Who's Sorry Now (2008)

by Lightfoot, Freda

  Luc seemed unusually thoughtful. ‘She enjoyed the flicks well enough when I took her.’

  Carmina swallowed her silent fury. ‘I’m sure she was only being polite. She’s like that, is darling Gina. Hates to hurt a person’s feelings. She did confide in me that you’d been seeing each other secretly, which proves it was against her better judgement.’

  There was a silence, and then he looked down at her as if from afar, a hardness to his gaze she’d never seen before. ‘It’s not true that I cheated on her. Who told her all those lies, I wonder?’

  ‘I really couldn’t say.’ Carmina smiled up at him in wide-eyed innocence. ‘I can see you’re upset. Just as well I’m here, to cheer you up.’

  He gave a snort of disbelief. ‘And will you also confide in her that I danced with her sexy, glamorous sister?’

  ‘Possibly not. Are you going to tell her?’

  They regarded each other for a long moment, then he allowed his chin to rest against the pulse that beat in her temple and went on swaying to the music. So delicious!

  When the dance was over he nodded briefly and walked away. Carmina’s heart sank as she went drearily back to her friends.

  During the supper interval Carmina wandered over to speak to Alec Hall, as she’d promised she would, feeling the need to boost her confidence with a little gentle flirtation. She’d most carefully manipulated this situation so that everything was in place to execute her plan yet felt suddenly uncertain over the outcome. Would Luc succumb? Could she make him want her as much as she wanted him?

  Carmina almost laughed at her own foolishness. Of course Luc would succumb. When had a man every been able to resist her? She was turning soft, that’s all it was.

  There had been one scary moment this week when Gina had pressed her to deliver a letter. She’d very nearly weakened and done as she was bid, feeling just a little sorry for her fretful sister, as she had so many times in the past. But one glance at Luc’s darkly handsome good looks as he crossed the market towards her, and she’d felt no compunction at all about dumping it in a nearby litter bin.

  She felt rather like a cat who would purr and rub against people so that they might stroke her and make her feel good about herself. But Carmina could just as easily stretch out her claws and cruelly scratch them, or walk away with her nose in the air, tail swishing, completely independent. Carmina rather liked this trait in herself, but playing a game of cat and mouse with Alec Hall might sharpen her skills nicely.

  The room was hot and crowded, even so she pressed herself close against him, ostensibly to read the label on the record he was sliding on to the turntable but really so that he could appreciate the soft swell of her breast.

  ‘At The Hop with Danny and the Juniors. Great, I like that one.’

  Alec felt strangely at a loss for words as he drank in the sight and smell of her. She was like a ripe peach, soft and round in all the right places, ready for the plucking. And he was most certainly the man for the job, so why did he hesitate? Because she was so young, and no doubt a virgin? That had never stopped him before, certainly not with his lovely Joo Eun who had welcomed him as if he were a hero.

  Carmina batted her eyelashes and smiled, really rather enjoying the way he gazed at her, apparently struck dumb by the attention she was giving him.

  He had the kind of eyes which seemed to look right through to her very soul, a hint of derisory appreciation in their steady, penetrating gaze, yet contriving to reveal nothing of his own feelings in their smoky grey depths. He possessed the kind of mature good looks that would appeal to any young girl: charming, debonair, cultured, and that most enticing turn-on of all - experience.

  He cleared his throat, hurried to put on another record. ‘I’d ask you to dance only I’m on duty.’

  Carmina shrugged, which jiggled her breasts and brought his eyes flicking over her and then quickly away again. ‘Maybe later then, when the main band comes back and you’re off-duty?’ She didn’t miss how his eyes brightened at her suggestion.

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘See you,’ and she swung about on her high heels and sauntered elegantly away, deeply aware of his eyes following every sway of her hips. She dearly hoped that Luc had noticed too.

  Chapter Nine

  The moment the band came back Carmina saw Alec weaving his way across the dance floor towards her, and her heart sank. She hadn’t meant it about dancing with him. She’d just needed reassurance of her own power. But as luck would have it, Luc got to her first. One minute she was giggling with her friends over what remained of the plated sandwiches and sausage rolls, the next he was standing beside her, his gaze burning into hers. He didn’t even ask her this time, just jerked his head and took her hand, as if he wanted to resist her, but couldn’t.

  Carmina followed him on to the dance floor, with only one backward glance of triumph to her neglected friends.

  This time it was a jive to Rave On, a Buddy Holly hit, and she had no trouble at all in keeping up with him. Luc had rhythm, never missed a beat, his hands sure and certain, twirling and catching her, spinning her round then holding her close to his chest making her heart race, and sweat break out between her breasts. She wondered if he were as aware of her as she was of him.

  The music ended and for one dreadful moment she thought he was going to walk away a second time. In desperation, she flapped her hands to fan herself, ‘It’s hot in here! I feel a bit faint.’

  A second’s pause and then he said, ‘Let’s get some air.’ His voice sounded gruff, almost angry. Snatching hold of her hand, he began to pull her through the crowd.

  Carmina’s heart soared. She’d caught him at last. He didn’t need air any more than she did. She knew exactly what he wanted, but then didn’t she understand men perfectly?

  Once outside in the back alley Luc took out a packet of Gold Flake and lit up while Carmina leaned back against the wall, revealing the long white curve of her throat. She’d surreptitiously unfastened the top three buttons of her blouse so that he could see right down into her bra, should he have the inclination. He’d always rather liked her breasts.

  Licking her lips with the flick of her pink tongue, she gazed up at him through her lashes. After a moment, annoyed by his inattention, she asked him, ‘Aren’t you going to kiss me?’

  He looked at her, saying nothing.

  ‘I’m a much better kisser than our Gina. But then you know that, don’t you?’

  When still he didn’t respond, she pushed herself forward and slid her arms about his neck, nibbling tantalisingly at his full lower lip with her sharp white teeth. He swore softly under his breath and for one dreadful moment she thought he was going to shove her away.

  ‘You’re a vixen, Carmina Bertalone. Did anyone ever tell you that?’

  ‘Then you must be the wolf.’

  With one vicious movement he flung the cigarette away and kissed her savagely, exactly as she’d hoped he would. The sensation was electrifying, even the taste of the beer he’d drunk earlier filled her with a strange pulsing excitement. Carmina could scarcely breathe, nor did she want to. His tongue was in her mouth, his hands on her bottom, squeezing her to him. The next instant he flung himself off her, and swore loudly this time.

  ‘Satisfied now? Is that what you wanted, a bit of rough?’

  ‘Isn’t it what you wanted when I suggested we come out for a bit of fresh air?’ she teased.

  ‘Drat it, no, it damn well isn’t! I asked you outside because I wanted to tell you about how it is with me and Gina, and to ask you to - leave - me -alone.’ He punctuated his words, seeming to hit her with each one.

  Carmina laughed. A rowdy group of revellers burst out of the door of the dance hall, and with the first drops of another rain shower starting, said, ‘Okay, so you want to talk. There’s precious little privacy here, and I really don’t want to ruin my hair, so why don’t we sit in your car for a minute? We’d be much more comfortable.’

  He glowered at her as if debating whether he co
uld refuse. ‘Only if you’ll listen to what I have to say.’

  ‘Of course I’ll listen. Where did you park it? Come on, it’s starting to rain hard now and I’m getting soaked.’

  He owned a beat-up old Morris which he kept going with spare parts from scrap yards. He and his mate, Jake Hemley, were often to be found with their heads under the bonnet, tinkering with the engine. With the rickety doors locked to stop them falling open, rain washing the windscreen and their breaths steaming up the inside, Carmina felt as if they were in their very own private little world.

  A memory of the letter Gina had so painstakingly written flashed into her mind, but she dismissed it instantly. She was glad she’d dumped it in the litter bin.

  Carmina almost laughed out loud at the thought of her loyal sister sitting obediently at home while she was the one tucked up with Luc in the intimacy of his car. If it had been her, she’d have defied Momma’s rules and slipped out to speak to him personally. She’d have climbed out of the kitchen window, if necessary, and sneaked off to the dance anyway. Gina was a fool to herself, and Carmina was tired of running errands for her.

  ‘Go and keep your sister company,’ had been Momma’s constant cry. ‘Go fetch her a library book, take her some sweeties. Talk to her. She gets lonely stuck on her own in that bedroom.’

  Nag, nag, nag, and all because the girl was sick. Her own needs always took second place to her pathetic sister and Carmina became sick and tired of waiting on her, of being seen as the problem child. Gina was the one who was the nuisance, not her. Carmina had no wish to deny the girl the joys of a wonderful recovery yet nor did she want Gina to move in on her friends, her life. Luc was hers. She should have known that and left him well alone. Besides, Gina wasn’t wise in the ways of the world and should learn not to be so stupidly naïve and trusting. The silly girl didn’t deserve him, and shouldn’t be allowed to have him. Nor would she, if Carmina had her way.

  But she must tread carefully.

  Carmina adopted a sympathetic smile while Luc sat hunched in the driving seat as if he carried the entire woes of the world on his shoulders. She forced a softness into her voice as she gently rubbed his arm. ‘I realise you must be disappointed about Gina. You’re bound to feel a bit let down, and confused, but she is adamant, I’m afraid. It’s over.’

  When he said nothing Carmina edged closer, attempting to remind him of their previous encounters with the taunting challenge of her gaze. ‘Seems to me that kiss didn’t feel like one from a man wishing to simply talk about my sweet virginal sister. I mean, if you and I got together, it wouldn’t be the first time, would it?’

  Luc wished, in that moment, that he’d never allowed Carmina into his car. He wanted to walk away, to run as fast and as far as he could away from what she was so clearly offering. He’d no wish to be reminded of the reckless risks they’d once taken.

  Both angry with the world, frustrated by life and by their own inability to control it, they’d indulged their lust without thought for any consequences. Fortunately, he’d been lucky and got away with it.

  There’d been something about Carmina that had appealed to the old Luc, to the rebel who had refused to conform. She was feral and exciting with a wildness about her that still appealed to the devil in him, to the part which hated his family for trying to mould him to suit their own needs instead of his.

  He’d made many mistakes in the past, and Carmina was one of them. But if he’d done stupid things, was it any wonder, bearing in mind all the hassle he was getting at home?

  He’d hated driving the ice cream vans, hated everyone thinking him well off and spoiled when the truth was very different. Since he’d refused to comply with his father’s plans for him, Luc had only the low wages he earned as an apprenticed builder, and he must pay board and lodging out of that. His father barely spoke to him these days and his mother would never take Luc’s side against her husband.

  More than anything Luc longed to be a chef, and maybe one day own his own restaurant. He was saving up hard to pay for a course in cookery at the local tech, though he couldn’t imagine ever being able to save up enough to buy himself a business. His father absolutely refused to help, had dismissed the idea as a waste of time and money when there was a perfectly good ice cream business for him to inherit.

  The real problem was that Luc was an only child. His siblings had died at birth or as a result of miscarriage, which meant his father had invested all his hopes and dreams in Luc.

  Gina was the first person he’d been able to actually talk to about these problems without feeling stupid or embarrassed. Here he was, a supposed rich kid with a tough reputation and all he wanted to do was cook and win the approval of this dream from his family.

  He couldn’t explain why he’d chosen the quiet sister. Gina was lovely but without Carmina’s luscious charms. Yet she was the one who had somehow captured his heart. He loved her softness, the radiance of her, as well as the way she made him feel good about himself, as if he were a different person, someone worthwhile instead of being at odds with the entire universe.

  Put simply, he adored her.

  And he’d foolishly imagined that she felt the same away about him. Obviously he was wrong. She’d probably only listened to him out of pity; had agreed to go out with him because she felt sorry for him. Gina was that sort of person: kind and caring, sympathetic to the troubles others had to endure because of her own problems. But it was obviously no more than that.

  He could well appreciate that she might well feel too shy or embarrassed to tell him all of this to his face, and to admit that she thought things were moving too fast between them.

  He’d spotted her hiding behind her bedroom curtains, and could understand now why she hadn’t come out to speak to him. She was sick and tired of him and had really wanted him to go away and not bother her any more.

  Carmina’s soft mouth was moving over his, insistent, demanding. She was loosening his tie, sliding her fingers down his chest as she slid open each shirt button, stirring some need in him that he really didn’t like but simply couldn’t resist. She wasn’t the kind of girl any man could resist, not for long.

  Luc hated to admit it to himself but his blood was stirring. Just the feel of her moving against him set his senses racing, his lust merging with the deep hurt and anger he felt over losing Gina. If only she hadn’t finished with him.

  Carmina cupped one hand around the bulge in his trousers, and with a soft chuckle at his reaction, began to unbuckle his belt.

  Out in the alley a figure stood huddled in a doorway, watching. He’d seen the young couple dash to the car, and it didn’t take much imagination to work out what they were getting up to behind those steamed-up windows. One day, he’d have some of that, he thought, as he walked away.

  Back in the car Luc suddenly came to his senses.

  ‘Damn you, Carmina!’ He jerked himself free of her and flung open the car door. ‘Get out! You and me are finished, remember? Kaput! Even if I can’t have Gina, I certainly don’t want you.’

  She slapped him across the face. Hard! Had he been less well-brought up he might have slapped her back. Instead, he pushed her out of the car and drove off, leaving her standing alone in the pouring rain.

  Chapter Ten

  The rows of canvas-topped stalls lining Champion Street were well attended today, being a Saturday, positively humming with people. Patsy loved the vibrancy of it all, the strings of brightly coloured beads hanging on wooden pegs, the piles of striped tea-towels and checked tablecloths, the buckets of yellow daffodils, scarlet tulips and blue iris at Betty Hemley’s flower stall, brightening a dull day. She bought two tea-towels and tucked them away in her bag with a smile. Something else for the bottom drawer.

  Patsy tried to buy a little something each week to put into it, however small: a rolling pin or a pair of pillow cases; Tala kitchenware or a Prestige pan to add to her set when she was feeling a bit flush.

  An auction was taking place on Abe’s stall and
Patsy wandered over to see if there was anything else worth buying for their future new home. He was selling a roll of lino, slapping it hard to attract attention.

  ‘Wife says I’m that generous I throw me money about like a man wi’ no arms. Today, I’ll break the habit of a life-time and give away a strip of stair carpet to go with this roll of lino. I can’t say fairer’n that now, can I?’

  Patsy laughed, sorely tempted to make a bid, but since she didn’t know where she and Marc would be living, whether they would need lino, or even have any stairs, she firmly kept her hands in her pockets.

  In any case, she really shouldn’t be dawdling around the stalls dreaming of weddings and new homes. She had work to do: hats to finish for her special customers, as well as the normal round of work on the hat stall.

  She dodged a boy on a bicycle delivering bread for Thomas George, waved to Carmina who was browsing through records and chatting to Alec Hall. She didn’t wave back, but stood laughing up into his face. Patsy wondered why the girl never chatted to her in such an openly friendly fashion, then forgot all about her as she stopped to admire some sequinned fabric on Winnie Holmes’s stall.

  ‘This’d make a lovely hat, one of them natty little head-hugging numbers,’ Winnie suggested.

  ‘You might be right,’ Patsy agreed. ‘Or I could use it to add a sequined band to a velvet beret. I’ll give it some thought.’

  Patsy never grew tired of wandering through her beloved market, searching out hidden treasures, finding ideas. It had been her favourite occupation ever since the first day she’d arrived when she’d recklessly nicked a pie off Poulson’s hot potato pie stall, but then she’d been starving, not having eaten for two days. She never went hungry these days, thank goodness, and Big Molly was still on speaking terms with her, although it had been a close-run thing for a while.