Chapter 9
The weekend on My Dream was everything Eugenia had imagined it would be and more.
They sailed north, after he picked her up in New York.
He had a berth on the Hudson River, next to a cruise ship.
He only used it a few times a year when he had the boat in the States.
Most of the time she was in Europe, but this year he had brought her to the Hamptons, while he used his house there.
He had told Eugenia that he usually spent the month of August in the south of France, but this year, with Covid still lurking, he had wanted to stay closer to home, and he hadn’t been sure until July if Americans would be allowed in Europe.
As it turned out, they were, but he hadn’t known that would be the case when he made his summer plans.
They sailed around Cape Cod, and then to Maine that night.
Patrick had asked Eugenia if she could stay until Monday morning and she said she could, if they got back early enough.
The first shipment of Cotton Candy was due from the factory at midday, and she wanted to be there to look it over when they received it.
They stayed offshore most of the time, going into port in the evening for an exceptional lobster dinner on Friday night, and stayed at anchor outside the port and watched a movie in the theater.
They took Patrick’s little sailboat out in the morning, swam in the sea, and lay on the sundeck after lunch, and went for a sail after dinner on board that night.
The boat provided endless opportunity for entertainment, sports, and just time to be together and talk.
She stayed in the biggest guest cabin on Friday night and the stewardess brought her breakfast in bed in the morning, while Patrick answered emails in his office before they went sailing.
They sat talking on deck until late on Saturday night, and he walked her to her stateroom and kissed her.
“Thank you for another incredible day,” she said as he held her.
“I had a wonderful time too,” he said in a husky voice.
“I don’t want to press you, but you know I’d love it if you join me in my cabin.
It’s up to you,” he said, with a hopeful almost boyish look, and she smiled.
She felt so comfortable with him after all the time they were spending together that she felt as though she had known him for longer.
She put her arms around his neck and he held her close and kissed her.
“I think that sounds like a nice idea,” she said in a whisper, and when she did, he swept her up gently in his arms and walked her down the hall to his suite.
The door was open, and he closed it with his foot, laid her gently on his bed, lay down next to her, and carefully undressed her, as she unbuttoned his shirt and he took off the rest. There was a soft light in the room, almost like candlelight, and the moon was shining into the room, as he made love to her.
She didn’t feel as though she was making love to a stranger, but with a beloved friend.
He was a gentle, thoughtful lover, and he looked at her with such tenderness afterward as he held her.
“Thank you for staying with me tonight. I wanted you so badly, but I didn’t want to rush you and scare you off,” he said, and she kissed him.
“I wanted you too, but I was afraid it was too soon, and I didn’t want to spoil anything, or rush it.”
“You couldn’t have spoiled anything,” he said, running a gentle finger around her beautifully proportioned body.
“I love being with you, and making love to you. We have such a good time together.” He stretched out next to her then and put an arm around her, whispering in the dim light.
He turned it off and the moonlight shone in on them.
“This is so perfect, it makes me feel like I’m dreaming,” she said sleepily, and dozed off next to him.
He tucked her in, and leaned on one elbow, looking at her, wondering how he got so lucky.
She was an amazing woman. He loved her courage and her spirit, her bright creative mind, and her kindness.
—
They spent Sunday lazily on deck, after waking up late, as the yacht sailed slowly south again, toward New York. They were going to dock at the pier in the Hudson after staying offshore for the night, and entering the port in the morning.
They went to bed early and made love again.
They only slept for a few hours, and he woke her up to see the Statue of Liberty as they motored into port early on Monday morning.
It felt like a movie being with him. She had never felt so spoiled and pampered.
He thought of everything to please her, and his lovemaking was slow and sensuous and passionate.
They had breakfast on deck, next to a cruise ship as people stared down at them, and he had the crew draw curtains around the outdoor dining area so they had privacy.
“I feel like royalty traveling with you,” she said with a giggle, and he grinned at her.
“I hate to go to work. Shades of Cinderella again, every time I leave you.” He had a car and driver waiting on the dock for her.
The port was busy at that hour, and the passengers on the cruise ship were disembarking at the same time.
He walked her to the car, put his arms around her, and held her tight.
“I’ll call you tonight,” he promised. “Have a good day.”
“Thank you for a fantastic weekend.” He was becoming addictive, and she didn’t want to sleep without him. “Do you want to stay at my place tonight?” she asked him, and he smiled broadly.
“I’d love that. I’ll call you later and we’ll figure out dinner.” She nodded, gave him a quick kiss, and got into the car. The driver took her suitcase and put it in the trunk, and a minute later they drove away as Patrick rushed up the gangway for a Zoom call in five minutes.
She felt like a princess being driven to work, dropping off her bag with the doorman at her building on the way to the store, where Pam was already waiting for her.
Eugenia was wearing sneakers and jeans, a navy-and-white-striped T-shirt, and a blazer, with her hair in a neat ponytail.
They had work to do, clearing another of the couture fitting rooms for all the Cotton Candy merchandise coming in.
They were going to put it on racks. The clothes for her runway show were already hanging in the third fitting room, with the accessories Eugenia had chosen, and the exquisite wedding gown that was the finale of her show.
Pam had gotten a cappuccino for Eugenia, and they got to work setting up the racks as soon as she arrived.
“Nice weekend?” Pam asked her pleasantly. She had no idea where Eugenia had been, or with whom. She assumed she had stayed home that weekend, or visited Daphne in the Hamptons.
“Very. How’s my marketing consultant?”
“She’s staying at a friend’s house in Connecticut, so I can work late if we have to.”
The clothes arrived from the factory promptly at noon, and Eugenia, Pam, and the salesclerk from the store opened all the cartons, put everything on hangers, and steamed them, after Eugenia examined each one and was satisfied with the quality of the work.
She was grinning with delight as she looked at the result of Eloise’s brilliant idea.
They had a full line of clothes in three sizes and several colorways. More than enough to get started.
“Where are we putting it?” Marina, from the store, had no idea what Eugenia was doing, and was stunned by the merchandise they’d been unpacking. It was about as far one could get from Eugenia’s other lines.
“I don’t have the SoHo pop-up yet,” Pam informed Eugenia. “I called three realtors. Two of them never called me back, and the third one said she had nothing decent available at the moment. A lot of lesser brands have grabbed them for Fashion Week.”
“We don’t need it. I have a better idea, for free,” Eugenia said, eyeing the merchandise closely. They’d done good work at the factory.
“You’re going to put them out on the street?” Pam looked dubious. “They’ll get stolen.” Eugenia turned to Marina then.
“There are four bolts of pink tulle in the first fitting room. Grab my staple gun and my glue gun out of my desk, and leave the tulle in the store. We’ll be down in a few minutes.
” Marina hurried off to the fitting room next door, and took the bolts to the store one by one.
They were heavy to carry even though it was only tulle.
There was one bolt of pale lavender tulle with sequins glued to it, and she took that too in case Eugenia wanted it.
Pam and Eugenia maneuvered the racks on wheels into the freight elevator behind the fitting rooms, got the racks out onto the sidewalk and into the store, and locked the door behind them.
Eugenia took her jacket off and tossed it on a chair.
The chair was sleek and modern, covered in nubby white wool to match the rest of the furniture in the store.
There were two small antique chests, and Eugenia directed Pam and Marina to move them to a stockroom in the back of the store. They wouldn’t work with the clothes.
They set up two more racks, put the stock on them that had been hanging, and moved those to the stockroom too. The selection was sparse, since they were doing so little business, and had had no new evening gowns to show for months.