by Kelly, Marie
“You have a beautiful home” she said helping herself to a generous portion of the deliciously smelling lasagne and fresh salad.
“Thank you” he had answered “My family have lived in this villa for many generations… we like it”
He had watched as she began eating. “Are you hungry” he asked in amusement as she had laughed nodding her head as her mouth was so full she couldn’t answer.
“It’s nice to see a woman who eats a meal rather than picks at it”.
Kelly had laughed as he too piled his plate high “well I’m glad I’m not alone” she had returned seeing his mouth twist in amusement
“How was Max” she had asked watching as his dark eyes had softened
“He was wonderful.......although, I think you are going to find plenty of volunteer baby sitters,” he had chuckled “He seems to have made every female in the place gooey eyed”
Kelly had smiled before adding
“Just the females huh”
Flashing her one of those devastating smiles, which made her catch her breath, he had added “Well….” Before his tone had become so serious
“I couldn’t imagine life without him now, he is so perfect”
A small frown crossed his handsome face
“I still don’t understand why Trudy didn’t tell me though” a small hint of sadness in his voice
Kelly had bit her lip
“I know why” she had said softly seeing as he had looked at her in surprise
“But you said…”
Nodding her head Kelly had continued
“Trudy kept a diary. After you left that second morning I decided to read them to see if they would tell me why she had lied”
He looked at her with keen interest as she had continued
“Apparently she walked in on you one day while you were on the phone to somebody”
He had frowned
“And..”
“And you were telling them that you would keep the baby. You were threatening to set your lawyers on them to make sure you got the baby. Trudy was going to tell you, but got frightened. She thought that you would use your lawyers to take Max from her”
Marc had looked over at her, his expression one of pained hurt
“I would never…” he had begun, frowning as he tried to remember the event, before sudden realisation had crossed his face as he had groaned
“She heard me? I never knew she was there” He had looked at Kelly
“An ex girlfriend of mine had phoned to say that she was pregnant and demanding a lot of money to “deal” with the problem and keep quiet”
A look of disgust had crossed his features
“I told her that if she was really pregnant then I wanted the baby and that I would make sure that my child was born”
Hesitating he had continued
“I didn’t know Trudy was there…..I would never have taken Max from her……..we would have worked something out” he had said softly with a sigh as he had looked down thoughtfully
“All that time I missed with Max because of some misunderstanding” his voice heavy with regret
The two had sat in silence for a few moments before Kelly had spoken softly
“What happened to the woman’s baby” she had asked as he had looked strangely at her
“There was no baby; she was trying to get money from me”
“Oh” was the only thing Kelly could manage, as he had sighed, a heavy sound
“Unfortunately there have been some cases in which ex girlfriends have tried to extort money by claiming amongst other things that they are pregnant. I normally let my lawyers deal with them….but she got me on the phone..and…” he had trailed off not finishing the sentence
“You never had your lawyers contact me” Kelly had said softly, seeing as Marc had frowned
“When I read the letter from your lawyer it was different. I knew Trudy” He looked up at her with a smile
“She was a wonderful woman” he had said softly as Kelly had bit her lip smiling sadly back at him
“….and there was no demand for money. Something about that letter just rang true.. So I came over to Glasgow to see for myself”
He looked up smiling
“I’m glad I did. Max is wonderful. I never knew I could ever feel that way about another human being”
Kelly had given a return smile nodding
“He does have that effect on people” she had said gently
“I didn’t know Marc” she had finally said looking him in the eye
“I truly thought you knew”
Marc noticed how brightly her eyes sparkled. Those wonderful blue pools of light which seemed to mirror her every emotion, and right now there was an honesty in them which made him swallow hard.
“I know” he replied
Suddenly feeling the need to break the air which now hung over the two of them he produced a bottle of red wine, decanting it with practiced ease, before pouring them both a large glass.
“A toast” he said raising his glass “To Trudy”. She had raised her glass in approval.
The rest of the meal went quickly, the two of them spending an enjoyable hour talking and eating. They seemed very relaxed together, the earlier event long forgotten, no doubt helped Kelly thought by the wine which seemed to flow easily. She had found him to be an enjoyable companion, and found herself listening intently to the many stories he told her about growing up in the villa. He had seemed to enjoy her company too as they were able to laugh and argue together until they both forgot the time.
As they sat back, unable to finish the wonderful meal, they had both automatically began to clear the table together.
“Would you like to sit outside for a while” he had asked while pouring her another drink. Kelly had nodded and together they had moved out to one of the large porches partially covered from the night air. By now the sky was completely black, with stars twinkling down at them from the clear sky, all quiet except from the high pitched buzzing of the cicadas’
He had spoken first, his voice more serious
“I got the results back from the lab” he had told her softly
Kelly had looked down at her drink remembering the visit they had made to the clinic in which swabs had been taken from Max’s cheek to confirm paternity
“They came back positive” he had said a small note of happiness evident in his voice as Kelly had taken a large sip of her wine
“I thought they might” she said before adding “He is your double”
Marc had given her a small smile, silence falling between them once more for a few seconds
Changing the subject he had said
“His birthday is in two days” seeing as Kelly nodded
“Yes his first” she had added with pride
“I thought we should do something special, what do you think”
Kelly had sat silently for a few seconds, thinking before looking back at him
“He loves animals, do they have a petting zoo nearby”
Seeing as Marc had frowned thoughtfully
“Leave it with me” he murmured softly
They sat there for another hour mostly in silence, comfortable in each others company enjoying the peacefulness of their surroundings. At 9.30 Marc had stood up.
“I have an early meeting tomorrow, and I need to check out some papers first. So my apologies I must say goodnight”
Kelly had followed him back in and watched as he ensured all the doors were secure. He had told her that she was more than welcome to watch TV in the living room, but she had chosen to also return to her room.
“I have a book which my publisher wants me to read so that I can create a front cover. So I should make a start on that” she had smiled and with that they had both made their way up the stairs disappearing into different rooms as they had wished each other goodnight.
Kelly had spent an hour reading the book, which was long enough for her to formulate in her mind how the cover woul
d look, before spending some time sketching her idea. When she was finally pleased with the draft, she could feel herself yawning, and looking at her watch was surprised to see that it was already passed midnight turning out the light and once more slipping into the soft bed.
The next day Kelly and Max spent the morning exploring the grounds. Marc, who had left early, had ensured that she was equipped with the most wonderful buggy she could hope for, specifically designed to be durable in all terrain enabling Kelly to walk around the vast estate with ease. Meeting Mario on the way he had taken time to show them some of the wonderful flowers growing on the estate which Kelly had found fascinating. Max had enjoyed the walk and by the time she had returned to the villa at lunch time he had hungrily demolished his food, before playing contentedly with her for half an hour before crawling into her arms for a sleep.
Kelly and Max had a routine, and laying him back in his buggy and ensuring that he was protected from the sun she had set up her canvas at a good spot away from the villa. For the next hour, she had worked on it, sketching the building before her until she had managed to capture its essence.
As she finished her sketch Mrs Green had appeared carrying a tray with a jug of what looked like lemonade and several cups along with some sandwiches. Kelly had moved over to take the tray from the woman before placing it on a table nearby
“Hi Miss Brown” she had said with a warm smile, seeing as Kelly had grimaced playfully
“Please call me Kelly” she replied with a grin, seeing the approving smile from the other woman
“OK Kelly but only if you call me Beth, I thought you might like a drink”
Kelly had smiled her thanks
“That looks wonderful Beth… joining me” she had beckoned for the other woman to sit with her. A little surprised Beth had smiled back nodding and the two women had then sat on the seats beside the table
“I understand that little Max is one tomorrow” Beth had said glancing affectionately over at the small boy who still slept soundly
“I wanted to make him a cake…what kind of things does he like”
“Wonderful” Kelly had exclaimed her eyes shining before her face had become more thoughtful “He loves animals …. and cars” she had said with a soft smile, seeing as the older woman had nodded her head
“Doable” she laughed
“Imagine his birthday being so close to his daddy”
Kelly had looked over in surprise
“I..I didn’t know” she said “he never said”
Beth groaned
“That’s Marc for you, Max on the Friday and his daddy the following month. There’s going to be a big party. He hasn’t told you about it?”
She had shaken her head “maybe I’m not invited” she half joked seeing how Beth had grinned over at her
“pfft........like you are going to get out of it that easy” her eyes twinkling mischievously
At that point Max began to move, his dark eyes opening while his small hands had flailed as he had babbling excitedly seeing Kelly, who had lifted him into her arms allowing him to stand unsteadily on her knees. Beth had laughed watching the antics of the small boy as he covered Kelly’s face with drooling kisses
“He does love his mummy” she had chuckled
And Kelly had felt a pang at those words her mind wondering for how long she would be allowed to play the part of mummy.
“Would it be Ok if we used the pool” she had asked as Beth had looked at her in surprise
“Of course you can….use anything you want honey, this is your home now” she had replied gently
“Well best get back” she said before standing to retrieve the tray. However, placing Max back in his buggy Kelly had insisted on carrying the tray while the older woman enjoyed pushing the buggy back to the house. As they walked the two women had spoke pleasantly, enjoying the warm sunshine on their backs. Kelly had discovered that Beth Green, as Kelly had already guessed did not originate from Spain, but from America. She had originally worked for Marc’s mother before moving with her when she had married Marc’s father. Talking about his mother her eyes had glazed over with fond memories.
“A wonderful woman” she had said “Marc’s father and her, they were so in love” she sighed sadly “His father never did get over it when she died. It was so tragic”
“What happened” Kelly had asked softly
“She got ill; Marc was so close to his mother.. It hit him really hard” Beth then laughed uncomfortably realising how much she was telling the younger woman she hardly knew, and had quickly changed the subject.
When Marc had arrived home he had instantly gone looking for Max, meeting Beth on the way who had pointed him to the pool area.
“You’re early” she said in surprise.
He had thrown her a mischievous smile
“Hey I’m the boss” he had chuckled before making his way outside.
They didn’t notice him initially when he reached the pool and sitting on one of the many chairs dotted around he had watched as Max had sat in his water ring smacking his hands against the water splashing Kelly who stood protectively over him and also himself. When the water had hit his face he would close his eyes a look of annoyance passing over him. So comical were his antics that Marc had laughed out loud, causing Kelly to jump around in surprise.
“I didn’t see you there” she had said trying hard to ignore the fluttering in her stomach.
“Sorry” he grinned pulling out his mobile phone and taking photos of the small child happily splashing in the water
“We were just coming out” she had said lifting Max
“He’s going all pruney”
Max had not liked being lifted from the cool water and had cried in frustration, his arms and legs kicking out.
Marc had lifted a towel and taking his son from Kelly, wrapped him inside the fluffy folds. He had then tickled the small boy until he was once more giggling happily, before glancing over at her.
Looking at her through appreciative eyes Marc was able to watch how the water droplets had slowly moved down her supple body. She had a wonderful figure from her round ripe breasts to her flat stomach with hips which flared out; every part of her was perfect. He watched as she had leant down to dry her long shapely legs causing her hair to fall across her face, like a golden shimmering shower.
“I found a petting farm nearby” he had finally said his voice a little more huskily than normal
“I thought that we could both head out there tomorrow, perhaps get Beth to make us a picnic or something.”
“That sounds wonderful” she responded with a smile
“I should however, tell you that Beth is determined to have a party at night”
Kelly grinned
“Beth said – she’s going to make him a cake”
Marc had raised an eyebrow in surprise at the casualness of her address. Beth Green was not someone who easily opened up to strangers.
“You two been getting friendly” he asked quizzically seeing as Kelly had smiled back, “She is a very nice lady” she had responded
With that they all made their way back into the house where Max was again played with before being fed, bathed and put to bed.
Marc and Kelly had once again spent a pleasant hour in the kitchen eating yet another delicious meal. During this they had talked about the following day. Marc had listened intently as Kelly relayed stories of previous visits to petting farms, watching as her lovely eyes had sparkled as she told them.
After the meal Marc had excused himself, saying that if he wanted to take a day off then he had better spend some time that night going through reports and organising work, and once more Kelly had joined him up the stairs intent on finishing her illustration for her publisher.
CHAPTER FOUR
The next morning when Max had awoken and dressed, they had all met in the kitchen. Beth had produced cards and presents from all of the other staff and they watched as he had opened the presents with much help
from Kelly. As he sat surrounded with new cuddly toys and chunky cars Kelly had given him her gift, a large cuddly lion, which when squeezed made a friendly roaring noise. Max had giggled while manically squeezing the toy and passing it to everybody else to squeeze for him. Finally Marc had asked them all to come outside, where they had found a large soft play ground for toddlers. Contained within the brightly coloured border and mesh tent was an explorer’s dream, with soft shapes allowing the small boy to move over them in safety, while tunnels let him crawl through to the other side. Soft balls which when put into what resembled a tower would fly out making the child laugh with pleasure, his small hands moving with excitement as he had looked around at the crowd giggling. For a while they watched as he had sped around it clambering over and under to his little hearts content.
Finally they had all returned to the kitchen where they had enjoyed breakfast before heading off to the petting farm, Marc looking on in amazement as she had appeared at the car laden with buggy, changing bag and a variety of toys.
“How many days are we going for” he had asked in surprised amusement as she smiled back “There is no such thing as travelling light with a child - think yourself lucky – I’m only taking the essentials”.
Marc had laughed and then stowed everything in the boot with what looked like a very large hamper.
“Personally I think it is a woman thing, you and Beth both want to see me with a broken back”
Giggling Kelly had mimicked him waking with a stooped back
“Aw the icle bag is crushing me” she had mocked as Marc had laughed loudly at her antics, before pretending to chase her into the car, which had her leaping in with a small squeal of delight.
“By the way” he had said his tone still full of laughter “Do you like the car”
What wasn’t to like she thought to herself? A new top of the range saloon she even liked the colour – black.
“It’s lovely” she had responded, her eyes opening wide in shock and gasping loudly as he had looked over at her
“It’s also yours” he said smiling
“You can’t give me a car” she had exclaimed a frown knitting her brows, seeing as he had looked back at her patiently
