Bitter Sweet Kisses Read online

  Men seemed to be able to detect a man who would always be a player.

  Women could see a heart breaker coming for miles, and maybe that was the appeal.

  Sophie was no fool but knew Harry loved her.

  When they were alone, he showed this openly, unless when he was being difficult.

  In a crowd, he was never at her side.

  But this was one of his many idiosyncrasies that made her love him.

  The only thing she truly hated was how he had alphabetically arranged his vinyl, CDs and DVDs, absolutely anything that needed to be put in order.

  And that he could never have sex when he was sober.

  Harry always needed a couple of drinks.

  Sophie decided to take accept it as one of his quirks, like the ordered items.

  Harry always brushed is teeth before and after sex.

  Yet the bitter taste of him remained with her.

  She wished they would be sweet, if only for one night, yet there was something in his taste that was repelling her more and more.

  They lived in a large house in a nice part of town. He had owned it for a decade and he kindly allowed her to move in. At first, he was a pain about her belongings but she realised he didn’t want his space to be cluttered with her things. So she talked him into getting a basement and roof extension, to make room for her.

  ‘I had another scan today,’ she happily said, taking off her coat. ‘Everything looks fine. They want to keep an eye on me due to my blood pressure.’

  Then Sophie saw it, how his happy expression changed and she knew, deep down, he didn’t want to become a father.

  It was cramping his style.

  ‘Don’t you want to have a look?’ she asked, taking it out of her bag and walking towards him. He was pouring out a large scotch. ‘She’s very pretty even in my tummy.’

  Harry glanced at the picture and then at her. His face was like stone.

  There was no point even bothering to challenge him on what was going on in his head.

  ‘When you see her, I know you’ll love her,’ Sophie whispered, touching his arm. ‘And when she sees you, I guarantee she will fall in love, very much like I did.’

  That’s when he smiled.

  His ego was being caressed and she knew that’s what he wanted to hear.

  ‘Let’s make love,’ Harry said. The fumes enough could make her pass out. ‘I’m feeling really horny right now.’

  And that was the icing on the cake. Her husband’s love of sex.

  Walking quickly upstairs, Sophie took off her dress and bra, heading to the bathroom to brush her teeth. She was hoping Harry would take the hint.

  He followed and put the shower on.

  ‘I need to smell fresh for my baby,’ he said, kissing her cheek, before sinking to his knees to bite her arse.

  Recently Harry liked to shower before he had sex. She didn’t mind as it made him more palatable.

  Sophie checked her knicker liner to see that she hadn’t been spotting blood.

  This she did discreetly, so as not to show Harry she was scared of losing the baby.

  Deep down, she thought he would be pleased if she miscarried.

  When she had a spotting incident at fifteen weeks, if was the first time she had noticed genuine interest from Harry. It didn’t take a genius to figure out he wanted something to go wrong.

  In Sophie’s hearts of hearts, she hoped as soon as he saw their baby, it would change his mind.

  She was banking on it for the sake of their marriage.

  Heading straight for bed, she waited for him. Soon enough he appeared at the door, looking a little fresher than he did fifteen minutes earlier.

  ‘You never said Jonah was a handsome man,’ she smiled as he flicked her a disgruntled glance. ‘Don’t tell me you have a secret boy-crush on him? You go to the gym together, don’t you?’

  ‘And your point is what?’

  ‘Just saying.’

  ‘You seemed to like his company.’

  ‘He was being kind and babysitting me. I noticed you kept looking over to see if I was behaving. Was I up to scratch?’

  ‘Jonah was polite even when you were flirting heavily with him,’ he said, forcing a smile. ‘You shouldn’t do that. It makes me look bad.’

  ‘I wasn’t flirting. I was talking and he seemed interested.’

  ‘You made it very obvious you found him attractive.’

  ‘He is attractive,’ she replied, feeling herself blush as a little sinking feeling occurred in her gut but she didn’t let it show.

  ‘But not your type.’

  ‘Is he yours?’

  Right now she didn’t care if she asked him the question.

  Harry was good at the one-liners intended to wreck your mood and confidence, and Sophie knew he liked it when she showed how much it pissed her off.

  It was some sort of one up man ship on his side.

  ‘God, I’m going to bang your brains out,’ he smiled, immediately changing the subject and walking towards the bed, pulling down the sheet. He scowled at her round tummy and she smiled, hoping to see him look happy. ‘When are you going to get too fat to make love to? You’re starting to turn now.’

  ‘You make me sound like an old piece of cheese. Stop being mean and start being nice, because I know you can be,’ she said, opening up her thighs, trying to ignore the snide comment. ‘Put your head here.’ Sophie pointed between her legs. ‘And kiss me better.’

  She didn’t have to ask twice.

  The man was pissed enough to do it.

  And it was another way to avoid his, of recent, bitter lips.

  ‘Harder!’

  Jonah was humping his girlfriend, Onya, a few hours after leaving the party. They arranged to meet at her flat. The light copper colour hair was hanging down, as he watched her lithe pale body vibrate to his hips.

  He had her faced forward over her sofa, her knickers around her ankles as he screwed her as hard as he could.

  She was quite demanding when it came to sex, and he got the impression she wanted to be roughed up. Jonah didn’t like doing it. That was out of his comfort zone but he complied where he could.

  Her request tonight was to hold her by the wrists and take her from behind.

  Based on her groans of pleasure, he was hitting the right spot.

  Closing his eyes, he thought of Sophie James lying naked on the ground, and him gently kissing her body. Jonah could tell she was the sort of woman you made delicate love to.

  Then he wondered if Harry treated her with that respect.

  Knowing he should concentrate on what was hanging off his dick, he then imagined screwing Sophie, and her beautiful round breasts jumping up and down as he did it.

  Jonah came very quickly.

  After taking a shower together, they were sat on the sofa in the living room, sharing a bottle of wine.

  ‘How was the party?’ Onya asked, rubbing her foot against his thigh. He examined her classical English rose appearance and thin lips. She was pretty but not in a sexy way. ‘Was it fun?’

  ‘It was interesting,’ he said, closing his eyes and enjoying feeling her skin against his. ‘I spent most of the time babysitting.’

  ‘Who?’ she laughed. ‘Some old ‘has been’ that Harry’s got on his books?’

  ‘His wife.’

  ‘His wife!’ Onya said, her tone of voice very similar to how he felt on finding out. ‘She’s real? And he went to the party after saying he wouldn’t.’

  ‘You know what he’s like,’ Jonah laughed, shaking his head. ‘Did you know he was married for two years?’

  ‘I’d heard.’

  ‘Why didn’t you say?’

  ‘Because like most things with Harry, it won’t last. He hasn’t got the longevity, let alone the monogamy bone in his body. The fact it’s gone on more than six months is a mystery in itself.’ Onya shrugged her shoulders. ‘It’s something he wanted to try and so he did. She is real, is she?’

  ‘Sophie
is very real,’ he replied and opened his eyes to look at Onya’s shocked expression. He pointed to her face. ‘That’s exactly what I looked like when I found out.’

  ‘Is she a frump of some sort?’ asked Onya, starting to laugh. ‘He married an older woman for money, knowing him.’

  ‘She’s thirty-five. I think she might be of Indian or African descent, not sure. Shockingly, she seems really lovely, and how he managed to get her is beyond me. And she’s really shy, which is cute as well as endearing.’

  ‘You sound like you fancy her,’ she said and he could see Onya looked annoyed. ‘Do you?’

  ‘I can see why he fell for her. And she works at a woman’s refuge, which is so not what I’d have expected the wife of Harry James to do. To be honest, I feel a little sorry for Sophie if he’s screwing about.’

  ‘Why? She’s a fool for letting him treat her like shit!’

  ‘Well, she’s must be very optimistic about their relationship because she’s pregnant.’

  Onya dropped her wine.

  ‘Shit!’ she said, jumping to her feet as the glass bounced off the rug but didn’t break.

  ‘Have you had a little bit too much already?’ he laughed and noticed she looked furious.

  ‘No! Let me clean this up.’

  Jonah watched Onya storm into the kitchen and she took a few moments to return, now supporting a smile.

  ‘I thought I had wine remover,’ she said, rushing over with a spray bottle.

  ‘It’s white; it won’t stain.’ He noticed she looked a little upset. ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘When are we going to get married?’ she suddenly snapped at him. ‘How come everyone is getting hitched and not us?’

  ‘What’s the rush?’

  ‘Why haven’t you moved in? You said you would.’

  ‘Let’s take our time and enjoy it.’

  Deep down, Jonah wasn’t sure if he wanted to make it a permanent thing with Onya. She was lovely but quite demanding.

  Sometimes he wasn’t sure what she was thinking.

  And he had his doubts whether she truly loved him.

  Onya worked in an art gallery and that’s where they met when he took part in a small exhibition. She understood his work and was really helpful. It had taken a matter of hours before they ended up in bed, and that was eighteen months ago.

  It was she who introduced him to Harry.

  For that he would be eternally grateful.

  But the commitment thing with her was something he didn’t really want to envisage, not just as his career was about to take an upward turn.

  And the most important thing.

  He wasn’t in love with her.

  No matter how hard he tried, it just wasn’t there.

  ‘Tonight?’

  Sophie was a little shocked by Harry’s request over the phone. ‘And giving me an hour’s notice is being helpful.’

  ‘Come on! You got on with Jonah. And he’s my new star.’

  ‘I only met him the other week,’ she said, opening the fridge, feeling scared at the thought of talking to the stranger again. ‘Oh God, you’re such a prick sometimes!’

  ‘We need something to liven up our evenings!’ he laughed, before sighing.

  ‘I spend most of the evenings alone.’

  ‘I love you, Sophie.’

  ‘I don’t think you do,’ she replied, then hung up. ‘Sometimes you love yourself more, Harry James.’

  Running around, she rushed to the local supermarket and got some supplies, before going back home to cook.

  She didn’t even ask if Jonah was a vegetarian. Sophie would have to leave that for the last minute and adapt the pasta dish she was making, which consisted of chicken and chorizo.

  But she was a little confused by the excited feeling in her chest about seeing him again.

  Even while running around, she pondered on what to wear and if she should put her hair up.

  Then she snapped out of it, thinking she was behaving like a silly teenager.

  Six thirty, the doorbell rang and she did a double take.

  Checking in the mirror, she took a deep breath and wanted to be as calm as possible. Sophie stroked her baby bump and knew that this was probably down to hormones.

  And the lack of male company.

  Opening the door, she was met with the warmest smile she had seen in ages.

  In return, she blushed.

  Jonah stood on the doorstep, dressed in a leather jacket and scarf, and holding two bottles of wine.

  ‘I didn’t know if you wanted red or white, so I got both. I bet he didn’t give you any notice, did he?’ he ask, his grin making her smile. ‘I’m a dab hand in the kitchen if you need some help.’

  ‘Hello Jonah,’ she said, putting her hand out and realising he couldn’t shake it as his hands were full with two bottles of wine. Her heart was thundering in her chest and Sophie tried her hardest to act calm and control her instant shyness. ‘Come in!’

  He stepped into the house and she discreetly eyed him up and down, before taking the bottles.

  ‘Are you a vegetarian?’ she asked quickly. ‘Any dietary requirements I need to know about?’

  ‘I eat everything,’ he said, taking off his jacket.

  ‘Pop it on the coat hook and follow me.’

  She went down the corridor to the kitchen. That was the only time she could control her breathing, plus hope she wasn’t smiling too much.

  ‘This house is amazing!’ he said in awe.

  ‘It’s Harry’s and he let me decorate certain parts. I have no authority over his study. I rent out my flat for extra income, just in case. Oh God! That’s too much information,’ she laughed, before trying to control the nervousness in her throat. ‘What would you like to drink? We have every type of spirit under the sun, which you would expect to find in Mr James’ home.’

  ‘A vodka and tonic would be good. Am I early?’

  ‘It’s fine. I hope you don’t get bored in my company again.’ Sophie turned and noticed he was still grinning. ‘Are you always this happy? I thought you creative types were mean and moody.’

  ‘Sorry to dash your hopes, but I’m a pretty cheerful guy.’

  She was enchanted by the comment.

  Harry had tendencies to be a depressing arse from time to time.

  When he was, she simply ignored him. It was totally indulgent on his part to try and change the atmosphere at home, given his mood was down to something usually trivial.

  Like one of his clients being more demanding than usual.

  Or when they questioned the final invoice he had sent asking for huge amounts of money.

  That seriously pissed off Harry.

  ‘I like happy people,’ Sophie said and fixed him a drink. ‘I’m on the water. When this baby comes out, I’m going to wait a week before getting drunk. Obviously, I won’t breast feed for a few days.’

  He laughed.

  And it was amazing because he sounded genuinely joyful.

  The tinkling sound of amusement.

  But most certainly, there was no doubt how attractive he was.

  ‘Did you have plans this evening before Harry scuppered them?’ she asked, looking into his eyes, feeling slightly spellbound.

  ‘My girlfriend is hosting a show.’ Jonah grinned. ‘She works for an art gallery in town and when I told Harry, he invited me for dinner.’ Then he laughed. ‘And here I am.’

  ‘I hope you don’t mind being stuck with me until he comes back?’

  Sophie certainly didn’t mind spending some time with the handsome, young photographer.

  To be honest, she secretly wished her husband wouldn’t return until much later.

  ‘Scans are amazing, aren’t they?’

  Jonah was looking at the small album where Sophie kept pictures of her unborn baby. He was interested to see the images. They were sat on the couch. ‘Did you get the scanned filmed?’

  ‘I was going to but Harry couldn’t get to the appointment so I had to cancel,�
� Sophie whispered. ‘He’s not been to any of them and blankly refused to go to the antenatal classes. People must think I’m a single mother.’

  She let out an uncomfortable laugh.

  He felt sad, seeing Sophie was trying to cover up for Harry’s selfish behaviour.

  ‘I can’t wait to be a dad,’ he honestly said. ‘I want loads of kids.’

  Sophie smiled. She looked in awe of the comment before quickly turning away.

  ‘Were you planning for a baby?’ He had to ask, wondering if she had trapped him.

  ‘Thing is, we were told it would take months but I instantly fell pregnant. I think we were a little shocked.’ Then she broke out into a wide grin. ‘And then I was very happy at the thought of us having a baby together.’

  Jonah watched her touch the scans, deep in thought.

  ‘I’m having a girl,’ she said with pure delight. ‘I can’t stand pink so I don’t know what I’m going to dress her in.’

  ‘Are you taking time off?’

  ‘A year’s maternity leave. I want to work up until I’m eight months and then I can cover the costs.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because I still need to contribute to the home,’ she replied, looking puzzled.

  ‘I thought Harry would do that, considering you’re looking after the baby and the man is rolling in cash.’

  ‘You don’t know him very well, do you?’ Taking the book out of his hand, she got up and put it on the shelf. ‘I’m independent and pay my own way, always have. I’m not going to rely on him. That’s not the way I am.’ Sophie laughed. ‘And he’s no good at sharing. Just like a child.’

  Seeing her smile slip, she looked over towards the kitchen.

  He couldn’t figure out what kind of marriage she was in.

  With Harry, it was bound to be complicated.

  ‘Can I help you with anything?’ he asked, getting to his feet.

  ‘Keep my company.’

  Jonah took it upon himself to eye her up and down when she walked away. Sophie had a lovely arse, and she was walking around in ballet slippers. She glided across the room and even her little bump made her look womanly.

  He wondered what she was doing with Harry.

  It was blatantly clear he didn’t seem keen on the baby.

  Jonah thought if Sophie were having his kid, he’d be delighted because she was lovely as she was gorgeous.