Prosecco & Paparazzi (The Passport Series Book 1) (34 page)

By the time they had cooled down and dried off, the crew had set up a buffet of salads, antipasti, white fish terrine, and mounds of exotic fruits. We all sat down at the tables to fine white china plates heaped with delicious morsels. Having recovered fully, I took a sip of icy cold prosecco. My taste buds were quite happy. I looked up from my plate to see Des sitting across from me. He gave me a dubious smile, as if to say, “Sorry, but here I am.”

While eating my lunch, I wondered what would happen when we got off the boat. Was the restraining order reinstated? The biggest weight on my mind was how and when I would get answers to my many questions.

Liam, tipping more prosecco into my glass, brought me out of my thoughts. I pushed my empty plate back, apparently having made my way through the mound while deep in thought and sipped more wine. Tuning into the conversation, a volleyball rematch was being discussed after an afternoon siesta.

The crew was tidying up our luncheon inside the tented area that housed the kitchen. We called
merci beaucoup
as we took our spots in the shade. I unfolded my hair in order to return some order to it.

“My god! Look at your hair!” Gemma exclaimed. All eyes turned to me.

“Wow, you’re a trichophiliac's dream come true,” Des replied. All eyes turned to him.

“A what?” Gemma asked in an astonished voice.

“A trichophiliac is a person who has a fetish for long hair, like the Thin Man in
Charlie’s Angels
,” he answered matter-of-factly.

I quickly said to him, “I can’t imagine you watching a
Charlie’s Angels
movie.”

“Well, there you are. I’m the same as the next man. Call me a pervert, but I quite enjoy watching a sexy woman with a powerful motorbike between her legs or jogging down the beach in a teeny tiny bikini, or, for that matter, grinding her perfectly shaped bottom straight at the camera. Yes, I’m quite enraptured.”

All the men raised their glasses in a silent toast.

Gemma explained to the group, “Des has a real thing for movie trivia. Recite a line, name a song, or ask what actor was in any movie. A walking encyclopedia!”

I felt several pairs of eyes land on me. Marian pointed square at my chest. “Her, too! That’s bloody amazing.”

Unexpectedly, Des was still stuck on trichophilia, saying more to himself than anyone, “I remember once seeing a woman with hair very much like yours. It was years ago, I can’t really remember where.”

I could see Marian about to respond, so I waved her off.

“Was that was you? At Oxford?” he asked.

My response was immediate. “Yes, probably.”
A reference to our last conversation in Chamonix at last.

Ted, wanting to be the peacekeeper, tried to lighten the mood. “It’s all the drink. His memory is crap!”

“Well, mine isn’t. He lives in a world that lets him play judge and jury, ignorant of the wreckage he leaves behind,” I said, holding my ground.

A variety of emotions rolled across Des’s face. Finally, he said angrily, “Charlotte, I don’t know what you’re playing at, but if you’re suggesting you’re without fault in this, you—”

Gemma interjected in a calm, quiet voice, “No one wants to forget why we’re here. You two clearly need to sort this out, and soon, but not now, not here.” To the rest, she said, “How about that game of volleyball?” People were only too happy to escape and be diverted. Well, maybe not Marian. She was always up for a fight.

The rest organized themselves into two teams as they walked to the volleyball net, leaving the three of us standing under a colorful awning. In that moment, it seemed necessary to stay put. “I’m all ears!” I taunted Des.

“You can screw this up for Ted and Tiziana all by yourself,” he said angrily, as he reached down to pick up his towel.

“That’s your style. You can’t handle actual confrontation, so you have someone else do it for you. That way you can be misunderstood or wronged and not worry about anyone but yourself.” I spoke much more calmly than I felt.

His eyes glared at me and then slid to Liam, where they lingered. “You, Charlotte, are full of shit. You can pretend to be innocent, but I know you’re not.” Then he was gone.

Reaching down for a hair clip and my hat, I said, “I’m going for a walk. Alone.” Liam didn’t follow.

I headed into the sun at a fairly good pace for quite a while. I had long since slowed down when I heard my name called.

It was Hillary, the only one who would dare ignore my request to be alone. I slowed my pace so she could catch up. When she did, we wandered quietly for quite some distance before she spoke. “So, any progress?”

“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.

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.