Starting Over Again

 

Chapter 5 – She’s beautiful to me.

 

For the first time since taking up residence with the Walker family, Mack awoke of his own volition.  No slamming doors, no childish chatter or shrieks, no cockerel to wake him from his state of sleep and he felt refreshed because of it.  He may not have been able to soak himself in a bath but that didn’t matter to him, he was camping out with Sophie and all he cared about was spending as much time with her as possible.

 

He crawled from underneath the covers, grabbing his trainers, shaking them out outside the tent and putting them on before stepping out into the glorious sunshine.  A note was pinned to the guy rope, he pulled it off and read, ‘the bathroom is in the corner of the barn and please bring me a cup of tea when you’re sorted, S xxx’.  He reached back into the tent and pulled out his bag and after he’d found his wash kit and a change of clothing, he traipsed over to the barn.  He noticed a door in the far corner as he walked through an entrance in the stone walls, looking up to notice that most of the roof had disappeared.  The bathroom was in surprisingly good nick and even slightly more surprising was the sight of an ‘English’ flush toilet.  There was no hot water and the cold water chilled him to the bone as he washed in silence.  There was no way he was going to have a shave, deciding that he would do that only with warm water after he’d boiled a kettle, if he could be bothered to shave at all.

 

After returning to the camp, he set a fire going and put on a kettle of water to boil.  He went over to his tent and surveyed the mess.  Not only had it seeped water, it had blown over as well.  “Good job, I never stayed in that, be nursing hypothermia now.”  He chuckled.  He set to work taking it down and put it back in the car, knowing that Sophie wouldn’t allow him to spend anymore time in it.

 

The kettle began to sing as the steam from the boiling water hissed through the nose.  He made them both a mug before taking the path he had assumed Sophie would’ve taken herself.  As he reached the brow he noticed her behind her easel, laying paint onto the canvas with a knife.  He tried to make as much noise as he could, the last thing he wanted to do was scare her again.  Thankfully, she turned toward him as she heard the grass rustle beneath his advancing foot steps.  “Good morning,” she beamed.

 

“Morning?  Is it still morning?”  He joked.

 

“Just,” he handed her a mug, “thanks.  You slept well?”  He nodded.  “I didn’t disturb you?”

 

“No, quite surprised you managed to get away as successfully as you did, how did you manage that?”

 

“Lots of practice.”

 

“And you couldn’t just stay?”

 

“Although watching you sleep was very pleasurable, I was bored after about 5 minutes.”

 

“I don’t know whether to take that as a compliment or not?”

 

“As you wish, I also didn’t think you’d appreciate waking up to me with a maniacal expression on my face.”

 

He stooped to meet her, “that could never happen on your pretty face,” he whispered, leaning in closer to kiss her.  He felt her smile against his lips as he captured hers and held onto them.

 

“Ooh, going for the George Michael look are we?”  He looked confused, “the stubble?”  She ran her hand over the short bristly hair that had sprouted overnight over his cheeks and chin.

 

“Couldn’t bring myself to shave in that icy cold water, I’ll boil some water later if you don’t like it.”

 

“No, I quite like the feel of it at the moment, I’ll vote again in a few days.”  She giggled, running her hand over the hair again.  “Are you ready for your first lesson?”  He nodded.  “Have you done anything before?”

 

“Still life’s when I was at school and a few portraits but not landscapes.”

 

“I always think of landscapes as large still lives, you just need to decide which part of it you want to paint.  Can you see something you like?”

 

“Besides you?”  She coloured at his words, “I like that view back down to the barn.”

 

“Ok, well set yourself up with that stuff over there,” she pointed at another easel with a canvas upon it.  “I’ll be with you in a sec.”

 

He set himself up, positioning the easel where he felt he could get the best picture from and began sketching the relationship of the barn to the gate and the rest of the field.  He felt her presence behind him and he turned slightly taking in the approving eye that was roving over what he’d set out.  She pointed out an area that needed a little work and together they sorted out the perspective.  Sophie pulled out a set of paints, brushes, water pot and a palette.  “I thought it would be better for you to start with water colours rather than oils.  It’s an easier medium to work with, I mean you can change oils by taking them off if you don’t like what you’ve done as they never dry, but watercolours can be fun to work with although they will tend to dry quicker here because of the temperature.  Have you used them before?”

 

“No,” he replied, “I always preferred charcoals and pastels to paints.”

 

“Interesting, I learn something new about you every day.”

 

“At least you can’t say you’re bored of that.”

 

“True.  Ok, the first thing with watercolours is to lay out a wash or washes.  Pick a common colour for the sky and the field and wash over those colours with the largest brush.”  He did as he was told; allowing Sophie to give her opinion of how she felt it looked at every stage.  “Now we need to build up colour on various things, like the lavender, or the grey of the stonework, the wispy white clouds in the sky.”  She left him to get on as he applied colours to areas to build up the scene; she inspected his progress from time to time giving pointers if she felt he needed them.

 

A visit to his side mid afternoon had her speechless as she saw that he’d started to apply detail to the otherwise modernistic piece and encouraged him further with her words, she never criticised and tried to give him helpful suggestions, most of which he agreed with and carried out.  By the end of the day he had a picture he was actually quite proud of.  He looked back at her picture and commented that he thought she’d done a wonderful job herself, she criticised herself heavily but he just put that down to artistic licence.  He always knew what he liked.

 

After packing away the gear, they went back to their camp and they prepared their dinner together, both famished as they hadn’t stopped for any lunch.  Sophie produced a bottle of wine from the stream that wound its way along the bottom edge of the field and together they enjoyed a stew with the alcohol.  “How long do you intend staying here?”  Mack asked.

 

“Another day or so, then we’ll move further up into the mountains.”

 

“The mountains?”

 

She turned on her patch of ground, lent back against his chest and pointed.  “Up there.”

 

“And what’s up there?”  He nuzzled his nose against her neck, his mouth gently suckling the area where her neck and shoulder met.

 

“Clean air, gorgeous scenery and total privacy.”

 

“We’ve got that here.”  He continued his assault, the alcohol ridding them both of any inhibitions.

 

“The farmer who owns this land is always around at some time.”

 

“Even when it’s dark?”

 

“Especially when it’s dark.  Although he always leaves me alone, he knows I’m not going to do any damage to anything.”  She moaned at his caresses as his hands went around her hips and waist drawing her closer.  “Mind you, he came around this morning and we had a little chat.”

 

“So, we’ll be left alone.”  She nodded, “good.”  He pulled her around to face him and gently let her lay back on the blanket that they were sitting upon.  Positioning himself beside her his hand found its way into her hair, brushing through the strands with his fingers as his blue eyes roamed over her face.  He cupped her chin as her mouth opened in anticipation of another of his sweet kisses.  His thumb slid over her lips and she kissed the tip before catching it in her mouth and tenderly sucking at it.  Soon he’d replaced it with his mouth and tongue allowing her to exploit that until he wanted to do the same with hers and coaxed hers into his mouth.

 

Desire ran through him as he proceeded to run his hands slowly down her body, reaching up to cup each of her breasts and taunt each with his thumbs so that they peaked.  “Mack?”  She hissed out.

 

“Mmm?”  He asked, still kissing her exposed skin.

 

“Have you got a …” she breathed heavily as he continued to kiss across her collar bone, “oh god.”

 

“Have I got, what?”  He murmured through his kisses.

 

“A condom?”

 

“Mmm.”

 

“Mack?”

 

“Yes, I think so, in my bag.”  His hands had found their way under her top and were gently caressing her buds through the satin of her bra.  He felt her hands move to his chest.  He stopped, pulled himself up to look at her and searched her face.  “You want me to find one?”

 

“Yes please, I don’t think this relationship is ready for a pregnancy just yet, do you?”

 

“You’re asking the wrong partner that question,” she slapped his arm and he got up to search his bag.  He pulled out his stuff, methodically searching for the illusive item; he went through the outer pockets, the inner pocket, and his wallet.  “Shit.”

 

“What’s wrong?”  She was sat up, leaning back on her hands.  The she realised, “you can’t find one.”  She watched him slowly shake his head.  “It’s ok.”

 

“Is it?  For 5 years I’ve never failed to have at least one on me, but …”

 

She went over to him, kneeling behind him and throwing her arms around his torso. “But?”

 

“But, I don’t know, I really wanted this to happen.”

 

She circled him, taking his face in her hands, “it will, soon, and it will be fantastic.  This is just a sign that we should wait, that’s all.  Besides, I don’t want this relationship to just be about sex, I want this to be about love.  Don’t you?”

 

“Yes, you’re right.  It’ll be worth the wait.  You’ll be worth the wait.”  He kissed her, “I’m still alright holding you at night though aren’t I,” he teased.

 

“I’d be offended if you didn’t.  Mack?”

 

“Mmm?”

 

“I’m falling for you.”

 

“Yeah?”  Mack wasn’t surprised by her statement as he watched her nod her head.  “Me too.”

 

 

.oOo.

 

 

As the days passed, Mack’s frustration grew.  He wanted Sophie more and more and holding her at night whilst she slept certainly wasn’t helping matters.  When the day arrived for them to go back to the farm he was happy and when they then decided that they should go back to Villefranche-sur-mer he was even happier to get back.

 

He’d arranged to meet her at her favourite restaurant and as soon as he’d walked through the entrance he noticed her already seated at a table for just the two of them.  ‘Very intimate and very romantic,’ he thought, as he took in the immediate vicinity to it.  She stood up as she noticed him and waved him over.  She was in black, as usual, but, to his surprise, she was wearing a dress.

 

He walked toward her, noticing how the deep crossover V neckline intersected just at the top of her cleavage, a sparkling pin keeping the fabric together so it wouldn’t gape apart.  The sleeves were slightly puffed and they were pulled in with elastic just around the top of each arm.  Elastic pulled the fabric in slightly under her bust line and the skirt fell away from this, floating down and around her thighs touching just above her knee.  Her legs were dressed in what he hoped were very sheer glossy stockings and her feet were encased in black suede sling backs with a kitten heel.  She’d pulled her hair on top of her head into a loose knot allowing some to fall back down in feathery wisps.  She’d even applied make-up to her usually nude face, using smoky tones to accentuate her eyes and brows that framed them.  Her cheeks were swept with burnished bronze and her lips were dark plum.

 

“You’re stunning,” he managed when he reached her; a hand went to her face drawing her up for one of his kisses.  “I’m very lucky.”

 

He noticed red appearing under the bronze of her cheeks, “Thank you.”  She stammered.

 

“For what?  For me being truthful?”

 

They sat opposite one another whilst she tried to find the right words.  “I’ve never been treated with so much respect, Mack.  I’m just not used to it.”

 

“Well you better, because I’m not going to stop telling you how beautiful you are, or how good you make me feel.”

 

“I don’t think I ever could get used to it.”

 

“I think you need to tell me about how other boyfriends have treated you because I can only imagine treating you the utmost care and attention.”  He took her hands in his, his thumbs circling over her soft skin.  “Sophie, all I want is to make you happy, look after you and be allowed to love you as much as you deserve, if not more.”  He knew she was about to respond with a put down for herself but he wouldn’t let her.  “I realised today, when I got back to my boat, that I could quite happily live without all of that, without luxury and filling my home with the latest things as long as I was with you.  I don’t want to live without you.  In fact, I love you.”

 

“Mack, I … I’m speechless.”

 

“Then don’t say anything, just take on board what I’m telling you.  I love you and I want to make you mine.”

 

She smiled at him, still trying to unravel what he was saying to her and not quite believing it all the same.  “Why?”

 

“Why what?”

 

“Why me?”

 

“I’m not sure; you’ve never demanded or expected anything of me, you just allowed me to get close to you, eventually.  I really thought you hated me.”

 

“Not you, Mack.  How could I?  It may have taken me a little while to see beyond the yacht and the money but you are a wonderful man who has given my family and I so much, without even thinking about it and no strings attached.  But that wasn’t what I really meant.”

 

“What did you mean, then?”

 

“I’m not exactly the most beautiful looking woman in the world or the thinnest.”

 

“I’ve had the trophy wife, Sophie and believe me, they’re overrated and very expensive.  And I’ve had 5 years of getting that all out of my system, they’re only good for one thing and you’re too much of a lady for me to tell you exactly what that thing is.  Besides you do have beauty and it’s something that no one can take away from you because it’s buried so deep inside of you that it wouldn’t matter if you lost your looks.  And, to me, you look fantastic; better, in fact, than anyone I’ve ever slept with.  You really don’t have a clue what those eyes of yours do to me when they’re looking at me in much the same way as they are now.”

 

“Am I … you know … turning you on?”  She whispered, sounding like a schoolgirl instead of the 35 year old woman that she was.

 

He nodded, his eyes twinkling with his acknowledgement, “and as for the amount of cleavage I’m getting an eyeful of at the moment, I just hope I can get through dinner unscathed.”  Subconsciously, her hand went to the V and pulled it up.  He chuckled to himself, reached across the table and pulled it back down.  “Don’t mess with perfection,” he warned her.

 

She held his gaze for what seemed like ages only for it to be interrupted by the waiter wondering what they would like to eat.  They ordered quickly and wine was brought over to them, the waiter’s attention of Sophie not going unnoticed by Mack.  As soon as they were alone again, he picked up the conversation again.  “See, even the waiter can’t take his eyes off you.”

 

“Don’t be daft.”

 

“No, seriously.  And don’t you dare,” he motioned to her hand that had travelled up to the V again.  “Do not spoil my fun, or his.  Don’t you like being appreciated?”

 

“I’m not used to it, Mack.  It makes me a little uncomfortable.”

 

“Who the hell did this to you?”  Concerned flashed across his face.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Sophie, if you really looked at yourself, you’d see exactly what I and that waiter both see.  A gorgeous, bright, smart individual who may carry a few more pounds than is deemed suitable by the media but is proud and happy of her shape as much as the man that love’s her.  I’ve made some pretty bad mistakes in the past and I’m not going to make them again.  You are lovelier than even I imagined you were and I’m so looking forward to seeing your magnificent body naked and having the opportunity to kiss every last inch of your silky smooth skin.”

 

“Charmer,” she coyly mocked him.

 

He shrugged, “maybe, a little.  But I only have the greatest respect for you; you only have to tell me when you’re ready for me to do that to you.”

 

“How about now?”  She giggled, “No, wait; just give me till after dinner.  Can’t do that on an empty stomach, can I?

 

“Well, I wouldn’t advise it and it is so nice, at last, to have dinner with a woman that has a healthy appetite instead of one that eats like a bird.”

 

“I aim to please.”

 

“Just let me do the aiming later.”

 

She slapped him on the arm, “cheeky.”

 

“I aim to please!”  He exclaimed, wriggling his eyebrows and earning himself another slap.  The food arrived and as they ate conversation turned to the food and other subjects.  Mack was glad; at least it meant the heat he was feeling between them would be allowed to settle for a little whilst giving him the opportunity to calm himself down.

 

Sophie began to ask about the vineyard and how he saw it going for the family.  He was glad to be involved in his small way and hoped that he had given them enough to finally get themselves back on their feet.  They discussed what Steven and Jenny had done about hiring someone and how they’d got bookings for the gites, whilst Sophie and Mack had been out in the fields.  Things were already positive and now Sophie wanted to discuss her own ideas.  “Mack?”  Sophie asked, sipping at the dessert wine and eating her chocolate mousse.

 

“Yeah?”  He offered her some of his crème brule, never taking his eyes off her mouth as she took the creamy sweet into her mouth, swallowed and licked her lips.  Desire lit up his loins once more as he watched her dip a strawberry into her mousse and devour that too.

 

“That night you showed me the website?”

 

“Yeah, when you tried to break it.

 

“Yeah.  Well, after you’d gone to bed I looked you up on the internet.”

 

“I know.  You left the page open.  For someone with a lot of intelligence you didn’t show much then.”

 

She held up her hands.  “Ok, busted.”

 

“Why were you looking me up?”  He quizzed her.

 

“I just wanted to see what the set up was like, for the factory.  You see when you’d told me about wanting to start over with some designer stuff it sparked off an idea.  So I did a little research.”

 

“So you didn’t just want to know my inside leg measurement then?”

 

“Stop teasing me,” she smiled at him, watching him beam.  “Well, I got to thinking.”

 

“Are you ever going to tell me what your idea is?”

 

“Yes, if you’ll let me.  What if …”  He prompted her with his head, “what if I designed them, the bedding?”

 

“What?”

 

“Well, I had a thought about using some of my existing pictures and turning part of that into a design, and then perhaps we could use machine embroidery on the bedding, sew on beads, sequins.  Just a thought, and then team them up with some of the existing products, that way there isn’t so much investment and greater return.”

 

Mack looked around him, “can the real Sophie come back please?”

 

“Mack.  I’m serious.”

 

“I know.  You’re not just a pretty face are you?  I knew you were gifted but I never imagined you had a head for business as well.  I just imagined that you left that to Steven because you didn’t know enough yourself to help out with that.”

 

“I left it to Steven because I was rarely around that’s all.  Obviously, they’d wait for me if there was a financial matter but generally I let them get on with it.”

 

“And continued to put your money into the pot.”

 

“They never stopped me having anything I needed although I live as cheaply as I can; my studio was bequeathed to me by a friend of my grandfather’s.  He had no family of his own and decided I would be glad of it.  I was.  So what do you think?”

 

“I think it’s a great idea, I’d like to see some designs first though.”

 

“I’ve got some with me.”

 

“How did you find time to do them?”

 

“Mostly when you were asleep, got the bug one morning and sketched a few ideas down.”

 

“You amaze me, show me in a bit then, let’s get out of this restaurant first.  Then amaze me again, say yes.”

 

“What for?  Why?”

 

“Just say it.”

 

She hesitated but realised there would be a good reason behind it.  “Yes.”

 

“Thank you.”  He paid the waiter as he got up from his seat, holding his arm out for her.  She took it and they strolled from the restaurant out onto the street.

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“Got the designs with you, you said?”  She nodded, “good, you said ‘yes’, remember.  You are at my mercy.”

 

“Mack?”

 

“Be quiet or am I going to have to make you.”

 

She knew what that meant.  “Make me?”  He obliged, taking her head between his hands and kissing her plum painted lips.  Her hands found their way around his neck as both moaned at the other’s touch.  They drew apart, both panting at the sudden urgency their embrace had caused.

 

“Come on,” he said, taking her hand in his and walking a little quicker.  She thought she’d better not ask again on where they were going deciding to just go with the flow.  She knew that the man that she was with would never hurt her, emotionally or physically.  She trusted him with all of her heart and if it meant that she should just go along with what he wanted then so be it, who was she to argue.  The most wonderfully gifted, gracious, handsome man wanted to spend his time with her, something she was still having a hard time believing.

 

As soon as they turned the corner from the church she knew where they were going, to his boat.  Not like he could take her anywhere else that was his anyway and it wasn’t like she was set against the idea, not now she knew the kind of man he was.  They walked along the jetty, the boats swaying with the slowly flowing current, bells tinkling, ropes pulling and stretching before relaxing again.  Finally, they reached the yacht and he jumped aboard, he held his hands out to her and as she put hers in his she jumped across the small gap into his waiting arms.

 

“Are you warm enough?”

 

“Yes, thanks.”

 

“Make yourself comfortable then.”  She sat on one of the seats in the stern, waiting for him to join her but he didn’t.  He jumped back and unhooked the ropes before climbing back on board and sitting behind the wheel.  He turned the key and set the boat in motion, allowing it to slowly move through the harbour and out into the channel, before turning the engine off, setting the sail of the boat and allowing the gentle breeze to take them on their way.  He sat behind her, keeping a hand on the tiller as his arm lazily threaded around her shoulders.

 

“Considering my only means of escape will render me very wet, do you think you’d like to tell me where we’re going?”

 

“Corsica.”

 

“Corsica?  But that’s 5 and a 1/2 hours by ferry.”

 

“We’re sailing.”

 

“I realise that.”

 

“Which means it will take longer.”

 

“I realise that, too.  I am an intellectual, after all.”

 

“At this wind speed it should take us about 7 hours, to the little remote bay I’ve picked out for the two of us anyway.”

 

“And what will we do when we get there?”

 

“Sleep, I should imagine.  For a little while anyway, it’s 10 now, so we’ll get there about 5.  Will you stay awake with me?”

 

“I’ll do my best, might need to get some coffee though.”

 

He pointed in front of him.  “The galley is just through that door and down the steps, be my guest.  Are you sure you’re warm enough?”

 

“It’s a bit colder out here, I’m ok for a minute but I’ll go and get a blanket when I get us both a drink.”

 

“Is this your first time sailing?”

 

“Yes,” she nodded, “I’m actually quite enjoying it.  I didn’t know what to expect but it’s great.”

 

“Good, I’d like to think that it was because of me that you have the widest grin on your face.”

 

“I’m sure that’s not going to be the first time you do that to me.  Right I’m going to get a blanket and some coffee for us both.”

 

“Ok, don’t be too long.”  She got up from her seat and walked over to the door that led inside.  “I’m already missing you.”  She heard him call.

 

She walked around the quarters, not quite believing how spacious it was.  She went over to the galley and put some water on to boil, before deciding to go and find a blanket for them to keep warm.  The door nearest her led into a small cabin that Mack was using for storage.  She turned and noticed another, sitting to the left of the steps.  She crossed the space to it and opened it up, switching on the light.  She stopped; there was her picture, the one she’d given him.  She remembered their conversation in the garden when he had been digging over the vegetable plot.  When he said he’d put it over his bed she hadn’t actually expected him to mean this one, ‘but where else would he put it,’ she thought, ‘this is the only bed he owns at the moment.’

 

She looked under the bed and pulled out a drawer, she noticed a couple of blankets and pulled them out, still smiling about the picture.  She looked at it again, he was right it was good and didn’t need any adjustment; she was too hard on herself sometimes.  On closing the door she heard the kettle boiling and sorted out their drinks before taking the two cups and blankets up on deck.  She caught him smiling profusely, “What’s up?”

 

“Nothing,” he replied.  “Come here and keep me warm.”

 

 

.oOo.

 

 

As soon as he was sure Sophie was well out of the way, Mack picked up her bag and pulled out the book that was in it.  He thumbed through the pages hoping to come across her designs but as the book fell open he was mesmerised and enchanted by the images that he saw.  It was like looking into a mirror as page after page contained another image of him.  She’d told him she didn’t draw portraits but these were remarkable and each one had caught him in a pose that she obviously wanted to remember him by.  He couldn’t help but smile.  How was it that she could just continue to keep amazing him?

 

He heard her beginning to come back on top and he quickly put the book back where he’d found it, the smug grin still stuck on his face.

 

“What’s up?”  She asked him, her eyes searching his face for an explanation, one that he wasn’t ready to give away just yet.  He’d have fun with that tomorrow.

 

“Nothing, come here and keep me warm.”

 

She did as she was bid, handing him the drinks as she retook her seat next to him and pulled one blanket around them both to start with.  He handed her a cup and she gratefully sipped on the creamy brown fluid, leaning back against him as she did.  “This is lovely, I really can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.  Thank you, Mack.”

 

He silently thanked whichever God was allowing him to be this happy, secretly hoping that it was never going to be taken from him.  “Nor could I, Sophie.”