Love and Pirouettes - by audrey

[audrey]

Chapter 45

Sophia had become somewhat of a bum since she stopped dancing. She still taught classes and assumed the unofficial position of artistic advisor to the choreographers at the academy. But whereas in the past she rehearsed in the studio six days a week working until late at night, now she found herself with plenty of time on her hands without a performance to focus on.

At first she welcomed the idle lifestyle. She got up late, went to art exhibitions, watched shows, visited the library, lunched with friends, went shopping. But there was only so much artwork she could see before she got bored and only so many cappuccinos she could drink before she felt bloated.

After quickly tiring of these activities, she began filling her days at her parents’ restaurant. Carlos worked most days and they were starting to become really good friends which was one of the reasons why she also started going there more often.

Carlos was still terribly shy around Sophia but she thought he was a really nice guy with a quirky sense of humour. They didn’t have a lot in common but it was all the more she found him to be such an interesting character.

Likewise, Carlos was drawn to her fun loving and down to earth nature. She was like a breath of fresh air and he welcomed this wonderful breeze into his life because he realized he was always so serious.

Sophia suddenly became the face of the restaurant, greeting the patrons and talking to all the guests. She even started taking an interest in the business side of things much to the delight of her father. He showed her as much as she could while he had her attention.

But however much her dad loved having her around, he was concerned about her sudden lack of ambition. He was well aware her passion didn’t lie in being a restaurateur like him.

“Dad, please don’t kick me out. I’m bored,” she complained when Rafael ordered her to do something more productive than a hostess.

“Sophia, you can’t spend your days here just doing nothing,” Rafael stated firmly. “I won’t allow it anymore.”

“I’m not just doing nothing! I’m helping you!”

“Yes but you either commit yourself fully to working here or you should go back to the academy. That’s where you really belong.”

“If you ask me to go to the academy and work a desk job, I won’t do it,” Sophia said stubbornly. “Dad, you know how much I love dance. But I feel lost not being able to actually do it. Of course I’ll continue to teach but I just feel like I need to do something different right now.”

Rafael could see his daughter had lost some of her spark since she stopped dancing. To most people they hadn’t noticed a change in her but to those closest to Sophia, her sadness was evident.

Her dad considered her carefully. Maybe a change would be good for her, he thought. He would do anything to help take her sadness away.

She needed to focus on something completely unrelated to dance to give her some perspective and Rafael had the perfect idea.

“How would you like to help me out with something then?” he proposed.

She looked at him skeptically.

“Dad, if that’s your subtle way of asking me to officially work for you, my answer is no,” she said lightly.

Rafael shook his head at his stubborn daughter.

“No that’s not what I’m asking you,” he replied. “But I would like to involve you in a major project that might interest you. It’ll take your mind off things, you get to work on something fun and you get to go away for a holiday.”

“Ok I’m listening, go on,” Sophia perked up, raising her eyebrows.

It was something Mr. and Mrs. Matinez had been planning for a while. All the ground work had taken a lot of time to complete and it was all done in secret lest the plan fell through and they were made to look like failures. But after nearly two years of planning, it was all going to work out. Their restaurant was going to branch out internationally – starting with a new location in their home town of Valencia.

“Are you serious?” Sophia squealed. “And you want me to oversee the opening of the restaurant?”

Rafael nodded. He was really glad to see how excited she was.

“I’ve always said you are our biggest critic,” he said. “And I want you to take that seriously. Your mum will also be visiting regularly to manage the project but I want you to critique the chefs, the menu and most importantly how the food tastes when the chefs prepare it for you.”

Sophia felt honoured but a little overwhelmed by such a big responsibility. What did she know about running a restaurant?

“Don’t worry you’ll have some help judging the chefs,” Rafael said reading her mind. “Carlos will be coming with you. I’ve asked him to be my head chef there.”

Sophia grinned then turned to the kitchen to find Carlos by the open window smiling bashfully at her.

“Congratulations Carlos,” she enthused. “What a great opportunity for you.”

“Thanks,” he answered. “So are you going to come along and help me?”

She turned back to Rafael and kissed him on the cheek, promising to have a good think about it.

Was she really ready to step away from dance and do something entirely different at least temporarily?

As always she would go to the one who helped her make sense of things before she made up her mind.
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“Who’s Carlos?” Marat asked distractedly when she told him about her dad’s offer.

He was replying to an email from Mirka and at the same time talking to Sophia and consequently, both tasks were suffering.

“I told you he’s my dad’s chef,” she reminded him.

“Hmm, that’s right. The guy who’s been cooking you breakfast, lunch and dinner in my absence,” he grunted.

“Marat come on, you don’t even cook,” Sophia giggled. “Are you jealous?”

“Yes,” he admitted frankly. He finally hit the send button and turned all his attention on her.

“Ok well stop it. You don’t need to be,” she said. “If anyone should be jealous it should be me seeing that picture of you with one of those Victoria’s Secret models hanging off you at that fashion show the other night.”

Marat laughed. In time he realized Sophia could get as jealous as the next woman out there. But her jealousy was harmless unlike those of past girlfriends that caused explosive fights. Besides a little jealousy was fine. It meant she cared enough to give a $hit about him but not to the point that she obsessed about it.

“What were you doing there anyway?” Sophia inquired. “Buying yourself some underwear?”

“Actually yes for me,” he replied his mouth twitching. “I bought for you to wear for me.”

Sophia blushed as Marat laughed again. He’d picked out some really special ones for her. He didn’t even need help choosing much to the disappointment of the many models and sales assistants who where more than willing to show him how they would look on. He knew her taste and what he liked her in so it wasn’t hard to choose items they would both enjoy.

“So what do you think? I should go right?” Sophia asked changing the subject.

“I can’t tell you what to do,” Marat said as usual trying to be objective so as to not sway her decision by what he thought.

“But now that you aren’t dancing, you should find something to do that will interest you and just try to look at many different options.”

“Dancing is all I know though,” Sophia said. “Like you all you know is sport or tennis and you’re building another career based on that. I don’t think I’ll stray too far from dance.”

He nodded understanding everything she was saying.

“Well if it’s not going to be a career option, at least it’s something you can do for your parents, especially your dad.”

She agreed. Rafael had been longing for Sophia to be more hands-on with the business besides merely eating the food. She knew her involvement in this project would make him the happiest dad in the world.

“When did you get to be so wise, boyfriend?” she remarked.

Marat shrugged. “When you get to be as old as me, you learn a few things,” he joked.

Sophia laughed. She was only a year younger than him and she didn’t feel or sound wise at all. She’d also met other men similar in age who spoke like they were about 15.

But Marat was in a class of his own. His thoughts, his words and his actions showed a maturity like he’d already lived a whole lifetime longer than his 30 years. Yet he also knew how to have fun and not take life too seriously. This balance of intelligence, maturity and sense of fun were qualities Sophia found so appealing in him.

By the end of their conversation she decided she would go to Valencia. Deep down Marat was really happy to hear this because it meant that the travel time to get to each other would be considerably shorter. If he really had to, he would travel to Australia to visit her again but it was just so goddamn far.

At least Spain was only five hours by plane from Moscow if he caught a non-stop flight to Madrid. Another hour on another plane and he’d be in Valencia. It was a much more reasonable option than being in the air for 24 hours with multiple stopovers.

In fact he was already making travel arrangements to Valencia the next day when Sophia told him she was coming to him instead. She would head to Europe two weeks before she needed to report for duty.

“Excited at all?” Marat asked jokingly hearing the contained joy in her voice.

“Yes!” she cried out. “Marat, honey, aren’t you? How long has it been?”

She was referring to how long they had last seen each other and something else too.

“Too long,” he sighed. “And yes of course I’m excited. When you get here you still have a lot of making up to do.”

He wouldn’t let her forget the promise she made him and brought it up whenever the conversation permitted.

“I haven’t forgotten,” Sophia reassured him. “I’ll be there before you know it.”
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She was teaching her last class before she flew out to Moscow.

There was much speculation in the academy she would not return and that this was going to be a permanent move to be closer to Marat. She had to reassure everyone that her European trip was to help the family business and she would be back in a couple of months.

Her students weren’t convinced and during a workshop she was running with Sasha and Anna, the dancers came in the studio looking forlorn for reasons she couldn’t understand.

“What is wrong with everybody?” Sophia whispered to her friends as she looked at a sea of some very sad faces.

“They don’t want you to go,” Anna answered simply.

“Yeah they think you’re neglecting them for a piece of a$s,” Alex added. “A hot piece of a$s at that.”

Sophia pushed him and shook her head refusing to justify her decision any longer.

“Ok guys,” she said addressing the class. “This isn’t the last time you’ll be seeing me. I will be back.”

The dancers nodded and looked at her sadly wanting to believe her. By now they all knew about her injuries and her sudden departure as the theatre academy’s principal dancer. They had every reason to believe she was going to walk away from it all permanently. After all dancers all thought the same way and that is, if dance was ever taken away from them, it would be too hard to be around it everyday if they could no longer participate.

Sophia had so much going for her. How much harder then would it be for this exceptionally gifted and beautiful dancer to be in the studios just standing there instructing but not being able to perform?

“Let’s just start the class ok?” she ordered by way of lifting the mood in the room. “And you’d all better show me what you’ve got because I want to go on leave remembering what great dancers you all are.”
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After the workshop, an awe-inspired Cristina approached Sophia. She was one of the few who didn’t cry every time the topic about her leaving came up.

“Have fun in Valencia,” she said. “My brother is so excited.”

“Thanks Cris. I’m pretty excited too,” Sophia replied while she tidied up the studio.

“No, I mean he’s really excited,” Cris stressed.

But she was quick to change the subject so that Sophia didn’t get enough time to ponder too much about that remark.

“Is it true you’re going to Moscow first to meet your tennis boyfriend?”

Sophia laughed finding it amusing that the teenager knew so much about her.

“Well he doesn’t play tennis professionally anymore but yes I am going to see him for a couple of weeks before I go to Valencia. What else has Carlos told you?”

“Nothing,” Cris answered almost too quickly. “Does your boyfriend cook for you?”

Sophia eyed her suspiciously then decided not to delve any further into the discussion.

“Dance your heart out for me ok?” she requested instead giving her a hug. “When I come back I want you to be ten times better than you are now.”

“I’ll try,” Cris promised. “And I hope you and Carlos have a great time in Valencia.”

She winked at Sophia who at that very moment felt a frightening similarity between Cris and Dinara.

[audrey]

Chapter 46

When Sophia stepped off the plane in Moscow, she felt strangely at home. She’d never had this feeling before and her connection to this city was minimal other than the fact she travelled here for a performance a couple of times a year.

But for once there was going to be somebody waiting for her at the arrivals terminal who would be taking her back to his place which she would be calling home at least for the next two weeks. She would be living in a real Moscow neighbourhood in a real Moscow penthouse apartment with a real Muscovite.

Sophia looked around for her Russian and there he was already having seen her as soon as she walked through the door.

Marat was waving and smiling at her with that really cute smile of his and all Sophia wanted to do was break out into a run and jump into his arms. But instead she walked calmly towards him, consciously smoothing down her hair and rubbing her tired, sore eyes.

She thought she must’ve looked awful having had not much sleep on the plane. Excitement was partly to blame but it was mostly because the person sitting next to her wasn’t as gracious as Marat or other passengers had been in the past when she had leant her head on their shoulders as she slept soundly.

Her travel companion kept nudging her awake every time she as so much brushed her sleeve with her arm. Sophia kept apologizing saying it was a terrible habit but the lady wasn’t too pleased.

Looking awful was the last thing Marat would describe Sophia as he watched her approaching. She was positively radiant in a pretty yellow summer dress showing off her bare shoulders and legs. In her flats she was one of the smallest people in the crowd but when she finally locked eyes with him, her face lit up and her smiled seemed to brighten up the entire airport.

“Hi baby,” she said all smiles.

“Hi baby,” he mimicked all smiles.

She dropped her bags to the floor and reached up to him. At the same time, he leaned down and took her face in both his hands to give her a long passionate kiss they’d both been craving.

“I look a mess,” Sophia commented.

“No you don’t,” Marat said looking at her adoringly.

He kissed her again. It was very early in the morning and not many people were at the airport yet so he could afford to act a bit impulsive in public. But if they didn’t stop soon, they were going to start offending some people.

“Honey, let’s get out of here before these kids see something they’re not supposed to,” Sophia suggested when she pulled away from him and spotted a couple of little girls observing them curiously.
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When they arrived at Marat’s apartment, fatigue kicked in following the long flight plus the long car ride home and Sophia could barely keep her eyes open.

Marat guided her to the couch and told her to rest while he got her a drink. He was excited to play host to her in his home because it was the first time Sophia was visiting Moscow and staying with him as his girlfriend. He wanted to make her stay as enjoyable and comfortable as she made his in Sydney.

At first they had argued about where she would stay in Moscow because she suggested she would get a hotel room.

“I know how much you love your own space,” she had said. “I wouldn’t want to crowd you in your own home.” By now she knew him all too well.

But Marat was insulted by this suggestion and insisted he would love nothing more than for Sophia to stay in his apartment.

“I think I can put up with you for two weeks,” he joked not really aware about the consequences this would create.

Sophia relented and now here they were up in his luxury penthouse and Marat couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

He had the day all planned out and it involved him, her and his big king sized bed. You couldn’t really blame him. They hadn’t been together in months.

He walked back to her with a freshly brewed lychee and black tea and was ready to whisk her off to his room and seduce the pants off her.

But he found Sophia in a deep sleep, her body curled up on the couch. With a smile and a resigned sigh, Marat kissed her on the cheek. He picked her up and carried her to his bed, tucked her in under the blanket and closed the door behind him quietly as he walked out.

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“So, Sophia’s gone already?” Carlos asked Rafael while they were preparing for the dinner service. He was slicing some vegetables while Rafael was sharpening his knives.

“Yes, she called earlier to say she’d arrived in Moscow,” Rafael replied.

Carlos nodded, concentrating hard on the carrots he was chopping. “So what does she say it’s like dating a famous tennis player?”

“Phia doesn’t really see Marat that way,” her dad explained. “To her she’s just a normal guy. And I have to agree. He doesn’t have a big ego that a lot of these other athletes you see. He’s a really nice, young man.”

Carlos nodded again although he was slightly disappointed with Rafael’s praises of the Russian.

“I guess it’s not a surprise that Sophia would end up with someone like him,” he commented. “She was always really popular with the athletes at school.”

Rafael frowned and put down his knife on the counter. “What do you mean she was always really popular with the athletes?” he asked suspiciously.

“Oh no, I don’t mean it like that,” Carlos stammered realizing how his comment sounded. “I just meant she was really popular in school and all the boys liked her. The athletic ones were always the most confident to ask her out on a date.”

Rafael relaxed and chuckled. He was aware of the boys in high school. Their phone rang constantly in the evenings and all the calls were for Sophia. To his relief she was always at dance classes and never had time to entertain boys. But he and Isabel got sick of being her secretary that they ended up getting a private phone line for her.

Carlos never had the courage to ask Sophia for her number in high school much less have a proper conversation with her. It was surreal to him that now they were friends and would be in Valencia together working side by side on her parents’ new venture. Who knows what would happen in another couple of years?

All of a sudden, he was really itching to leave for Spain already.
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It was a few hours later when Sophia woke up from her nap. She looked at her watch and realized she had completely missed lunch.

She stayed there in Marat’s bed for a while longer thinking about how comfortable it was and that it was the first time she had ever slept in it but he wasn’t even in it with her. It forced her to get up and find him.

Marat was sitting at the dining table reviewing some documents. He looked up from them when he heard the creak of the wooden floorboards from where Sophia stood.

“Hey, good sleep?”

“Yeah, thanks,” she replied walking over to sit on his lap. “Are you working?”

Marat nodded. “I wasn’t going to but you fell asleep so I thought I’d get some work done.”

She apologized for falling asleep on him and asked if he’d made plans for them that day.

“Yes but it’s ok,” he reassured her. “We’ll have lots of time for it later.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Something fun,” Marat said with a smile. “Here, you should eat. I cooked you lunch but it’s gone cold.”

He packed up his paperwork and busied himself in the kitchen preparing a plate for her.

Sophia stared at him in shock. Did she hear him correctly?

“Babe, you cooked me lunch?” she asked gushing. “You never cook!”

Marat put the food in the microwave and turned around to face her, leaning casually against the wall with his arms crossed.

“I know,” he said with a shrug. “But I kind of like you.”

She reached up to him on her tip toes and they kissed. Then they took it a little further than that and her food got cold again.
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Later that night even though they wanted nothing more than to stay in and spend some alone time together, they didn’t get anymore privacy because Dinara came by to visit.

Sophia had just enough time to shower and finally eat something when little sister showed up.

Marat opened the door slightly and looked at Dinara through a small gap.

“Can I help you?” he asked innocently.

“Very funny. Open up,” Dinara demanded.

“I thought I told you to stop dropping in unexpectedly. A man needs his privacy,” he said still refusing to let her in.

“This is not unexpected,” Dinara retorted pushing the door wide open. “Sophia told me to come around for dinner.”

She pushed Marat too then gave Sophia a hug.

“Did she now?” He gave Sophia a questioning look to which she responded with a helpless smile.

Dinara inspected the serving dish on the table and proceeded to help herself to the grilled fish he had cooked earlier.

“Please help yourself,” Marat said sarcastically taking a seat next to Sophia.

“Thanks, I’m really hungry,” Dinara responded ignoring the sarcasm.

“Dinara, honey, I’m sorry I couldn’t wait for you to eat,” Sophia said. “I haven’t eaten since this morning and I couldn’t wait anymore.”

“That’s ok. Were you sleeping all day?”

Marat coughed and Sophia nudged him under the seat.

“Ummm, yeah. Jet lag, you know,” she lied.

Dinara continued to eat without suspecting a thing.

Wanting to continue their conversation before his sister arrived, Marat began telling Sophia how he had prepared the meal.

“So how do you like it?” he asked hesitantly.

“It’s good, babe,” she told him sincerely. “When did you start cooking?”

He said it was ever since he had more time at home after retiring. It wasn’t exactly a lie. He had been trying even when he was with Anya. But it had been a half-hearted attempt.

The absolute truth was he only started putting in more effort when Sophia casually mentioned the new chef at her dad’s restaurant had been cooking for her.

His competitive streak and his pride wouldn’t allow that. He didn’t ever want another man giving something to Sophia he thought he should be providing for her.

When she said she’d be coming to visit, he decided it would be as good a time as any to learn how to cook a few simple dishes that he could actually feed her. Most of his creations in the past had been so bad and Anya suffered terribly as his guinea pig.

In his desperation, he sought the help of his mother and his sister who unlike him was quite skilled at cooking.

While Rauza commended him for finally wanting to cook, Dinara didn’t buy his story about simply being interested in learning a new skill.

She reluctantly came around to their parents’ one day to give him a cooking lesson. She watched him with amusement as he tried to make sense of a recipe she’d given him.

“Why the sudden interest in cooking, huh?” she asked in a mocking tone.

Marat didn’t answer but merely shrugged his shoulders as he commenced pulling out the ingredients from the pantry.

“Dinarochka, leave him alone,” Rauza said, lightly smacking her thigh to tell her to get off the bench. “It’s good he wants to learn.”

Dinara jumped off and stood next to Marat to help him with the measurements because she saw he was about to measure one cup instead of one tablespoon of salt.

“It wouldn’t have anything to do with Sophia getting fed by some young, hot Spanish chef working for her dad, would it?” she teased, whispering so their mother wouldn’t hear.

"Who said he was hot?!" he said almost yelling. Marat frowned and shook his head, snatching the measuring spoons away from her.

“Does she tell you everything?” he mumbled, more quietly.

“Pretty much,” she admitted.

“It’s ok, I understand. You want to compete with him for Sophia’s palate,” she teased patting him on the shoulder.

Marat flicked a tea towel at her and pulled her ponytail which he knew she found annoying.

So it was no surprise to Dinara that Marat could proudly say he now knew how to cook because she'd been the one to give him cooking lessons. Meanwhile Sophia still couldn’t quite believe it.

After dinner while Marat washed up and made a pot of tea for them, she watched him with perplexed eyes.

“Dinara seriously, what has gotten into your brother?” she whispered. “When did he become so domesticated?”

Dinara shrugged while carelessly flicking through one of Marat’s architectural magazines she’d picked up from the coffee table.

“Well two things,” she began to explain. “One, I guess he’s finally growing up. And two, the right person has come along to make him want to change.”

Dinara smiled at Sophia and nodded her head enthusiastically to emphasise her point. Sophia waved her hand dismissively, refusing to believe she had anything to do with this positive change in Marat.

“It’s true!” Dinara exclaimed. “Do you know how many women have tried and failed to change him? Then you come along and he wants to cook and clean and do his own laundry. It’s amazing really.” Even she glanced his way in wonder.

“But I haven’t tried to changed him,” Sophia said.

Dinara grinned. “I think that’s the point.”

Sophia turned back to him and continued to stare at this near-stranger by the sink washing the dirty dishes. Marat caught her looking dumbfounded and speechless.

“What?” he asked with a nervous chuckle.

“Nothing,” she quickly replied shaking her head.

She faced Dinara again who gave her a wink and a knowing smile.
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The following day, Marat was scheduled to attend a work related event. Sophia was a little disappointed because she had assumed he would take some time off while she was in Moscow.

“I'm sorry,” he apologized. “You know I’m busier now than when I was in the tennis circuit? I don’t know how that happened.”

“I don’t think you understand the meaning of retirement,” Sophia offered lightly. “It means to give up work, not take on more.”

She came out of his closet and appeared in the doorway of the bathroom with a plain, dark grey shirt. He was getting dressed and let her choose a shirt for him to wear to go with his jeans. Marat loved having her fuss over him.

“Are you sure this is appropriate attire for your meeting? What’s on today anyway?” she asked taking a seat on the bathroom sink in front of him.

“I’m going to visit an orphanage and spend some time with the kids there,” Marat answered. “When the first tennis centre is built, we’ll be offering kids from different orphanages the chance to spend a day at the centre for free. So today, I’ll be speaking to the director of the orphanage about this program and see how they respond.”

“Are you kidding me? Of course they’ll love your idea!” Sophia exclaimed. “You’re helping underprivileged kids. What’s not to love about that?”

Marat smiled at her enthusiasm which he always found contagious, making him all excited too.

“You’re going to have such a great day,” she said as she ran her fingers through his hair, looking dreamily at him. “I wish I could come with you.”

He gazed back at her and kissed her on the forehead.

“You are coming with me,” he announced.

Sophia beamed and hugged him tight.

He had seen her with the kids at ballet and knew how good she was with them. But more than that, he knew going to the orphanage was something she would appreciate because she was just that type of person who always went about their way doing good things for others. In fact, she was Marat’s inspiration for setting up this program in the first place so it was only fitting that she accompanied him to his first visit.

“Wait,” she said after a moment’s thought. “Maybe I shouldn’t go. I mean as much as I want to. I just don’t want other people to think I’m like the clingy, over protective girlfriend who has nothing better to do than join her boyfriend everywhere, even on business trips.”

He rolled his eyes. “Who cares what other people think,” he said dismissively. “I know you’re not like that and you know you’re not like that.”

He took both her hands and squeezed them gently.

“Sophia, I want you there with me. Will you come?”

She nodded and her heart melted a thousand times over as she looked at that beautiful face of his that was telling her he needed her in more ways than one. Her reservations about joining him flew out the window then and she agreed to go because Marat needed her and she could never deny him.

[audrey]

Chapter 47

Marat was back in the office following the visit to the orphanage.

It had gone extremely well with the director being impressed both by Marat’s proposal and his genuine concern for the well being and future of the kids.

Then there was Sophia who could just about make any man fall in love with her without even knowing it.

She hadn’t consciously tried to make a good impression on the guy. She’d merely smiled at him and his staff when Marat introduced her and pathetically conversed in what little Russian she knew which he actually found delightful.

But it was when she met the kids that the director became even more smitten. She had this presence that made them flock to her as soon as she entered the door. Maybe it was her friendly smile, or her big, beautiful, curly hair or her kind face. Whatever it was, the kids loved her immediately and wasted no time in getting her to join them in the play area to show her their collection of toys. They eventually warmed to Marat too once they realized he wasn’t intimidating at all. He was very good with kids but it was plain to see who was the clear favourite that day.

They looked like a young beautiful power couple saving the world one orphanage at a time and they made a great team entertaining the little ones. They stayed there longer than planned because they took their time for each child and made sure no one was neglected.

As usual he didn’t want a media circus surrounding his work. But he did invite a couple of journalists and photographers with whom he had a pretty good relationship. The reporters knew better than to ask personal questions so they kept them strictly professional and all about the purpose of his visit.

However personal questions didn’t need to be asked because everything one needed to know about his personal life was obvious from the photos.

Marat and Sophia were both so taken by the cute little kids and had their undivided attention that they forgot cameras were even there. The photographers were delighted to capture so many candid photos with the two enjoying their time with the orphans and with each other.

Pictures speak a thousand words and over and over again pictures of the couple together showed how in love they were and how happy they made one another.

“You are a very lucky man, Mr. Safin,” the director commented as he observed Sophia hugging the children as she said good bye. They squeezed her back as tight as they could and she happily let them crush her, laughing as they did so.

“She’s a very good woman.”

Marat simply smiled. He didn’t need to be told how lucky he was because he already knew. He was blessed in so many ways and Sophia was the icing on the cake.

But as he watched her interacting with the kids throughout the day, exciting and scary new feelings emerged within him he’d never felt before. He didn’t know what to make of these feelings either and was afraid to speak of them out loud.

“What’s wrong?” Sophia asked him as he was dropping her home. “I thought you’d be happy. You’ve got the full support of the director to go ahead with your program. Everyone else is going to follow suit and you'll get more funding.”

Marat was distracted by what was going on in his head and of course she noticed. But he couldn’t tell her the truth. Not yet anyway. Not until he figured out if these feelings were real or just a passing phase.

“Nothing. I just don’t feel like going back to the office, that’s all,” he said instead.

But maybe an afternoon alone in his office was exactly what he needed to have a good think about what had suddenly sprang to his mind after a seemingly innocent visit to the orphanage.

This was completely unexpected, especially coming from him! Well sure he had always hoped it would happen one day once everything fell into place. It was something he was certain would make life more fulfilling. But it snuck up on him without any warning and now what was he supposed to do with it? Was it the right time? Was he even ready?

His life after tennis just began and this was something he didn’t think he’d be taking into account until way, way later. Besides wasn’t it meant to be the woman who thought of these things first and the man was the one who normally had reservations?

The idea scared him but then he thought of Sophia and how she would be a part of it all and it made sense, taking away some of the fear. It was all because of her that these feelings emerged and the more he mulled it over, the more he believed he might be ready. If he took Sophia out of the equation, there was no way he would even consider it. But put her back in and it was the most natural thing to do.

The initial shock and anxiety soon dissipated and they were replaced by calm acceptance and genuine joy. Was it that easy to come to a decision? Marat thought. It seemed too simple. But again the answer was Sophia. With her, it was that easy. He didn’t even have to think that much because he knew in his heart.
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Allon came by the office that afternoon putting an end to Marat’s daydream.

“Allon my friend, come in,” he said in an unusually bright tone.

Allon looked at him suspiciously. “Why are you so cheerful?” he asked taking a seat opposite him.

“Life, my friend, life,” Marat replied still smiling.

He shook his head and rolled his eyes concluding that the day must’ve gone very well for the young businessman.

“Good day?”

“Very good,” Marat confirmed.

“Good to hear it. Did you bring Sophia along to the meet and greet earlier?”

“Yeah. I’m sure her being there had something to do with the director saying yes to everything I was saying.”

Allon shrugged. “Well, you’re girlfriend sure has a way with men where they will take an interest in whatever she’s a part of. Good thing she came.”

“But that’s not why I brought her,” Marat wanted to clarify firmly. “I wanted her there. Plus she’s so good with kids. She’s a natural with them…”

At this Allon leaned back in his chair and continued to watch and listen to Marat who broke out in a silly smile and whose facial expression and tone softened at the mere mention of Sophia. There was something up with his friend.

“…I mean, the kids just loved her,” Marat raved on. “And she just knows what to do with them which is amazing really, because she never had a younger brother or sister to take care of before. But she’s just really, really great with kids... And it’s nice to see a woman like that. “

A small twitchy smile formed across Allon’s face.

“Holy $hit, Marat,” he said his eyes widening, half-mocking, half-shocked. “I know you love Sophia but are you thinking of…?”

He paused as he saw him shift in his seat and avert his gaze.

“Oh jesus, you’re in big trouble. You are, aren’t you?”

Marat sighed and nodded in acceptance. Allon chuckled knowing what a shock this must’ve been for him.

“It’s her, you know,” Marat tried to explain. “She makes me want things I thought I wouldn’t want until later in the future.”

“Yes but she’s come along and it’s changed everything,” Allon butted in finishing his sentence. “I get it. The same thing happened when I met my wife. But look, maybe your future came early. And hey, this $hit is real. Don’t tell yourself it’s not because you’re scared. She’s the first woman to come into your life that’s got you thinking like this.”

Marat shrugged and for the first time since Allon arrived, he frowned as he thought of something new.

“I’m not scared. But I don’t even know if we’re on the same page so can we talk about something else?”

And just like that, his good mood disappeared and it was business talk for the rest of the afternoon.

----------------------------------------------------------------

The next few days Sophia saw a change in Marat that puzzled her. He seemed to always be on the verge of saying something but he would stop himself at the last minute. Whenever she asked him what he was going to say, he’d tell her he forgot.

Then there was the staring. She’d catch him just staring at her constantly for no apparent reason. It was beginning to make her really self-conscious and nervous.

“What is it?” Sophia demanded throwing her hands in the air out of sheer irritation. She’d caught Marat looking curiously at her again as she read a book.

“What?” he asked innocently.

“Stop staring at me! You’re driving me insane!” she shouted punching him lightly on the arm.

She stood up and walked away to get out of his line of vision.

“Seriously, what’s the matter with you?” she pressed. “You’ve been acting really weird lately.”

Marat shrugged. “Nothing,” he insisted following Sophia to the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around her and gave her one of his kisses that could still render her speechless and dazed.

That was another thing. As if he wasn’t a good kisser already! But now every time his lips touched hers, it was like they needed to make a point and make sure she never ever wanted to kiss any other lips but his. Which was fine by her because she loved making out with him. But that was not the point!

“Why don’t you believe that I’m just really happy to have you here and I can’t believe we’re really together? It blows me away sometimes,” he said.

Sophia looked at him suspiciously.

“Hmmm, nice save, Mr. Smooth,” she said. “But are you sure it’s nothing? I mean, I can stay at a hotel if you’re feeling suffocated or…”

Marat put his palms up to stop her from speaking.

“No, you’re not going anywhere. You can’t get away from me that easily,” he joked.

“Ok fine,” she agreed. “But you either stop with the staring or you tell me what’s really up.”

He couldn’t fool Sophia. She could read him really well by now and knew whenever something was bothering him. If only she could read exactly what that was! But as much as she wanted to find out what was on his mind, she wasn’t going to force him to tell her. She knew he would open up when he was ready.

“Is it a crime to stare at my girlfriend because I’m so amazed by her beauty?” Marat argued.

Sophia pretended to stick two fingers down her throat and vomit.

“It is when it starts to look creepy,” she hit back. “I’m not buying it, mister. Come talk to me when you come up with something better.”

She kissed him and left it at that. It was a subtle way to let Marat know she was concerned but wasn’t going to push it and she would simply wait until he wanted to talk.
-------------------------------------------------------------

Marat was being consumed by his crazy thoughts. He wanted nothing more than to tell Sophia what was on his mind but he was afraid for 2 main reasons. One – in case she completely dismisses the idea and it consequently puts a strain on their relationship. Two – if she did agree, there would be no backing out and therefore getting cold feet was strictly not permitted. Well, he was almost 100% sure it was what he wanted. But he was human after all with the same doubts and fears as any normal man out there.

So until he finally found the courage to confess, Marat stayed quiet preferring to let it take over him until there was no escape from it anymore, even in his sleep.
------------------------------------------------

Sophia woke him up in the middle of the night one night with a gentle shake of his arm. He didn’t want to open his eyes straight away because he didn’t want to face the fact that his dream had come to an end. It had become a recurring dream that started appearing to him more frequently. He didn’t think it was just a coincidence. He believed it was another sign telling him this idea of his wasn't completely outrageous.

“I’m sorry,” Marat said. “Was I snoring?”

He squinted finding the light from her lamp too bright. Sophia was looking at him intently.

“No,” she replied. “Actually you were mumbling.”

This alarmed him, scared he might’ve let something slip.

“Really? What was I saying?”

“I couldn’t understand. I think you were speaking in Russian anyway.”

Marat breathed a sigh of relief.

“But I turned the light on and I saw you with this huge smile on your face. Care to share what you were dreaming about?”

Sophia winked at him cheekily and flashed him one of her flirtatious grins.

Marat was amazed. Even though she’d been woken up at this ungodly hour she somehow still managed to look gorgeous and keep her sense of humour.

“Come on, tell me,” she urged.

Hearing her soft, sleepy voice and looking at her bedroom eyes, the last thing Marat wanted to do now was talk. He drew her into his arms and she snuggled close to him. He supposed he could tell her what it was about right then and there. But he didn’t want to ruin the moment and a deep and meaningful conversation was too hard to get through in the middle of the night.

“Some day maybe I’ll tell you about this dream,” he said instead kissing the top of her head.

“Was it a happy one?” Sophia wanted to know. “And by happy I don’t mean a gross, sexual fantasy fulfilled type of happy.”

He laughed. “No, it wasn’t one of those. But it was a happy one. The happiest actually.”

Sophia smiled upon hearing him quote her abuela.

“And when I hear it, do you think it will make me happy too?” she asked.

“I hope.”

[audrey]

Chapter 48

Finally Carlos arrived in Valencia. He realized early on that there would barely be any free time during this trip. Before he left, the Martinez’s handed him a long list of things to do that would take up all his time. His only consolation was that he wouldn’t be alone and Sophia would be there to keep him company and make things a little easier.

She called him when he got to Spain to make sure he landed ok.

“Let me know if there are any problems otherwise I’ll see you next week,” she said referring to Carlos’ walk through of the restaurant the following day.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come here any earlier?” he asked half-joking. “The weather is so good here.”

“I don’t think so,” she replied laughing. “Besides, I can’t complain about the weather here or about all the other things too.”

This suddenly made Carlos uncomfortable.

“All right then. I guess I’ll see you in a week,” he stammered.

“Yep, see you then.”

He hesitated in hanging up but he had nothing more to say either.

“Was there something else?” Sophia asked after a short awkward silence.

“Uh no, see you next week.” Carlos ended the call quickly with embarrassment.

He spent the day familiarizing himself with his surroundings and brushing up on his Spanish. He met some of the locals and Sophia’s relatives who were anticipating his arrival knowing he was Rafael’s protégé and was to become the new head chef of his restaurant. Rafael gave them strict instructions to take care of him and make him feel welcome. Apart from Sophia, they would also be helping out during the completion and grand opening of the restaurant. He set up a meeting so they could all introduce themselves to him.

It was very obvious just from speaking to the people in the area that he was working for a very well respected family. Everyone he spoke to had fond memories of Rosa and her husband Antonio and their expressions turned very somber at the mention of their passing. They were both popular figures in the community and still dearly remembered.

“They sound like they were great people,” Carlos said. “I never met them but I hear their granddaughter Sophia takes after Rosa.”

An old friend of Rosa agreed nodding her head. “Oh yes. The resemblance is unbelievable.”

Carlos smiled and listened on with interest.

“Everything from their appearance to their personality. When you look at Sophia, you’ll see Rosa too.”

“She must’ve been a very lovely woman then,” he concluded.

The old woman smiled serenely and patted him lightly on the chest before she went on her way.

“Be careful young man,” she called out to Carlos when she was a short distance away.

He waved and looked at her peculiarly, wondering what exactly he needed to be careful about.
---------------------------------------------------------
Marat was for once not in the office. Instead he was on his way to the Olympic stadium having offered to be a hitting partner for some of the guys in the Davis Cup team.

He invited Sophia to come and watch but she didn’t want to spend half her day sitting there watching them practice. She was a hopelessly terrible excuse for a WAG. But in her defence he was no longer an active sportsperson and since Marat ended his professional tennis career, so did her interest in the sport and she realized her obsession was with him and not tennis itself.

“I’ll take you out later,” Marat offered still trying to convince her to join him.

Sophia touched him on the cheek. “Ok well when you’re done, I’ll meet you. But I’m still not coming to be a benchwarmer,” she said.

He mumbled incoherently as he got changed but he knew better than to keep insisting. She was as stubborn as him sometimes and once she put her foot down there was no changing her mind.

“So what are you going to do then?” he asked. “Sit in a café and drink cappuccinos all day?”

Sophia glared at him and his sarcastic remark which she was aware was a small dig at her recent idle lifestyle back in Sydney.

“Firstly, there’s nothing wrong with that if that’s what I really wanted to do,” she argued. “Secondly, I actually plan to visit the dance studio and say hi to Mrs. Ivanova.”

Marat looked at her and sighed. He could tell she missed ballet, being in the studio all day and dancing until her body was wrecked. His ballerina put on a brave face saying she could walk away from it for a while to let her body heal and that she was fine, she could stay away from the studio without feeling empty.

But Marat wondered, how can you stay away from your home? Sooner or later the distance catches up to you and all you want is to be home again. He should know. It was one of the reasons why he agreed to be a practice partner. It gave him a chance to be on a tennis court again even if only for a moment.

He walked up to Sophia and held her by her arms.

“Are you ok?” he asked looking right into her eyes that sometimes spoke to him more than her words.

“Yeah, of course,” she replied. “She’ll hate me if she finds out I’m here and I haven’t even dropped by.”

Sophia smiled uncertainly at Marat, hoping she was convincing enough in her attempt to hide the sadness that she couldn’t ignore on this particular day. It came suddenly after receiving a text message from Sasha saying he missed her and that his new partner wasn’t any fun.

“Come on, I’ll walk you there,” Marat said taking her hand.

He could see how much she was trying to fight her unhappiness and he’d do anything to help make her feel better. The problem was he didn’t know whether a visit to the studio was going to cheer her up or make her feel even worse.

----------------------------------------------------------

A while later, Marat was at the Olympic stadium enjoying himself in familiar surroundings of a tennis court and the company of his friends.

After being a practice partner for Kolya and Igor he was tired and sat down to take a break.

“I’d hate to see what kind of form you’d be in if you ever said you were going to play again,” Igor said taking a seat next to him after being made to run all over the court to chase the tennis balls Marat fired at him.

“I’m out of practice,” Marat mumbled. “That was pathetic.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Kolya piped in from the other end of the bench. He’d watched them practice and was astonished by how comfortable Marat still was with a racket seeing as he’d barely touched one in months.

“Well you can relax, I’m not going to play again any time soon,” he revealed.

“Enjoying yourself too much getting dressed up in a suit everyday, huh?”

Marat smirked finding it amusing that whenever the topic of his job came up, his friends constantly assumed all he did all day was put his feet up in his cozy corner office and check his emails.

“What’s new in the business world anyway?” Igor asked.

He began telling them about life in the corporate world and his friends were impressed by the success he’d achieved in such a short period of time. Naturally ambitious, he had no doubt from the beginning that he was capable of these accomplishments and at first he was ecstatic. But after a while, he began to realize that even with all his recent success it wasn’t enough for him.

It wasn’t because he was being ungrateful. It was more that he wasn’t getting the kind of fulfillment he expected from a new career and this new life.

And so he spoke in a droning voice which his friends found annoying.

“What a hard life you must have,” Kolya said sarcastically. “You’re Russia’s golden boy. You no longer have to travel 350 days a year. You have a great job, you get to go home to your own apartment and to a beautiful woman every night. What the f*ck is wrong with you? Why so glum?”

Igor stifled a laugh. It was true – Marat played the tortured soul very well and sometimes they just wanted to kick him in the butt and tell him to get over it.

“Can I remind you that Sophia staying with me is only temporary?” Marat hit back. “And I don’t mean to sound negative but something’s missing.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” Marat said. “But all this isn’t enough.”

They shrugged at a loss for words.

At that moment 4 kids came bounding onto the courts. Two of them were Dmitry’s nephews and the other two were the son and daughter of another friend, Max Mirnyi. Dima and Max had come to see the team practice. The kids knew many of the guys in the stadium but it was Marat they liked best because he always played with them when they were around. They all ran to him shouting out his name to get his attention.

When he saw them he smiled and stooped down to catch each of them as they leapt into his arms.

“It’s not enough that you get all the women, is it?” Dima teased. “All the kids love you too.”

Marat laughed. “Kids like me because they can tell I’m a kid just like them.”

Max’s wife was listening to their conversation as she chased after her son and tried to gently pull him away from Marat.

“You’re so good with kids,” she commented. “You’re going to be such a good dad when you’re finally ready to settle down.”

“You think so?” he asked suddenly serious.

“Yeah, you’re a natural. But that won’t be anytime soon will it?” She gave him a friendly push and a teasing smile.

Marat shrugged wondering how people still assumed he didn’t want a more stable life. He was 30, he gave up his tennis career to begin the next chapter of his life and he had the most amazing woman by his side who he was faithful to. Wasn’t that enough proof that he was very capable of settling down?

“It may be sooner than you think,” he answered candidly surprising her.

Another person walked into the stadium that got everyone’s attention. It was the team’s captain Shamil Tarpischev, walking swiftly towards the group and pretending to look annoyed.

“This is a tennis court not a child care centre!” he said loudly. “Or have you little ones come here to be our ball kids for the day?”

“No!” the kids yelled back defiantly.

“Well unless you are here to play tennis, I’m sorry little ones but you’re going to have to step off the court and sit QUIETLY on the bench.”

Shamil patted each of them on the head making them giggle.

“Relax Shamil, they’re just being kids,” Marat said laughing as he watched them run away from the old man.

Shamil looked at Marat and smiled.

“Marat, you think you want kids now but I’m warning you, they can be a handful.”

“I didn’t say I want kids,” he answered defensively still watching the little ones with a twinkle in his eye.

Shamil gave him a knowing smile and patted him on the shoulder.

“You forget I’ve known you since you were 17.”

It was all he said before he clapped his hands and ordered for the team to continue practicing.

-----------------------------------------------------
Marat had to meet Sophia at a restaurant for dinner. When he arrived he spotted her sitting in the corner at the far end of the room. She was waiting patiently for him drinking a glass of white wine and looking at the menu. He loved to watch her from afar and observe all her little traits and mannerisms. He was happy to say that every time he did so, he still found her to be as attractive and lovely as ever.

Obviously other men also found her lovely and attractive because it happened every time she was by herself waiting for him as was the case that evening.

An over-confident guy assuming she was either easy, single or had been stood up came to her table and pulled out his most impressive pick up line.

Marat got a kick out of busting these guys and continued to watch the scene take place. Because what was even more amusing than the guys was how Sophia would politely but firmly turn them down. He moved closer to catch the funny exchange begin.

“Excuse me. I couldn’t help noticing how lonely you looked here all by yourself,” the overly confident guy said. Would you like some company?”

Sophia looked up from the menu and set her cool gaze on the stranger.

“Just because I’m here by myself doesn’t mean I’m lonely,” she clarified making him squirm a little. “But to answer your question, yes I would like some company.”

Marat snickered to himself knowing what the guy’s next move was and what Sophia’s reaction would be. Sure enough, the guy began to pull out the chair across from her with a triumphant grin but stopped suddenly when she spoke again.

“What are you doing?” Sophia asked confused.

The guy who was becoming less and less cocky looked uncertainly at her.

“You said you wanted some company,” he replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

She stared coolly at him. “Yes, I said I’d like some company. I never said I wanted yours,” she said dead-pan.

Marat laughed again and thanked his lucky stars she hadn’t been this mean to him when they first met.

The guy chuckled nervously losing his mojo by the minute. Marat had to hand it to him, he was certainly persistent and tried again from his standing position.

“I like your accent. Where are you from?”

“Australia,” Sophia answered.

“Nice country,” he said. “And what do you do there?”

“I’m a ballet dancer with the Sydney Dance Company.”

The guy was impressed and surveyed her up and down appreciatively making her roll her eyes.

“Well, I’m a lawyer,” he said hoping she would be as equally impressed. “A corporate lawyer.”

Marat could tell Sophia wanted to end this by the bored look on her face and was about to rescue her when he heard her next rebuttal and knew the conversation was going to die there.

“Well my cheating ex-fiance was a lawyer,” she said with disdain. “I don’t like lawyers.”

The meek and shamed guy looked around to see who had heard and seen him being rejected. He saw a few heads turning away from him and heard some sn!ggers.

That was when Marat decided to put an end to this guy’s misery and take his cue.

He walked up and stood behind the guy. When Sophia saw him her eyes lit up for a second and she let out a tiny smile.

“Excuse me,” he began making the guy turn around. “Are you with this woman?”

The guy smirked. “No,” he spat. “Don’t even try picking her up. She’s a real piece of work. Total ice queen.”

Marat patted the guy on the back and walked around him so he was standing across from Sophia. They looked at each other both trying not to laugh.

“Well I was going to tell her how beautiful she looked sitting here all by herself and I was going to ask if she wanted some company,” he said repeating the guy’s line.

He smirked again when Marat pulled out the chair without waiting for her answer expecting him to be given the cold shoulder too. Instead she smiled widely at Marat and allowed him to take her hands and kiss them. The guy looked at them in shock and Marat simply shrugged at him as if to say he couldn’t believe his luck that Sophia had fallen for his pick up line.

They watched him walk away shaking his head in confusion before they burst out laughing.

“Hi beautiful,” Marat said leaning across to give her a quick kiss on the lips. "I can’t leave you alone for a minute, can I?”

“Hello my love,” Sophia replied. “How was your day?”

“Tennis is tennis. Your opponent hits the ball, you hit it back,” he said in a bored tone.

She frowned. “You’re such an a$s sometimes,” she told him.

She figured he was in one of those moods when he became a man of few words and this was something that really annoyed her about him.

“What?” he asked.

“Forget it.”

They sat there in silence staring at each other with playful eyes.

“Let’s not talk about me. I want to talk about you,” Marat stated. “How was your day?”

If he had no news to tell Sophia certainly did and she was waiting for him to ask this question.

“I had a good day actually,” she answered. “I watched a couple classes at the studio, met some of the students and had a nice long talk with Mrs. Ivanova.”

He was studying the menu carefully. “Oh yeah, what about?” he asked distractedly.

“Well she’s offering me a job.”

“Again?”

Marat didn’t think anything of it because Mrs. Ivanova had offered her the ballet school to run many times and she always turned it down.

“Yes but this time I might accept,” she declared.

Marat looked up from the selection of mains he was contemplating and forgot about his hunger momentarily.

“Don’t joke around with me,” he implored. “Are you serious?”

Sophia placed her hand gently on top of his and nodded.

He’d been hoping for a long time that she would one day accept Mrs. Ivanova’s offer. Now more than ever was the perfect time. Inside he was extremely happy about Sophia’s decision but on the outside he kept his composure and remained expressionless.

“What made you change your mind?” he wanted to know.

So over dinner Sophia spoke for a long time explaining she was ready for a change of scenery and wanted to experience working with another dance company other than Sydney Dance. Besides they were doing fine without her and she wanted to provide her expertise to a lesser known but still reputable dance school. Mrs. Ivanova, in her last attempt to convince her, also presented to her an offer that was too good to refuse any longer including a great salary, complete control of the running of the school, a well organized business, dedicated teachers and a large group of talented students for her to mentor.

The opportunity to run a ballet school the way she wanted to without having to answer to anybody was the biggest incentive for her. Of course any decision she made would be in consultation with Mrs. Ivanova who was still the business owner but she was free to operate as she saw fit. She would never get that kind of chance at the Sydney Dance Company which was a huge business that had a hierarchy to consider including a board of directors when you wanted to get something done. This decision would do wonders for her career in the dance industry especially if her dancing days really were over and she had to work in the background instead.

“So I’ll sign a contract to work for a year with a view to extend if things go well,” Sophia said.

She had no idea how happy she was making her boyfriend. He was doing a really good job of containing his excitement. He smiled and nodded as he listened to her but he gave away no indication of his desire to bring her into his arms, spin her around and kiss her everywhere.

“I won’t move here until the Valencia restaurant is well and truly established but I’ll need to start looking for a place to rent. Will you help me?”

Marat was surprised to hear this thinking there could only be one option when it came to her living arrangement.

“You don’t need to rent,” he told her. “You have a place.”

“What do you mean?” Sophia asked puzzled.

He couldn’t believe what he was about to do but it seemed she still had that power over him that made him act impulsively. As much as he felt at ease with the idea and had wanted to bring it up before but never found the right moment, it was still quite a big step for him to make.

Marat gave her one of his timid smiles that made her melt and feel gooey all over. He squeezed her hands for courage and took a big breath in before he spoke. She wondered what he was going to say that was making him so anxious.

“Sophia, if you take that job and you move here to Moscow, what do you think about moving in with me?”

Sophia was stunned and stared at him in shock with nothing to say.

[audrey]

Chapter 49

“I don’t know what to say,” Sophia said honestly and in disbelief.

“Say yes,” Marat suggested with nervousness in his voice that sounded so foreign coming from his mouth.

At this Sophia shifted uncomfortably in her chair and found herself unable to look at him directly in the eye.

“Can I think about it first?” she asked. “It’s just… I wasn’t expecting this and it’s going to be a really big step for me.”

Marat hid his disappointment by looking down at his empty plate.

“Yeah, me too,” he said.

“I’ve never lived with anyone before.”

“Yeah, me too,” he said again taking a big gulp of water.

Sophia smiled uncertainly at Marat wanting to say something reassuring.

“But hey, I’ve really enjoyed staying with you in your apartment,” she offered in a soft, sweet voice that made it impossible for him to even try to be upset.

Marat smiled back. “Ok well think about that when you’re making your decision,” he requested, bringing the topic to a close. “Are you ready to order your dessert?”

“No, no dessert tonight,” Sophia announced.

“I think that’s the first time you’ve ever said that,” he commented genuinely surprised.

“Let’s just get the bill and go.”

“Why are you rushing?” he asked.

Sophia leaned in and kissed Marat with passion and desire that made him want to do things to her right on that table.

“Because that’s why,” she clarified when she pulled away. “And I’m only going to be here for less than a week now.”

She moved closer to him again so that their heads were touching.

“I’d rather be spending those few days somewhere more private and comfortable than in a restaurant, if you know what I mean,” she whispered suggestively.

Marat knew exactly what she meant. He quickly grabbed the attention of the nearest waitress to pay the bill and took Sophia home to lay her down in his very private and comfortable bed.
---------------------------------------------------------

“You what???" Dmitry yelled out in shock.

He was having coffee with Marat and Dinara and Marat had just told him the offer he made to Sophia.

“Why would you do that?” he pressed. “You guys have the perfect relationship because of your living arrangements. Can’t you see that?”

Marat was slouched in his seat looking bored while listening to Dima’s rant. Dinara looked on with amusement, curious to hear what kind of silly explanation he was going to come up with.

“Haven’t you heard the expression ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’?” he asked both of them. “You live here, she continues to live in Sydney, you see each other every couple of months and in between you both get to live your own separate lives however you want. It’s perfect!”

Marat and Dinara both shook their heads unimpressed.

“That sounds like torture to me,” Marat mumbled. “Exactly where does the heart grow fonder part come in?”

Dmitry considered them cautiously, glancing from one to the other, not sure if he should continue.

“Marat, come on, your sister is right here,” he said hesitantly. “Don’t make me have to spell it out for you in front of her.”

Dinara pushed him. Not too hard but hard enough to make his chair tilt slightly.

“You’re disgusting,” she told him, understanding the meaning behind his sudden coyness.

“Enlighten me, Dima,” Marat requested. “How could being apart months at a time be a good thing?”

He crossed his arms and leaned back with a smirk on his face, purposely urging his friend to dig himself an even deeper grave because he knew he wouldn't be able to help himself.

Dima threw his hands in the air in surrender.

“Fine, you leave me no choice. But if Dinara gets insulted when I say it out loud then you get to be punched by her, not me,” he negotiated.

Then as coolly as he could, he slouched back much the same way as Marat was slouched, looked away and in an off-handed manner he muttered, “Well, I’m just saying…all that waiting…it would guarantee the most amazing $ex.”

“Oh come on!” shouted Dinara. Her fist had an instant reaction to the absurd comment and that was a strong, heavy punch on Dmitry’s arm making him cry out in pain.

Marat laughed at his friend’s superficial theory.

Truthfully, their reunion after being apart for so long really was amazing and mind blowing but the absence of her was agonizing. All the pain he suffered with Sophia being so far away wasn’t worth it for just a few moments of glorious ecstasy.

“Dima one day you’re going to find someone really special and she’ll make you realize your relationship is more than just about that,” Marat advised him wisely.

Dmitry could sense that no amount of persuasion was going to make him change his mind. Marat was speaking like a man in love.

“So she’s the lucky one you’ve chosen to put up with you morning, noon and night, huh?” he asked in a more serious tone.

“Yeah,” replied Marat happily. “Well, we’ll see if the thought doesn’t scare her and she says yes.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was the first time in his life that he’d taken such a big step and asked someone to move in. Admittedly he never had any desire to share his space with anyone in the past. His long-term girlfriends thought it was inevitable and he would eventually ask one day but they’d waited in vain.

This time around with Sophia it was a thought that came to him a while ago. However Marat had never known how best to bring up the subject. But finally the perfect time presented itself when she announced that she would be moving to Moscow.

It was the most logical thing in his opinion that she move in with him. Why not? They were a couple, they had fun together and they had so far survived living under the same roof without annoying one another. On the contrary, Marat and Sophia lived in perfect harmony whether they had been in Sophia’s Sydney apartment or Marat’s Moscow penthouse.

However while the prospect of living together excited him, it brought on a different kind of emotion to Sophia.

At the first opportunity of privacy, she was on the phone to Nicola and Alex to announce the news.

“What should I do?” she asked.

“Say yes!” Alex cried out.

The more rational Nicola took the time to delve into the heart of the matter.

“Oh my god, what I would give to be you! But why are you hesitating?” she enquired.

“I just don’t know if we’re ready for that yet,” admitted Sophia. “I mean at least I don’t know if I am.”

She felt like she should be over the moon by his invitation because everybody seemed to be more excited than she was. But instead she was filled with anxiety and doubt.

“Phia, whether you realize it or not you and Marat have been trialing out this living arrangement by staying in each other’s apartments,” Nicola informed her. “And by the sound of things, you’re loving it there with him. If you make it a more permanent situation and then decide it’s not for you then you can always move out again.”

It was something to think about and Sophia took it into consideration as she tried to make up her mind.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night they attended a benefit that the whole Safin family was invited to. Marat brought Sophia as his date and she was more than willing to play the part and be the perfect companion.

The benefit was to raise money for the Russian literature and creative arts community that was heavily supported by the benefit’s organizer. It was held every year and was always a success because the patriotic Russians were generous when it came to raising money to support their rising artists and writers.

The Safins were always invited because the organizer had known them for many years and at one stage was practically part of the family. She felt the benefit needed a few faces from all different industries and since they were considered tennis royalty, it was only fitting that Marat and Dinara represented Russian athletes along with their mother and father.

As with most black tie events Marat wasn’t completely at ease and felt awkward in his suit, standing there listening to people talk about how much money they had and pretending to look interested. Then he also had to sit through an agonizing hour as certain guests were commended on stage for donating obscene amounts of money to the cause. Marat donated a generous amount but no one needed to know about it and he didn’t make a fuss when he was handing over the cheque.

The only thing that made it all bearable was that Sophia was by his side, stunning in her evening dress and as always charming everyone around her with her kindness and her smile.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were sitting at their table with Dinara while Rauza and Mikhail mingled. They were watching the entertainment on stage that followed the boring formalities. It was an all girl Russian pop group. Dinara thought they were ok and Sophia looked on more out of politeness than anything else. But Marat didn’t like them at all and found their music irritating. He turned his back to them in no time and smiled at the girls wearily.

Someone came over to the table and greeted them warmly. Marat ever the gentleman stood up to return the greeting and they kissed each other on both cheeks. He also shook the hand of the person she was with which was a baby boy she was carrying in her arms.

She was tall, sultry and gorgeous with long legs, smoky eyes and pouty lips. She and Marat spoke to one another in a relaxed and familiar manner making Sophia wonder how they knew each other. Dinara also stood up and gave her a hug then proceeded to take the baby away from her to play with him.

Marat introduced Sophia to the stranger by taking her hand and bringing her out of her seat.

“Sophia, this is Dasha Zhukova. She’s the organizer of tonight’s benefit,” he said.

Sophia said hello and shook her hand cordially all the while trying not to stare at her. She was absolutely stunning. As she gaped, Dasha smiled easily.

Marat leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Have you forgotten that it’s rude to stare?” She nudged him lightly with her elbow and smiled back.

“Great party,” she commented when she found her voice. “It’s great that you heavily support the arts.”

“Thank you,” Dasha replied. “Are you a writer or an artist?”

“Sophia’s a dancer for the Sydney Dance Company,” Marat said proudly.

Dasha smiled and nodded clearly impressed.

“I can’t really say I’m a dancer anymore,” Sophia admitted. “An injury has kind of put a stop to that.”

“Oh I’m sorry.”

Sophia shook her head to tell her not to apologise. “On the bright side, I’ve just recently accepted a new role and I'll be moving here to Moscow for at least a year to run a small dance company,” she said.

“Great! Maybe we can catch up one day and I can give you some pointers on how to survive in this big, crazy city,” Dasha offered kindly.

Sophia agreed and was glad there was someone she’d already made friends with to help make her transition a little easier.

“Dasha, here, your baby is starting to freak out,” Dinara said in a panic holding out the screaming baby away from her.

Dasha took him and caressed his head to try and calm him down.

“This is Aaron,” said his mum. “He’s so cute but he’s cuter when he’s not crying.”

He stopped fussing almost immediately after Dasha held him. He looked curiously at the faces in front of him that he didn’t recognize. Marat instantly reached out to Aaron and smiled as he made the baby laugh. When Dasha asked if he wanted to hold him he took the baby and carried him like a natural.

“I didn’t know you were so good with babies,” she said to Marat.

“I like kids,” he explained simply with a shrug.

“Are you ready to have your own then?”

He replied with a chuckle but said nothing more and continued to play with Aaron.

Sophia was standing there fondly observing his every movement. As always she was touched by the way Marat interacted with kids and even more so as he held this baby in his arms. But she felt slightly uncomfortable at his reply to Dasha’s question. He didn’t exactly say yes but he didn’t say no either.

“Well whenever you are ready, I think you’ll make a fine father,” Dasha said confidently taking Aaron from his arms. “I’m glad you could all come tonight. If you’ll excuse me, I still have to make my rounds to the other tables.”

She kissed them good bye and promised Sophia she would be in touch once she’d made the move to Moscow.

When they sat back down Marat noticed the cheeky smile across Sophia’s face. She turned to him shaking her head.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Are all your ex-girlfriends drop-dead gorgeous?” she joked. “I’m feeling slightly inferior at the moment.”

He waved his hand dismissively and looked at her reproachfully. Sophia definitely didn’t need to feel inferior to Dasha or any other girl he'd been with.

“Seriously Marat, you can’t deny that Dasha is beautiful,” she continued. “Why did you guys break up anyway?”

He was never one to delve into past relationships with a current girlfriend but he had nothing to hide from Sophia and he had always felt he could tell her anything.

“Dasha and I were together for over 3 years,” he began. “And in those 3 years, I think we were fighting more than when we weren’t.”

“Sounds healthy,” Sophia commented. “Why all the fighting?”

“We disagreed about nearly everything,” Marat explained. “And she’s an American, British AND Russian socialite. That’s a lot of socializing for someone like me who doesn’t really socialize with that kind of crowd. It was too much so in the end we went our separate ways. She continued being a social butterfly and I got my privacy back.”

“When I think about it, I wasn’t in any relationship in the past where it wasn’t destructively obsessive or emotionally draining,” he added. “Until we met. Now it’s still emotionally draining but it’s a different kind. It’s a good kind.”

He sat there with a sense of calm and contentment on his face as if he accepted that the past was behind him and here he was now in the most loving and peaceful relationship he had ever known.

Sophia realized she and Marat had similar experiences of being in miserable relationships for a long time before they found each other. He was a good man with a beautiful heart and she wanted him to be truly happy. At this point in their lives, she held the key to his ultimate happiness and suddenly she knew what she had to do.

“My answer is yes,” she blurted out.

Marat turned to her looking confused, unsure what she was referring to.

“If you’ll still have me, I’d love to move in with you.”

He breathed a sigh of relief then grinned from ear to ear. He pulled her in towards his chair and kissed her.

“Te quiero,” he whispered before nuzzling into her neck to kiss her soft skin. "Te quiero tanto."

There was nothing sexier to Sophia than when Marat spoke in Spanish or Russian to her during moments of passion and intimacy. Especially when he said things such as these! It sent tingles all over her body.

“I love you too,” she replied, wanting him. “I just want to always make you happy.”

Marat looked at her in awe and softly touched her hair that he loved so much.

“I’m at my happiest when I’m with you,” he told her. “No one else has made me happier.”

He always knew the right things to say and she really wanted him then.

“Let’s go home,” Sophia suggested.

He smiled liking the sound of that.

“Our home,” he said.

“Yeah – our home.”

[audrey]

Chapter 50

Marat and Sophia’s blissful 2 weeks together in heaven was coming to an end. She was on her way to Valencia and he to Rio after accepting at the last minute an invitation to play in the Champions tournament event being held there. They were both packing their bags in the bedroom

“Are you sure you’re retired?” she asked jokingly, again teasing him about being the 'busiest' retiree she knew.

“Well this is more of a favour actually,” he explained. “Do you know how long Jim Courier has been asking me to join this tournament?”

“Who’s Jim Courier?” Sophia enquired clueless.

“Never mind,” he said shaking his head with a resigned smile. “Anyway, I wish you could come with me. Are you sure you can’t extend for a few more days?”

She really couldn’t because she wanted to take the job her father had given her very seriously. She wouldn’t be off to a good start if she decided to get to Valencia later than what was agreed.

"Very tempting," Sophia admitted. "But duty calls I'm afraid."

They continued to pack in silence each dreading the moment when they would have to part ways again. Their only consolation was in knowing they were only a few hours away from each other and at the end of Sophia’s assignment in Spain, they could then really begin living together.


When Marat was finished packing he discreetly came around her side of the bed.

“What are you doing?” she asked when she turned around and saw him taking a few snaps of her with his camera.

“Something to remember you by while you’re gone,” he explained.

She laughed finding the idea not altogether ridiculous.

“Good thinking,” she said. “You can show that to all the women who try to hit on you in Brazil and make sure you tell them that it's your girlfriend."

Sophia wasn’t naïve. She was well aware of the effect Marat had on women. Given half the chance most of them would drop their panties for him if he so much as glanced their way. Sadly, she also knew that admitting he was taken wasn’t going to stop them from trying to hit on him one little bit.

“And what about you? What are you going to show other guys that you’re taken?” he retorted.

“I didn’t know you were so possessive,” she answered light-heartedly. “Honey, unlike you I don’t get the same kind of male attention you get from women.”

She walked up to him and put her arms around his neck.

“I’m going to miss you,” she said.

“Me too. Don’t have too much fun without me.”

Without Marat in Valencia with her, she didn’t think she would.

------------------------------------------------------------

It was Carlos who picked up Sophia from the airport. He’d woken up early and got ready way before he needed to. Then he arrived at the airport an hour and a half before her plane landed and sat there waiting, nervously checking his watch every few minutes.

Finally she arrived and appeared amongst the crowd. She looked around for her ride and spotted Carlos as he came towards her. She smiled at him and waved.

“I didn’t know you were picking me up. I thought my uncle was,” Sophia said with surprise.

“Well I had the morning off and thought I’d pick you up so I can brief you on everything that’s happened in your absence.”

Carlos smiled easily at Sophia but she wondered whether he was resentful for having to do everything on his own while she vacationed when it was meant to be a joint effort.

“Down to business straight away, huh?” she asked jokingly.

She was extremely unmotivated to work at that moment and the last thing she wanted to talk about was the restaurant.

“I’m sorry,” Carlos sighed, trying his hardest to sound upbeat. “How was Moscow?”

“It was great!” Sophia exclaimed. “Did my parents tell you? I’m moving there!”

Carlos frowned and forced himself to keep his eyes on the road.

“No,” he answered quietly. “We haven’t discussed anything except the restaurant. Why are you moving there?”

He couldn’t keep the desperate curiosity and disappointment from his voice. Sophia’s voice in stark contrast was full of joy and enthusiasm.

“Because I was presented with an amazing opportunity and I couldn’t say no!” she replied. "Anyway, I’ll tell you all about it later. Tell me what’s been going on here. My dad said you’ve been doing a fabulous job.”

All of a sudden Carlos didn't really want to talk about the restaurant much either.

Nevertheless he smiled bashfully secretly glad that his achievements had been relayed to Sophia. According to Rafael, she was a tough woman to impress but he was almost certain that she would approve of all the work he’d done so far.
-------------------------------------------------------------

In Moscow, news spread very quickly that Marat was well and truly off the market with Sophia moving into his apartment. He was grateful he wasn’t in the city otherwise he would’ve been bombarded with never ending questions by the media and the general public alike. With his absence, they confronted Rauza instead and she felt it her duty to make a short and frank statement to defend her son.

“That Marat is living or not living with someone is no one’s business but his,” she stated matter of fact when interrogated while she was at the supermarket. “I ask you to respect his privacy as always and if he wants to share any news with you, he will do so in his own time and his own way.”

Marat although safe in Rio for the time being from all the commotion, still couldn’t completely avoid it with Dinara calling him to let him know how much drama he had caused.

"There are women in protest,” she said giggling. “Women who just can’t believe you’ve done such a thing.”

“Well it’s done,” he mumbled unapologetic. “And why is it so hard to believe anyway?”

“Oh come on, you must know there are now thousands of jealous women out there who all wish they were in Sophia’s shoes. These women feel like you’ve personally betrayed each and every one of them.”

He rolled his eyes at the absurdity.

“Does Sophia even know what’s going on here right now?” Dinara asked.

“No she doesn’t. And she’s going to hate all this attention,” he commented. “Probably as much as I do.”

“Well I think it’s just something she needs to deal with,” wise younger sister pointed out. “She’s going to keep getting this kind of attention as long as you’re together.”

Marat agreed. Sophia was no stranger to attracting public interest. As a ballet dancer, she demanded it. But that was it…whenever she’d been noticed or mentioned in the public eye, it was purely for her achievements. She still wasn’t used to being talked about in gossip columns or secretly having her pictures taken. Even though she and Marat had been together for a while now the majority of her time was still spent in Sydney where she wasn’t bothered by such nuisances. It would be different once she made the move to Moscow where people still wanted to know everything about Marat and therefore her too. She’d notice how much more she’d be hounded by the media and scrutinized by the public.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carlos stared at Sophia tentatively, waiting for her feedback. They were alone in the restaurant and she was inspecting the work that had been done to the place. It was the first time she was actually seeing it apart from the blueprints and the model Rafael had shown her.

It was exactly how she imagined it to be – warm and inviting with solid wood communal table and benches, beautiful prints and murals on the wall of the landscapes of Valencia, big, fragrant flower arrangements displayed all around. Shades of brown and rustic orange added to the warmth of the place as did the soft lighting which was bright enough to light up the room but just enough so that it still felt intimate.

Sophia turned to Carlos with a big smile on her face.

“It’s really beautiful, Carlos,” she gushed.

“It is, isn’t it?” he agreed unable to take his eyes off her. He stood there awkwardly trying not to blush.

“You’ve done an amazing job so far. It looks like you don’t even need me around.”

“Thanks but I haven’t done much. I’m just following your dad’s instructions,” he said modestly.

She touched him on the arm. “Well with you around it’s a big worry off his shoulders,” she told him. “And you’re not just following instructions. You’ve helped create something to make his dream come true.”

Sophia glanced around the room again marveling at how beautiful it looked.

“You help me more than you know,” Carlos suddenly blurted out.

She looked at him curiously, startled by his outburst. “Really? How?”

Carlos looked down at the ground and shrugged. “Just…with stuff…” he struggled to say. “I mean…you make me believe I can do things I didn’t even consider before. And…you do the same for my sister too.”

Sophia was touched. She didn’t realize this was the influence she had over him.

“Well, everyone’s capable of doing great things,” she explained. “And a little encouragement just helps to give people that extra push. But it’s really you that has all the talent so don’t ever sell yourself short.”

That was what was so disarming about Sophia. She made Carlos feel really good about himself.

When they walked out of the restaurant Carlos asked Sophia where she wanted to go next. In the short amount of time he’d been in Valencia, he’d become familiar with the city and was happy to be her guide.

“Can you drive me to my abuela’s house? I think I should rest up before my official first day at work starts tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Carlos said, again disappointed. “You’re not checking into the hotel? I thought your mum booked us in the same place.”

“She did,” Sophia answered. “But I thought it might be nice to stay at the villa while I’m here. I haven’t been back since she died and I’ve always loved her house.”

He nodded in understanding. “Ok well are you sure you don’t want to go anywhere else first or see anything?” It was one last desperate plea to try and spend extra time with her.

“No,” she said. ”Besides I had a really great tour guide show me around before. I pretty much know my way around.”

“Oh really? Who?”

“Marat.”

“Oh.”

[audrey]

Chapter 51

Marat was eating breakfast at a café waiting for a friend to join him. Ever since he sat down he’d been getting offers from strangers to keep him company. Each time another person came his way he gave them a polite smile, said good morning and a friendly hello but turned them down when they asked if they could join him. Not surprisingly the offers were all from women.

It was hard not to notice him sitting there all handsome, broody and mysterious. He wished his friend would get there already so he wouldn’t be bothered anymore.

Behind the counter a girl by the name of Giselle casually observed Marat and the many admirers that approached him. She knew who he was and was a big fan of his. In fact as soon as he entered the café, she was the first one to jump up and race to his table to be his waitress before anybody else realised there was a god in their midst. He was quiet, shy and polite during their short conversation. He made eye contact and he smiled.

While he was still sitting alone, Giselle noticed his cup was empty and took it as her chance to speak to him again.

“Hi,” she said in a friendly tone. “Do you want more coffee?”

Marat came out of his slouch and sat up. He saw her the moment he walked in. She had a very pretty face with a confident and lively personality.

“Yes please,” he replied nodding. “If I wait for my friend any longer, I’m going to fall asleep.”

She grinned entertained by his humour.

“You can say you’re waiting for your girlfriend. You don’t have to be so secretive,” she said, subtly fishing for information.

Marat grinned amused by the inaccuracy.

“Well actually my girlfriend is not here,” he admitted. “And I really am waiting for a friend who’s behind you right now.”

Giselle turned around to find Jim Courier walking towards her.

“Bom dia, Senhor Courier,” she greeted him with a big, bright smile.

“Good morning,” Jim replied impressed by the friendly welcome.

“Giselle,” he added reading her name badge.

“That’s me,” she announced confidently. “Please take a seat. I’ll be back to take your order.”

Jim turned to Marat and sat down with a slightly bemused expression.

“Was she already trying to hit on you?” he asked him. “It’s not even 9 in the morning!”

Jim loved teasing Marat about the attention he always got from women.

Marat smirked. “If anything, she was flirting with you.”

“Trust me my friend, next to you I’m just the old American ex-tennis player that women do not pay attention to.”

“You played well last night,” Marat commented wanting to change the subject. His phone suddenly alerted him he just received a text message.

“Yeah tell you what, it’s getting to be more of a struggle getting up this early after a match the night before.”

Marat was no longer paying attention. He smiled as he opened Sophia’s morning greeting that came in the form of a picture message.

“Good morning my love! Even though I’m not there, I thought I’d still share my breakfast with you. Have a great day today. I miss you like crazy.”

The picture was of her in what he recognised was Rosa’s kitchen. She was looking into the camera happily, holding a small plate with a cup of coffee and a selection of little pastries next to it. Her face was glowing and he always looked forward to these morning messages from her just to be able to see her. He wondered though who took this particular photo because unlike the others which she’d taken of herself, this one was definitely taken by another person. It was 8.30am. Who could she possibly have over at the house already?

Giselle returned to take Jim’s order just as Marat put his phone away.

“Was that a message from the lovely Sophia?” Jim asked.

Marat nodded.

The waitress purposely took her time hanging around their table to listen in on their conversation.

“You missing her?”

He chuckled. To say that he missed her was an understatement. He merely nodded again and left it at that.

Jim understood what he was going through. He had a wife and kids back home in America who missed terribly every time he went away for tennis. He’d been with the same woman for over 20 years and he’d been doing this much longer than Marat so he knew a thing or two about longing for someone when he was on tour. The difference was he’d learnt how to manage it with time. For Marat, it was pure torture every single time.

“You need a distraction,” Jim suggested. “We should all go out tonight with the rest of the guys.”

Marat knew he meant well. Jim had always felt it his responsibility to take care of the younger guys who were on tour with him.

“If you guys want to go somewhere fun tonight, there’s a bar close by that plays some really good music, has a really cool young crowd and is a really popular place on a Friday night.”

They had momentarily forgotten that Giselle was still there. Marat frowned. That wasn’t the kind of place he wanted to go to that night.

“Thanks but I don’t think so,” he told her politely.

“Come on Marat, it might be fun,” Jim urged raising his eyebrows. His comment was met with a cold stare.

“Yeah it’ll be fun,” Giselle confirmed. “My friends and I will be there.” She glanced at Marat whose expression was blank.

“Well I’m sold,” Jim said to her charmingly. “Give us the name and address and we’ll bring our friends too.”

She beamed at them both however it was Marat who she gave the note to. She wrote down not just the name and place of the bar but also her name and phone number. When she left to attend to another table, she gave him a surreptitious wink accompanied by a wicked grin.

“I told you she was trying to hit on you,” Jim said under his breath when he read the note that Marat slid towards him on the table.
--------------------------------------------------------

Sophia was at her abuela’s house enjoying her breakfast. When she woke up from her restful sleep, she only intended to have coffee and some toast. But there had been a knock on the door and it was Carlos who had come bearing gifts. She was a little embarrassed as she was still in her pyjamas and not at all ready for visitors.

“Good morning,” Carlos said.

“Hi Carlos. What are you doing here?” Sophia asked as politely as she could.

“I brought you breakfast.” He held up a small basket of fresh fruit, fresh bread and pastries. The baked goods were homemade by Carlos himself. Sophia could smell them wafting out of the basket and realised how hungry she was. She let him in hurriedly, leaving her embarrassment behind.

“What time did you get up to make these?”

“I’m a morning person,” he explained as he laid out the food on the table. “I’m usually awake by 5.30am.”

“Wow this is really good,” Sophia raved as she bit into one of the warm bread rolls with which she spread a little bit of butter on.

“Can you come around with breakfast every morning?” she joked.

Carlos blushed and looked away. “I can if you really want me to,” he said quietly.

“What’s that?” Sophia was too busy selecting what she was going to devour next to hear him.

“Nothing.”

She looked at the time and suddenly took out her phone, remembering that Marat would also be awake and having his breakfast. It was easy to track what he was doing because his routine didn’t change whenever he was on tour.

“Hey Carlos, can I ask for a favour?” she inquired fiddling with her phone to turn on the camera.

“Sure, anything,” he answered eagerly.

“Can you take a picture of me? I want to show Marat that I’m here having breakfast with him.”

Carlos hiding his disappointment nodded without saying a word and took the phone from her.

“Say buenos dias,” he instructed before taking the photo.

“Buenos dias,” Sophia repeated giggling and breaking out into a big happy smile. She sent Marat the picture message and anticipated his reply.

Carlos wondered why he continued to punish himself like this. He left soon after making an excuse that he needed to check in on the restaurant. She said good bye so casually having no idea what she was doing to him.
---------------------------------------

Later on that day Sophia followed Carlos to the restaurant to officially begin her first day on the job. Her first task was to sort through the mountain of applications they received from young ambitious chefs who all wanted the opportunity to work for the well respected and renowned Rafael Martinez.

“I didn’t know my father was so popular here,” Sophia admitted staring at the massive pile in disbelief. There were hundreds of applications all waiting to be read.

“Sure he is,” Carlos told her. “Your father is a pioneer. He put Spanish cuisine on the map in Australia and every foodie in Valencia and maybe even all of Spain knows him for that.”

Sophia beamed. Even though she was well aware of how successful Rafael was, she had no idea he was considered a living legend in the restaurant business and she felt so proud of him.

“So how do you want to do this?” asked Carlos. “Do you want to just start from the top and work our way down? It’s in date order of application.” Even he felt a little overwhelmed by the amount of applications.

Sophia frowned thinking of the most efficient way to tackle the job. In the end she split the pile into two. She gave one to Carlos and kept one for herself. Together they were to make a shortlist and have a manageable number of applications to present to her mum. Isabel was arriving in 3 days to conduct the interviews with Carlos.

“Hey don’t worry,” she reassured him sensing his anxiousness. “We’ll be fine. We’ll work together and we’ll get this done in no time.”

She gave him a pat on the shoulder and sat across from him with her half and together they began reviewing the applications in silence.
---------------------------------------------------------

A few hours later despite working non-stop, Sophia’s mound looked like it hadn’t even been touched. She glanced over at Carlos and he was struggling as much as her to find anymore motivation.

“I need a break,” she complained. Carlos looked up with a tired and frustrated expression and nodded in agreement.

“And I need a different scenery,” she continued as she stood up from her seat to stretch her legs. She used the back of her chair as a barre and began doing some gentle ballet exercises.

“Well we still need to get through these by tomorrow,” Carlos reminded her turning away so he wasn’t tempted to stare while she stretched.

“Ok well why don’t we take these back to my abuela’s house?” Sophia suggested. “We can continue working there. I just need to get out of here. We’ve been stuck in this restaurant for hours.”

Carlos looked uncertainly at her. It was already early evening and if they wanted to get through all the applications by the next day, that meant working through the night. He didn’t know whether she realised that. He of course would’ve liked nothing more than to spend a whole evening alone with her. But she was with another man after all and he wondered how understanding Marat was when it came to Sophia being in the company of another man at night and inside alone in her grandmother’s house no less.

“Are you sure?” he asked tentatively.

“Of course,” she replied without hesitating. “We need to get this done. I’ll provide the house and you can provide our dinner and dessert.”

Sophia smiled cheekily at him and he smiled back agreeing to cook for them. Her smile could just about persuade anyone to do what she wanted them to. They parted ways and decided to meet back at Rosa’s in an hour.

----------------------------------------

There was a knock on the door of Marat’s hotel room. He was just about to call Sophia and thought about not answering it. But it might’ve been room service and he was hungry so opened it.

“Why aren’t you dressed?” demanded his visitor.

It was Mark Philippoussis, another player who was also in the Champions tour and a notorious party animal.

Marat got along with Mark really well and thought he was good fun. But whereas Marat had a matured a little bit and now preferred a more quiet, low key lifestyle, Mark was still at it, hitting clubs till the early hours wherever he went. Tonight was no exception. He was out to have a good time. Marat could see it in the way he was impeccably dressed and the mischief in his eyes. He was pretty certain that Mark’s partying ways was what mainly contributed to his recent money troubles.

“Dressed for what?” Marat asked.

“Don’t play dumb, Marat. Jim told me you guys are going to some bar you got invited to by a hot local.”

“I told him I wasn’t going.”

Mark gave him a friendly slap on the back.

“Come on, Marat,” he said. “Let’s go there for a few drinks. All the guys are going. You and I are the youngest ones on the tour. You can’t leave me all by myself with the oldies.”

Marat grimaced not liking being put on the spot. But he was saved by the bell when his phone rang and it was Sophia.

“Ok yeah maybe,” he said non-committal. “I have to take this.”

Mark looked at him suspiciously as he walked out.

“I know what maybe means,” he told him. “It means you’re going to make me suffer on my own because you’re not going and the next time I see you will be at practice tomorrow.”

“Yeah maybe,” Marat repeated shutting the door.

He took a breath to gather himself before taking the call.

“Hello beautiful,” he greeted his girlfriend.

“Hi!” Sophia said cheerfully. “God I love hearing the sound of your voice. How are you?”

“Good. Just in my room waiting for my food to come.”

“What are you up to tonight?”

“Nothing,” he replied.

“Nothing? It’s Friday night!” exclaimed Sophia. “Why don’t you go out?”

The truth was Marat didn’t want to risk attracting attention at the bar. Giselle had been very forward with him earlier by giving him her number and he didn’t want her to take it the wrong way if he actually came. He thought it was safer for him to just stay put at the hotel where he wouldn’t be bothered by anyone.

“You’re in Rio babe. Go and enjoy it. Enjoy it for the both of us. I’m still working and I’ve got a long way to go.”

“You’re still at the restaurant? It’s past 8,” he said.

“No, I’m at my abuela’s house. Carlos is coming around and we’re going to continue working here,” she answered.

It shouldn’t have bothered him but Marat suddenly felt uneasy and an awkward silence fell upon their conversation. He remembered the picture from breakfast and was almost certain it was Carlos who had taken it.

He had no problem with Sophia being friends with Carlos. He did however find it irritating that Carlos acted so innocent and pretended his kind gestures didn’t come with ulterior motives.

“What’s wrong?” Sophia spoke up first sensing his displeasure.

“Do you think it’s wise for you to be working so late all by yourself with Carlos?” he asked sounding more annoyed than he intended.

“Why not?” she replied confused.

A most endearing but equally frustrating quality about Sophia was that she was so damn nice to everyone. Her kindness sometimes blinded her from seeing the truth.

This was what annoyed Marat that very moment.

“Sophia, figure it out,” he snapped.

“Figure what out?”

It felt strange being angry at her all of a sudden. He was very aware of women trying to seduce him and tonight he purposely avoided putting himself in a situation where they had an opportunity to do so. Meanwhile Sophia had no idea what effect she had on Carlos and now had agreed to practically spend the night with him. Yes they would be working but it was still spending a whole night alone with him no less.

“I’m not going to tell you what to do,” Marat said trying his best to remain calm. “You do what you think you need to and let’s hope it doesn’t do any harm to anyone…”

“Marat, I don’t get it,” she interrupted.

“You’ll figure it out eventually.”

Sophia hated when he spoke in code. Sometimes he did it without meaning to but the language barrier prevented him from saying things in a much simpler way.

“Are you mad at me?” she asked. “Is it Carlos?”

She wasn’t stupid. She had a feeling Marat had never really warmed to Carlos but she didn’t understand why.

He didn’t say anything making the tension even worse.

“Ok so you are mad at me,” she concluded. “You are so moody! You were perfectly fine 5 minutes ago and now you’re mad.”

Marat really didn’t want to be. The last thing he wanted was to act like an insecure, jealous boyfriend but that’s exactly how he was behaving and he didn’t know how to turn it around anymore.

“You know what,” Sophia continued, “In case you’ve forgotten, I’m here to work. I’m working with Carlos to help open up my dad’s restaurant on time. Do you want my dad to fail?”

“No of course not,” he answered with a sigh.

“Well then let me do my job,” she said simply.

There was no point in arguing. Marat knew they were under pressure to meet their deadline and Sophia didn’t want to let her father down. This didn’t make him any less annoyed though.

“Ok Sophia, do your job,” Marat told her exasperated. “You do your job and I’ll go out tonight.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

They hung up both feeling wretched. But Carlos soon arrived and there was no time to dwell on personal matters for the time being. Meanwhile Marat no longer in the mood to stay in, quickly got changed and walked down the hall to Mark’s room to try and catch him before he went to the bar.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Giselle was already at the bar with 3 of her friends before the boys came. She had announced to her friends that she had a surprise for them but didn’t reveal what it was. It was starting to get late and she wondered if the tennis stars were even going to show up.

She was a little disappointed that Marat hadn’t called her. She gave him his number and she was certain he wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation. Instead she received a call from Jim Courier who wanted to make sure she and her friends were still going to the bar that night. Jim was sweet but he was an older man and married with kids. He was harmless who simply liked a good flirt with a pretty lady. Besides, Giselle was only interested in rich younger men who weren’t bound by a wedding ring on their finger.

“Never mind,” she thought. “If he comes tonight, I can try again.”

And try again she did. As soon as they arrived, she was all over Marat. Her friends could hardly believe they were in the company of the sports celebrities.

“You made it!” Giselle exclaimed giving kisses all around.

“Great place! I’m Mark,” Philippoussis shook her hand while giving her the once over.

“I know who you are,” she said. “You were one of my favourites when you were playing in the singles circuit.”

“I’m still in the singles circuit,” he told her with a wink, referring to something entirely unrelated to tennis.

She laughed. “You’re cute,” she said to him but all the while looking at Marat.

Giselle was definitely one hell of a sexy woman. She was so self-assured and bubbly with a voluptuous body that screamed ‘sex siren’. He didn’t mind the attention he was getting from her because he thought she would be a good distraction to take his mind off the argument he had with Sophia.

As the night went on the drinks continued to flow. She knew the bartenders and instructed them to take good care of the tennis players which they did by serving them copious amounts of free drinks.

Marat found himself having a really good time. It was good to be out with the guys, meeting new friends and drinking himself silly which was something he hadn’t done in a really long time.

Giselle and her friends were serious party girls – fun, flirty and crazy. They saw no harm in stealing a kiss here and there or getting nice and close to the guys on the dance floor. It was this carefree attitude that Giselle demonstrated in front of Marat and he was too drunk to even realise she was being inappropriate. She sat on his lap and constantly had her arms wrapped around his neck. She flirted openly in front of everyone making Jim sit up and take notice and start keeping an eye on Marat.

When Giselle got up to go to the bar, Jim went to have a word with him.

“You having fun?” he asked.

“Yes!” Marat yelled out. “Good idea to go out tonight.”

“Not too much fun I hope,” Jim said concerned.

Marat shook his head resolutely. “No, not that much fun,” he promised.

“Ok good, just checking. Because you do remember Sophia, don’t you?”

“Yes! Sophia my girlfriend,” Marat said with a dreamy smile.

“That’s right, your girlfriend. But if you have too much fun tonight you’re going to be in a load of trouble tomorrow and she won’t be your girlfriend anymore.”

“Ok, got it Jim,” Marat said laughing.

Jim stood up and looked worriedly at Marat one last time hoping he really didn’t do anything stupid.
----------------------------------------------------
It was 1am when the guys decided to call it a night. Jim had managed to round everybody up but there was one person missing.

“Where’s Marat?” he asked the group, alarmed.

Everyone shrugged their shoulders. They had all been having a good time to notice he was no longer in their midst.

“Sh!t!” Jim said looking around desperately.

He saw Giselle’s friends on the dance floor and asked one of them if they knew Giselle’s or Marat’s whereabouts. The girl shrugged but pointed towards the door. Jim walked out in a hurry desperate to catch Marat before he did something he was going to regret.
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“Come home with me,” Giselle insisted whispering in his ear.

They were standing by her car and she was trying to pull him inside.

“No I can’t. I have a girlfriend,” he said.

“That’s ok. She doesn’t have to know.”

She leaned in to kiss him on the mouth but again he turned away. He’d been doing that all night and she hadn’t been able to plant a kiss on his lips even once.

“Don’t you want to kiss me?” Giselle asked seductively.

Marat looked down at her with unfocused eyes. He considered just giving in and leaning down to kiss her. He’d been tempted throughout the night and he was drunk but he wasn’t that drunk.

“Marat!” a voice shouted from behind him. He lost his train of thought as he turned around to see who was calling his name.

Jim was suddenly pulling his arm to take him aside.

“Are you crazy?” he yelled. “What are you doing?”

“Jim, she wants me to go home with her,” Marat explained in a low voice. He sounded incredulous and confused.

Jim looked at Giselle reproachfully and shook his head.

“You can forget it,” he told her loudly. “He’s not going home with you.”

She laughed shrilly. “Who are you, his father?”

“I might look old enough to be his father but no, I’m his friend,” Jim hit back. “And I happen to know he has a girlfriend who he loves very much and I’m looking out for the both of them.”

“If he loves her so much why was he with me all night acting like didn’t even have a girlfriend?”

He turned back to Marat who was leaning against a car. Hearing Giselle describe how he’d acted suddenly made him feel so bad and guilty. He wanted to turn back the time and make it so that the night never happened.

“Go back to the hotel, Marat,” Jim instructed in a firm voice.

“I should, shouldn’t I?” Deep down even in his drunken state, he knew the answer to this.

“Yes, go. Don’t be stupid.”

“I wasn’t going to go anywhere with her,” he explained wanting Jim to believe him.

Jim didn’t say anything. Instead he patted him lightly on the shoulder and pointed him towards the direction of their group.

Giselle watched with horror as Marat turned the other way without even another glance back at her and walked over to his friends who were waiting by the taxi ranks for them.

“Are you serious?” she screamed. “You’re turning me down? You must seriously be gay!”

Jim looked at her and shrugged his shoulders non-apologetic.

“Sorry, Giselle,” he said smugly. “Looks like you’re going home alone tonight.”

She was left standing on her own shocked and humiliated.

[audrey]

Chapter 52

Sophia was back in Moscow for the weekend. She was sitting on the couch staring at the tv blankly while she waited for Marat to come home. She was trying to think of what she was going to say when they finally met face to face.

She’d been too busy in Valencia to deal with anything other than the restaurant. She and Carlos, though good friends, started butting heads with the stress of opening on time taking a toll on both of them.

She took part in the interview process as an observer and participated as a judge during the practical test. She couldn’t judge anyone’s technical skill or technique but as a lover of good food, she knew exactly what excited her taste buds and what she was looking for in a restaurant that focused on providing exceptional service and beautiful, fresh, well cooked meals.

This was what Rafael and Isabel wanted her there for and she enjoyed this part of the job where she got to eat the food cooked by the applicants. But it was a long and painful process and a lot more difficult than she expected because the competition was so close. When it came to eliminating applicants, a lot of arguing between Sophia, Carlos and Isabel took place before all three of them came to an agreement.

It was certainly an interesting experience for her and she was kind of disappointed when it ended because it meant having to face the reality that awaited her.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Carlos was standing at the front of the restaurant admiring it from the outside. He was envisioning a packed house at its opening and every other night beyond that, with people from all over wanting to taste one of his culinary creations.

The old lady who had befriended him on his first day in Valencia was walking by. She stood next to Carlos and looked up to admire the establishment as well.

“How are you, young man?” she asked him.

“I’m good, thank you. How are you, Senora Lopez?”

Senora Lopez loved how polite he was. She’d grown fond of him over the last few weeks and she looked forward to her daily morning walks to stop by and say hello.

“These last few days must’ve been a real treat for you,” she mentioned.

Carlos smiled. There was something about this old woman that allowed her to say whatever she wanted to him and she got away with it. It was probably because she reminded him a lot of his own grandmother.

“It was very productive,” he said.

“Really? I thought you would’ve been distracted.” She looked over at him with a teasing smile. He didn’t meet her gaze and instead continued to look at the restaurant.

“Or maybe productive because you had a lot of inspiration?” she posed.
-----------------------------------------------------
By now she didn’t even bother being subtle. She gathered from the beginning that Carlos had feelings for Sophia and asked him upfront the 2nd day he was there. He couldn’t lie to an old lady so he nodded sheepishly.

She laughed knowingly. “It’s hard not to,” she had said, patting his hand. “She’s a beautiful girl. But I’m telling you be careful. She’s with another man. Don’t get your heart broken by someone who you’re not even with.”

So that’s what she meant when she had made that comment in the middle of the street, he thought. She made sense and Carlos knew he had to nip this infatuation in the bud before it got out of hand. Sophia was unreachable. She was head over heels in love with Marat and he didn’t stand a chance.

But when he did try to get over her it was also around the same time they coincidentally became even better friends.

Shortly after she arrived he noticed that she seemed troubled but wouldn’t say anything about it. When he asked her what was wrong all she said was “Men” in a really disgusted way and left it at that. She didn’t say much else but she did reveal that she didn’t feel like going to Moscow for the weekend and would’ve rather stayed in Valencia.

Knowing she was feeling a little miserable, he made it his personal duty to keep her company and take her mind off things. He did try to take her out for a nice meal somewhere at the end of their long day a few times but she always said no and suggested they have dinner and drinks at the restaurant with Isabel instead.
Carlos didn’t mind at all that her mother joined them. He was just glad for every opportunity he got to spend some time with her. The downside was he was in even deeper and he had made it all the more difficult for himself to forget about her.
------------------------------------------------------

“I want to make Mr and Mrs Martinez proud and I guess I want to make her proud too,” he admitted to Senora Lopez who was waiting patiently for his answer. “I’ve been able to get a lot done because it doesn’t seem like work when you’re doing something for someone you like.”

She patted him on the back. “You’ve really gotten yourself in trouble, haven’t you?”

“Yes,” he replied miserably.

“Where is she now?”

“She’s in Moscow for the weekend.”

She wanted to tell him again that he needed to move on but from the look on his face he was upset enough and she didn’t want to make him feel worse.
--------------------------------------

“You’re making excellent progress, Marat,” Mirka commented after their meeting in which he’d briefed her on the status of the tennis centres they were building.

“Why do you sound so surprised?” he asked jokingly.

“Not surprised,” she corrected him. “Pleased.”

He nodded, glad that for once they were getting along and she’d actually given him a compliment.

“Well I think that’s all for this meeting,” she said. “Thanks for the update.”

“Are you sure? Don’t you want to go through the numbers one last time?” Marat asked in a panic.

Mirka gave him a funny look before letting out a chuckle. Usually he couldn’t wait to finish their conversation. This time he was purposely trying to prolong their discussion.

“It’s getting late,” she said. “And we went through the numbers three times already. Go home, Marat. I’ll speak to you next week.”

She sensed his hesitation in saying goodbye and peered suspiciously at him.

“Let me guess, you’ve done something wrong and now you don’t want to go home to face the music.”

Marat frowned and he no longer had any desire to continue talking to her.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked sincerely. “What did you do?”

“Nothing!” he answered almost yelling. He realised how he’d sounded and lowered his voice.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to shout. You’re right, I should go. I need to sort this out.”

Mirka thought she should keep her comments to herself but her mouth moved quicker than her brain.

“Marat, if you love this girl like you say you do, why do you keep messing her around?”

She waited for him to tell her to mind her own business. But he looked right at her and nodded resignedly as if he had been wondering the same thing.

“Because I’m an idiot Mirka,” he stated. “I’m a real idiot and I don’t deserve someone her.”
------------------------------------------

She heard his key turn the lock and Sophia came out of her thoughts. She sat up cross-legged on the couch, fidgeting with her hands on her lap. She looked towards his direction, waiting for him to walk in.

Her unpacked bags were right by the door. Marat didn’t think that was a good sign and he feared the worst.

He entered the lounge room and found her there biting her nails. She looked up at him with no expression.

“Hi,” Marat said.

“Hi.”

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”

“Hmmm, a bit.”

The conversation felt so strained. It was a concept that was so unusual for them.

“How long are you staying?” he asked.

“Just the weekend.”

He nodded thinking fast about how he could break the tension. But before he could Sophia solved that problem for him.

“Hopefully just enough time for us to talk about what the hell happened in Rio,” she said calmly.

When Sophia spoke calmly during an argument it was never a good thing. It meant she was angrier than she was letting on.

She crossed her arms as he took a seat on the arm chair opposite her. He put his head down and ran his fingers through his hair.

-----------------------------------------------

He’d been honest with her and the morning after the night at the bar with Giselle, he told Sophia what happened much to the discouragement of his friends on the tour. But he couldn’t be persuaded otherwise. He knew he had to man up.

“Besides, it’s a lose-lose,” he explained. “If I tell her upfront, she’ll get angry. If I don’t tell her and she finds out from someone else, she’ll get angry. Either way she’ll get angry but it’s better if she hears it from me.”

Jim felt partly responsible for allowing it to get out of hand. He shouldn’t have allowed Giselle to continue with the flirting and the touching. But he honestly thought Marat would stop it at some point.

“It’s completely my fault,” Marat said to him adamantly when Jim revealed how guilty he felt. “You don’t have any blame in this.”

Upon breaking the news to Sophia, he expected an outburst, some kind of verbal abuse from her. But she just went silent then said, “I can’t deal with this right now. Let’s talk when I come home.”

Everyday since he’d been apologising by text without getting a reply.
----------------------------------------------------------

“Why is it that every time you go away for tennis, you get yourself in this kind of trouble?” Sophia asked rhetorically.

“I’m sorry, Sophia,” Marat said remorseful.

“You’ve said that 10 million times already!” she cried out. “Now you need to answer me. Why?”

He shrugged and sighed loudly before offering an explanation. He had thought about it in his head and already it sounded stupid and pathetic.

“After we argued that night, I went out,” he began. “And I just wanted to feel good and forget about it.”

“So you thought having this woman come on to you was going to do that?”

He scratched his face irritably. “I know, it’s really stupid and I regret every minute of it. I don’t know what I was thinking letting it happen.”

“It’s because you weren’t thinking,” Sophia objected. “Did it make you feel good then?”

She looked at him icily, her anger had not abated. Marat shook his head. Truthfully, he felt all the more miserable that night because he was aware of the consequences that were going to follow his actions. But after drinking way too much, he had gone past the point of rationality.

“How would you like it if I went away without you and I went to some club with a guy I only met a few hours before who flirted all night with me and wanted to bring me home?”

Marat felt awful at the thought. And he knew the scenario was very possible because she got picked up all the time. But unlike him, she never even gave these guys a second glance.

“I”d hate it,” he admitted.

“Yeah you would,” she said. “Marat, I’m not like your ex-girlfriends who were ok with you seeking attention from other women and did nothing about it.”

He nodded remorsefully. He couldn’t object not even once because she was right in everything she was saying.

“If we’re going to be together, of course we’re going to fight sometimes,” she continued. “But you can’t deal with it like this. You can’t go running to somebody else so that you can feel better.”

“Sophia, I didn’t do anything,” Marat interrupted. “I didn’t kiss her. I didn’t get into her car. I didn’t go home with her.”

“I know but that’s not the point,” she said in a tired voice. “You let her entertain you the whole night to spite me. And that is almost as bad as if you had gone home with her.”

Marat was already racked with guilt but she was making it even worse by speaking aloud everything he felt bad about. And the hurt in her eyes – he couldn’t bear to look at them. There were no tears but pure and utter disappointment.

“This can not happen again, Marat,” Sophia stated firmly. “Or I swear, we’re over.”

She got up then having nothing more to say and walked out of the room. Marat heard her in the hall where her bags were. He scrambled out of his seat to follow her, afraid to see her walking out the door.

“What are you doing?” he asked tentatively.

She looked at him bemused. “I’m going to the bedroom to unpack,” she replied. “And I’m really tired so I’m going to lie down for a while.”

Marat breathed a sigh of relief.

“So what happens now?” he enquired.

Sophia shrugged. “What happens now is that I sleep and then we move on. Ok?”

He took a step towards her and reached for her hand. It was the closest he’d gotten to touching her since he arrived home.

“I really am sorry, Sophia,” he apologised once more. “I promise you we won’t ever have to have this conversation again.”

She nodded and looked up at him. For the first time there were tears in her eyes.

“I hope so, Marat,” she said quietly. “I really hope so.”