Prosecco & Paparazzi (The Passport Series Book 1)

by Celia Kennedy

  “Nope, just confusion. Tiziana must hate me.” I sighed regretfully.

  “Tiziana doesn’t hate you. She had to expect that you and Des might have it out. As you said, if not now, when?” She was surprisingly patient with my breach of etiquette.

  I abruptly stopped and turned to face her. “Shit! Has the reprieve from the restraining order been revoked? You know, that’s what finally provoked me, his fucking selective memory.” And then I cried out of pure frustration. My head was pounding from the tears and sun. “Suppose we should head back?”

  With her arm around my shoulders, she pulled me close for a tight hug. “Only if you’re ready.”

  “Well, we can’t wait for that!”

  Taking our time returning to give me a little longer to collect myself, we examined sea shells and bits of sea glass along the way.

  After a little prompting, I managed to learn that things were going quite well with Michael. “Well, I have to admit, the Molloy charm is hard to resist. I don’t even know him, but he’s the only man I’ve ever met that I want to throw caution to the wind for.”

  “How do you feel about that?” I knew it couldn’t be easy for Hillary to let herself be out of control.

  “Perfectly fine, most of the time.”

  We had reached the beach where the party had been. The scene had transformed into a clean-up crew. I found the object of my desire helping to stow kitchen equipment back into the boat.

  “Hello, gorgeous!” he called out to me, waving at Hillary. “We were all worn out, so one boat with half the gear and half the party has returned. The other boat is coming back for us. There won’t be any room on this one.” Hillary ambled away, giving him the chance to ask, “All right?”

  “Other than worried about Tiziana, I’m fine.”

  ***

  When we returned to the yacht, there was no one to be seen.

  The sun was still high in the sky when I woke up to the rapping of knuckles on the cabin door. Surveying the room, I saw discarded clothes and towels strewn about. I quickly found a robe on the back of the bathroom door and shrugged into it before opening the door slightly. A crew member stood in the corridor.

  “Madam, I have an urgent message for you.” I took the piece of paper he held and thanked him. Does one tip in such circumstances? I might be floating on a fancy boat, but I clearly lacked the experience necessary to pass myself off as one of the truly wealthy.

  I sat down on a chair by the window and opened the envelope. It was from Taylor. She needed me to call. “Can’t be good,” I said to myself.

  Searching the room, I found my cell phone plugged into its charger. Going into the bathroom, I stood near the open window, hoping for satellite reception. When I turned the phone on, I saw that there were three messages from her. I gave her a call.

  ***

  “Liam, I need you to wake up,” I whispered into his ear. I felt his body move, knowing he was making the supreme effort to wake up. I ran my fingers through his hair and over his back while I waited. Finally, his eyes opened and he stretched.

  “What is it?” he asked, sitting up, running his hands over his face.

  “Taylor called. Faith Clarkson is arriving in London tomorrow. She’s expecting me to be in my office Monday morning. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to head back tomorrow as early as possible. I should have realized she’d do this.” My feelings were jumbled.

  He was suddenly wide awake now. “Don’t worry, I’m sure Tiziana and Ted will understand. We can have them take us back to Saint-Tropez, and we’ll get it all sorted out. Let me get dressed, and we’ll go find them.” He was off the bed, dredging through the drawers, looking for something appropriate to put on.

  Wrapping my arms around his waist, I pressed my forehead against his back. “I feel so bad! This afternoon’s meltdown and now this. Tiziana will be so disappointed. Des will have won. Regardless, I’m sure you can stay.”

  He turned around in the circle of my arms and pulled me tightly against him. “Des didn’t win. You’ll have your chance another time. As for me, I’m only here because you are. If you have to leave, I can come back to London with you and fly back home. If I work Monday, I can head to London on Thursday night and take another long weekend. What do you think?”

  My answer was a grateful kiss. “Thank you.”

  He twirled me away. “You’d better get ready.”

  Liam set about getting our stuff a bit more organized while I dressed for the evening and prepared myself for Tiziana’s disappointment.

  Chapter Eighteen

  FACING THE WORST-CASE scenario, we found Tiziana and Ted chatting with Des in the lounge. If Liam hadn’t shoved me into the room, I doubt I would have had entered.

  “Bella, what’s happened? Did you break the bed?” she laughed nervously, clearly doing her part to keep the situation light. The guilt I had felt on the beach was now enormous. It seemed like she was prepared for more confrontation because of me.

  Not glancing at Des or Ted, I answered her. “Taylor called. Faith Clarkson is on her way to London and is expecting to see me at my desk Monday morning. I’m afraid I’ll need to head home as soon as possible.”

  Her smile turned into a frown. “Bella? If it’s about this afternoon, we were just talking, and I think, between the heat and overindulgences, everyone was worn out.” She sounded hopeful.

  “Oh, Tiziana, if I could, I would stay. But I really do need to be in London tomorrow. You know what life has been like.” I had admitted to myself while I was changing that I was glad to be leaving. Des appeared to be without remorse. I couldn’t imagine remaining on the boat without exploding. Who knew that Faith Clarkson’s demanding nature would prove serendipitous?

  Ted stepped forward. “Don’t worry, Charlotte. I’ll arrange everything. We appreciate that you were able to be here at all. We’ll miss you.” I hugged him then her, thanking them profusely for their generosity. Liam did the same, and then followed me when we left to continue packing. We would see them shortly for cocktails and dinner, anyway.

  On the way to our cabin, I grumbled, “I should have expected this from Faith.” My mind began to inventory what I had brought with me and where I’d last seen it. “Damn! I meant to grab my book. I left it in the lounge.”

  “I’ll get it,” Liam offered, concern in his eyes.

  Shaking my head, I said, “No, it’s fine. Tiziana and Ted are there. I’m still drained from this afternoon. I don’t have it in me to pick another fight.”

  When I returned, only Des was there. Half of the reason I was on this boat was sitting in the room by himself. Knowing there was too much to cover and too little time to do it, I took a deep breath of resignation and crossed the room to where my book sat on a side table.

  Seeing me, he waited silently until I’d picked it up then surprised me by speaking. “You might find this hard to believe, but I’m glad you’re back. This isn’t the ideal opportunity, but, if I may, I’d like to speak with you privately.”

  Having come this far, I couldn’t imagine there was too much more to lose. I sank into a leather armchair and dug my nails into it, my stomach churning away. “Yes, fine, right. What is it you’d like to say?”

  “Well…” He tugged at his bottom lip, then began again. “Obviously, it’s about everything. Tiziana, Ted, this afternoon, and the wedding. It’s been awkward as hell, but I think we need to clear the air, for all our sakes.” All in all, I was impressed how calm he was, given this afternoon’s blow-up.

  Shocked into silence, my brain couldn’t put all of this together. I wanted to ask the right questions in a dignified way, to show that I was intelligent and rational, but I felt tongue-tied.

  He reached right in and took the bull by the horns. “First, I’d like to say that I’m very confused. The person I met in Chamonix and spent time with here doesn’t match up with the person who kept calling my house day and night. Or who sent that unusual gift.”

  We sat staring at one another, while
my brain tried to sort out what he had said. Ted, Tiziana, and Liam entered the room, clearly anxious.

  “Charlotte, Ted has it all fixed up,” Liam said, offering a diversion. He moved to my side, while Ted and Tiziana stood slightly apart from the rest of us.

  “Are you all right?” Liam asked me quietly. I nodded, my eyes still on Des, still unable to speak.

  Liam, clearly worried, jumped in. “Right! Whatever has happened in the past, let’s get it out in the open.”

  Tiziana and Ted took a few steps forward at the same time. I held up my hand, signaling everyone to settle down.

  Ignoring them, I looked at Des and said, “Wait, wait, wait! What are you talking about? What phone calls? What odd gift?” Everyone was quiet, including Des.

  While processing my question, incredulity crossed his face. “Do you really want to go into the details, now?” His eyes shifted from me to Liam. I nodded affirmatively.

  “I received more than fifteen phone calls from your cell phone over a two-day period. You sent me a pair of…” At this juncture, he waved his hand in circles at my waistline. “A pair of your underpants. Tiny ones, at that. To top it off, they were sprayed with perfume. What about the letter asking me to meet you at the casino for cocktails? How can you possibly deny this? You kept showing up everywhere. It was great fun to begin with. You were a nice, normal person with a great sense of humor, and then all of a sudden you were just there, everywhere.” He looked almost as drained as I felt.

  I was shocked as he recited my sins. Once he finished, I crumpled back into the chair. I felt Liam move to stand beside me then reach down and take my hand.

  Ted and Tiziana took another step forward. “Listen, Des, perhaps now isn’t the time,” he suggested, rather forcefully. Why wouldn’t he? It was his boat and his party, plus his fiancée was falling apart. I took a better look at her and registered that she was taking all this rather hard. My heart went out to her. This certainly wasn’t how she anticipated the weekend going.

  “Ted, if it’s all the same to you, I would rather get this over with now. There will never be a good time, and there may never be another time. Perhaps you and Tiziana should leave.” I nodded toward her. My voice was slightly wobbly, but my resolve complete. I had faced harder things, surely.

  Tiziana let out a deep sigh, shook her head no, and began to pace while wringing her hands. Ted watched her with confusion on his face.

  “Bella,” Tiziana started to say. Her voice faltered when she heard others approaching. Ted quickly crossed the room and quietly spoke to those outside. After shutting the door behind him, he returned to Tiziana’s side. We were now isolated and uninterruptable.

  Kneeling on the floor before my chair, she looked up at me with her big doe eyes, her makeup carefully overdone. Tears slid down her cheeks. My brain was searching for answers.

  She looked over her shoulder at Des and took a deep breath. “Des, it wasn’t Charlotte. It was me. It was a huge, horrible misunderstanding.” Quickly, her eyes flashed to Ted and then shifted back to rest on mine. “Bella, let me explain. It was a simple mistake. At the casino, Ted gave me the phone number where he was staying—with Des. When we got home from the casino, I called him, but I felt so guilty about Gianni, I hung up. You know what falling in love can be like, torturous at times. I can’t remember how many times I called and hung up. It wasn’t until I got up in the morning that I realized I had your phone. Remember when we came home from the casino? We both put our bags and phones on the table by the door. Our cell phones were almost identical, and somehow I picked up the wrong one.

  “Finally, I got the courage to call Ted. Afterwards, I realized I had the wrong phone, so I put it next to your purse. Then the next night was the night I stayed in and the rest of you went into Chamonix. While the rest of you were getting ready to go into town, I decided to call Ted again. I had forgotten to charge my phone, so when I saw yours, I used it. It didn’t seem like a big deal. I think it might have been the snowstorm, but we kept getting disconnected, so we kept calling each other back.” She took a breather here, and directed her full attention to Ted. “When I found out you were leaving, I decided to send you a souvenir.”

  After a moment’s pause and a search for some understanding in my eyes, Tiziana rose to her feet, stiffly. Her hands shook as she raised them to her face. Pushing back her long, black hair, she tried to cool her flushed skin. We all sat and stared at her silently. “I’m so embarrassed. I never thought I would be explaining this to most of you, and definitely not all at once.”

  She paced the room, trying to figure out what to say. “It was only after the restraining order was delivered that I began to wonder if this could be my fault. I wanted to tell Ted right away, but he never mentioned the package I had delivered to him, and I was too embarrassed to ask. I thought perhaps it was too risqué for him.” She looked up at him. Her cheeks were deep red and a faint smile crossed her lips. “After Gianni and I were officially over, things with Ted moved quickly. We were so swept up. I did ask Ted to talk to Des, hoping that with time it would all be resolved, simply, quietly.” She finished in a whisper.

  I looked at Des. He was looking at Tiziana, stunned, his mouth opening and closing like a guppy. My brain was trying to absorb what she’d said. I looked at Liam and saw compassion in his eyes, for whom I wasn’t sure. Ted had taken Tiziana into his arms and murmured quietly in her ear.

  We remained silent for a minute or two. Finally, Des cleared his throat, looking completely uncomfortable. He looked at me and said with sincerity, “I don’t know what to say, other than I’m genuinely sorry.” He looked at Tiziana as he stood to go. “Brynn received the package. We knew it came from the chalet you’d rented, since it was the same address you gave the chauffeur when we dropped you off the night we met. I never told Ted about the package. There didn’t seem to be any reason to.”

  My brain was functioning enough to let me know that he was about to leave and that I had things to say. That I was worthy of respect, not just pity.

  “Wait!” I almost shouted. “I’d like for you to stay.” I stood and wiped my hands on my dress, as if the action would smooth away the emotional upheaval we were all feeling. I looked at Tiziana, who had left the safety of Ted’s embrace. I said, “A million thoughts ran through my mind. The most prevalent one is that you’d hoped it would quietly go away. I’ve had to endure a restraining order being filed against me which, to the best of my knowledge, could follow me forever. I’ve had to explain this to my family and friends. I’ve had to deal with the open hostility of my employer. I’ve had to work every hour of the day and night to prove myself to her. I’ve had to endure whispering from co-workers and strangers. I’ve had to crawl out of a bar, and I’ve spent months hoping that there wouldn’t be more legal problems to follow. I’ve been hurt, confused, humiliated, and questioned my own judgment, all because you hoped it would go away quietly. I came here, risking the wrath of my boss, because of our friendship. It broke my heart to think I couldn’t come to your wedding. To me, a little embarrassment is worth friendship. Finding this all out, here and now, like this… You’re selfish.”

  I turned and looked at Des. He seemed about to say something but thought better of it. “I’m sorry for having judged you so harshly. I don’t know you and you didn’t deserve it.”

  I turned to Ted and said, “I’d like to leave sooner rather than later, and if you could make that happen, I would appreciate it.”

  With that, I turned on my heel, walked out the sitting room, passed our group of friends and family who were hovering in the corridors, and entered my room. I sat down on the chair by the window and cried.

  Chapter Nineteen

  A FEW HOURS LATER, the boat anchored at the dock in Saint-Tropez. Liam and I made a quiet exit. A private car awaited us; our belongings were stowed in the trunk.

  Just before we stepped into the car, Ted hugged me and said, “Please call her. She’s devastated.”

  I kissed him on the
cheek and said, “Me too.” I received another quick hug before he and Liam shook hands. I heard them speaking quietly while I arranged myself in the car.

  It turned out that Ted had been quite generous. The driver of the elegant black Mercedes whisked us to a private airport. We were flown back to London in Ted’s private jet. I patted Liam’s knee as he took in all the finery and assured him that I still loved his toys more.

  “I don’t know, I think you’re making a big mistake,” he said.

  Not entirely convinced I understood what he was referring to, I didn’t respond and allowed myself to be lulled into sleep by the hum of the jet and the coziness of the reclined seat. The strain of the preceding few hours had worn me out.

  No sooner had we landed and exited the plane than my phone rang. It was Taylor letting me know her mother was in town. “Not to worry, Liam and I are here in London. We’ll be home in an hour or so.”

  Surprised and confused, she asked me an array of questions. Instead of answering them, I only asked, “Where is she staying?” I was certain I couldn’t face Faith Clarkson anytime sooner than I had to. “Oh, okay, see you then.” Once I reassured Liam that she was staying at the Savoy, he relaxed, too.

  It was strange, returning to Hillary’s house. I imagined my friends floating on the Mediterranean, trying to soothe Tiziana. Taylor wanted to hear all the gossip. Liam did his best to be entertaining, but, sensing that something was amiss, she took herself off to bed. Not long after, we did the same.

  Liam curled himself around me, his hand skimming my skin from shoulder to knee, dropping kisses wherever they landed. “I’m sorry. I know it all seems childish. Just don’t forget that, in the past Tiziana, has been a true friend,” he whispered into my ear.

  I rolled over. “I know. I just feel drained. Not just from what happened on the boat, but the whole eight months.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and inhaled his scent, letting myself drift away. I felt him gently move us into a more comfortable position and fell into a deep sleep.