No More Wasted Time (16 page)

“You’re funny, Tess.”

“I’m glad you went on vacation. I’m having a wonderful
time.”

“I am, too.” They both grinned. “We should be landing in a
few minutes.”

“That was quick.”

Tess wasn’t sure where they had landed because the window
shades were closed on the plane. Tom held her hand as they walked to the car,
and she kissed him as the driver opened the door.

“Hi, Mom.” Tracy smiled softly.

“Hey, Mamacita!” JC giggled with excitement.

“What are you doing here?” She pulled her girls in for an
airtight hug. Tess already knew the answer, looking at Tom. “I can’t believe
you,” she said to Tom with a huge smile. “Seriously, how did you do this?” Tess
shook her head, completely shocked to see her girls.

“Well, Tom called Tracy to see if we could meet for lunch
before leaving on our cruise in three hours. Our chaperone said no at first,
but then Tom spoke to her on the phone and she agreed to let us go, so here we
are,” JC said.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” She was utterly stunned, but
worried to see how her girls would react to Tom.

Tracy and JC’s faces flushed, as he extended his hand. “I
feel like I already know you, but I’m Tom.”

Tracy reached for his hand. “Thanks for bringing her here to
see us before we leave.”

JC threw her arms around him, squeezing Tom as if she had
known him for years. “Thanks for the pictures, too.”

“No problem. I’m glad we’re able to have lunch together
before you leave on your cruise.”

Tess sat next to Tom in the limo, leaning forward to hold
her girls hands while they talked. Tom rubbed his hand across her back.

“So tell me what’s going on. I don’t even know what to say.
You’re unbelievable. Thank you.” Tess leaned back into the crook of his arm and
he tenderly kissed her cheek.

She tensed under the pressure of his lips and her girls
tentative gaze. Tess was fully aware that her girls were examining their every
move together and they probably saw her kiss Tom before getting in the car. She
didn’t want to hide her feelings, but she didn’t want to upset her girls. The
discussion of dating had never come up, not a serious conversation anyway and
she didn’t know how they’d react to Tom.

“You look great, Mom. You’re both so tan. I love your
necklace,” Tracy reached forward, delicately touching the pearl hanging from
Tess’ neck. 

“Thanks, I love it, too. Tom got it for me.”

“How was Bora Bora? Were you nervous to swim with the
sharks,” JC asked Tom.

“I was a little anxious at first because your mom led me to
believe the sharks don’t attack people…very often, but it was indescribable. I
loved it.”

“That’s what our parents always said when they came home.”
JC laughed.

“It was intimidating at first, but I’d definitely do it
again.”

The car stopped along the waterfront. Walking into the café,
Tess held Tom’s hand. The girls talked non-stop about their trip while they
ordered lunch.

“So, how was the Coliseum, Tracy?” Tess asked. “I still
can’t believe you did this.” She poked Tom in the ribs.

“We’ve seen so many cool things. We don’t have enough time
to talk about most of it, but the Coliseum was unbelievably impressive.”

“I liked it better than Tracy. It was awesome! Did you know
it could hold 50,000 people and they used to flood it with water to hold mock
sea battles, not to mention gladiator games, and executions, too? That place
was definitely one of my favorites,” JC declared.

“What was your favorite?” Tess asked Tracy.

“Definitely Venice. It’s surreal how the waterways are the
streets. I love how the buildings rise up straight out of the water. And the
bridges, I loved the bridges. They were beautiful, but I’m saving my excitement
for the cruise.”

“She liked the gondoliers’, Mom. Don’t let her fool you.” JC
held her hand over her heart theatrically mocking her sister. “She’s in
love
with Venice.”

“I’m not even gonna lie, Mom. They were all pretty cute.
Even the old chunky ones were adorable, in a grandpa kind of way. I loved it
there.”

Tom laughed. “Are you taking a lot of pictures?”

“A ton. I had to buy another memory card for my camera,”
Tracy replied.

JC giggled uncontrollably. “We took some really funny ones
of David.”

“The statue of David.” Tracy chortled, holding her hand over
her mouth to cover her laughter. JC joined in, laughing so hard she got the
hic-ups. 

“Anyway, we’ve both been taking pictures, but some of them
aren’t turning out right. The pictures I’m taking in the middle of the day are
too shadowed from the sunlight, so I’m kind of pissed. Hopefully they’ll look
better when I get them printed,” Tracy said.

“What kind of camera do you have?” Tom asked.

She pulled her camera out of her purse and handed it to Tom.
“Just one I picked up before we left.”

He examined her camera. “Here, look, if you change this
setting, they’ll turn out better with the sun behind them.”

“Thanks.” Tracy gave Tom an appreciative nod.

Though Tom hid his apprehension well, Tess sensed it. She
could feel a trace of rigidness in his frame and he rubbed his knuckles across
his jaw several times throughout lunch. She gave Tom’s leg a gentle squeeze and
shot him a smile of appreciation. He pulled her closer and draped his arm over
her shoulder.

“Hey, since you have the camera out, can we take some
pictures before we leave? It’s pretty down by the water.” JC looked at Tom when
she asked.

“Sure,” he replied.

All four of them chatted as they headed across the street to
take a couple of pictures. Tess hadn’t noticed the vivid surroundings because
she’d been so preoccupied with her girls. “It’s beautiful here. The white
buildings are incredibly dramatic, but the water, I had no idea the water was
so blue.”

“It is beautiful here. You girls are going to have a great
time.” Tom assured Tracy and JC.

“Have you been here before?” Tracy asked.

He nodded. “I love Greece. The islands are amazing.” Tom put
his arm around Tess' waist and she wrapped her arm around his.

Both girls stared at them. “Wow, you guys look really good
together,” JC acknowledged with a bent eyebrow. “I can’t believe you’re with
Tom Clemmins, Mom. You seem so
normal
,” she said to Tom.

“I am normal, aren’t I?” he asked Tess with a sarcastic
grin.

“I don’t know if I would say normal,” Tess teased and they
all laughed.

After taking several pictures, they drove toward the port
where their cruise ship docked. The girls discussed Greece with Tom. He told
them about a great little café they should try, an art gallery to stop at, and
several other places they might like to see.

Tess appreciated the tremendous effort Tom was making for
her girls. She knew the only reason he brought her to Greece was to make her
girls comfortable with the idea of them dating. But what surprised Tess the
most, was how at ease he acted around the girls.

The car pulled up to the docks, and JC and Tracy’s tour
group waited for them.

“I’m glad I got to see you. Have fun and be safe. I’ll pick
you up at the airport,” Tess assured.

Both girls glanced at Tom, grinning with their beautiful
smiles.

“Actually, Momma, you have
plans
. John’s picking us
up at the airport,” JC mumbled, attempting to bolt out of the car as quickly as
possible. Tess caught her by the wrist.

“Plans?” Tess scowled with intrigue, refusing to release JC
from her grip.

“
Plans, surprise
, whatever he calls it. Have fun.”
Tracy rambled, trying to shove past her sister. “Seriously, Mom. We have to
go.”

“Before we cave,” JC muttered.

“What? You! I knew you were up to something,” she said to
Tom. “What’s going on? Spill it.”

Tom exited the car and then ducked his head back inside.
“Tess, I’m not going to tell you where we’re going yet, but I think, and your
kids agree, you’ll be excited. But right now I have to make good on a promise I
made.” He gave her a heart-stopping smile before striding over to schmooze
their chaperone.

“Hey, what if I would’ve said no?” Tess beamed, calling
after him.

“You wouldn’t.” He turned back shooting her a haughty grin,
making her blush.

Both of the girls still sat in the car with Tess. “It’s all
right, isn’t it? He called and asked our opinion and we told him yes. You’re
going to love his surprise, and please don’t ask us what it is. We promised,
promised, promised, swore up and down not to tell you.” Tracy said.

“Yeah, we had to take it to the grave,” JC grumbled. “And
it’s killing us not to tell you.”

“He’s unbelievable!” Tess shook her head.

“He’s really nice. I like him,” JC squeezed her mom. “You're
gonna freak!”

Tracy and JC took off after Tom. Tess followed, snapping
pictures of him with the tour group. The chaperone could barely contain her
excitement when she met ‘The Tom Clemmins’, that’s the term she kept using.
Tess thought he was a good sport about the whole thing, but it occurred to her
that he was used to it. Tess didn’t see him as famous Tom Clemmins. She saw him
as her incredibly wonderful, handsome lover, Tom.

Tracy shook Tom’s hand and thanked him for stopping in
Greece. She followed it up with a leery half-hug. She casually reached for
Tess’ fingers and the two of them sauntered toward the dock. “He’s nice.” Tracy
admitted. “And you’re smiling, a lot. I’m sorry that I threw a fit about Tom
and I never should have said that about-”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize.” Tears of
appreciation welled in Tess’ eyes. “For the record, I know it was a huge
sacrifice for you to move back home after your dad died. You’ll never know how
much it meant to me.”

“I wanted to come home. It was really hard for us to see you
in so much pain.” Tracy pulled her mom into an embrace. “I don’t want you to
get hurt. He better not screw you over.” Tracy stated stiffly, inconspicuously
wiping her own tears.

Glancing over her daughters shoulder, Tess watched JC give
Tom a hug goodbye and then mosey toward her.

JC rolled her eyes as she approached Tess and Tracy. “I
can’t leave you
delicate flowers
alone for a minute. Did you two make
up?”

Tess and Tracy both nodded and wiped their tears. Tess
motioned for both of them to get going. “Go have fun. Love you.”

Tom joined her, snuggling her in his arms from behind. “Are
you okay?”

She nodded, laying her head back against the hard planes of
his chest.

His lips moved against her temple. “Are they okay?” She
nodded again and he exhaled a heavy sigh of relief into her hair. “Do you think
they liked me?” he asked earnestly.

“Back up! You’re not getting off that easily. I can’t
believe you did this for me and I’m sure Tracy feels better.” She turned to
face him. “What are we doing that you had to go through all of this trouble
for?”

He drew her closer and kissed her lips. She forgot about the
people still standing on the ship watching them until she heard JC yell. “Have
fun, Mom!”

They waved back and Tom asked, “I’m serious Tess, are your
girls okay with us being together?”

“Is that why you were uptight on the way here? I thought you
were stressed out about work.”

“Work is an issue for me right now, but what did they
think?”

“I think yes, they liked you. What’s not to like? You’re
wonderful!”

“Let’s get out of here.”

They drove up a winding road, leading into a little town.
“Do you like ice cream, Tess? We don’t have very long, but I know of a great
little place. If I can find it.”

“Sure.”

The driver parked along a cliff and they roamed the narrow
streets. “This place is just so…” Tess couldn’t find the words to describe it.

“It’s mesmerizing. Greece is one of my favorite places. I
love it here.” 

“The buildings look like they’re sculpted right out of the
rock face and I love the bright white houses.” She sensed him staring at her
and tilted her head to stare back. Busted, he grinned timidly in return.

They entered an ice cream shop and ordered when a woman
recognized Tom. She ran straight toward him, telling him how much she loved his
movies and how cute he was. Tess’ hand covered her mouth, trying to contain her
laughter. He politely let her take a picture. Tess winked at Tom, offering to
take the woman’s picture with him, she became overly excited and called her
husband over, so Tess took another picture.

Tom led Tess by the hand across the brick street. She kept
pace, sprinting several blocks before stopping to check out the magnificent
view of the Aegean Sea. Tess sat on a white curved wall. Tom stood between her
thighs, so she wrapped her legs around him. The volcanic cliffs, golden beaches
and vibrant colorful flowers were stunning.

She rattled on about how beautiful it was, but he only
stared at her again. Tom slipped his fingers into her hair, kissing and
nibbling on her neck. She dropped her head back and her hair hung down to her
waist. His hot breath tickled her collarbone as he kissed it from one side to
the other, making her nipples tighten and her pulse accelerate.

“I don’t want to tell you to stop, Tom, but people might
start gawking if I take my clothes off right here.”

Tess struggled to keep herself under some kind of control,
because even though no one was around, it was a very public spot. Nevertheless,
she didn’t stop Tom as his hand traveled up her waist and caressed her breast.
He pressed himself against her, revealing his arousal. Fixated on her face, he
kissed her passionately, sucking on her bottom lip, stimulating her hunger. She
slipped her fingers into the top of his jeans to touch him.

Tess raised her eyebrows asking, “Is there somewhere we can
go, cause in about thirty seconds, it’s going to get very embarrassing.”