“We don’t have very long. Our boat will be here in two hours.”
“I’ll be ready by then.” She tackled him on the bed, taking full advantage of him until it was time to leave.
Mr. Rene arrived right on time, serenading them the entire way to the airport. Tess didn’t know the story the song told, but it sounded beautiful. Tom put his arm around her and she leaned back next to him.
“I hate leaving here, but I’m excited to see where you’re taking me.”
The wind whipped her hair around, so he tucked it behind her ear. “I don’t want to leave either, but you’re going to love my surprise.”
Mr. Rene pulled up at the dock. He patted their backs offering each of them a warm embrace. “You two come back to see me soon. Don’t stay gone so long, Mrs. Blue Eyes. I’m happy for you and Mr. Tom. You make a nice couple. See, I knew everything would work out for the two of you. I could tell from the first day on the shark tour. I even told my Mrs. how happy you look together.”
Tom chuckled, clearing his throat. Heat rushed to Tess’ cheeks. She considered stepping on Mr. Rene’s toe to make him be quiet.
They started down the dock toward the airport. She glanced at Tom and shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry, he means well. I’ve known him over twenty years. I can’t help but love him, but I thought I might have to kick him in the shin to make him quit talking.” She chuckled awkwardly.
Chapter Eight
Upon reaching the airplane, she gawked at him and then toward the plane. “Is this what we’re taking? Is this yours?” She’d never flown first class, let alone a private jet. “Show off! You’re unbelievable.”
A smile flickered in his eyes. “No, it’s not mine, but I use it to travel occasionally.”
The plush plane came complete with a bar, private bedroom and full bathroom.
“Hey, before I forget, would you mind giving me Tracy’s cell phone number? I promised to text her the address of where we’re staying. I don’t want her to worry, and I don’t want her mad at me either.”
“I’m shocked you didn’t already pay somebody at the front desk for it or search through my purse to find her number.” She teased.
He appeared dumbfounded. “I thought those two things were cardinal sins, getting into a woman’s purse and checking her phone numbers.”
“Are you serious?” She could tell by the puzzled look on his face that he was. “Tom if I trust you enough to give you my body for the last two weeks, don’t you think I should trust you with my cell phone? I don’t have anything to hide from you. I’m not into secrets.”
“Oh.” He cocked his head to the side and added, “You’re not upset with me for keeping our trip a secret, are you?”
“No, that’s a surprise. That’s entirely different. I simply don’t like hiding things. First off, I’m no good at lying. You can totally see it all over my face. I don’t play games Tom. I’d rather say it like it is. You know what I mean?”
His brows creased.
She explained. “So when you ask me if I trust you, I mean it when I say yes. I wouldn’t have stayed with you, not the way we’ve been together, if I didn’t trust you.”
Tess gave him Tracy’s cell number, and then opened her purse, asking if he wanted to take a peak. He pretended to begrudgingly stick his finger in her purse.
“It’s going to be a very, very, very, long trip. I need to get some sleep, Tess. You’re wearing me out,” he yawned.
“Why, Tom Clemmins, are you complaining?”
“Never,” he chuckled, heading toward the bedroom. “By the way, everyone on the plane knows not to tell you where we’re going, so don’t try to coerce it out of the flight attendant. No bribing the pilot either, you’d probably give him a heart attack if you used the same voice on him you used on me yesterday.”
Tess teased using the same sultry voice. “Did you really expect to get some sleep on this plane?”
“Yes, actually, at least for a few hours.” He pulled her down onto the bed, cuddling up to her.
“I’m only teasing. I’m tired, too.”
Hours later Tess opened her eyes in the pitch-dark room, forgetting where she was for a moment. Her things waited in the bathroom. How does he do this?
Tom lay stretched out on the couch, watching a movie. “Hey, sleepy head.”
“How long was I out?”
He glanced at his watch. “Ten hours.”
“Man, I was tired. I need some coffee, I still feel wiped out.”
“We have a few more hours if you’d like to shower.”
Tess finished showering when a thought occurred to her.
“Hey, Tom, can you come here for a minute?” Lying naked on the bed, she reached for his hand. “I’m sure you’ve done this before, but I haven’t. I can’t imagine we would be any better in the sky than on a deserted island, but I’m willing to try.”
“You’re unbelievable, Tess.”
“I’m glad you think so,” she said between kisses.
After she joined the mile high club, they lay on the bed. She didn’t want to think about how many times he laid there before with other women. She had no right to feel jealous, but didn’t like the idea of him in bed with someone else.
“What are you thinking about?” He slid his finger down the tip of her nose.
“N..Nothing.”
“What’s up? You looked serious for a minute.”
“I’m curious which you preferred, the sky or the deserted island with me?” she questioned coyly.
“This was wonderful, but nothing compares to the motu Tess. Nothing.”
Tom hopped in the shower. His dark tan body glistened in the sudsy water. He caught her watching him. “Do you want to join me?”
“No, I’m enjoying the show.”
He flexed his muscles, washing himself slowly. “Is that good for you?”
She laughed aloud. “Little slower please.”
Tom dressed in jeans and dark blue-collared shirt over a T-shirt. Tess put on a blue dress, redid her makeup and blow-dried her hair straight.
“I love that dress. You had it on the first time I saw you. I’ve never seen you with your hair straight either, I like it.”
“Do I look all right?” she asked, wringing her clammy hands. “I want to look nice to meet your friends.”
“You look beautiful. I can tell you’re getting anxious. I promise, they’re nice people. Believe me, my friends are going to love you. Do you want a glass of wine? It might help you relax,” he urged, holding up a bottle of wine.
“Sure, maybe just one.” She sighed heavily. It felt as if she were going home to meet his parents.
“We need to go over a few things.”
The eight little words spilled effortlessly from his mouth, however they sounded like words of warning to Tess, especially with the wine in his hands.
“Oh, great.” She motioned for him to fill up her wine glass. “Okay, go ahead, what is it?”
“I just want you to be prepared. This will be a very different experience than Bora Bora. This was the first trip in a long time where people didn’t recognize me, which is another reason why I love it there. When we’re out, people will recognize me here. It won’t be anything like the States, but it will happen. I don’t usually stop for pictures or talk to people too much because it gets chaotic, so we need to keep moving.”
Tess chewed on her cheek, taking a big breath of air.
“Are you all right?”
“Umm, yeah, just don’t leave me, okay?”
“I won’t, I promise. It’ll seem weird at first, but it’ll happen the entire trip, so try not to let it bother you. We’ll lay low most of the time, but I want to take you a few places while we’re here. So basically, keep your head down and keep walking. Got it?”
“Got it,” she confirmed, pacing in circles. Tess never yearned to be in the spotlight and quickly realized stepping off the plane might feel like standing in the center of the Big Top next to the Ring Master.
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Tom held her close, nibbling her neck. “Tess.”
“Can you do that for the next hour? It really relaxes me.”
“We’ll be landing in Italy soon.”
Her eyes lit up. “I’ve never been to Italy before.”
“I know,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“What do you mean, you know?”
He reached into his pocket, pulling out his cell phone. “Tracy,” he said in a pleased tone. “She’s warming up to me. Sort of. Okay, well maybe just a little. But JC was friendly.”
“When did you-?”
“When you were sleeping. Oh, and I’m supposed to tell you something from JC, ‘Good job, Mom, no wheelchair. Be safe.’ Plus, they talked to John and he said the same thing. I’m not sure what the wheelchair comment was about, but she seemed happy with your catch. That’s what she referred to me as.” Tom laughed and cast out a pretend fishing line, reeling Tess in like a marlin and smooching her lips.
A car waited for them at the small airport when they landed. It wasn’t nearly as bad as she’d anticipated. People definitely pointed, but Tom didn’t take notice. He seemed comfortable and confident. She admired that about him.
Tom had been driving for an hour. Quaint vineyards and olive groves dotted the landscape in front of them. The longer he drove the prettier and more captivating the scenery became. Green rolling hills spotted with villas covered the countryside. Tess always dreamed of traveling to Europe, but after going to Bora Bora, she could never bring herself to go anywhere else. However, at that moment, she wished she’d made herself visit sooner.
“It’s so charming here. The old buildings have so much character. Tracy would love it.”
“She did sound a bit envious.” He smirked with eyes full of mischief. Tom pulled over to the side of the road in the middle of the countryside.
“What are we doing?”
He jumped out of the car and opened her door. “I’m keeping a promise. Stand right over here.” He pulled out his cell phone, taking a picture of Tess with the breathtaking Tuscan scenery behind her. Then he stood beside her, held the phone out, and took a picture of them together. “The first one is for Tracy, and this one’s for JC. I think she’ll like it, don’t you?”
“Oh yeah, she’ll love it. You do realize those pictures will be all over her Facebook in twenty minutes? There’s no way of keeping that a secret.”
Tom tapped his finger on her nose. “You’re not a secret, Tess. You don’t like secrets, remember? Besides, I think you’re giving her way too much credit, I’ll give her four minutes to have it on Facebook.”
“How much longer?” She asked, climbing back into the car.
“Five minutes. Tess, relax please, for me.”
“I’m trying.” She sighed.
He held her face tenderly and pressed his lips to hers, teasing her with his tongue. “Are you ready to go now?”
“Umm hmm.”
Ten minutes later, Tom stopped at a set of tall, ornate, black wrought iron gates, entering a code to pass through. Towering cypress trees lined the long meandering driveway, leading to a gorgeous villa.
“Wow, is this their house?”
“It is. You look amazing.”
“Thanks.” She waved her hands in the air to dry the moisture caused by nerves. “This place is more like an old castle.” Fuchsia bougainvillea climbed the stone walls, highlighting the shutters made from aged timber.
“Actually, I think it might’ve been a castle. They just finished restoring the whole place.”
“This is incredible.”
As they approached the front door, he clutched her hands in his and pressed them to his lips. “Please don’t be nervous. These are my best friends. They’re my family. You just need to be yourself. Okay?”
She nodded. “I’m always myself, hence the nervous wreck,” she smirked with a slight eye roll.
“You weren’t nervous when you met me,” he offered as a comforting gesture.
“I was mad at you.”
“Did you want me to piss you off real quick.”
This provoked a smile from Tess and she squeezed his fingers. Tom rang the doorbell. She sighed anxiously once again. He bent down to nuzzle her neck when the massive wood door flew open.
“Tommy! It’s about time.” The handsome man shook Tom’s hand, grasping him firmly by the shoulder.
“Tommy!” Squeals of delight came from the gorgeous blond as she reached up to kiss Tom on both cheeks.
Tess couldn’t believe it. They were Hollywood’s IT couple Benny and Lisa Levi. He could’ve warned me.
“Hey, Benny. Lisa.”
“Shit, Tommy, you look like you got stuck in a tanning bed,” Lisa smirked flippantly, giving him the once over.
“Good to see you too. I want you to meet my girlfriend, Tess Mathews.” Tom beamed, cinching Tess by the waist.
The expression on both of their faces mirrored the look on Tess’ face. Shock! Benny and Lisa recovered from the word “girlfriend” faster than Tess did. She stared at Tom with her mouth gaping open.
Tess reached her hand out, but was quickly pulled in for a big squeeze by Benny and kissed by Lisa on both cheeks. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you,” Tess squeaked, attempting to stay focused, however the word “girlfriend” still rang like a fire alarm in her ears. She didn’t miss the unmistakable exchange of pure shock between Benny and Lisa either.
“Come in, get comfortable. How was your flight?” Benny asked.
“Jeeze Tommy, where the hell have you two been? You look great,” Lisa said.
“Bora Bora. We flew straight from there to here.”
Lisa’s eyes lit up like Christmas. “Bora Bora! How was it? I’ve been asking Benny to take me there. Did you love it?” Lisa asked enthusiastically, throwing an eye roll Benny’s direction.
“Oh great,” Benny smirked rolling his eyes, “You’re killing me Tommy. I’m never gonna hear the end of this.”
“Oh yeah, we loved it!” Tom held Tess’ hand entering into the house.
Tess wasn’t sure where to look first. Benny and Lisa were both beautiful and she wanted to watch the expressions on their faces. Clearly, they weren’t expecting Tom to bring his “girlfriend”, however their villa was astonishing and Tess wanted to scope it out. I can look around later.
Lisa’s eyes wandered from Tom to Tess, “Obviously you two have been together. You’re browner than he is. Did you love it there?”
“I do love it there.”
Benny gripped Tom’s shoulder. “Let’s bring in your luggage so you can get settled. You are staying here, aren’t you?”
“Of course. You have to take Lisa to Bora Bora. You’d love it, too. I can’t wait to tell you about our trip. It was amazing.”
“Obviously,” Benny murmured, glancing at Tess.
“The guest house is all set up for you. I’ll put some more towels out there for the two of you.” Lisa directed her statement to Tom, but her eyes fixed on Tess.
Tess could hear Benny whispering to Tom, “Did you just call her your girlfriend?”
Tom nodded. “It’s a long story.” He said in Benny’s ear.
“Your place is incredible.” Tess babbled, trying to hide her anxiety.
“Thanks,” Benny replied.
Lisa put her arm around Tess, welcoming her into the living room. Tom and Benny headed toward the front door to get their luggage when Tom said, “Oh hey, wait a minute.” He reached into his jeans to find his phone. “Benny go stand with Tess and Lisa.”
Tom took a cell phone picture of the three of them together with Tess in the middle.
“Tommy if you wanted a picture I would’ve fucking given you one,” Lisa rolled her eyes sarcastically. “We probably look like a reverse OREO cookie. I can’t believe how tan you are.”
Tom chuckled, raising his eyebrows. “JC will love this.”
“Who’s JC?” Benny and Lisa asked at the same time.
“My daughter,” Tess replied,
shaking her head, laughing at Tom. “They’re going to freak out when they see that picture.”
“You have kids?” Lisa choked.
Tess flushed, responding with a tongue-tied, “I do.”
Tom was oblivious to their reaction, too busy forwarding his picture to Tracy and JC.
Lisa’s beautiful full lips appeared to be speechless, which Tess assumed might be highly unusual for her. “Do…do they know Tommy?”
“No, but he’s talked to two of them on the phone. I didn’t know we were coming here or to Italy for that matter. Tom wanted to surprise me, so he texted my girls telling them where we would be staying. Now he’s really going to torture them with that picture.” Tess chuckled.
“How many kids do you have?” Benny asked, surprise still plastered on his face.
“Three.” Tess was getting more uncomfortable by the second. His friends were undoubtedly stunned.
“No shit,” Lisa said, glancing at Benny with raised brows.
Tom walked outside and Benny followed right behind him. Tess got the impression his friends thought Tom had lost his mind in Bora Bora, gone mad with island fever.
Lisa inspected Tess from head to toe, blatantly sizing her up. “Three? How old are they?”
“JC is eighteen, Tracy is twenty-one and John is twenty-three.”
“No shit,” she replied again with her mouth hanging wide open. “Wow.”
If her mouth keeps hanging open like that, she’s gonna have a bruise on her chin in the morning.
“Don’t you have kids?” Tess knew the Levi’s had children. It was plastered all over the tabloid magazines.
“Umm hum, two. Tommy is twelve and Kim is six. You really don’t look old enough to have kids that age.”
Tess sighed heavily, overwhelmed by her reaction. “Thanks.”
“Hey, I’m sorry. I’m a little shocked. I don’t think Tommy’s had any dates who have kids. Let’s go in the other room. I’m dying to hear about your trip. Would you like a glass of wine?”
“Please.” Tess nodded, following Lisa into the kitchen where she poured them each a glass of wine.
When Tom and Benny returned Tess could’ve sworn Tom’s face looked as red as hers. Watching the two of them laugh together, Tess thought they looked like brothers. Benny was younger than Tom and not quite as tall, but they had the same athletic build. Their facial shapes were similar, but Benny sported blonde hair and blue eyes.
What to Read After FSOG: The Gemstone Collection (WTRAFSOG Book 3) Page 34