Chapter 6 #2
“I hope he doesn’t. It’s not a life. I hope he has kids, and more than just one, like you did. It was brave of you, and smart.” Interestingly, Eugenia and Patrick were both only children.
“It wasn’t planned,” she admitted humbly. “I just followed my husband blindly and believed what he said. It turned out he was lying. But I’m happy I have the kids, no matter how much I worry about them.”
“Well, today is your day off,” he reminded her. “This is our day. What would you like to do first? Swim? A massage? Lie in the sun and do nothing? Take the little sailboat out? Name your pleasure.”
“Being with you,” she said shyly. “I love talking to you.” Patrick was so smart, so kind, and so open with her.
He felt more comfortable with her than he had with any woman in years.
He hadn’t expected to feel that way about her, when Daphne said she wanted to introduce him to her mother.
He was just being polite when he agreed.
“What about lying in the sun, and figuring the rest out later?” she said, and he liked the idea.
He didn’t have to impress her with toys and activities.
“That sounds perfect.” And she followed him up to the sundeck. There were sunbeds all around them, and they looked inviting. “You can change in one of the guest cabins if you like,” he offered, and she laughed.
“I came prepared.” She took off her T-shirt and jeans, and was wearing a powder pink bikini under her clothes.
She lay down on a towel he spread out for her.
He had swimming trunks on under his shorts, which he took off with his pale blue T-shirt before lying down next to her.
He had a well-toned, athletic body, as a result of many trainers and coaches that he hired to stay in shape.
He played tennis and squash twice a week, and swam every day.
Eugenia wasn’t as athletic, but she was long and lean with beautiful skin.
He touched her arm gently and noticed how soft it was.
They chatted on and off in the morning sun and then they both dozed.
She offered to put his sunblock on for him, and he noticed how gentle her hands were and how light her touch, and he put some on her back.
They were lying close together, and he was holding her hand when they fell asleep.
They felt as though they had known each other forever, after what they had shared in a short time.
She liked knowing about his family and his youth, and he was intrigued by what he knew of her.
He couldn’t imagine her with a man like Umberto.
She was so totally without artifice or pretense, and her ex-husband sounded like a shallow fraud to him.
She deserved better than the life she had led with him, his venal motives, and leaving her to bring up their children alone.
But Patrick was impressed that she had done a good job, having met them.
He wished that his son had come home with a girl like one of her daughters, but he hadn’t even come close.
He was currently dating a young actress in L.A.
, who was spectacularly beautiful, but had just gotten out of rehab for a coke habit, and had a previous boyfriend she was still involved with.
It sounded like a mess to Patrick because it was, like all of Quinn’s romances.
There was always a hitch somewhere, a trick, a trap door waiting to open, an excuse not to get serious, or a backstairs escape for him.
Quinn was getting too old for that, at thirty-five.
Patrick wondered when he’d wake up, or if marriage and children weren’t among his goals.
His successful startup of the moment was.
Patrick and Eugenia woke up at the same time, rolled onto their sides, facing each other, and smiled.
“This is heaven,” she said in a sensual soft voice as she wokeup.
“It’s My Dream, ” he said, and smiled. “I’ve had boats before, but never one as wonderful as this.
It took them four years to build and was worth the wait.
If I sell everything, this will be the last to go.
I could live on it. I like it better than any of my homes.
I can just pick up and go whenever I want to.
I have a little sailboat I take out by myself when I need to think or just relax. ”
“Should we give it a try, or is it a one-man boat?”
“Are you a sailor?” He looked surprised. She was so elegant and sophisticated, he couldn’t imagine her in a tiny boat.
“I went to sailing camp in Maine when I was a kid. My father was an avid sailor, so he made me learn how to sail, since he didn’t have a son.” She smiled at him. “I haven’t been in a little boat since then. It sounds like fun.”
“I’ll tell them to get it out after lunch,” he said happily. It was noon by then, and he had ordered lunch to be served at twelve-thirty.
They went for a swim in the pool before lunch, and then showered and put on dry bathing suits, and the chef had put out salads, cold meats, and lobster.
It was a delicious meal, and they talked all through lunch, making each other laugh at stories from their youth and early work years.
After lunch, they went down to the lowest deck with the huge yawning opening, big enough for his toys to be moved in and out, and the little sailboat was waiting for them in the water.
It was as small as he had said, a beautiful little wooden boat, and he handed her in, and made her put on a life vest. He knew the crew would be keeping an eye on them from the distance to make sure they didn’t run into trouble or capsize, and she was surprised to find that she still remembered the basic principles of sailing a boat that size.
She made a few mistakes and he corrected them.
It was a glorious afternoon, with just enough wind to fill their sails, and he guided the little sailboat expertly a fair distance from the yacht.
“You’re actually a pretty good sailor,” he said, surprised.
“Thank you, at least I haven’t capsized us yet,” she said with a grin.
“I’ve done that a few times myself. I’m a lucky man. I have a golden life and I never forget it, and these are the best moments, sharing simple pleasures with people you care about. I never lose sight of that,” he said, and she nodded.
“Neither do I, although lately I’ve been afraid I’ll lose everything I’ve built,” she admitted softly.
“If you do, you’ll build it again, or something else,” he said, and he believed it. She told him about Eloise’s idea, Cotton Candy. “That’s pure genius, and the best way to reinvent yourself. It sounds like fun.”
“I think it could actually work,” she said, excited about it, as they sailed back to the yacht. They both hated to leave the sailboat, and when they did, he guided her to the spa on the lower deck. “Do you hate massages?”
“No, I love them, but I never have time.”
“Today is your day off, remember? I have the best masseuse on the East Coast. Would you like to try her?” He had thought of every possible way to pamper her and spoil her and make it a magical day.
“That sounds amazing.” He left her in the healing hands of the masseuse for an hour and came back to get her.
She looked dazed, and said she had never felt so relaxed, and then she turned to him with a question.
She felt like a child at Christmas, and he was Santa Claus.
“Can we swim off the boat before dinner? I love swimming in the sea,” she said.
“I didn’t want to suggest it, it makes some people uncomfortable.
I do it every day when I’m on the boat, twice a day.
” They dove in together, and swam a good distance.
It woke Eugenia up after the massage. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day and invigorated them.
She was a strong swimmer, and she was barely out of breath when they got back to the boat.
He had stayed close to her in case she got tired, but she was an even match for him.
They climbed back up the ladder onto the boat, and he took her to a guestroom to dry off and change back into her clothes.
She had brought a light silver sweater she had bought in Italy years before, and was wearing silver sandals with her jeans.
Patrick was wearing white jeans and a white polo shirt with the logo of the boat when he came back to get her.
They drank champagne on the deck and watched the sunset, and the chef had prepared another buffet of seafood.
They ate a hearty meal, and there was soft music in the background.
It felt slightly like a seduction scene, but with him it wasn’t.
He was so natural and normal with Eugenia that it felt like they were best friends rather than lovers, which was more comfortable for her.
Patrick was sharing his world with her, not trying to seduce her or take advantage of her.
She liked this better. He wanted her to spend the night, but he knew better than to suggest it to her, he knew she wouldn’t have stayed.
They were building something that was even better and he wanted it to last, and to savor it.
He hoped they would remember these days someday.
“I think today was one of the best days of my life,” Eugenia said to him, as he poured her a last glass of champagne. The crew had served them efficiently, but not hovered, so they had privacy and could talk freely, which they had all day, interspersed with comfortable silences.