by HC Michaels
Tino let his hand fall to her bottom and he cupped it, squeezing hard.
Electricity surged between her legs. She had to have him, whether there were families in there or not. They’d be quiet…
She laughed.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, pulling her to him and taking a nip at her earlobe.
“You. I don’t know who I am when I’m around you.” She leant into him. “This isn’t something I’d normally do.”
“Haven’t you heard of the mile high club?” He bit down on her earlobe and she winced, pulling away.
“We’re not a mile high, though,” she pointed out.
“I am.” He moved his towel to the side to reveal an enormous bulge in the front of his pants.
She laughed. “Cover that thing up!”
He looked to the right and a frown crossed his face.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“Nothing.” He shook his head, but the frown remained. “Just thought I saw someone.”
“Not Elvira, I hope?”
He pulled a face. “That wouldn’t do much for the mile high situation.”
“I thought I saw my brother here the other day,” she said, looking around. “Maybe he’s stalking me.”
“Your family sounds just as fucked up as mine,” he laughed.
“Nobody’s family is as fucked up as yours,” she said, regretting bringing Darcy into this. “I’ll check if the coast is clear.”
She pushed open the door and looked around. There was an open changing area with benches and hooks attached to the wall and half a dozen cubicles off to the side. Only one of the cubicle doors was closed with a pair of flip-flopped feet shuffling about behind it.
Tessa turned to leave to get Tino, startling to find him standing behind her.
His hands slid around her waist and up to her breasts.
She spun around and kissed him, walking backwards as he led her into the cubicle at the opposite end of the row to the one that was occupied.
He locked the door behind them and pressed her up against the brick wall to the side, tearing her dress up and over her head.
They heard a toilet flush and a pair of flip-flops snapping past them.
“Disgusting,” a woman muttered.
Tessa stifled a giggle. It seemed they weren’t being as subtle as she’d hoped.
“Sorry!” she called out, bursting into a fit of laughter, which Tino quickly extinguished by sticking his tongue in her mouth.
She groaned at the heat of him, lifting one of her legs to wrap around him as he pressed himself against her.
Her underwear soon joined her crumpled dress on the floor along with Tino’s trunks and he was thrusting inside her, her back against the wall as he raised her from the floor supporting her backside with his strong hands.
“Oh, Kosta,” she groaned out of habit.
“Say that again,” he said, thrusting harder.
“Kosta.” She enjoyed the sound of that name on her lips. She’d missed him so much. Or rather she’d missed him making her feel like this. He was magnificent. “Kosta.”
Who cared if he was Elvira’s brother! Who cared if she lost her job! Right now, who even cared if anyone was watching them!
She didn’t hate Tino. She was sure…oh, that felt good…that she loved him. Yes, she really loved him. Oh my god…just like that…yes, she loved him.
Sometimes the wrong guy, just turned out to be so right.
Elvira knew the moment Tessa walked in the door that she’d slept with Tino again.
She was glowing with sex, the revoltingness of it oozing from her smug pores.
“How’s Tino?” Elvira asked as Tessa hung her beach bag on a hook by the door.
“Where’s Millie?” Tessa smiled, avoiding her question.
Elvira drummed her fingertips on the glass dining table. “Paul took her out for ice-cream.”
“Oh. I thought he wanted me back here by five to take her.” Tessa looked confused.
“Busy, were you?” Elvira sat up straight in her chair. She was so mad with Tessa she couldn’t decide if she’d prefer to throw her off the balcony or strangle her with her bare hands.
How dare she treat her like this! They’d brought her to the island to look after Millie, but so far all she’d done was look after herself. And Tino. She was taking advantage of them.
Tessa took a seat across the table.
Gutsy move. She’d expected her to slink away to her bedroom like a moody teenager.
“Tino’s not that bad, you know,” Tessa said, her voice little more than a whisper.
“You’re telling me about my own brother?” Elvira’s eyebrows shot up.
Tessa seemed alarmed. “I…it’s just that—”
“I grew up with Tino. I’ve known him every day of his life. I know exactly what he’s like.” Elvira kept her voice calm. She’d lost control on the boat and started yelling. She wasn’t going to do that again. Tessa did not have that power over her.
“Well, he’s leaving in the morning, so you won’t need to worry.” Tessa mimicked her tone and Elvira was unsure if she was doing that on purpose to annoy her. If she was, then it had worked.
“Thank you. So nice of you to tell me what I can worry about.” What her voice lacked in volume it gained in sarcasm.
“Are you upset with me?” Tessa blinked innocently with that face. That mouth, which had been doing who knew what all afternoon.
Elvira sighed. “Tessa, I like to think I’m a pretty good boss.”
Tessa smirked. She smirked!
Elvira took a deep breath. “We pay you well. We give you lots of time to yourself. I don’t expect you to do any housework, and you only have one fairly easy little girl to take care of. And all I ask of you is one thing. Stay away from my brother. And you can’t even do that. You’re treating this trip like it’s a holiday. I can’t stand it. You’re just so…so bloody ungrateful.”
That wiped the smirk from her face.
“In fairness, Elvira, just because you pay me, doesn’t mean you own me.” Tessa crossed her arms. “What I do in my spare time is my business.”
“Not when you’re doing the business with my brother, it isn’t.” Elvira stared her down while she waited for her to deny it.
“He didn’t kill Bianca.” Tessa’s eyes filled with tears. “It was an accident. He’s devastated about what happened.”
“Don’t say her name!” Elvira snapped.
If one more person talked about how upset Tino was about Bianca’s death, Elvira thought she might jump off that balcony herself. He didn’t care. It was all an act. Why was she the only person who could see that?
“Tessa, this isn’t working out.” Elvira leant back in her chair. “When we return home, I’ll write you a reference and we’ll finish you up.”
Tessa’s mouth fell open. “You’re firing me? But, what about Millie?”
“I’ll hire someone else,” she said.
It couldn’t be that hard to replace Tessa, no matter how much Amelia loved her. Maybe it would be good for Amelia. It might bring them closer together. It wasn’t healthy for her to be so attached to someone who wasn’t family.
Tessa blinked rapidly, trying to take it all in. “But Mill—”
“It’s Amelia, actually,” she corrected. “Her name is Amelia.”
Tessa stood, wiping tears from her cheeks. “I think I might finish up today. I’ll organise to pick up my things in Melbourne later.”
Elvira hadn’t expected that. Not that she’d had time to think about it. It wasn’t like she’d been planning to fire Tessa. What the hell was she going to tell Amelia? She was going to be devastated. And how was she going to go back to work next week? She’d have to find a childcare centre for her. That would be faster than trying to find another nanny. Besides, she’d had enough of nannies.
“You don’t want to say goodbye to Amelia?” Elvira asked.
Tessa shook her head. “It’ll upset her too mu
ch. Tell her I said goodbye. I’ll pack my things now.”
She went to her room.
This was for the best, Elvira reminded herself. She couldn’t stand to have Tessa living in her house after everything that had happened. It was a good thing she wasn’t going to say goodbye to Amelia. Who knew what she’d tell her. And Amelia would believe every word she said.
The door to the apartment opened and Paul walked in with Amelia.
Great!
“Take her out again,” Elvira hissed.
Paul looked at her, puzzled. “I thought Tessa was going to take her for a bit?”
“Tessa!” squealed Amelia. “Tess, Tess, Tessa!”
Amelia ran through the apartment before Elvira could catch hold of her.
“What’s going on?” Paul asked.
“I’ve asked Tessa to leave.” Elvira stood up and did her best to compose herself.
“Leave?” He seemed confused, as if he didn’t know the meaning of the word.
“Yes, I’ve fired her.”
Paul’s face fell. “Oh, Elvira. You didn’t. Please tell me you didn’t. Amelia’s had enough going on without this.”
“Don’t tell me what Amelia’s had going on.” Elvira’s face hardened. “This is for the best.”
Now Paul was turning on her, too. She’d expected him to understand. He always agreed with her decisions. She didn’t need him to suddenly start arguing with her.
Tessa emerged from the bedroom with her suitcase. Amelia was clinging to her legs, her face white, her usual howls silent.
“What did you tell her?” Elvira asked.
“That I have to go away,” said Tessa, her hands shaking as she wiped at her eyes.
They stood and looked at each other.
“Mummy,” said Amelia, her big brown eyes drilling into Elvira. “Make Tessa stay, Mummy. Pleeeease make Tessa stay.”
Elvira shook her head at her daughter. She’d get over this. Of course, she would. Worse things happened in life than your nanny leaving. She wouldn’t even remember this when she was older.
“Say goodbye to Tessa, Amelia,” she said, firmly. “And let go of her leg.”
“No! I won’t let go of my Tessa.” Amelia gripped her tighter, wrapping her legs around her, along with her arms.
“Paul, pick her up,” Elvira snapped.
He took a step towards Amelia and stopped. “You pick her up, Elvira. You did this.”
Elvira gasped. How dare he say that to her! They were supposed to be a united team!
She went to Amelia and grabbed her around the waist and pulled. This was impossible. If Paul didn’t help her, Amelia was going to be permanently attached to Tessa’s leg like some kind of tumour. She doubted even surgery would be able to loosen that grip.
Tessa squatted to put her face level with Amelia’s. “Can I have a hug?”
Amelia let go and reached out her arms to wrap around Tessa’s neck.
Elvira took that moment to scoop her off the ground and carry her squirming and kicking to her bedroom.
She slammed the door behind them and leant against it, preventing Amelia’s escape.
Amelia beat at Elvira’s legs with her fists, screaming. “Tessa, Tessa, Tessa! Don’t go, Tessa.”
Tears of Elvira’s own poured down her cheeks as she waited for Amelia’s tantrum to finish. She couldn’t go all night, could she? It would have to end eventually. They wouldn’t be standing here behind this door in ten years. Or even ten hours.
All things pass. Or so everyone kept telling her.
She just needed to take in some deep breaths and keep herself calm. This was the best decision for everyone. She’d lost Bianca and there was nothing she could do to get her back. When Tessa came into their house, she’d lost Amelia, too. But this time she could do something about it.
She was going to get her daughter back.
Paul stood with Tessa in the hallway, stunned at what had just taken place.
Had Elvira lost her mind?
It was quite possible, he supposed. She’d been close to losing it for so long now. Maybe it finally happened.
“I’m so sorry,” he said to Tessa, feeling the need to apologise once again for his wife’s behaviour.
Tessa didn’t seem to hear him over the noise of Amelia beating at the door and screaming her name.
He watched her arms fall to her sides, empty without Amelia’s hug inside them.
“Millie,” she called through the door.
The crying fell silent, hushing to sobs.
“I love you, Millie. You always remember that, okay?”
The sobbing grew with intensity as Amelia said something unintelligible.
Paul’s already broken heart broke once more. Elvira had gone too far this time. This kind of emotion could damage Amelia forever. It was more stress than any little body should have to withstand.
“Let them say goodbye,” he said. “Please, Elvira. This is cruel.”
“Keep out of this, Paul,” came the reply from his wife through the closed door.
“She’s my daughter, too,” he said, not able to hold his tongue.
“It’s okay.” Tessa put her hand on his arm. “It’s better if I just leave. That’s why I didn’t want to say goodbye. It’s just too difficult.”
He nodded. “I’ll help you with your bag.”
His offer of help seemed pathetic, but it was all he could think to do.
Tessa smiled weakly and together they left the apartment, Amelia’s crying still audible from outside the front door.
“Where are you going to go?” Paul asked.
“I’ll get a room at one of the hotels.” She sighed, glancing towards the door.
“She’ll stop crying, eventually.” He reached into his back pocket for his wallet and removed the cash he’d taken out to pay for lunch at Carina’s funeral, only for his father-in-law to insist on paying. “Here. Take this. I’ll transfer some more into your account with your pay. I don’t want you to have to worry about money.”
“I don’t care about the money,” she said, wiping her eyes as she accepted the money.
“I know.” He believed her. It was Amelia she cared about. She always had.
“Paul, this is too much,” she said, seeing how much he’d handed her.
“Believe me, it’s not nearly enough,” he reassured her.
“Well, thank you.” Tessa shoved the money into her bag. “You’ll look after Millie, won’t you?”
“She’ll be okay,” he said. “She’s a tough kid.”
She nodded without seeming convinced.
“We were lucky to have found you,” he said. “Do you think maybe if I talk to Elvira tha—”
“No,” said Tessa firmly. “This is for the best. I mean, I love Millie. You know how much I love her, but…I can’t work for Elvira anymore.”
“What happened? Everything seemed fine between you two on the boat this morning.” It was hard to imagine anything happening that was bad enough to cause this to happen. “Is this about that photo?”
Tessa shook her head quickly. “It’s not about the photo. Although, if you find out who took it, I’d appreciate it if you’d let me know.”
“You don’t think it was Tino?” he asked.
“I spent the afternoon with Tino.” Tessa flushed as she said his name. “It wasn’t him. You know, he’s not such a bad person.”
“I know that, but it’s complicated.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Elvira was really broken up when Bianca died. If she weren’t pregnant with Amelia when it happened, I’m not sure she would’ve been able to pull herself together. She has to blame someone.”
“Even if it’s not his fault?” she asked.
“Like I said, it’s complicated.” He didn’t know how to explain it to Tessa. He didn’t even understand it himself.
“It wasn’t just the Tino thing, I don’t think.” Tessa fiddled with the handle of her suitcase. “I get the impression she doesn’t like how close I
am to Millie.”
Paul cringed at how close to the truth she was. “Look, Tessa. I know she can be abrupt sometimes and come across as being a little…rude…but she’s a good person.”
“Like Tino?” she asked.
“Perhaps.” He frowned, not sure he agreed. “You two are serious, are you?”
She shook her head. “Not really. I don’t see us getting married and having babies if that’s what you mean.”
“He’d be lucky to have you. Any guy would.” Paul felt his face flush as he hoped she didn’t take that the wrong way. He wasn’t hitting on her. He just wanted her to know what a wonderful person she really was.
“Thanks, Paul.” She gave him a tired smile. “For the most part I’ve loved my time with your family. I’m going to miss Millie so much.”
“I know. She’s going to miss you, too,” he said. “We all will. Even Elvira once she calms down.”
She looked down at her suitcase. “I should get going.”
“Hang on a sec.” He patted his empty pocket. “I’ll get the buggy keys and drop you at the hotel.”
“Thanks,” she said. “Think I might have overpacked.”
“You reckon?” he teased, raising his eyebrows at her enormous suitcase.
“At least I won’t have much to collect in Melbourne.” She shrugged.
Paul went back into the apartment, wincing as the noise of Amelia’s cries intensified. Maybe she would cry forever. The way she was going at the moment it certainly seemed like it.
His poor baby girl. They’d really made a mess of things.
Employing a nanny was supposed to be a good thing for her. He and Elvira had agreed they needed the help. They both had too many issues to raise a child on their own. With his family in Sydney and her parents in Queensland, a nanny had seemed like the perfect solution. Neither of them had wanted to send her to a childcare centre, thinking she needed more personal care than what a place like that could offer.
How wrong they’d been. At least at a childcare centre if one of the carers left, there would be other carers Amelia knew. When a nanny left…well, her whole world was tipped on its head.
Her feelings would probably be not much different right now to how they’d felt when Bianca died.
