for her , guessed David. She’s not used to being turned down.
“Well, then, in that case, we’ll do just that, won’t we, Ricardo?” she asked, placing her hands on his shoulder.
“You bet we will.” He circled her waist, letting his hand slip lower than propriety allowed. He winked at David. Your loss is my gain, buddy.
As Ricardo led Joana away, she looked back over her shoulder at David. The expression on her face clearly said what she thought of him.
David stared after them. “ Yeah, I’m a bloody fool ,” David silently agreed with her.
Chapter 15
“Come on, V. Just five more,” Laura encouraged her daughter as she held the heavy bag for her.
Vanessa hopped from one foot to the other as she executed consecutive knee strikes, bringing her legs back for maximum force. Perspiration made her T-shirt cling to her slim body, and exertion brought a rosy tinge to her cheeks.
“OK, there’s my girl! Great workout, well done. Here, have a little sip of water.”
Laura held the bottle up so that Vanessa could sip on the straw.
“Whoa, that’s enough. Let’s do our stretching exercises and then we’re done for the day,” said Laura as she helped her daughter remove her pink gloves and hand wraps.
“Phew! I’m tired, mommy. And hungry.”
“We’ll have breakfast in a minute. Just a quick shower first, okay?”
“Okay, then I want to move my toys to my new bedroom. When’s daddy coming home?”
“He’ll be here this evening, but we can manage ourselves. Strong women that we are,” answered Laura, holding up her palm to high-five her daughter. “But first I have to feed the dogs.”
***
“I don’t bloody believe it!” Laura shouted at the dogs. “Just look at the state of the lawn! Did you have nowhere else to dig?”
Laura frogmarched the dogs, who were suitably contrite, to the dog run and locked them in. David is going to have an almighty fit if he sees this. Thank God it’ll be dark when he comes home .
She grabbed her gardening gloves and a spade from the garage and went to inspect the damage more closely. One of the big ones, probably Mia, had dug a lovely deep foxhole—after two false starts. Damn. Why couldn’t the stupid dog have dug them closer to the flower beds where she could give them a discrete makeover? Or better still, somewhere deep in the woodland where it didn’t matter. She really would have to see if Cesar Milan could possibly come and do a show in Portugal.
There was only one solution, which although not perfect, might just work if she managed to keep David away from the garden for a few days.
Choosing a piece of lawn near a flower bed that was sparsely populated, she plunged the shovel into the earth as hard as she could, and worked it with her foot until she had cut out a sizeable piece of turf. Straining under the weight, she carried it to ground zero and started to fill in the holes. By the time she had disguised the damage as best as she could, her back muscles were burning. Then she extended the flower bed to incorporate the cut-out turf, and transplanted a few clumps of weeping sedge so that it wouldn’t be immediately noticeable.
The lengths she had to go to in order to keep the peace, she fumed. She put the gardening stuff away and went to help Vanessa with the toys.
***
It was dusk when the squawking of seagulls alerted Laura to the fact that David was calling.
“Hey, David. Where are you?”
“Hey, baby. I’m almost home. I’ve just turned into the lane. What you girls doing?”
“Laura’s colouring in and I was watching TV. I’ll jog down and meet you at the gate. I need to stretch my legs.”
“Great. See you in a bit.”
“V, I’m meeting daddy at the gate. Do you wanna come with?”
“No, I’ll stay here and colour in. I want to finish my picture so I can give it to daddy.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll see you in a bit then. Shall I bring Lilly in to keep you
“Well, then, in that case, we’ll do just that, won’t we, Ricardo?” she asked, placing her hands on his shoulder.
“You bet we will.” He circled her waist, letting his hand slip lower than propriety allowed. He winked at David. Your loss is my gain, buddy.
As Ricardo led Joana away, she looked back over her shoulder at David. The expression on her face clearly said what she thought of him.
David stared after them. “ Yeah, I’m a bloody fool ,” David silently agreed with her.
Chapter 15
“Come on, V. Just five more,” Laura encouraged her daughter as she held the heavy bag for her.
Vanessa hopped from one foot to the other as she executed consecutive knee strikes, bringing her legs back for maximum force. Perspiration made her T-shirt cling to her slim body, and exertion brought a rosy tinge to her cheeks.
“OK, there’s my girl! Great workout, well done. Here, have a little sip of water.”
Laura held the bottle up so that Vanessa could sip on the straw.
“Whoa, that’s enough. Let’s do our stretching exercises and then we’re done for the day,” said Laura as she helped her daughter remove her pink gloves and hand wraps.
“Phew! I’m tired, mommy. And hungry.”
“We’ll have breakfast in a minute. Just a quick shower first, okay?”
“Okay, then I want to move my toys to my new bedroom. When’s daddy coming home?”
“He’ll be here this evening, but we can manage ourselves. Strong women that we are,” answered Laura, holding up her palm to high-five her daughter. “But first I have to feed the dogs.”
***
“I don’t bloody believe it!” Laura shouted at the dogs. “Just look at the state of the lawn! Did you have nowhere else to dig?”
Laura frogmarched the dogs, who were suitably contrite, to the dog run and locked them in. David is going to have an almighty fit if he sees this. Thank God it’ll be dark when he comes home .
She grabbed her gardening gloves and a spade from the garage and went to inspect the damage more closely. One of the big ones, probably Mia, had dug a lovely deep foxhole—after two false starts. Damn. Why couldn’t the stupid dog have dug them closer to the flower beds where she could give them a discrete makeover? Or better still, somewhere deep in the woodland where it didn’t matter. She really would have to see if Cesar Milan could possibly come and do a show in Portugal.
There was only one solution, which although not perfect, might just work if she managed to keep David away from the garden for a few days.
Choosing a piece of lawn near a flower bed that was sparsely populated, she plunged the shovel into the earth as hard as she could, and worked it with her foot until she had cut out a sizeable piece of turf. Straining under the weight, she carried it to ground zero and started to fill in the holes. By the time she had disguised the damage as best as she could, her back muscles were burning. Then she extended the flower bed to incorporate the cut-out turf, and transplanted a few clumps of weeping sedge so that it wouldn’t be immediately noticeable.
The lengths she had to go to in order to keep the peace, she fumed. She put the gardening stuff away and went to help Vanessa with the toys.
***
It was dusk when the squawking of seagulls alerted Laura to the fact that David was calling.
“Hey, David. Where are you?”
“Hey, baby. I’m almost home. I’ve just turned into the lane. What you girls doing?”
“Laura’s colouring in and I was watching TV. I’ll jog down and meet you at the gate. I need to stretch my legs.”
“Great. See you in a bit.”
“V, I’m meeting daddy at the gate. Do you wanna come with?”
“No, I’ll stay here and colour in. I want to finish my picture so I can give it to daddy.”
“That’s a good idea. I’ll see you in a bit then. Shall I bring Lilly in to keep you
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