Sunshine and Second Chances Read online

  ‘Eu gosto muito de você.’

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘It means, “I like you very much.”’

  Debs blushed. ‘I like you very much too.’

  Moving closer to her, he took her hand, intertwining their fingers. Her heart began to beat faster and her body tingled from head to toe. God, what was this man doing to her. She was reduced to feeling like a fifteen-year-old with her first crush and it felt uncontrollable.

  His head bent towards her and he kissed the tip of her nose. His touch was as light as a feather. She was sure he could feel her body trembling. She didn’t know whether it was with nerves, fear, excitement or anticipation, but it felt as if her heart was pounding loud enough for him to hear.

  His warm soft lips touched hers so gently and hers melted against them. His tongue flicked across her bottom lip so delicately, she wondered whether she’d imagined it. And then the gentleness got a whole lot more passionate.

  Twenty-One

  Debs’ heart began to beat faster. Eduardo moved his head away from hers and it felt as if her lips were on fire. His soft stubbly beard had awoken a million nerve endings and her chin was tingling.

  ‘Do you believe in fate, Debs?’ His eyes bored into hers.

  She nodded, unable to speak.

  ‘Do you believe that some people are meant to be together even though they’ve only just met? How do you call it in England? First sight love?’

  She nodded. ‘Love at first sight, yes.’

  ‘I do too, Debs.’

  He turned towards her and gently stroked her breast at the same time as biting her bottom lip. A moan escaped from her lips.

  ‘Quero fazer amor com você.’

  She was pretty sure that even if he said, ‘I’m just going to put the bins out’ it would tickle her ovaries.

  She whispered, ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘It means, I want to make love to you right now.’

  ‘Oh!’ Her mind was working overtime. Shit, shit, shit.

  ‘Would you like that too?’

  She hesitated. She wondered what the hell she was doing sitting here in a passionate embrace with a man who two days ago she didn’t even know. It seemed like the maddest thing in the world, yet the most right thing at the very same time. She recalled what Margo had said earlier: it was better to look back and regret the things you’d done, than look back and wished that you’d done them. And right now, she wanted this man so much. She smiled at Eduardo and nodded her agreement.

  He swooped down and lifted her up and carried her through to the lounge, laying her on the sofa. He started to undress her. Grabbing the throw that was draped across the back of the sofa, she tried to cover herself, but he took it away and took the rest of her clothes off until she lay on the sofa totally naked.

  ‘You are beautiful, I want to see all of you.’

  Working his way up her body from her toes, he laid featherlight kisses all the way to her fingertips. She thought her body might explode, and that was before he gently eased himself inside her and took her to a place of ecstasy that she’d never been before.

  ‘Debs, you are amazing. How have I only just met you? I feel like I know you forever.’

  He wrapped the cashmere throw tenderly around her shoulders and slowly ran his finger down her thigh, before he stretched and stood, starting to get dressed. She sighed. She really couldn’t believe that this bronzed, half-naked, gorgeous man standing before her had wanted her and that she’d just had sex with him.

  She’d never slept with another man. Dave had been her boyfriend from the age of fifteen. They lost their virginity together on her sixteenth birthday and he had been the only man she’d ever slept with. Sex with Dave had turned into more of a chore by the end. Something you knew you had to do and did as quickly as you could because you had lots of other jobs to get on with. In complete contrast, being with Eduardo was the most sensual, erotic experience she’d ever had and it had felt so right.

  Eduardo looked at his watch.

  ‘Do you have to go?’ she asked, feeling quite needy at that moment. This had been an absolutely huge step for her and she hoped it wasn’t going to be something that she quickly regretted.

  ‘Not right now, but I will have to go soon. Besides, your friends might be back.’

  She nodded. ‘Can you stay for a tiny bit longer?’

  ‘Of course, my love. But then I must go and water the gardens in this area before the sun dries them out.’

  Debs sincerely hoped that gardens would be the only thing he would be tending to in the other three properties. An awful thought popped into her mind. Perhaps this is what Eduardo did. Perhaps he was a complete and utter tart, who preyed on women on holiday, got what he wanted from them, and then never saw them again. She became hot and flustered, wondering if all those lovely words he’d said to her might be lies and if she’d been well and truly taken in by them. What a fool she would feel if she found that out.

  As if reading her mind, Eduardo sat by her side and reached for her hands, leaning against her.

  ‘Debs, I want to know everything about you. I want to be with you more. I want you to know that I think you are most beautiful lady I meet. And I want you to know that I don’t do this, with anyone before. It has been a long time since I feel this way about a woman.’

  She stood and picked up her clothes, throwing her dress over her head and retrieving her pants from the floor. Thank goodness she’d thought to put a decent pair on today, just in case, and hadn’t worn the frumpy, comfy old granny ones she normally wore.

  ‘But, Eduardo, I’m fat and old and—’

  He held his finger up to her lips.

  ‘Shhhh! You are most beautiful to me, Debs. I wish I could make you see what I can see. I see a very sexy lady with gorgeous curves. I see a woman with a smile that lights up a room. I see a woman who has seen life and knows about the world. And I see a lady who I cannot stop thinking about, and who makes my heart beat hard.’ He banged his fist on his chest. ‘You make me smile and be happy than I have ever been, and I want to be with you.’ He reached down and kissed her slowly and gently on the lips and she felt like she was just melting. Goodness, what was happening to her?

  ‘Would it be too much if I asked you to come out with me again tomorrow? Would your friends mind if you left them for another day? I would like to show you more of my beautiful country and if you would allow me, I would like to show you my home.’

  Debs thought she was dreaming. She couldn’t understand why he believed those things and wanted to spend time with her. She wondered whether the girls would be mad with her if she spent yet another day apart from them. After all, this was supposed to be their holiday for spending time together. But, she couldn’t help herself and she nodded at him.

  ‘I’d love to.’

  He opened his arms and she snuggled against his warm body, and it felt as if they fitted together perfectly.

  ‘I have only been in love once, Debs, and it was a long time ago. I don’t remember ever feeling like this though. What about you?’

  ‘I was married for a long time, but then Dave, my husband, he fell out of love with me and into love with someone else. Someone younger and prettier, and thinner and a real blonde.’

  ‘And how do you feel about this?’

  ‘Well, at first it was a huge shock. I never saw it coming, but I suppose I’m getting used to doing things on my own now. This trip to Portugal is the first time I’ve ever flown alone in nearly fifty years.’

  ‘Oh my God! You are telling me that you are nearly fifty. Never.’ He feigned shock.

  She tapped his arm playfully and grinned. ‘In my head I’m only about twenty-three, but everything else tells me I’m at least fifty. How old are you, Eduardo?’

  ‘I’m forty-five. So I can be your Portuguese toy? Is that how they say it in England? You are my leopard.’

  Debs giggled. ‘Toy boy. And cougar. But close enough.’ She never thought she’d ever us
e those words in relation to herself. ‘Does it not bother you that I’m older than you?’

  He shrugged. ‘Why would it?’

  She loved the way he looked at life. Nothing seemed to faze him. Perhaps that’s what living in the sun and doing a job that you love does for you. Dave was constantly moaning about how he hated his job at an engineering company. She’d told him many times to find something else, or to retrain, but he couldn’t motivate himself to do anything about it and seemed to prefer that he had something to moan about. She couldn’t help but compare the two men. They were so incredibly different.

  ‘I will message you later,’ Eduardo said, interrupting her thoughts. ‘Até amanhã, meu amor.’ He kissed her hand and walked away.

  The minute he’d gone, she missed his presence. She couldn’t believe that he’d made such an impression on her in such a short time.

  Debs was at the dining table, enjoying experimenting with some of the craft stuff that she’d bought, when the others arrived. She’d needed something to keep her mind busy, because since Eduardo had left, it had been working overtime.

  ‘Yoohoo! We’re back!’

  Debs looked up and smiled at her friends, and Liv wandered over to the table to see what she was doing.

  ‘I’m sure when you’re ready you’ll tell us what has been going on here that has put a dirty great smile on your face. Because I’m sure that crafting alone won’t have done that. Fancy a coffee?’ She winked at Debs and walked into the kitchen, then back into the lounge a few minutes later, carrying a tray of mugs.

  Debs couldn’t look Liv in the eye as she wandered over to the sofa, picked up and folded the cashmere throw and smoothed the sofa over, saying that she’d had a little sleep as she hadn’t slept well last night. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Liv smirking and she felt like giggling. She felt on top of the world and she’d always be grateful to Eduardo for making her feel this way. She felt a million dollars and had started to believe that perhaps she was all those things that he said. Instead of feeling fat and frumpy, she felt voluptuous and sexy. She’d never felt this way before and she liked this new her.

  ‘Anyway, tell me about your golf lesson,’ Debs said. ‘Was it good? Did you have a handsome golf teacher?’

  ‘It was really good,’ said Samantha. ‘We spent some time on the range just shooting some balls.’ Debs tittered at that expression, and Samantha tutted at her playfully before continuing. ‘Then we went onto the green. We all had a good go and I don’t think we embarrassed ourselves too much, did we, girls?’

  ‘I really enjoyed it. But then out here it would be good. The sun is shining and it’s roasting. I still don’t see the attraction when you are in England and it’s chucking it down with rain,’ said Liv. ‘Yet George still seems to love it. Probably because he gets to have an afternoon without the boys and me screaming at each other.’

  Samantha added, ‘I tell you what though, Debs, you should take up golf if you’re looking for a bloke. It’s a great way to meet men, and all they want to do is make themselves look good so they’re happy to teach. And it’s quite nice. I have to say, when a man is snuggling into your bottom from behind, with his arms wrapped around you, trying to teach you how to swing a club. I kept pretending I didn’t get it, just so I could carry on in that position. I think he must have had a gun in his pocket though!’

  They all laughed at Samantha.

  ‘It made me feel like getting a bloke of my own. Perhaps that’s something to look into when I get back. Perhaps I need to enrol at a local golf course,’ she said.

  ‘Oh, I forgot to tell you, Debs. We’ve booked a boat trip. Mikey got in touch with the company we’d seen – remember those two gorgeous men? – and we’re going on a sunset sail tomorrow evening. It’s going to be fab,’ said Liv.

  ‘Brilliant. That sounds delightful,’ said Debs, hoping she’d be back in time from her day out.

  ‘And don’t think for one minute you’re not going to tell us all about what you’ve been up to today either, lady,’ said Liv.

  Fiona clearly hadn’t nodded off like Debs thought she had, even though she was looking awfully comfy on the reclining chair. She lifted one eyelid and said, ‘There are some bits I think she probably shouldn’t tell us about.’

  More laughs followed and Debs told them about meeting Margo at the craft shop and how she’d loved whiling away a couple of hours making cards and bookmarks and she showed off her creations to lots of oohs and aahs.

  ‘They’re so good, Debs, you should start selling them.’ Samantha picked up the craft items and turned them over, nodding approvingly.

  ‘Ah, it’s just something I like doing. It helps me to relax.’

  ‘Well, I have loads of birthdays coming up over the next few months,’ Liv excitedly mentioned. ‘I’d love you to make some cards for me to give and maybe some little gifts too. What do you think, Debs?’

  Debs smiled and knew that she would really love to take on a few commissions to get her back into the swing of things. Who knew? Maybe when she got home she’d find out where the local craft fayres were held and maybe have a small stand and see what the interest was. But then a wave of sadness hit her as the thought about going home, realising she’d be leaving a little bit of herself behind here in Portugal.

  She’d been obsessively checking her phone every five minutes before the girls got back, wondering whether she would hear from Eduardo about the day out he had promised her. But since they’d got back she’d been busy so she was surprised when her phone pinged.

  My beautiful Debs. I will pick you up at ten a.m. Bernardo tells me that there is a boat trip for you ladies tomorrow night, so I will have you back in time. Have a wonderful evening with your friends. E x

  Her heart skipped a beat and as she looked up she saw Liv and that smirk again, and she grinned back at her.

  ‘Well, I don’t know about you guys but I’m going to have a soak in the bath and get myself glammed up for this evening. I’m so looking forward to this casino night.’

  Debs left the room with some swagger to her walk.

  Twenty-Two

  ‘Whoa! That’s impressive.’ Debs was dazzled by the exterior of the casino before she’d even stepped out of the car. The limo circled the central courtyard’s lit-up multi-coloured fountain, pulling up to a gentle stop right outside the large domed entrance. One of the smartly dressed doormen wearing a hat and long coat arrived as if by magic and opened the limo’s doors to let the ladies out.

  They could see Keith and Angela lingering just inside the imposing foyer but there was no sign yet of Mikey and Bernardo. As they all greeted each other, with lots of cheek kissing, another car pulled up with the boys inside. They fitted in well with the other sophisticated clientele, looking gorgeously dapper in black suits, white shirts and smart ties. Mikey greeted his parents with a kiss on each cheek, and Bernardo shook hands with them both. He introduced Bernardo to the ladies and as there were air kisses all around once more, Liv wondered whether all Portuguese men were so stylish. He looked very serious and Mikey looked downright petrified. She felt sorry for them both and hoped that the evening wasn’t going to be too awkward for everyone.

  She was glad of an excuse for them all to get dolled up this evening. They were wearing black, all having earlier expressed relief that they’d thought to bring a dressy dress on the holiday. Most women have that little black dress that can be brought out as an occasion dress.

  Keith and Bernardo led the way through the foyer to the main casino area, where they wandered around observing the crowd for a few minutes and working out where they’d like to go first. It was starting to get busy. Their dining table was booked at nine and Liv was looking forward to seeing the show, before they took their chances at the variety of tables.

  Liv linked arms with Mikey and patted his hand. ‘Don’t worry too much, darling, what will be will be. I’m a huge believer that everything happens for a reason. Just try to enjoy the evening. My parents, sadly,
are no longer here for me to spend time with, so just appreciate the time you are getting to spend with yours while they’re here. I don’t mean to preach, but I’d give anything to spend the evening with my mum and dad.’

  ‘You’re right, Olivia. You know, you’re quite wise. I do hope that this holiday has been everything you wanted it to be.’

  ‘It’s been way more than I wanted it to be already, Mikey, and thank you for making it all run so smoothly and for not saying anything about the cost of everything. The girls would never have agreed if I’d told them how much it really cost, and it really is so wonderful to be back with them. I’ve missed them more than they’ll ever know.’

  ‘Well, I hope you continue to have a wonderful time before you have to go home.’

  ‘Hmmm. Home,’ Liv muttered under her breath and a big cloud of sadness passed her eyes.

  She looked up at Mikey. He was so handsome. He was going subtly grey at the temples, with strong cheekbones that most women would die for, and twinkling grey eyes that you got lost in. And such a kind, generous, considerate man. She really hoped that everything worked out for him. He did so much for others, and it was only fair that life was good to him too. She hoped that if anything did indeed come out of the woodwork this evening, that she could be there for him, because he’d never know what he’d done for her on this holiday. Facilitating her every wish had allowed her to have some clarity on what she wanted from her future. How she needed to change things dramatically when she got home, if she wanted to repair her broken family, before it was beyond mending.

  When women came together it made them stronger, and she felt that spending a considerable length of time together, not snatching fifteen minutes for a phone call, had sparked things for all of them. This was just the start of the next part of all of their journeys. She felt that being with these dear friends for just this short time, had filled her full of something which had been missing from her life for a long time. Joy.