a hefty ticket for something so minor. Ugh!”
    She remembered that she was not, in fact, sitting alone in her car, or in her head, and blushed.
    Levi shook his head and chuckled a little, but kept quiet as he pulled into the IHOP parking lot.
    Bernie reached for her handle.
    Levi looked at her with furrowed brows. “Excuse me? What do you take me for, young lady? I am a gentleman who was raised right. You just keep your pretty little bottom seated. I’ll come around and let you out.”
    Bernie was shocked still, for about half a second, and then let herself out. This wasn’t the 1950s for God’s sake, she could open her own damn door! She hopped out and started towards the restaurant.
    Levi strode over and scooped her up, she was too startled to fight him as he placed her back in the truck. “Excuse me, I seem to recall asking you to wait and let me open your door.”
    She felt a rush of excitement and a sense of humbling all at once and sat still as he closed the door, reopened it, and offered his hand to help her get out of the truck.
    He rewarded her obedience with a smile. “Much better, Bernadette. Good girl.”
    She blushed furiously, but, this time, it was in a very warm and happy way.
    He offered his arm and they walked inside. He immediately took charge, letting the host know that they would like a booth away from the doors. Since there was no seat to pull out, he gestured her into the booth, standing until she was fully settled, and then seated himself across from her. He ordered them both waters and coffee the moment they sat down.
    Bernie was so impressed at his take charge attitude that she forgot she was an independent woman and didn’t need him ordering anything for her.
    He opened the menu and smiled at her. “So what looks enticing, Miss Douglas? And don’t say fruit and a piece of toast. By your own admission, you haven’t eaten a full meal in over thirty-eight hours and we are going to rectify that right now.”
    Bernie felt like a naughty little girl being scolded and looked down at the table. This time when he said “Miss Douglas” it sounded very much in the vein of “Young Lady”.  Trying not to look flustered, or make a repeat of the “yes sir” that poured out earlier, and was threatening to spill out again, Bernie looked intently at the menu. “Well, they do have some really healthy omelets. I could get an egg white veggie omlette with the toast and turkey bacon…”
    Levi glared at her for a moment, but decided to accept it. He couldn’t conquer Rome in a day and did not know her well enough to push further. “That sounds like a good choice. I am going to be much less healthy and get pancakes, bacon, sausage, and several scrambled eggs.”
    Once they made their orders, Levi rested his hands on the table. “Let’s get to know each other, Bernadette. We can each ask a question that the other person has to answer, but we also have to be willing to answer it ourselves. I will start, do you have any family in the area?”
    Bernie was glad he started with an easy one. “No. My parents live about three hours away, close enough to visit, but far enough they don’t bother me. And I don’t have any siblings. You?”
    “Well, like I started to say before, I have a large family. I am smack dab in the middle with three older brothers, two younger brothers, and one younger sister. They all live locally. My parents run a treatment center and ranch for youth who have experienced trauma or are just having a really hard time of it.”
    Bernie looked impressed. “Really? What’s it