Hot Basque: A French Summer Novel 2 (19 page)

As she hoisted herself out of the water with a smooth efficient push of her arms, Caroline and Jill broke into spontaneous applause.

‘Wow! That was impressive Nadia. And beautiful to watch.’

‘Yes, you’re really good.’

Jill patted the sun bed next to her. With a shy smile, Nadia sat down and began to towel her hair.

‘I was in the swimming team at school. Then later the national team.’

‘Really?’The Polish national team?’

‘Yes. I had to stop when my father-’ she faltered, broke off, pulled herself together and continued almost sternly.

‘My father died. He fell down, at work, suddenly. It was–’ she searched for the word ‘aneurysm?’

‘Yes, an aneurysm.’ Jill’s face showed sympathetic shock. ‘How old was he?’

Nadia looked down, wiped some water off the sun bed.

‘Forty-two. After that, it was very hard for my mother. My big sister, Paula, finally she took my mother to her home to be with family. And I, that was when I started to look for a job.’

‘Is that how you came to work for Julian and Annabel?’

‘No, this is my third family.’

She leaned over and stroked Joshua’s cheek.

‘It must have been hard,’ said Jill. ‘To leave the other children, I mean. You must get attached.’

‘Yes, sometimes it was very hard.’

She reached for her bag, rummaged inside and took out a wallet.

‘These are my other children.’

She took out two photos. One of them showed Nadia and a little girl with blonde curls, mouth open in a giggle, hands clutched across her chest. Nadia was crouched down behind, tickling her. Her hair was shorter, framing her smiling face.

‘This is Rosa. Now she is eight. The family went to America. But we still Skype. Rosa speaks American now. Next is Hans.’

The next photo was more formal. Two grownups stood behind a dark-haired little boy. The mother had her hands on his shoulders. Nadia stood slightly to one side. All of them stared solemnly at the camera. Nadia’s hair was longer, tied back in the style she wore now.

‘You all look very serious.’

‘Yes. It was a serious family. Not like with Rosa. The parents were very strict. But little Hans, he was very loving. Always wanting, you know, a cuddle?’

‘Yes, a cuddle. Aww. So why did you leave that family?’

Nadia pursed her lips.

‘The father was a very strict man. I was with them for three years, then the father sent little Hans to school, boarding school, he said it was good for self control, to make him a man. I often write, but I have no news.’

She put the photos away abruptly.

‘And with my sister? How are you finding things?’

The words were out of Caroline’s mouth before she realised.

Nadia’s face was inscrutable.

‘It’s alright,’ said Caroline. ‘I know she can be difficult.’

Suddenly Nadia bent over Joshua and kissed him. She smoothed his hair, kissed him again.

‘Joshua is a beautiful baby. Loving. No problems. Not for me. I hope...’ She gazed down into his blue eyes. ‘I hope I can stay with you, Joshua, I hope I stay a long long time, till you are a big boy.’ She murmured something to him in Polish.

The baby gazed up at Nadia, beaming. He waved his arms, burst into a series of little cries.

‘He obviously adores you.’

Caroline struggled to keep her voice steady.

Joshua was kicking furiously, his eyes locked on Nadia, a string of sounds coming from his mouth, ‘na na na na’.

‘I think he’s trying to say your name,’ said Jill.

‘You think?’

Nadia looked at Jill, eyes wide.

‘Na na na na!’ said Joshua, more insistently, thrusting a fist in Nadia’s direction, and they all burst out laughing.

‘How old were you when you first started to swim?’ asked Caroline.

‘Very young. My father...’ she paused again.

‘My father teached, sorry, taught me. In his family everyone was a good swimmer, they put the children in the water very young.’

‘How young?’

Nadia shrugged.

‘One year. Six months.’

‘Six months? You mean the same age as Josh?’

‘Yes. I was six months. There is a photograph. But also I think I remember a little.’

‘Really? You remember being in the water for the first time?’

‘Not really remember, just a feeling. A strange feeling. But good.’

‘At the place where I go for my aquagym classes they have mother and baby sessions as well,’ said Jill.

The three of them gazed thoughtfully at Joshua.

‘It would be lovely to take him in, just for a little dip, wouldn’t it?’

‘It would. But we’re not going to do it,’ said Caroline. ‘Just imagine if anything went wrong.’

‘With three of us holding him? But you’re right. We could suggest it to Jules, though, when he gets back?’

Which is what they did.

Julian looked highly dubious but when Caroline explained about Nadia he turned to her in surprise.

‘I didn’t know you were a swimmer Nadia.’

Nadia pulled her towel further round her shoulders.

‘Not just any swimmer,’ said Jill, ‘a member of the Polish national team, no less.’

‘And,’ said Caroline, ‘all her family learned to swim as babies. What do you think Jules? I only wish someone had taught me when I was a baby.’

Caroline’s fear of water was well known.

‘What do you think Eddie?’

Julian turned to his friend.

‘Sounds like a great idea to me. Look how he likes his bath.’

They had all joined in with Joshua’s bath time ritual the previous evening.

So it was decided. Edward and Julian went off to get changed.

‘Well done you,’ said Caroline, with a smile at Nadia. ‘I think it’ll be good for baby and good for Daddy too, don’t you?’

In the end it was good for all of them. Joshua’s antics in the water, his obvious delight in this new element, plus the fact that he had five grownups to play with, caused him to shriek so loudly and splash so lustily that they all agreed this would now be a part of his daily routine. As the shadows started to lengthen and the pines began to emit clouds of balsamic perfume, they stayed in the pool, enjoying the holiday feeling, being with friends, being fortunate enough to be together in this beautiful garden.

‘It’s all starting Courtenay. The growing up process. Swimming lessons. Later it’ll be football practice, then tennis, then cricket, then he’ll be putting gel in his hair and going off to meet his mates down the disco.’

Everyone laughed, but Caroline noticed the shadow that crossed Julian’s face as he forced himself to join in.

Who knew what the future held? If Julian and Annabel were really at the end of the line, what would happen to Baby Joshua?

Antoine rolled up on his bike at seven the next morning.

Jill, who had not got back from her ‘nightcap’ with him until 2 am, had managed to drag herself out of bed at six. He’d suggested she stay over at his flat but all her swimming things were at the villa so she’d finally forced herself to say ‘enough!’ and reluctantly left his warm bed and loving arms.

Now she was ready for her first surfing lesson, trying to ignore her lack of sleep and aching muscles which still throbbed pleasantly with the memory of their love-making. She’d toyed with the idea of talking him out of the surfing idea and settling for a mammoth orgy instead but he was so keen to get his little seahorse out on the waves she didn’t have the heart to disappoint him. And there were still plenty of long languorous nights ahead of them, she supposed she’d end up confessing to Caroline very soon that she’d like to change her status at the villa from full-time to part-time guest...

But one thing at a time. Today she was going to be initiated into the mysteries of the surfboard. She was ready. Anxious, but ready. At least under her shorts and T-shirt she was wearing a swimsuit that fitted. After her first aquagym session back in May she’d shot back to the sports shop and acquired a more respectable, matronly model in a larger size. Two sizes larger, actually. And, when she put on the wetsuit, a lot of the wobbly bits would hopefully morph into slinky snakehips. The downside was that she’d look as though she was wearing an inner tube. But at least she wouldn’t have a diaphragm on her head, an elastic band would do fine, she’d seen the women at the beach yesterday, they just tied their hair back into ponytails, much like the majority of the men, who seemed to have locks as long as their female counterparts. Except for Antoine and the rest of the gang, who all wore their hair short, but then they were mad
pelota
players as well as mad surfers.

She took a deep breath. Time to see if she had the surfing gene or if she was going to make a complete wally of herself by falling off the board arse over teakettle as her Granny used to say.

‘Ready, Irish?’

Antoine was looking at her like a proud Daddy watching Little Jillian prepare to step on stage in the role of Mary in the Christmas play. Jill plastered a beaming smile on her face and gave him a thumbs up. What wouldn’t she give for Granny’s magic rosary.

***

Down by the water’s edge the boom of the surf was deafening. Before they went in, Antoine took her through a few basic techniques, shouting into the wind and miming body positions. They would start with some simple body surfing. Simple! Jill, her eyes fixed on Antoine’s, nodding her head as he explained, didn’t dare to look at the giant rollers. She was also suddenly in dire need to go to the loo. That would have the additional advantage of delaying the moment of truth for at least an hour by the time she’d wiggled in and out of the inner tube. Now, where was that sign saying ‘
Toilettes Publiques
’?

She opened her mouth to ask but Antoine had clasped her firmly by the hand and suddenly they were off. She almost lost her footing wading in and the shock of the water made her gasp, she was sure she felt an ice-floe brush past her legs.

‘OK we are enough far. Remember all what I told you?’

His words were difficult to hear over the wind and the waves. She gave a terrified nod then found herself on the surfboard, clutching its edges in a death grip.

Antoine was paddling close by, grinning.

‘I am here by you, Jill. Nothing can hurt you.’

The way he was looking at her, all those little droplets on his long eyelashes...suddenly the water felt a whole lot warmer. She might actually be going to enjoy this.

‘Look! A wave!’

She turned her head. She couldn’t see the wave, there was an avalanche in the way, a gigantic, enormous, terrifying avalanche, roaring towards her, a menacing wall of cloudy green with a ridiculously jaunty white frill along the top. Wait a minute, why was it green–

‘
Un deux trois–vas-y!
’

A ton of water came crashing down on her head.

***

Two hours later, she was sitting on the beach next to Antoine, shaking her hair loose from the elastic, laughing like a loon.

‘It was marvellous, marvellous! Now I understand what gets you out of bed so early, oh Antoine, thank you so much. You’re an excellent teacher, you really are.’

With extras, she thought, remembering all the times when he’d grabbed her, held her, managed to get her upright, pulling her in for a long squeeze, pressing her close against his hard body, encouraging her to go on.

‘You want to finish with a swim? Without the suits?’

She did. Antoine helped escape from her rubber prison and she raked a hand through her mop, pulling it back into a pony tail again.

‘Race you to the water!’

The joy of plunging into the sea and feeling it slip over her skin unimpeded by the wetsuit sent a rush of pleasure through her body. Freedom! She kicked out, joined Antoine, who had turned on his back and was letting the swells rock him. As she came close, he reached out and pulled her in, his biceps hard as rocks, his body a dark shining bronze in the water. He rolled her on top of him, under him, pressed her body against his, wrapping his strong legs around her. He licked the salt from her neck, put his tongue in her ear, rubbed his thumbs against her nipples. She held on, eyes half-closed, breathless, letting him play with her like a dolphin with its mate. She was happy, deliriously, unbelievably happy. If he’d suddenly plunged to the depths of the ocean and tied her to an anchor she’d have died ecstatic. He slipped behind, pulled her against him, ran his hands over her body, holding her tight as the sea lifted them then lowered them. She could feel him hard against her buttocks, see the desire in his eyes when he turned her, pulling her close. Her body was tingling with arousal, he slid one hand inside her swimsuit, her head jerked back against his encircling arm and she was overcome with a rush of pleasure, carried away, utterly helpless, her gasps drowned by the screaming of the gulls and the pounding of the surf.

Afterwards, when they lay side by side on his towel on the beach she turned to look at him. Their fingers were entwined, their arms and legs touching.

‘Oh Antoine. I...’

He rolled on to his side looked down at her.

She stared fascinated at those dark eyes, dark skin, hair as thick and gleaming as a seal’s fur. His lips drew back in a huge smile, dazzling, dangerous. The smile of a wolf,
un sourire de loup
, Caroline had said. If she had the strength to raise her head she was sure that she would see his ship, anchored at the mouth of the bay, spars and rigging and sails furled, the Jolly Roger fluttering in the breeze...

He leaned close, his breath warm in her ear.

‘Je te désire, Irish, ma belle, my beautiful Jill...’

Her eyes left his mouth, travelled upwards, locked once more on those dark, dark eyes below the assertive arch of his eyebrows. Desire. But they held something else, those eyes, they brimmed with unbearable emotion, speaking to her of passion, of tenderness, of love.

She was lost.

***

‘Is it OK if I go and watch a film, Caroline?’

Nadia couldn’t seem to get out of the habit of asking for permission in spite of Caroline’s best efforts. They had been swimming and sunbathing, stretched out by the pool in the shade of the immense pine tree near the far end, dozing and reading, Jill with her sketch book propped on her knees, looking up from time to time, dreamy-eyed, then back down at the work in progress.

‘Of course Nadia. You know how to work the DVD player?’

Silly question. Nadia knew how DVDs worked, and computers, and smartphones and could probably make Caroline understand the difference between a gigabyte and a megabyte.

‘I will hear Joshua if he wakes.’

‘Fine. Bring him down to the pool if he fancies a swim with his Aunties. His daddy should be back soon anyway.’

The men had gone off on another one of their male-only missions, probably to the
pelota
court. Or the café next door.

Nadia had no sooner disappeared inside the house than Caroline shot upright, leaned across and gave her friend a poke.

‘Ouch’

‘Feeling a little tender are we? After all that, ahem, surfing? And what time did we get in last night? Or should I say this morning?’

Caroline’s eyes narrowed.

‘Sit up, O’Toole, and pay attention. I want to hear every single detail. Starting from the morning you guys disappeared into the hills on the Hot Harley.’

‘Torquemada. I just need some rest. Everything aches. Even muscles I didn’t know existed. Can’t I tell you later?’

‘No.’

Jill put down her sketch book, heaved herself into a more upright position, wincing as her sunburned shoulders rubbed against the towel.

‘You don’t want to rub some lotion onto my back first?’

‘No.’

Jill sighed. Her green eyes were innocent as grapes as she smiled at Caroline. She yawned and stretched.

‘There’s nothing much to tell really.’

She just managed to dodge the bottle of sunscreen hurtling towards her.

‘Now look what you’ve done. The top’s come off. It’s all over the towel. Alright!’ She held up a hand in a gesture of defeat as Caroline looked round for more ammunition.

‘You want everything, huh? No details spared? How much time have we got? Well, as you say it all started with that big sexy Harley. Our first stop was in this little village. In a churchyards to be exact.’

As Jill told her story. Caroline’s mouth opened, her eyes opened wider.

‘So anyway,’ Jill concluded, ‘when we were on the beach this morning, after my surfing lesson and, incidentally, my very first experience of an underwater orgasm–’

‘Too much information!’

‘You said you wanted to know everything!’

‘Yes but I feel that life is passing me by all of a sudden.’

Jill gave a wicked cackle.

‘Anyway, as I was saying, on the beach this morning Antoine started to talk about teaching me how to ski this winter. And how, before that, maybe I could get a few more days off in September to join him on a bike trip. Into the Estremadura. Picnics in the forest, just the two of us, eating
jamón ibéric
o
and ripe juicy figs–’

‘Hold the juicy figs!’

Caroline clapped her hands over her ears.

‘OK I’ll spare you the figs. Anyway, where was I, oh yes, then he asked me about Ireland. Had I ever wanted to explore Ireland in one of those little caravans, you know the old tinkers’ things that have been revamped by some entrepreneur or other. He’d seen a programme on telly. I said it was a wonderful idea for a holiday even though the very notion is enough to make me puke, sitting up behind a horse’s rear end and cooking squirrel stew of an evening.’

‘Really? They always look so romantic when you see them in those Hollywood romcoms.’

‘Yeah. Hollywood’s so authentic and it’s not true that Mel Gibson was wearing furry Y-fronts under his kilt in ‘Braveheart’. Anyway, I told him yes, hells bells I’d even agree to a holiday cleaning toilets in New Delhi Airport so long as I could do it with him. Oh Caro, that man, he’s got me totally bewitched. I’m a goner. How long is it since we met?’

Caroline counted on her fingers. ‘Six days.’

‘Six days! I can’t start making life-changing decisions based on a relationship that’s only been going for six days! I must be mad.’

‘A holiday in a gypsy caravan isn’t really a life-changing decision.’

‘No, no, not the caravan...’ Jill squirmed and tugged at the bottom of her bikini.

‘Out with it O’ Toole. I know that look.’

Caroline gave a sudden gasp.

‘He’s not proposed has he? After only six days? I mean I know he’s a hot Basque and incredibly sexy and cuddly but really Jill you don’t want to go rushing into things, you both need to get to know each other a bit better–’

‘Will you calm down? I do not need marital advice from the MacDonald Relationship Bureau, thank you.’

Caroline winced.

‘
Touchée
. Continue, dear friend.’

‘I’ve just been looking on the
internet, that’s all. Since I got back from my surf lesson.’

‘You reject my excellent well-meaning true-friend advice in favour of Dr Google’s Marriage Counselling blog?’

‘No, eejit, I just started researching jobs for dental hygienists. In the European community. If it was possible, what they required and all that.’

Caroline fell back into her chair and burst out laughing.

‘What?’

Jill was looking mulish.

‘You never cease to amaze me. I think it’s brilliant! I can just see you in your white coat, with that metal spike in your hand saying ‘
Ouvrez votre bouche, s’il vous plaît
Monsieur. Plus grand,
oh cher Monsieur
what big white teeth you have!’ They’ll be queuing up from Paris to Bordeaux.’