His fingers skimmed over the table as he located his cutlery and glass and moments later he was digging into his dinner with gusto.
Amy tried to ignore the confident movements of his large hands but it was all but impossible. Her palm still burned where he had held her hand and pulled her towards him. She glanced over at Robbie who sat staring up at Paul with obvious admiration and wondered what would have happened if the boy hadn’t interrupted them. She felt the heat rising in her cheeks as she visualized exactly what would have happened.
Paul would have pulled her into his arms. He would have brought her to his lips and kissed her hard, his tongue delving into her willing mouth and she would have kissed him right back, tasting him, drinking him in. His hands would have caught her arms in an iron like grip as he dragged her into bed with him and she wouldn’t have resisted. She would have stripped off her clothes and lay with her naked body plastered against the hot length of him. She would have run her fingertips over his sculpted chest and pressed her lips to any inch of his bare flesh that she could reach. And he wouldn’t have resisted any of it. His hands would have been all over her, touching her, feeling her and his body would have been so hard and hot and…
She breathed in deeply as the erotic sensations danced in her mind. She was about to let her mind wander even further when a sudden cough jolted her out of her reverie and she looked around the room in horror as everyone except Paul stared back at her. For a moment she didn’t know what was wrong but then she felt something hot land in her lap and she looked down to discover that she had picked up the dish of cassoulet and had served several spoon’s worth of the garlicky beans and meat dinner directly into her lap.
Chapter Eleven
“He’s looking at you again Amy. Jean-Paul’s new worker I mean. I think he must fancy you.” Ellen gave her a quick wink as the workman stared at Amy from behind a sheet of plasterboard for about the fifth time that afternoon.
Amy groaned and didn’t look up from the selection of swatches that Ellen had passed to her five minutes previously. She didn’t think she could stand to be embarrassed again.
“Don’t even think it. I’m not even going to look,” she whispered back at Ellen who had to stifle a fit of the giggles as the man strode past and glared at her.
“I think he must have overheard. He doesn’t look very happy now so maybe I was wrong anyway.”
“Thank goodness for small mercies. It was bad enough covering myself with the other night’s dinner. I don’t think I could stand having some sweaty guy mooning over me and everyone joking about it.” She flipped the pieces of material again and then compared them to the paint samples. She tapped two of the samples. “I like that cream and teal together. With a splash of the vivid purple fabric in that sample I think it would look fabulous.”
Ellen took the board from Amy and considered.
“You’re right. The purple would be really dramatic with it. Very uplifting. Right that’s room one, only another eleven to go on this floor.” She gathered up the rest of the material and turned to move onto the next room but stopped when she saw the workman glaring at Amy now. “Huh! Maybe I was wrong. I don’t think he likes you at all actually. I wonder why he’s glowering like that?”
Amy lifted her head but the man had already turned away and was walking back along the corridor.
“I don’t know why he’s looking at me at all. Probably something to do with being covered in dirt and dust. I look like some kind of ghost. This plaster is terrible stuff. You have it all in your hair too.” She brushed at the top of Ellen’s head.
Ellen slapped dust from her jeans and then watched as it clouded in the air.
“I told Geraldine not to come over until the end of the week because of it. It gets everywhere and I didn’t think she’d fancy breathing it in. I feel as though it’s coating the roof of my mouth all the time. I remember from when we were doing the hotel, I felt as though I was clearing it up for weeks. Even with Jean-Paul’s industrial vacuums it’s all over the place.” Ellen moved into the next room and laid the sample chart under the window. She looked around the room and moved the swathes of material about in the light. “This room is going to be darker because of the trees outside the windows. We need to pick out something a little lighter.”
Amy flicked the swatches over again. She was enjoying herself doing something completely different. It made a change from feeling like the odd one out in the place. Paul hadn’t even needed her nursing skills again as Geraldine appeared to have taken over redressing his backside every day. The burn was a nasty one and kept weeping, but after being covered with an antibiotic spray that Geraldine had bought at the chemist, it appeared to be healing at last but he had taken to avoiding Amy again.
She looked up as Jean-Paul walked into the room.
“We’re going to need to start the electrics on this floor tomorrow so I will have to ask you ladies to move out so that we can finish here.” He smiled at them both as he picked up Ellen’s swatch board, passed it to her and then began to usher her and Amy out of the room.
They knew when they were in the way and they gathered up the other samples quickly before making for the stairs.
“It’s coming along very quickly. The Marines have done a brilliant job of keeping things going and those two new workmen of Jean-Paul’s never seem to stop.” Ellen sounded delighted at the progress.
Amy followed her down three flights of stairs and then along a long corridor to the basement room where the Americans were still digging out the hydrotherapy pool. Though not as large a full sized swimming pool there was still an incredible amount of dirt to be removed. They had rigged up a pulley system at the sloping end of the hole where the barrow loads of soil could be lifted out through one of the half hidden windows and hoisted above ground. Peter and Caleb then wheeled the barrows to either the front part of the garden for landscaping or into the huge skip that seemed to fill relentlessly every single day.
They could hear the men laughing and joking as they worked and Amy picked out the sound of Paul’s voice as he encouraged his workers.
“Only a few more feet and we’ll be done. Come on, hand me a shovel and tell me where to aim it,” he sounded happy and relaxed and Amy and Ellen arrived in the pool area just in time to see him drop down into the huge hole in the ground. His head disappeared below the edge of the floor and Amy peered over the side to see him grab up a shovel and start digging.
Mick noticed the two women and he stopped for a moment and wiped his sweating brow.
“Afternoon ladies. Can we tempt you to come and give us a hand?” He grinned up at them from a work stained face and grabbed the bottle of water that stood on the edge of the hole. “Jeez, it’s like a furnace down here. I’m looking forward to a long cool swim later.” He gulped down a few mouthfuls of the water and then threw the bottle to John who tipped the last of the water over his head.
Paul straightened up from his digging and inclined his head back over his shoulder at them. He’d only been at it for a few moments but the perspiration already shone on his forehead.
“Are you measuring up for tiles?” He slammed the shovel into the dirt at his feet and lifted a great pile of mud.
Amy gulped as she saw the way the muscles in his arms tensed with the weight of the shovel. His huge shoulders rolled and bunched as he lifted the dirt and swung it towards the barrow that sat half-filled in the centre of the hole.
Ellen tapped her note book.
“We’ve already calculated the total amount needed but we were just going over the specific colour scheme and how many metres we need of them. I rather fancied something different from the traditional sky blue but I’m really not sure what other colour to use.”
Paul dug another spade full of dirt.
“What about keeping it blue but then adding tiny tiles of a different colour. I once saw some beautiful golden tiles in a swimming pool in Iraq. They kind of glittered in the bottom of the pool and looked really effective.” He w
iped his brow on his t-shirt sleeve before digging yet another load of mud.
Mick put his hand on Paul’s shoulder to prevent him overloading the barrow and he waited while John replaced it with an empty one.
John grunted as he manoeuvred the full wheel barrow up the long slope and over to the hoist. He attached it to the pulleys and gave a shout to the men above.
“I’m pretty sure I saw that pool too. Wasn’t it in that bastard Saddam’s palace? Ha! It would be like the ultimate irony for all our guys and it would look spectacular if it was lit from the sides as well. We’re digging out the trenches for the drainage and filter system tomorrow. We should ask the electrician if there’s anything else we need to do to accommodate the electrics.” He looked up out of the window as he held the barrow steady as long as possible before Peter and Caleb took over from above.
Ellen stood at the side of the deep hole and looked down.
“It’s always hard to imagine the finished effect but as we are tiling anyway I am going to look into it. Did you mean mirrored or foiled Paul? I imagine foiled would look gorgeous set into a slightly deeper blue.” She looked around the huge basement. “We could bring it into the walls up here too. I know that the place has to be functional but there can be luxury as well. What do you think Amy?”
Amy was still staring at Paul’s huge, muscled arms. Veins had begun to rise under his smooth, tanned skin as he worked and Amy felt her heartbeat jump a notch or two. From somewhere she heard her name mentioned and she looked up as Ellen smiled at her expectantly.
“Sorry,” she stammered. “I was distracted for a moment. What were you saying?” She felt the heat rise in her face but Ellen just shook her head and grinned.
“It’s okay Amy. I think we are just going to go with the blue and gold. We can order lighter shades for the walls and I would like a natural honey stone on the floor. We can go to the brico depot in the morning to look at samples of golden tiles though they may not have them there of course. I might need to order them in especially.”
Amy nodded not really understanding what she was agreeing to but as blue and gold sounded wonderful she didn’t disagree.
Paul turned around in the deep hole and then trudged up the incline at the other end.
“We’re nearly done here. We just need to level the slope for wheelchair access and then put in the trenches. We have four tons of gravel coming at the end of the week and then Jean-Paul can start with the cement and tiling. It’s all coming along very well. Is Patrick coming over to look soon, Ellen? He’s not been over as much as I thought he would be.”
Ellen sighed deeply and hugged her clip board to her chest.
“I was hoping he would come over here more too. We could use his advice on the kitchen layouts. Something’s bugging him but he won’t let on what it is. He’s been on the computer every day for the last fortnight and leaves it if he’s cooking. I’ve asked him what he’s looking for but he says it’s just some research that he needs to have clear in his mind. I’m not sure that I believe him as he’s either deleting his browsing history every night or using an account I don’t know about.”
Paul frowned down at her.
“Research on what? Kitchens? I doubt he needs to research cooking facilities. I suspect he knows exactly what needs to be put in here and he wouldn’t need to hide that anyway. If you’re worried about it maybe I can ask him later or we could ask Dave to wheedle it out of him.”
Amy laughed.
“You should leave well alone. He’s probably trying to find you a fabulous birthday present and doesn’t want you knowing about it. You might spoil the surprise if you go digging about.”
Ellen lay her hand on Amy’s arm.
“Could be I suppose but it’s not my birthday for ages and we don’t really go in for big presents to each other anyway. Patrick was the best present I ever had in my whole life, I’ve never wanted anything more than him.”
Paul snorted as he came up to them.
“He’s a very lucky man. I can’t imagine any woman wanting a man who isn’t whole, but you, Geraldine and Lucy never fail to amaze me. What is it about you that makes you so special?”
Ellen shook her head and laughed gently.
“You silly man. It’s not us that are so special, it’s our men. How could we fail to love them? They are all perfect just as they are. And so are you too if you would only let your stubborn head admit it.”
Paul frowned again.
“Don’t be ridiculous. No woman could love a man who can’t even see her. She would suspect that his compliments are insincere, that he could never really know if she was someone who really attracted him. And he could never even tell whether it was love or just pity she felt, she might be sneering behind his back every other minute of the day. You have to look someone in the eye to know what’s in their heart.”
Amy couldn’t let this go. Her heart rose into her mouth as she spoke.
“So you would rather give up on a chance to love someone and have them love you back just because you think you can’t see the expression on her face? Do you think everyone is lying to you when they say something complimentary or is it just because you can’t be sincere yourself?” She tried to swallow the choking sensation that crept up her throat.
Paul shrugged as he lifted his chin.
“It’s been my experience so far. Obviously my judgement isn’t trusted or you wouldn’t even be here.”
Amy pulled in a deep breath.
“I thought we were going to give that subject a rest. I think I’ve given up quite enough for you and I have received less than nothing from you in return, not even your respect. I’ve lost my job over you but you still can’t get over yourself enough to say thank you to me. You’re a miserable, stubborn, self-centred piece of shit and I can honestly say that I have had enough of you.” She turned on her heel and marched out of the basement.
Ellen started to run after her but Amy was well ahead and couldn’t go anywhere without Ellen driving so she turned back to Paul who stood at the edge of the pool with his mouth hanging open like a fool.
“Well, that just shows you what I…” he started but Ellen marched right up to him and stuck her index finger hard in the middle of his chest.
“Dear God Paul. What on earth made you think you could speak to Amy like that? She’s done nothing to hurt you at all and what did she mean when she said that she’d lost her job over you? What’s going on?” Ellen grabbed hold of the front of his shirt so he didn’t fall back into the pool pit as he lurched away from her pointed finger.
Paul was about to speak when John came up beside them. He grabbed hold of Paul’s collar and held it tight as he shook the man in his grasp.
“You idiot. Can’t you tell how she feels about you? You may be blind but everything she does and says is with you in mind. I would give my eye teeth to have her speak to me or look at me the way that woman looks at you and yet you just throw it back at her every time. Did your brain get fried at the same time as your eyes?” He shoved Paul away from him and marched furiously out of the basement.
Ellen glared up at Paul. She was about to agree with John and walk out too when she noticed the devastated expression on Paul’s face.
“Okay, I’m not going to say anything else about this today. I think John put it most succinctly but I am concerned that she’s lost her job. What happened and how come no one told me? She must be frantic with worry.”
Paul wiped his forearm across his brow.
“My big mouth again. I just can’t keep it shut sometimes but all that twaddle that John’s talking is ridiculous. She doesn’t even notice me and why would she, all the trouble I’ve caused her would be more than enough to put the average woman off.”
There was some annoyed muttering behind him as Mick threw down his shovel and ventured up out of the hole.
“Yeah, well, it’s quite clear that Miss Amy there is not an average woman. I thought anyone could see that even someone who is blind. Not only is she
young and beautiful but she has a good head on those pretty shoulders too. She’s a qualified nurse and a dedicated social worker too so that ought to tell you something about her. Even I’m beginning to think that you are thick!” He pulled the leather gloves from his hands, threw them into the wheelbarrow and followed his fellow Marine out of the basement.
The silence grew until Paul broke it. He cleared his throat before he spoke.
“There was a mix up in her office. They thought that she had walked out. I think she’s written a letter explaining about the judge’s order so it’ll probably be okay in the end.” He scuffed his feet in the dirt and then blew out a deep breath. “Do you think she likes me Ellen?” The tension in his voice told her how much rested on her answer.
Ellen didn’t make it easy for him.
“Probably not a lot right at this very moment,” she sighed as Paul’s shoulders dipped. “But don’t give up hope. If you pull your head out of your backside and make it up to her I feel sure she’ll forgive you.”
Paul gave a rough laugh as his proud shoulders slouched even further.
“But what’s the point? She’s going to leave here in less than a fortnight. I can’t go back to England. I don’t even want to go back now. I have nothing to offer her, nothing,” his voice dipped to a broken whisper.
Ellen wiped a finger under her eye where a stray tear had suddenly leaked. She looked up at the big man in front of her. His walls were down and pain was etched on his face. She reached up and touched his cheek.
“Don’t think like that Paul. You have everything to offer. And so do we,” she drew in a breath as Paul inclined his head down at her quizzically.
“What do you mean?”
Ellen linked his arm in hers and guided him towards the stairs.
“Well, it’s up to you of course, you will have to make the decision as you are going to be in charge here but this place is going to need a nurse to run any medical side of things. There are bound to be a few problems crop up given the nature of what we are doing even if the injuries themselves have healed. Geraldine is kept busy enough up at the hotel even with perfectly well guests and Amy has the added advantage of being a social worker too. Her experience would be invaluable to you here.”
Scarred Horizon (Scarred Series Book 4) Page 12