by Jacqui Penn
She shivered. ‘Now I really am frozen.’
Tristan put his jacket around her shoulders. ‘We’d better get you home and dry.’
‘I can’t go home like this.’
‘Come back to mine and I’ll find you something to wear while we tumble dry your clothes.’ A feeling of apprehension went through her mind. What choice did she have? She couldn’t go home in this state.
Tristan started the car and switched on the seat heater and soon she could feel the warmth under her legs. ‘Are the seats safe with me being so wet?’
‘I hope so. They have to be; what if someone dropped a drink? Damn silly idea going for a paddle.’
‘Mmm. Not the best thing to do and now we’ve missed the rest of the party. Sorry.’
‘Don’t be. Whatever we do for the rest of the evening will be fun.’
Sophia gulped and looked out of the window. Her cheeks began to get warm even though she was shivering. She’d tell him no if he tried anything and that would be that. She wasn’t ready to lose her virginity yet. Her clothes wouldn’t take long in the dryer and then she could go home.
Tristan lived in a penthouse with a private lift. They’d walked out of the lift into his home and her eyes went straight to the panoramic views of the city lights. ‘Wow! That view is magnificent.’ She walked over to have a closer look. She shivered.
‘Come on. You’d better get out of those wet clothes. Plenty of time for views later.’
Tristan found her a shirt and a jumper which came almost down to her knees, and a blanket to wrap around herself when she finished showering. His bathroom had gold taps and an abundance of soft, white fluffy towels hanging on heated rails and rolled on two large shelves. She counted six lights in all including the small ones above the vanity unit. Six in the bathroom!
Sophia found him sitting on a large, cream, leather sofa with a large drink in his hand. She took the drink he offered her and sipped at it. ‘Coke and...’
‘Brandy and coke. I thought it might warm you up.’
‘It’s a bit strong. What are you drinking?’
‘Just the brandy.’
‘Oh… How will I get home?’
‘I can call a cab, or you can stay the night.’
‘Right.’ She continued to sip her drink, not really enjoying it. ‘I’d better go home. They’ll expect me to be there in the morning.’
‘Whatever you say.’ An awkward silence followed for a moment. ‘How’s your drink doing? I’m ready for another.’
‘Mine’s fine thanks.’ She took a moment to look around the room. A large, black, shiny bar sat at the far end corner where Tristan busied himself pouring his drink. Two pictures of stylish race cars adorned one wall, while another was almost covered by a naked woman posing for a picture lying on a chaise longue. Slowly her eyes fell to the sofa she sat on and then she looked back at the picture. They looked identical.
‘You’ve spotted the resemblance. My sister had it done as a bit of a joke while I was away.’
‘That’s your sister?’
‘She has no shame. My oldest sister is worse; she runs a doggy parlour for men.’
‘What do you mean, for men?’
‘She has collars, leads, feeding bowls… I won’t go into detail. She took Daddy’s instructions on making some money to the limit. She makes a fortune.’
Sophia sat for a moment studying the woman’s face. Tristan had to be making it up. Surely that must be an old girlfriend he doesn’t want to admit to. People don’t really run doggy parlours for men.
Tristan sat on the sofa next to her, his arm draped over her shoulders. ‘You can trust me, if you want to stay the night.’
‘My clothes must be nearly dry by now, I’d better be going.’ She might not be able to trust herself after her reaction to his ear nibbling. She’d go home and take Tristan in her stride. There was no need to rush things, especially when she’d had a bit too much to drink. She could feel her head beginning to feel a bit fuzzy.
Sophia woke in an unfamiliar double bed and could hear a shower running. She lifted the covers and a small involuntary shriek sound came from her throat. She was naked. She could only be in Tristan’s bed. Her clothes were hanging over the back of a chair. She leaped from the bed and started to dress. Had she had sex? Why hadn’t she gone home? What time was it? Why couldn’t she remember a damn thing?
The en-suite door opened as she secured her bra. ‘Good morning and how is the sleeping beauty this morning?’
‘Sleeping Beauty doesn’t remember how she ended up in your bed and she’s going to be in trouble because she wasn’t there for the children’s breakfast this morning.’
‘I have to be honest. They all went to Angela’s mum’s yesterday evening and ended up staying. Angela couldn’t get an answer on your phone, so she called me.’
‘So…’ She hurriedly pulled on her dress and didn’t meet his eyes. ‘I can’t remember what happened.’
‘Simple really. You fell asleep. I woke you, and you trundled into the bedroom, got undressed and crashed out on the bed. Nothing more.’
‘Nothing more?’
‘Nothing.’
Could she believe him? She didn’t have much option. ‘I’d better be getting off anyway.’
‘I nipped out and bought croissants. I have coffee on the go.’
She tried to calm her mind from racing out of control. ‘Thanks. That sounds good. It might help my head, it’s pounding.’
‘We’ll have some coffee and breakfast and then I’ll run you home.’
‘Sounds good.’ Maybe he wasn’t the… What was it Angela called him? Cad, that was it. She must look it up.
Sophia let herself into the house, relieved to find Angela wasn’t back from her mother’s. She climbed the stairs desperate for a change of clothes and a shower to help her feel human again. As she reached the landing, Ru appeared, coming out of his bedroom. Her heart pounded.
‘So you stayed the night with Tristan. After all I said, you went ahead and stayed with him. I’m disappointed in you. Your morals and standards should be higher if you want to continue looking after my children.’
‘I only stayed there because my clothes were wet… I fell in the sea and—’
‘I don’t want to hear the sordid details.’ He marched past her and disappeared out of sight down the stairs.
Sophia slowly opened the door to her room and sat on the edge of her bed. She hadn’t even done anything, well at least she didn’t think she had, and now she could lose her job through her loose morals. Why couldn’t life give her a break for once?
Her phone rang. ‘Hello. Hi, Angela. Yes, I had a great time thanks. Okay, I’ll see you about three then. No, I’m not doing a lot, I’m half-way through a good book, so I’ll carry on with that. See you later.’ She put the phone down and wondered how much influence Angela did have when it came to the care of their children. She’d soon find out. She returned to her book and let her mind flow into the lives of the characters who helped her to forget her own problems for a while.
There was a gentle tapping on her door. She pulled herself up from the slovenly position in the chair by the window, and walked over to the door, her heart, once again, beginning to pound. She could be thrown out of the house before Angela even returned.
She gingerly opened the door. Ru stood before her with one hand rubbing the back of his neck, he looked down at the floor. ‘I may need to apologise. I might have appeared a little rash. It won’t happen again.’
Sophia felt taken aback. ‘Okay, thank you. I can assure you my best interests are for your children. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardise their well-being.’
‘I’m sure you wouldn’t.’ He walked away and Sophia closed the door. She had just picked up her book again when Ru tapped on the door once more. She opened it even slower than the first time and looked at his expressionless face. ‘I’m going to put some frogs from the pond back into the river. Would you care to join me?’
S
ophia gulped and cleared her throat. ‘Yes, that’d be nice. Are you going right now?’
‘I could wait while you get ready.’
‘I’ll only be a couple of minutes.’ She closed the door and felt flustered. Why was he suddenly being nice? She found him a bit daunting and didn’t want to spend any time with him, but it was better to try and get along with him if she wanted to keep her job. She had to stay professional and try to act normal. Whatever normal was? ‘Do you think he’ll let you in his car, Mutley? Only one way to find out.’
Sophia walked down the stairs with Mutley at her heels.
‘Oh, you are bringing the dog. He’ll enjoy the run.’
Ru had changed completely, but Sophia didn’t trust him. There seemed to be something not quite right with him. He was almost nervous. Maybe he intended throwing them both in the river to drown. The sober thought brought back an involuntary flashback of her sister held down by the branch. She shuddered at the miserable memory and shook her head slightly.
‘Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’
‘I’m fine. Come on, Mutley. We’re going to the river.’
Ru opened the back car door and Mutley jumped in. The journey to the river passed in relative silence.
Ru spoke about the cloud formations and the fauna down by the river. He pointed out a couple of pretty birds Sophia would never have spotted, then knelt next to the river edge and gently released the frogs into the river. ‘They’ll have a better life here and the children won’t be woken when it’s mating season. They make such an awful racket.’
‘I can’t say I’ve ever heard them.’
‘They’ll be starting up in a few weeks’ time and the ones I haven’t caught will let you know all about it.’ He smiled and for the first time Sophia saw a gentleness about him. He picked up a stick and threw it for Mutley, who went bounding after it and then proceeded to settle down on the grass and chew it to pieces. ‘Ah! I see he hasn’t quite got the hang of fetch.’
Sophia giggled and picked up another stick passing it from one hand to the other. ‘No, I’m afraid I haven’t done much training with him.’
‘It’s all to do with treats. Dogs will do anything for a tasty morsel and then it’s down to patience and consistency. I wouldn’t mind helping you.’
‘Thank you. I have to admit I’ve never owned a dog before, so I’m a bit lacking in skills.’
‘I had dogs when I was young. And now there’s Blue.’
Ru and Sophia strolled along the riverbank chatting and calling Mutley to join them every now and again. Ro looked at his watch. ‘I suppose we’d better be heading back, the terrors will be home soon. It’s been nice getting to know you a bit better, Sophia.’
‘I’ve enjoyed it and I’ve learned so much. Here Mutley.’ The little dog bounded towards her. She picked him up and slipped him under her arm.
What had brought about the transition from ogre to nice man? Sophia wasn’t sure, but she liked the new Ru and didn’t feel intimidated by him now. All she could hope for was that he didn’t revert back to ogre status too regularly. Life could almost be perfect, but surely perfection in her world was too much to hope for.
Chapter 5
Sophia hadn’t heard from Tristan all week and wondered if she’d blown her chances with her immature sea dipping incident. She told herself over and over that he had never got in touch between lessons, so she shouldn’t expect anything different. He had taken her out once and that alone did not constitute a relationship. He probably had lots of girlfriends. That last thought drove her crazy. She had to calm down and take things in her stride, but that was far easier said than done.
By Friday evening, Sophia had decided to play Tristan at his own game. She would refuse any invitation which was forthcoming and make him do a bit of chasing. She’d read in a magazine that women who gave themselves too readily were in danger of losing their man.
On Saturday morning, Tristan turned up as usual and stepped out of the car to let her take the driver’s seat. ‘Good morning, I have to say you look gorgeous this morning, as always.’
Sophia could already feel her barrier breaking down. ‘Good morning. Are you ready for your next kamikaze lesson?’
‘No risks of suicide this morning. I know how to handle you, you’re more experienced than you realise.’ A broad grin spread across his mouth and his eyes twinkled. A moment of doubt clouded her mind. She still felt uncertain about what had taken place last weekend. Paranoia must be creeping in.
Only a minute into the driving lesson and Sophia’s mind was a whirl of concentration. Two hours’ later, she pulled up outside the house with another lesson over. ‘I can’t believe how quickly that two hours whizzes by.’ She wiped her top lip with the back of her hand and hoped she hadn’t got any other sweaty bits showing.
‘That was a really good lesson. How about I take you out to dinner to celebrate?’
‘Dinner would be lovely, but what are we celebrating?’
‘Me meeting you. You doing so well with the lessons and without trying to kill me too often. It’s Saturday. How many reasons do you want? We’ve got a multitude of things to celebrate.’
‘Okay. What time?’ She sounded so desperate.
‘About eight. I’ll take the car back to mine and we’ll eat locally, then I can have a drink.’
‘See you at eight then.’
She walked up to the house with a spring in her step. You are so weak. You were supposed to turn him down and make him do a bit of chasing.
Angela was in the kitchen. ‘There’s a happy face. Lesson go well?’
‘Yes, he thinks I’m doing well. He invited me out to dinner tonight.’
‘Don’t go there. I do know what he’s like and he’ll let you down. I don’t want to see you getting hurt.’
‘I won’t. He’s nice to have as a friend.’
Angela frowned. ‘So long as you keep it friendly and nothing more.’
Sophia gave a little dance move as she passed the playroom. ‘Sophia, what are you doing?’ Lawrence piped up.
Sophia giggled as she realised what she had done. ‘I’m dancing. Would you like to dance with me?’
Lawrence shook his head and put his head back down to his ship which had been constructed from items around the room.
She stood in front of the full-length mirror in her room and stared at her face. Did she look any different? Was she in love? What a ridiculous idea. She took a piece of paper from the drawer and pulled up a chair to the desk. It was about time she wrote to Anna. Half-an-hour later, with nothing more than Dear Anna written, she screwed up the paper and threw it across the room into the bin.
Anna answered her phone on the second ring. ‘Hi Anna, How’re things?’
‘Sophia! Where are you? What are you doing? I miss you so much.’
Sophia giggled. ‘I’ve met a man. I’m going out with him for a second date tonight. I might be in love.’
‘Love! No, not after only two dates. Oh my God! Jimmy Tuck asked me out, but I said no.’
‘Jimmy Tuck! He’s so awful. That is so funny.’
‘So what’s he like?’
‘He’s rich and handsome. Blonde hair, all sort of wild and free. His name’s Tristan.’
‘That sounds classy.’
Sophia cleared her throat and tried to imitate a posh voice. ‘He speaks very well, if you know what I mean.’
Anna laughed and answered in the same tone. ‘How utterly wonderful, my dear. And what does he think of you?’
Sophia reverted back to her own voice. ‘He keeps saying I’m beautiful.’
The girls spoke for a while longer with a promise of keeping in touch regularly. After the call finished, Sophia realised she hadn’t mentioned her job or anything else apart from Tristan.
The afternoon dragged on forever. Sophia sauntered around the shops looking for something to wear and eventually went back to the first item she’d seen. A royal blue camisole top to wear over her whit
e stretch trousers. She had a white, woollen, wrap which would look good over the top. She must have consulted her watch a hundred times through the afternoon willing the time to move faster.
At eight o’clock, she paced around her room. He would probably be late again. Each time she looked in the mirror the same image looked back at her. She perched on the edge of her bed and the doorbell sounded. She leaped up, raced to the bedroom door, stopped, raced back to the bed, picked up her bag and then calmly opened the door as Angela called her to come down.
‘I won’t be a minute.’ She counted to twenty and slowly ambled down the stairs. Ru passed her and grunted. She gulped and continued to the front door.
Angela looked her up and down and smiled. ‘Have a good time.’
‘We will,’ Tristan said as he took Sophia’s hand and led her to the car. ‘You look delightful.’
Tristan parked the car and they took a leisurely stroll along a couple of streets. The restaurant was dimly lit with candles burning on every table. Tristan pulled out her chair and the waiter dropped a napkin over her lap. She could get used to this sort of treatment. She felt like a million dollars.
Tristan ordered white wine to start. Sophia stared at the menu. The prices were astronomical. ‘Would you like me to order for both of us?’ Tristan offered.
Sophia felt relieved. ‘I think so. It all looks and sounds so good, I’m going to have trouble choosing.’
The waiter poured the wine and flicked a pad and pen from his pocket. Tristan looked at the menu briefly. ‘Two salmon pancakes to start, with rump steak to follow, you know how I like it cooked. A bottle of Marques de Caceres should do nicely.’ He closed the menu and handed it back to the waiter.
Sophia fiddled with her napkin. ‘You obviously eat here a lot.’
‘I eat out a lot, but not this one particularly.’
Sophia wondered how many women had sat opposite him at this table. The waiter seemed to know where Tristan liked to be seated. She wiped the thought out of her mind. It’d be silly to start getting jealous at this stage or at any time. Obviously, someone like Tristan would be popular with the ladies.
