Bella (7 page)

     
“
I
’
m so sorry about that, It`s not like him. I don`t know what
’
s got into him.
”

Marco
looked at me and with rather an annoyed tone said.

   
“
Anyone would think he your boyfriend.
”

   
“
I apologise for his behaviour, there
’
s no excuse for being so rude. It
’
s just since our parents died, he sometimes
feels responsible for me.
”

I could
feel my face getting warm.
What else could I say
? I felt really angry
with Simon.
How dare he be so rude?
I couldn
’
t exactly tell Marco that I had the wrong
feelings for my brother and that I was pretty sure he felt the same.

We both
sipped our drinks in silence. I was worried in case Marco decided not to see me
again. After what seemed ages we both started to speak at the same time.

      
“
You first Bella
.
”
He said,
breaking the silence
.

  
”
Would you like to come for supper on Thursday?
”
I asked half expecting excuses.

  
“
I be happy to Bella, but will Simon be ere?
”

I
explained to Marco that Simon was only staying over Christmas and would be
leaving soon. Marco looked somewhat relieved.

   
“
Well I leave now Bella, it is late and my turn
to open the restaurant early tomorrow morning.

I walked
Marco to his car and he gave me a kiss on my lips, my body ached for more. I
waved goodbye and as he turned the corner he beeped the horn. I don
’
t know what made me look up at Simon
’
s window, but I noticed the curtain slightly
open and he was looking directly at me.

CHAPTER FOUR

T
hursday couldn
’
t come quick enough. I was so excited and happy
to see Marco again. I asked Victoria to go shopping with me to help me choose
some clothes that suited me.

   After
traipsing around for hours, our feet were killing us so we decided to stop off
at a little coffee shop on the corner of the high street. We sat by the window
and ordered coffee and cake. People with screaming children passed by the
window, rushing here and there loaded with shopping bags. As I looked across
the street, I spotted Marco however, he wasn`t alone, he was with a woman, they
were laughing, then he leant over and kissed her on the cheek which made me
feel sick inside. Luckily Victoria didn`t see the look on my face. I told her
that I had a migraine coming on, so we left the coffee shop and headed for
home.

Victoria
stayed to speak to Tammy for five minutes and then went home.

  
“
Are you ok?
”
Tammy asked me with  concerned look.

  
“
I have a migraine coming on, I think I
’
ll go and lie down for a while.
”
I told her.

   I put
the clothes that I
’
d bought down on the
bed and sat in the chair by the window. I started to think that every time
something good came my way, it was taken away again.

  I
tried to sleep but it was hard, every time I closed my eyes I could still see
Marco with that woman, both of them laughing, then the kiss on the cheek. It
could have been something perfectly innocent, nevertheless; I had to ask him
about it.

When my
alarm went off I felt exhausted, I splashed my face with cold water and went
downstairs to make some coffee.

   Tammy
was in the kitchen making breakfast; I still felt tired from my restless sleep.

   
“
Good morning love, would you like some pancakes?

   
“
No thanks. I
’
m not very hungry. I
’
ll just have a coffee.
”

Usually
I loved pancakes but this day I couldn
’
t stomach anything.

     
”
Are you
’
re not coming down with something?
”
Tammy asked. I wanted to tell her what I
’
d seen but I thought it was better to wait until
I
’
d spoken to Marco.

   The
annoying thing was I couldn
’
t even call him and
ask him not to come. Stupidly we
’
d forgotten to exchange phone numbers, so I had no other
choice but to be patient and confront him face to face.

    I
took a sip of coffee, and swallowed some aspirin. I wanted to feel better
before I started cooking the evening meal. I ran upstairs to my room and
decided to lie down for a while hoping the tablets would get rid of my
headache. I soon fell asleep. An hour later I woke up and felt much better.
Luckily my headache had gone away; so I decided to
have a nice
long soak in the bath and wash my hair.    Tammy had
gone
shopping; I
’
d left her a note
asking her to pick up a few things for me for that evening. I
’
d planned to cook roast beef with all the
trimmings and homemade apple pie with whipped cream for dessert.

I heard
Tammy arrive, so I quickly got dressed and went downstairs and we both started
preparing the evening meal.

    That
day went by really quickly; Tammy and I were both extremely busy making sure
everything was perfect because I wanted to make a good impression. I went
upstairs to get myself ready; taking time to do my make-up and hair. While I
was drying my hair I started thinking that maybe Marco didn
’
t find me attractive, although I was sure that
the kiss we
’
d shared said
something different.

   
Marco finally knocked on the door. He was twenty minutes late, I really thought
he
’
d decided not to
come; whenI opened the door he presented me a lovely bunch of red roses.
How
did he know they were my favourite? They must of cost him a fortune this time
of year.
I thought.

   I
asked Tammy and Ben to join us because I didn
’
t want to be alone with him.

Sitting
at the table I found it extremely hard to make conversation with Marco; I
couldn
’
t get out of my head
what I`d seen. He seemed to enjoy the meal very much; but I wasn`t very hungry
and made an excuse that I still had a headache.

Tammy
and Ben were looking at me with puzzled expressions on their faces because they
knew there was more to the explanation than I had given them.

After
dessert I followed Tammy to the kitchen. She began preparing the coffee and
turned to me.

  
“
What
’
s wrong with you?
”
She asked worriedly. I poured myself a brandy and began to
tell her what I
’
d seen.

  
“
The best thing you can do is ask him straight
out. Guessing won
’
t do you any good.
”
She said. She was right, I knew. I carried the
tray of coffee and brandy into the dining room and Marco said.

  
“
You very quiet Bella, are you ok?
”
I waited until Ben and Tammy left the room and
then said.

  
“
I saw you the other day when I was in the coffee
shop in the high street.
”
Marco didn
’
t say anything.
“
I was sitting by the window and you were on the
other side of the road talking to a woman. She was very petite with long dark
hair, dressed in a beautiful grey suit with red shoes and handbag.
”
Marco shuffled uncomfortably but still said
nothing.

  
“
You were speaking to her for quite a while and
then you gave her a kiss on the cheek.
”
I looked at Marco and noticed he had a worried expression
on his face and then suddenly he said.

  
“
You come to my restaurant, so I can present you
my sister.
”
I felt a little
surprised but happy.
Sister,
of course
!

  
“
Oh, she doesn
’
t look like you Marco, you are so tall and she
is so petite.

  
“
No Bella she look nothing like me.
”

I tried
to convince myself that he was telling the truth. He obviously guessed what I
was thinking about and laughed.

  
“
Bella, Bella, I never cheat on you, why you not
come over and speak to me.
”
He said.

  
“
Believe me I nearly did, however, you might have
got a slap, I don
’
t think your sister
would
’
ve been too happy.
”
I replied.

After a
short spell of silence, I began thinking, why should he tell me such a lie, and
began to feel better.

  
I lit the log fire in the front room and we sat
toasting marshmallows
’
and chestnuts,
washed down with
mulled wine. The wine made me feel warm and
fuzzy inside and I must admit I felt rather tipsy. Marco leant over and kissed
me softly on my lips, our kiss became passionate and his hand slowly moved to
my breast. He noticed that I was shaking and asked me if I had ever been with a
man before. I told him I
’
d never made love to
anyone.

I took
his hand and lead him upstairs to my room. He started to unbutton my dress and
it fell to the floor, then he unfastened my bra and slipped it off and gently
kissed my breast, his tongue probing my nipples, then he took it into his
mouth. It felt wonderful, I was very nervous but at the same time extremely
excited. Marco soon helped me to relax and it wasn
’
t long before I melted into his arms and we
gently made love. He was very passionate but gentle at the same time, as he
knew it was my first time. As I lay in his arms the feeling I had was heavenly.

    Next
morning I went downstairs to the kitchen. Ben was already up and making
breakfast.

  
“
Good morning Bella! I hope you
’
re hungry?
”
I blushed hoping that he couldn
’
t see the new glow about me.
“
Will Marco be joining us for breakfast?
”

  
“
No, I
’
ll take it up to my room, as I don
’
t want to embarrass him. Where
’
s Tammy?
”
I asked.

   
“
She
’
s already left for work.
”

Ben had
made bacon and eggs and a pot of ground coffee.  I took a tray up to my room,
put it on a little table next to my window and we ate hungrily. After Marco had
showered and left. I couldn
’
t stop thinking about
the night before. I could still feel his hands on me exploring every inch of my
body. I put the thoughts out of my head and quickly got dressed and went
downstairs to do some baking and clean the house.

     
Later that day I decided to go and see Simon and find out why he was so rude to
Marco. He looked rough when he answered the door, it looked like he hadn
’
t slept for days, he was unshaven and his hair
was a mess.

  
“
Do you want some coffee Bella?
”

  
“
Yes, please.
”