by Kelly, Marie
She wasn’t some stupid love sick teenager, so why had she behaved that way. Kelly had always kept men at arms length, however, what really scared her was the way her defences had not even kicked in but collapsed in ruins at his touch, seeing her practically seducing him in the hallway. Sinking down onto her bed she had put her head into her hands moaning. How was she ever going to face him again?
That night she had found it hard to get back to sleep; the memories of Marc’s lovemaking coming back to both haunt and excite her in equal measures.
The next morning, carrying a happy playful Max, she had entered the kitchen to be met by a smiling Beth
“Good sleep Kelly” she asked tickling Max as she walked by. However, taking a closer look she had stopped on seeing how white and pale she looked
“You OK hon” she asked a worried note in her voice
Kelly gave a small smile to the worried woman
“I’m fine Beth” she had answered with a smile
“Didn’t sleep to well – all the excitement and birthday cake” she had joked
“It was a lovely cake – thanks so much”
The older women had flashed her a warm smile, “glad you both had a good time”
“Where’s Mark” Kelly had asked as nonchalantly as she could
Beth who was by now preparing some toast and breakfast for Max had answered
“He’s got some big meeting on; left early said he didn’t know when he would be back”
Kelly had silently nodded, thankful for the reprieve of not having to face him so soon after last night.
The rest of the day had passed pleasantly. Kelly and Max had taken a drive in the new car to one of the many beaches which littered the island, selecting one which was recommended by Beth. They spent a wonderful morning playing in the sand and surf, and by mid day they were both ready to return for lunch. As he slept in his buggy beside her once more, having devoured a large amount of Beth’s delicious food she had carried on with her painting of the villa, happy with the way it was coming along.
When he had woken, he had then played in the play area Marc had bought for him the previous day, with Kelly enjoying watching his antics while painting, and with the warm sun beating down slowly tanning her soft skin she had sighed with complete contentment.
By tea time Max was becoming tired and only just managed to eat his food, making both Beth and Kelly laugh watching as his small eyes rolled into his head as it kept nodding threatening to fall into his food.
“Little soul” Beth had cried, wiping the tears of laughter from her eye
“A child really brings life back into a house”
Kelly had gently lifted him out of the chair and taken him upstairs where he had been washed ready for bed. In her arms he had put his small hands around her neck his head lying heavily on her shoulder, as safe and happy he had fallen asleep cuddled into her.
She had not heard the door to his room open as she had sang softly to the small boy kissing his little cheek, and it was only when Marc had spoken that she had jumped realising she was no longer alone.
“Let me take him” he had offered lifting the small child from her and gently placing his sleeping form in the cot
Kelly’s whole body was pulsating, as his fingers had touched her taking Max, she instantly remembered the previous night and the way his hands had aroused her to such a degree. Pulling herself together she had smiled brightly attempting normality. However, the tremors which ran up and down her skin belied her outward calm
“Good day?”
Straightening up so that he was now looking down on her she noted that part of his fringe had once again fallen over his eyes making him look so sensual as she had fought hard to stop herself from pushing it away from his eyes – those big black beautiful eyes – which now were looking at her contemplatively.
“Kelly..about last night” he spoke slowly
Becoming agitated, Kelly had moved away from him to the door
“Let’s just forget it Marc” she had said her voice tight
“We both had a lovely day…. We just… got caught up in a moment”
He had closed his mouth tightly
“Is that what you think” he finally managed, seeing as Kelly not able to meet his eyes had nodded her head
“Yes, for Max’s sake let’s just drop it”
She had then opened the door walking quickly down the hall stairs, hearing Marc follow at a much slower pace.
As she reached the kitchen the doorbell had rang, and she could hear Marc opening it and laughing with somebody else, and after a second he had appeared closely followed by another man. Kelly had gasped with shock. The second man was tall, but not as tall as Marc, with blond hair which lay in curls on his head. Athletic in build his face was smiling brightly at her. She could see the laughter lines around his blue eyes, eyes which twinkled at her with humour in them. He looked very much like Danny, and Kelly had to stop herself from staring.
“Hi, I’m Philip” the man had said extending his hand to her
“Heard all about you, finally nice to meet you” he continued, shaking her hand firmly, as Kelly had smiled back still not able to speak.
“Where is Max” he had said looking around the kitchen
Marc who had been standing back watching the exchange with a small frown on his face had now moved forward giving a short laugh
“He’s in bed, you idiot. You’ve got so much to learn if you and Theresa ever get married” he had added
Philip had given a good humoured snort
“Check you out suddenly the expert”
Kelly watched the good natured banter between the two having now recovered from her initial shock.
“Are you getting married” she had asked politely, seeing as Phil had scuffed his feet a little
“Well….”
Marc had interrupted
“Maybe one day …. If he ever asks her”
As Philip had smiled brightly
“Hey, can’t rush these things” he had said “It’s all about timing”
Marc had moved past him with a grin
“Right..Staying for dinner Phil”
Philip had rubbed his hands together in delight at the idea
“Suffer some of Beth’s food – try and stop me” before pausing for a second “unless I’m interrupting anything” he had added a small twinkle in his eyes
Kelly had smiled brightly at him feeling the sudden relief at not having to spend the meal alone with Marc, avoiding the subject of the previous night
“Not at all, it would be great” she had smiled back warmly, seeing as Marc had frowned
The evening had been enjoyable, as Philip was a natural comic, and the three of them had laughed as they slowly ate their way through the wonderful meal left for them. Splitting it between three rather than two had been easy due to the vast amount Beth always provided. Kelly had enjoyed joining in with the two of them, especially as she had watched as Marc had shown a playful side of his nature she had only previously glimpsed.
She had discovered that Philip was a home grown millionaire who had made his fortune by creating software for the games industry. She had laughed at the many stories he told about the weird and wonderful people he worked with and felt complimented when he had shown an interest in her work.
He had excitedly told her of plans they had for developing a new game which involved mystical faeries, elves and unicorns.
“Reaching out for the female gamers” he had grinned, before dropping his bombshell
“I couldn’t believe that you were here” he cried. “We need some designs for the characters, and I was given a list of the top 10 illustrators in the field. – your name being very high on that list – talk about luck”
Both Kelly and Marc had looked at him in surprise as he had continued
“Are you interested in some commission work?”
Seeing her hesitate he had told her that he only needed the initial designs and that his g
uys would animate the characters. With a broad smile Kelly had agreed, flashing Marc a dazzling smile.
Frowning Marc had watched the two of them laughing. Many people found it difficult being with Phil and himself due to their quick wits, however, with her keen mind Kelly had more than equalled their witticisms and he had laughed at her many quick comments. But watching the two of them, he had felt uncomfortable at the way she kept looking at his best friend. It hadn’t been until he had seen her reaction as Phil had come in that the similarity between him and Danny had became evident, and with a quick pang of jealousy he had realised that he didn’t want her looking at another man in that way, before frowning at thinking that way.
At midnight Kelly had stifled a yawn and excused herself, declaring that she would leave the two of them to talk “man talk”, as laughing they had both wished her a good night. Kelly was relieved to see that the earlier awkwardness between Marc and her had disappeared and was glad that Phil’s visit seemed to have pushed this episode away.
CHAPTER FIVE
The next morning while feeding Max, Beth had suddenly put her hand on her head
“Oh that reminds me; Marc said that Celeste was coming around today with some dresses”
Kelly had looked surprised “For me?”
The older woman had given a wicked smile
“Apparently lack of outfits was stopping you coming to the party”
Kelly had groaned
“I thought he would have forgotten”
Beth had laughed
“Did you really use the line I’ve nothing to wear?”
Trying to stifle her own laughter as she had nodded
“Thought it would work”
“Look honey” Beth had said suddenly serious “That party is going to be great. You go and enjoy yourself. Marc has got specialists in to do up the house, and he’s laying on waiters and even getting someone in to do all the food. I get the whole day off.......It’s great”
“But Max…”
“But Max nothing hon, It means that I can look after him” She gave Kelly a mock hurt look
“Don’t you trust me?”
Kelly had laughed at the corner she was neatly being pushed into
“I’m not getting out of this am I”
Beth had laughed shaking her head
“Good…then Celeste will be here at 2. So if you want I’ll watch our boy for you”
“Thanks Beth” she had said with a grin
At 2 Celeste had appeared as scheduled. The woman was not exactly what Kelly had expected wrongly suspecting that she would be one of those sophisticated beautiful women who would be aloof and hard to deal with. However, the reality couldn’t have been further from the truth, as Celeste was small and chubby with a warm and friendly smile lighting up her features, wearing bright clothes and more make-up than was called for, as she had chatted constantly.
“It is good to meet you” she had said hardly pausing for breath
“You are so lovely”
Kelly flushed “No…”
“But yes” she had insisted in her broken English
“come..” she had said grabbing a large pile of dresses, each securely contained within closed dress bags, more than Kelly had ever thought would be possible for one person to carry, and seeing the other woman struggle she had insisted on helping, which had made Celeste smile with gratitude.
“Thank you” she had breathed moving quickly ahead of Kelly from her old car
On entering the house she had been warmly welcomed by Beth as the two had chatted animatedly for several seconds in Spanish. Kelly had not been able to follow the conversation but it was clear that they knew each other very well, and she could only draw one conclusion from that, that Celeste had provided the same services for many other women in this house. Once more Kelly had remembered how Trudy had talked about how generous M
arc had been, realising that it wasn’t just jewellery that he had been generous with, this thought making her frown softly.
With a final laugh and both women cooing and “ahing” over Max who was being held in Beth arms desperately trying to get back down to the floor, Kelly and Celeste had finally moved upstairs to begin the search for the perfect dress for the party.
“Now Marc, he say to me your size” Celeste stated opening the large wardrobes which occupied part of her room and placing all of the bags neatly on the almost empty rails
“He get you good” she had said looking carefully at Kelly. “Very good”
“OK” we start. You must remove clothes” she had said in a matter of fact voice. Kelly had been embarrassed at the thought, not used to other people dressing her, but Celeste’s professionalism and determination soon saw her standing in only her underwear.
She had tried on dress after dress and had been impressed with each and every one, as Celeste had walked around her with each new outfit, and had either put her hands up with delight
“Yes…yes” or shaken her head with “No”
Quickly the dresses were sorting themselves into two piles, as Celeste had hummed and hawed over one particular bag, before finally seeming to make up her mind and pulling from it a gold dress which Kelly had felt seemed to very much lack in material. Looking at her Celeste had indicated that Kelly should completely remove all her clothes, as she had shaken her head
“I don’t think so” she had said in horror. However, Celeste had shaken her head
“Pants are built into dress” she had said showing Kelly the inbuilt underwear in the same material which seemed to double as inner lining. Kelly had finally given in pulling on the dress which was completely backless. The material at the front split at her belly button and then joined again as a halter top which clasped at the back, the material skimming her supple body revealing every curve of her perfect figure. Celeste’s hands had flown to her mouth
“Perfecto, perfecto” she had cried “This dress was made for you. This is the dress you must have” she had said happily
Kelly on the other hand was still struggling with the amount of skin which the dress revealed, especially at the back which was completely bare, as it dropped so low that it stopped only at the very base of her back, showing how her spine had arched beautifully to her perfectly shaped bottom. Another inch she thought and it would have revealed her buttocks.
“I don’t think so” she had stated with determination
“No, no” Celeste said “these other dresses” she waved her hand in their direction “are no good”
Kelly had removed the dress with a definite action
“Absolutely not” she had said in a voice which the other woman had realised would not be swayed and with a sigh the dress had been placed on the no pile.
Looking back over the maybe pile of dresses, Kelly had finally settled on a lovely red dress which covered enough of her to make her feel comfortable, Celeste ensuring that she had Kelly’s shoe size before telling her that she would have the whole outfit delivered on the day of the party. With one final try, she had tried to get Kelly to change her mind about the gold outfit, but when her pleas went unheard she had sighed before finally giving up.
That evening at dinner she and Marc had laughed about the dress fitting, as he had impishly once more asked her why she hadn’t taken the other dress laughing again at her expression.
“What dress….there wasn’t enough material to call it a dress” she had cried, as he had smiled a half imagining look coming over his face
“mmmmmm sounds perfect” he had said mischievously as she had made a small snorting noise
“How anybody could wear that…”
Hearing his laugh, Kelly had chuckled back, missing the look in his eyes
CHAPTER SIX
It was yet another warm sun filled Wednesday and although Kelly and Max had only been at the villa for three weeks, already they had fallen into a very comfortable routine.
After breakfast they would take a drive to one of the many beaches, parks or attractions
which littered the Island, returning for lunch with Beth, after which Max would then take a sleep for an hour letting her continue with her painting. Beth would arrive with drinks late afternoon and the two women would sit chatting for half an hour or more when Beth would talk about Marc’s parents, with such love in her voice.
She had discovered that his mother had become ill when he was 12 and died when he was 13. Her death had destroyed his father who had been devoted to his wife, and unable to handle it had turning his back on his son and began drinking and womanising in an attempt to drown his grief. By the time his father had died, from a massive heart attack when Marc was only 19, he had almost destroyed the company, and it had been left to Marc to pull the company from the brink of bankruptcy.
He had proven a ruthless and determined business man who had soon established himself as a force to be reckoned with, which Kelly could totally believe, Marc was not somebody who one said no to easily she had thought with a smile.
When talking about his mother Beth’s eyes would soften.
“She was so lovely..not just beautiful….but kind” she had sighed sadly
“Marc never really got over her death”
Kelly felt that this seemed to explain a lot of the questions she had when he had invited her to stay. Knowing that he had not wanted Max to suffer the loss of a mother the way he had, had made Kelly’s heart flutter with sympathy for him.
Marc would usually arrive home in time to help put Max to bed and Kelly had watched as the bond between father and had son grown as Max would look for his father when the bath was running, peering around the door waiting for the sound of his footsteps. When he appeared he would then crawl out to meet him his arms held high to be lifted making loud “dadadada” noises, which the first time he had heard them had almost saw Marc in tears. “Did you hear” he had said in awe to Kelly, who had just nodded gulping down a lump in her throat. “Yes, I did” she had smiled back smiling warmly at him.
