No More Wasted Time (12 page)

Tom’s phone rang. “It’s for you,” he smiled at Tess,
answering the call. “Hey, did you get my message?” Tess could hear JC squealing
in the background. “You liked my picture, didn’t ya?” He asked sarcastically.
“Yes, I think she’s still in shock. We just got here fifteen minutes ago. She’s
right here, I’m sure she’s dying to talk to you. You’re welcome. Hi Tracy. Yep.
Okay. I understand. Of course, I promise. You’re welcome. Here she is.” He
handed Tess the phone.

She asked Lisa. “Do you have someplace private I can talk?
I’m sure this will take a few minutes.”

Lisa waved her hand toward the guest hallway. “Sure. Pick a
room. Take your time.”

Obviously, Tom needed to talk to his friends. They seemed
more shocked than her girls were. She entered the first room and shut the door
behind her. “Hey, Tracy, how’s your trip?”

“Mom, are you by yourself now?”

“I am. How’s your trip going?”

“We don’t want to talk about our trip. What the hell is
going on?” Tracy exclaimed.

“I’m not even sure where to start.” Tess plopped down on the
bed, swinging her feet like a little girl.

“From the beginning would be nice.” Cynicism sat on the edge
of every word.

“Details Mom!” JC yelled in the background.

“Tracy, I need to know something before I tell you about
Tom.”

“Yes, I’ve been keeping JC out of trouble, but she has
kissed a few cute guys and exchanged numbers…
a lot
. What else do you
want to know?” She  informed curtly.

“I….I need to know that you’re not going to be
mad
at
me.”

“Do you really want me to answer that?” Tracy huffed
harshly. “What do you expect, Mom? Do you know anything about him? Let me tell
you, we Googled him, and it
didn’t
paint a pretty picture.”

“I know that he’s been wonderful to me,” Tess answered
quietly. “That’s all I care about.”

“Do you have any idea
who
he’s dated or
how many
?”
Tracy warned. “Did you expect us just to say,
Right on Mom!
, just because
he’s famous?”

“I understand your concerns.” Tess sat silent for a minute
contemplating Tracy’s attitude. “None of that matters to me. I don’t care if
he’s famous or not. It’s not fair for you to judge Tom without knowing him.”

“So what? Is he your boyfriend now? Or…or are you merely
hooking
up
with him for a couple weeks?” She spit out tersely, on the verge of
yelling at her mom. “From what I saw online, quick and easy seems to be his
style.”

“I’m not sure what
this
is. I’m going to enjoy my
time with him. I don’t care if it’s three weeks or three months.” Out of all
the different reactions she might’ve expected from her girls, this was not it.

“And then what? Are you gonna come home and go back to bed
for eight months?” Aggravation and fear saturated Tracy’s voice. “We’re leaving
for college. Who’s gonna be there if you fall apart again? I’m not coming home
from school to take care of you if Tom Clemmins breaks your heart.”

Tess’ throat constricted, absorbing her daughter’s brutal
honesty. “That’s not fair Tracy. Don’t you
dare
compare this to your
father’s death, and I
never
asked you to come home when he died. You
have no right to talk to me this way.” Anger welled up inside her. “This is
my
life, and I’ll deal with the consequences of
my
choices however I see
fit. I sure as hell don’t need you beating me up about this. I’m doing a good
enough job of that on my own. The guilt is…horrible.”

The dampness of her tears burned as they dripped down her
face. Tess could hear JC in the background asking for the phone and telling
tell her sister she was out of line. Tracy snapped back at JC informing her to
wait her turn.

“I’m sorry Mom.” Tracy sighed with a touch of regret. “We
didn’t know if you would ever date again, and the first guy you meet happens to
be a complete womanizer!” She sounded as if she were sniffing back her own
tears. “I just don’t want you to get hurt. That’s all.” 

“It’s not as if he’s giving me false hope for the future
with him.” She admitted candidly, even though it hurt to say out loud. “But,
h-he’s actually very nice. For what it’s worth, I think you’d like him and I’ve
been really h-happy the last two weeks.” Tess sniveled, wiping her tears on the
back of her hand. “I never thought I’d feel this way again. I’ve already made
up my mind. I’m going to enjoy whatever time I have with him.”

After a long silence, Tracy sighed somberly, “Please be
careful. I love you. JC wants to talk to you.”

“Hey Momma.” JC chimed with endearing tenderness. “Are you
okay?”

Heat flushed her face at JC’s understanding tone of voice.
Tess couldn’t answer, but nodded with a sniffle.

“Great. Are you crying?” JC scolded her sister with a growl,
You made her cry Tracy
.

“I’m fine. Are you having a good time baby girl?” Tess
wanted to change the conversation.

“Yes Momma, I’m having a great time, or at least I was,
until Tracy turned into Cruella De Vil.”

“It’s all right. I understand why she’s concerned. It’s
just…he’s wonderful, and this is my choice, but I don’t want you to be
disappointed in me.” Her voice steadied and she let out a small chuckle. “
You’d
really like him JC. The two of you could have an entire conversation about
commitment issues.” Her youngest daughter swore she’d never get married.

“Maybe he could help me write a couple chapters in my
Dating
Rulebook
.” JC laughed. “Seriously though Momma, we would never be
disappointed in you. You’re with Tom Clemmins in Italy with the Levi’s. Have
fun, it’s good for you. Do we get to meet him?”

“I don’t know if you’ll get to meet him. I’m not even sure
when I fly home. I told him I wanted to be home in time to pick you up at the
airport.”

“Well for the record, I hope so. Look Momma, I’m not going
to give you a hard time, but I do have one question. Are you having safe sex?”
JC’s impish laughter filtered through phone.

“That’s enough out of you missy.” Tess snickered. “Love you.
Be safe.”

“No, you be safe.” JC let out another playful giggle. “Love
you too. Have fun.”

Tess hung up and tossed her phone on the bed. She stood up
and stared out the window into the darkness. Catching a glimpse of her
tear-streaked reflection in the window, she blotted the dark smudges beneath
her eyes.

Tom knocked lightly and cracked open the door. “Hey, are you
all right?”

“I’m fine.” She answered, without turning to face him. “I
just need a few minutes.”

The door shut. Her eyes closed and she exhaled heavily,
thankful he’d left her alone. She rubbed the tension gathered in the nape of
her neck. Tess flinched when Tom rested his hands on her shoulders.

He brushed a soft kiss to the top of her head and gathered
her into his arms. “So, it went that good, huh?” he asked gravely, turning her
to face him.

She nodded and rested her cheek on his shoulder, unable to
see through a slick of tears.

“I wasn’t sure if they’d approve of you being with me,” Tom
admitted quietly.

“It’s not that they don’t
approve
. JC certainly did.”
She sniffed out a chuckle. “Tracy has…questions and concerns.”

“What kind of questions.” He swayed a little bit with her as
he stroked her hair.

“Questions I don’t have answers to.” Her frayed emotions
began to calm, wrapped in the reassurance of his warm embrace. “Relationship
questions. Tracy’s not thrilled that her mother’s hooking up. Apparently
they’ve spent their spare time on the computer doing
research
about
you.”

He stiffened. “Tess, I-”

“It’s okay Tom. I don’t care about
yesterday’s
or
tomorrow’s
.”
She nuzzled into his neck, resting her lips against the rasp of his stubble. “I
don’t expect anything more than
today
.”

“Most of that stuff online is complete bullshit. I wish I
could’ve talked to her. I don’t want her to worry about you.” He began to sway
again. “What can I do to make it better?”

She clung to him, taking in the scent of his skin, the
comfort of his strong arms, and the rise and fall of his breath. “This works
perfect for me.” It was true, she was completely at peace.

After a few minutes, Tess placed her hands firmly against
his chest, pushing away to see his face. “Did Benny and Lisa know I was coming
here with you? Because they seemed completely shocked to see you with someone.”

“They were shocked,” he smirked contently. “They aren’t
upset, Tess, they’re happy you came with me. It’s just that I’ve never brought
anyone here before, that’s all.”

“Oh,” she stammered in surprise. “You could’ve warned me who
I was meeting.”

“I was worried you’d say no, so I thought surprising you
would be best. That way you would only freak out for a few minutes, not three
days.”

“Even though I hate to admit it, you’re probably right.”
Tess grinned as they walked out the door.

CHAPTER NINE

Tom led her down the hall into the enormous dining room.
Stone covered the walls and a massive dark wooden table big enough to seat
twenty sat in the center of the castle-like setting.

“This can’t possibly be where they eat dinner every night,”
Tess questioned curiously.

“No, I only wanted to show it to you.” Tom drew her close,
easing her tension with a kiss.

Benny cleared his throat, smiling from ear-to-ear. Lisa
peered at them from over his shoulder.

“You did an amazing job restoring this place,” Tess said in
admiration.

“Thanks.” Benny replied, still grinning at Tom. 

Lisa walked directly toward Tess, licked her thumb, and
gently wiped away some remains of tear-stained mascara. “How are your kids?”
Her head tilted to the side with a hushed sigh of empathy. “You okay?” she
asked, rubbing Tess’ arm.

Tess nodded dabbing the corners of her eyes. “They’ve been
in Europe while I was in Bora Bora. We were, we were just catching up.” Tess
floundered and glanced at Tom, unsure of what to say.

“Her girls have been online,” Tom responded honestly with
raised brows.

Benny and Lisa both cringed. “That doesn’t sound good.”
Benny shot Tom a sympathetic look of discouragement.

“Oh shit. Did you tell them not to believe everything they
read?” Lisa asked Tom.

“I didn’t talk to them.” Tom reached down taking hold of
Tess’ hand.

“They’re fine now.” Tess knew as the words left her mouth,
they didn’t sound remotely believable.

“Where are your kids?” Tom asked, changing the subject.

“They had a busy day and crashed early. Kim can’t wait to
see her Uncle Tommy, so be prepared. She’s been talking about you for two
days.”

Benny and Lisa took them on a tour of their villa. The aged
architecture mixed with modern elements intrigued Tess. Current paintings of
Italy adorned the walls, fitting perfectly with the design of the villa.
Everything was on such a massive scale; the rooms were big, the furniture built
large, even the marble tiles were cut in huge squares. However, the fireplace made
a statement all by itself and instantly became her favorite piece. It was
original to the villa and encompassed an entire wall, built of massive light
colored stones and a huge wooden mantel.

“Your place kind of reminds me of an incredibly nice wine cellar,
it has the same character. I love the aged stone exterior mixed with a rustic
modern interior.”  All three of them stared at her again. “Not the size of a
wine cellar, but the ambiance of a wine cellar,” Tess clarified.

“That’s exactly what Lisa wanted it to feel like,” Benny
said in amazement. “We were vacationing here in Tuscany, visiting a few
vineyards and wineries. Lisa loved it here, so we wound up buying this villa
and restoring it to have that same vibe.”

“It’s beautiful. I love the hand hewn beams and the mantel,
too.” Tess drug her hand over the dark wood.

Tom’s brows furrowed. “I didn’t realize you knew anything
about architecture.”

“I used to do quite a bit of design work. I love old
architecture though.” 

“I knew I was going to like you.” Lisa put her arm around
Tess. “Don’t look too surprised, Tommy. How much can you truly know about her?
You’ve probably had her in bed for two weeks.” Her blue eyes sparked playfully
as she winked at Tess.

“Actually, I think it was the other way around,” Tom
muttered.

Lisa and Tess wandered into the kitchen. “It sounds like a
great trip. Tommy seems really happy he went.” The bright lighting exposed
faint freckles covering Lisa’s nose and cheeks.

“I am, too.” Tess smiled, finally able to unwind.

“I hope it doesn’t upset you, but when you were on the phone
Tommy told us that you lost your husband. It must’ve been horrible for you?”
Lisa said quietly.

“I don’t mind. It’s been very difficult, almost brutal, but
the last three or four months have been a little bit better.”

“How long were you married?”

“Twenty-five years.”

“Twenty-five years? Shit, that’s a long time” Lisa’s eyes
were full of sadness.

Tess had seen the familiar expression so many times over the
last year.“It’s been hard.” Tess admitted openly, feeling an instant bond with
Lisa.

“What do your kids think about you being Tommy’s
girlfriend
?”

“Well, my youngest daughter JC was fine, but Tracy acted
like I was running off with Lucifer himself.” Tess rolled her eyes. “Last year
was horrible for all of us.”

“Tommy worried that they might be upset. I don’t mean to be
nosy, I’m just curious. Tommy hoped your conversation would go well.”

Tess realized immediately it was Lisa’s personality to say
whatever was on her mind. “She’s concerned and all of my kids are very
protective.”