Chapter 18
Arm in arm they stumbled back to the car and took the quickest way home, both eager to shower and ravenous for food. Once they reached the house, Tallia wasn't much steadier on her feet. Costa gladly offered his support with an arm wrapped snugly around her waist. They paused in the open front door to kiss, exchanging lazy smiles as one kiss turned into two.
There were long blades of grass caught in Tallia's hair, but Costa said nothing and did not remove them. He was enchanted by her tumbled appearance, the flush to her cheeks, and the deep raspberry color of her slightly swollen lips. The jarring sound of loud, raised voices broke the spell between them, and they exchanged identical looks of dismay. No sooner than they had crossed the threshold, Calamini appeared, wringing her hands and looking worried. She said something to Costa, and he strode quickly towards the terrace.
"What is it? What's happened?" Tallia demanded, trailing after him. He didn't have to answer as Fidelio walked in front of the open doors that led out onto the terrace. They could both hear the anger in his voice as he shouted.
Tallia's stomach fell through the floor when she saw Emmy standing rigidly by the railing, her back to Fidelio.
"Go to hell!" Emmy hissed in reply to whatever Fidelio had said.
"I don't even know you," Fidelio snarled tellingly. When he saw that he and Emmy were no longer alone, he came up short in his nervous pacing. A wounded expression twisted his face. "Tallia!" he cried, sounding like an anxious child as he rushed to her with his arms open wide.
"Leave my sister alone," Emmy shouted, storming across the terrace to shove past Fidelio and throw herself against Tallia instead. She promptly burst into tears.
Tallia looked to Costa, but he only shook his head, clearly as confused as her. Patting Emmy's back, Tallia thought it best to put some distance between the quarreling lovers. She led her sister past a fretting Calamini and up to her room.
"What the hell is going on?" Costa demanded in Greek the moment the two women were gone. Fury blazed through him as the ramifications of the situation set in. His time with Tallia was being rudely cut short, and he was in no mood to be polite or understanding towards those responsible. He glared at his brother as if he were an interloper, wishing him to perdition.
"Don't start with me Costa- you should be delighted," Fidelio spat, "the wedding is off! We've broken our engagement. Emily is returning to England tonight."
Gathering his self-control with considerable effort, Costa forced himself to speak slowly and reasonably. "Fidelio, I hope you realize I never take pleasure in your pain," he said calmly, unable to keep the bite from his words despite his best efforts. "Now please, explain what has happened between you and Emily, so we can sort this mess out."
"I'm sorry, that was uncalled for," Fidelio apologized automatically, recognizing the warning in his brother’s too soft voice. "I'm just so… there's no sorting this out Costa. It's over- I don't even know that woman."
Seeing the genuine distress on his brothers’ face, Costa forgot some of his own, selfish, indignation. "What happened?" he pressed softly.
He knew there was a time when Fidelio told him everything and sought him out no matter how insignificant the problem. He had not missed how his brother turned to Tallia first when he saw them. Costa could understand why; Tallia was warm and generous, she invited people to turn to her for comfort, but Fidelio was his brother and his responsibility.
"Nothing," Fidelio said, running a hand savagely through his hair. "Everything was just… different once we left the island. We just don't seem to get on like we did in London. Em was bored and distant, and we ran out of things to talk about after the first day…"
Fidelio stared off into the distance for a moment and then started venting with greater and greater animation, until he was gesticulating forcefully. "She didn't like the boat, but she hated the hotel. After we went out gambling the first night she refused to set foot in a casino – even though I won a packet! I took her shopping the next day, and that seemed to make things better. But even that got old pretty fast. All those damn tourist shops sell the same crap," he complained bitterly.
"She thinks Greek food is dull, I can't stand Indian- and I've told her as much a thousand times, not to mention there are no decent Indian restaurants in Greece! Then that damn storm hit and there was nothing to do and nowhere to go. She started spending all her time talking to her friends on her cell phone- after we agreed to turn them off and only use them if we had an emergency. Not to mention she flirts with every guy she meets, even waiters and bellboys! Coco, she never stops flirting, and I've told her I don't like it. We had a huge fight last night and sailed straight back here this morning- so I wouldn't be tempted to choke the life out of her!"
Costa stared at his brother as he rambled on childishly. He wanted to shake him until his teeth rattled. "I thought the two of you have been seeing each other for almost a year?" he asked pointedly, wondering how it was possible Fidelio had not noticed until now that he had nothing in common with the woman he intended to marry!
"Yeah, but that was different, she had work and Tallia, and I was doing my own thing. We would see each other as often as possible, mostly at the hospital over dinner with Tallia, but we weren't on top of each other 24/7!"
"Fidelio, you were only gone a week!"
"I know! I haven't even told you the worst part," Fidelio said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper, "the sex has been going down hill for the few months. I don't think I'm even attracted to her anymore. I swear I faked it the last time- and she didn't even notice!
“Can you imagine how much worse things would be after a year, or even two!" his brother spat with an exaggerated shudder. "Tallia is going to be devastated! I hope you've been showing her a good time.”
Costa flushed at his brother’s unwelcome confession and his unfortunate choice of words. "Yes, ah, I don't think Tallia has any complaints."
"Good, I would hate to think I dragged her out here for nothing. I wish she could stay. Isn't she the best? I missed her so much while I was gone, I would have called to ask her what to do, but I didn't want to worry her.
“If only we could get rid of that witch Emily, and Tallia could stay a little longer. I feel terrible that Tallia’s vacation is going to be cut short, but Em has got to go!" Fidelio annunciated the last three words dramatically. "You need to call the helicopter right now Costa, to take her to Athens. I can't spend another minute around that woman. She's the shallowest, most self-absorbed person I have ever met!"
Swallowing a cruel retort, Costa wondered if he should tell his brother to go look in a mirror. He never realized until that moment just how spoiled and superficial Fidelio had become. In his efforts to give his sibling all the things he never had, and fill the void left by their lack of parents, it suddenly occurred to Costa that he had been far too indulgent and completely blind to Fidelio's failings.
Listening to Fidelio’s rant, it was obvious to him that Tallia had inadvertently played a major role in the construction of this paper romance, between her bubble-brained sister and his equally stupid brother. It looked as if Tallia was the glue holding the entire mess that was Emily and Fidelio together!
Tallia was Fidelio's friend, the one he turned to when he needed mothering and support. Costa was certain she played the same role to Emily. Tallia was the common ground and perhaps the only thing that Fidelio and Emily really had in common. Unfortunately, the two simple-minded twits never realized that there was nothing but their devotion to Tallia keeping them together.
Devotion to Tallia and hot sex, Costa amended. If he knew his brother, and he knew him inside and out, Fidelio and Emily had probably initially enjoyed a burning hot love life. This was what people often confused for love and made the mistake of founding a relationship upon. It was shared values, goals and interests that really kept people together and formed the foundation of a serious commitment.
Poor Fidelio, he thought glumly. His brother had thought he had
the perfect relationship, with Tallia as his emotional support and Emily his red-hot lover. Now that his passion for Emily had run its course, Fidelio had nothing but Tallia's friendship. Savagely, Costa hoped his brother felt nothing but platonic devotion towards Tallia, or he was going to have to hurt him.
"No one is going anywhere," he said quietly, bracing himself to weather Fidelio's objections. He knew now was not the time to announce his engagement to Tallia, it would be in extraordinary bad taste. But there was no way in hell he was sending the woman he loved off on a helicopter tonight.
It will take every ounce of ingenuity I have to keep Tallia here and get rid of Emily, and Fidelio too, he thought with mercenary alacrity. Costa had no idea how he would manage such a miracle, so he needed to buy himself some time to plot.
"What?" Fidelio shrieked.
"It is late, and you are both overwrought," he replied soothingly. "Only a week ago you were in love with Emily and desperate to marry her. The least you can do is sleep on it and perhaps have a rational discussion about your relationship with her in the morning?"
"Coco!"
"Don't Coco me," Costa snapped, his patience badly frayed. "You brought this on yourself. Now you will deal with it like an adult!"
Groaning dramatically, Fidelio revealed that he hadn't the faintest grasp of what that word meant as he tossed his head rebelliously and stomped off like a five year old on the brink of a tantrum.
"Oh Ally, I am such an idiot!" Emily exclaimed the moment Tallia closed the door to her room behind them. "I can't believe I actually thought I was in love with that wanker!"
"W-wanker? Fidelio?" Tallia gasped, shocked by her sister’s words.
"Yes. Fido is a spoiled, lazy, useless wanker!" Emily insisted vehemently. "All he wants to do is party! We spent our first night together in a casino, and he barely even looked at me. He was too busy playing craps, or baccarat, or poker, or whatever game he could get in on. He had me holding his drink, like his own personal waitress, and getting him extra chips. His idea of romance was having me blow on his bloody dice!"
"It couldn't have been that bad," Tallia said softly, frowning as she didn't recall anything about a casino in the plans she and Fidelio discussed for his getaway with Emmy. "Didn't you stay on the boat the first night and have a… romantic dinner?"
"The boat? That tiny, dinky bucket! I couldn't even stand up straight in the bathroom, and Fido wanted me to fix dinner. I told him to hell with that. I'm on vacation. I am not making anyone dinner. It's not as if he's poor and has to pack a lunch. For God's sake, he won a fortune at that stupid casino. He wouldn't shut up about it,” Emmy screeched, going from distraught to enraged in seconds flat. “He kept telling me I was his lucky charm!
"If he had his way, we would still be sitting in one of those hideous mausoleums, with all those disgusting people throwing away their life saving's in the hope of getting rich. It was revolting, and he acted like I was a bitch when I insisted we leave!"
"Well, what about the next day?" Tallia asked reluctantly, guessing from Emmy's wrathful expression that things had not gone well at all.
"Oh, yes, that was so much better," Emmy hissed sarcastically, "We went to some gaudy resort. The beach was choked full of people, and all the girls were topless. You should have seen the way Fido's eyes were hanging out of his head, Ally!
“He tried to make it up to me by buying me a bunch of hideous, euro trash wear and then dragging me to some obnoxious disco that night. But I can see the writing on the wall. He's just like all the others, and I will not stand around like some oblivious bobble head while he shops for his next girlfriend right in front of me!"
"What's really going on?" Tallia prodded gently when she saw her sister’s bottom lip start to tremble. She knew Em was wrong; Fidelio wasn’t looking for another girlfriend because he wanted to marry her sister. There had to be another reason for their sudden breakup.
"He's not attracted to me anymore!" Emmy sobbed, throwing herself into Tallia’s arms again.
"Oh- God! I thought this time was for real. You know, I didn't fall right into bed with him like I usually do with guys I like. I waited, I made him take me out and get to know me, and all that stuff people say you're supposed to do if you want a relationship with a guy. Then, when we finally had sex, it was so fantastic I thought everything would be perfect. But lately it’s been… well, I don't want to embarrass you Ally. I know you never… you know," Emmy said with a watery smile through her tears. “But things have gotten really stale. He just doesn't… well… I tried to suggest stuff, but that only made it worse. Fido's not into that, he likes it totally vanilla- missionary all the way. I think I turned him off by even suggesting we try something new because now he barely touches me anymore! I feel like a trophy wife," she suddenly wailed.
Tallia blushed crimson as she was forced to listen to the particulars of her sister’s sex life. Suddenly there was no chance of even suggesting she was having a relationship with Costa. She had known that mentioning the engagement would have to wait. But the way Emmy was acting, she realized her sister would feel betrayed if Tallia told her she had slept with Costa. Emmy was hurting, and the last thing she needed was to see Tallia deliriously happy with the brother of the man she had just broken up with.
"It's okay Emmy, at least you found out now before you got married. We can go back home and…" Tallia trailed off. She realized she couldn't tell her sister she would never have to see Fidelio again, not when she was marrying Costa. "…you can get back to your life," she finished lamely.
Emmy took a deep breath and let go of her, drawing herself up almost regally as she dashed the tears from her face. "I never want to see him again, Ally. Never! He's a bloody bugger. He doesn't know how to treat a woman. All he cares about is partying. He has no plans for the future. He was horrified when I suggested he get a job, even working for his brother! All Fidelio plans to do with the rest of his life is flit around from one fab party to the next and one hot model to the next," Emmy said, her voice dissolving into wrenching sobs as she said the last.
"Oh, why am I such a fool! Everyone warned me about him," Emmy cried passionately, "but he seemed so sweet, and he spent all that time with you in the hospital. He always knew how to cheer me up when I was down, but he's totally one dimensional," she said, flopping down on the foot of Tallia's bed. "He's shallow and vain and… and lousy in bed!"
Struggling to keep a straight face, as she inappropriately thought of how she teased Costa just that morning about his skills between the sheets, Tallia sat down beside her sister and put an arm around Emmy's shoulders. "Now, now, don't get all worked up about it Emmy," she said.
She bit back an irrepressible grin as she remembered how earlier Costa chased her around the house and cornered her by the front door. He had tickled her mercilessly, until she swore never to spread horrible lies about his sexual prowess. After he was done extracting his promise from her, she had been so weak from laughing that Costa had had to carry her over his shoulder, kicking and flailing half-heartedly, to the garage to get his car. He had smacked her on the bottom the entire way, just to make her squirm.
Tallia would never forget the look of mortification on Costa's face when they ran into Gustav en rout to the garage, looking utterly appalled at having witnessed Costa manhandling her. Apparently, despite his age, Gustav was far from old school and did not approve of men behaving like cavemen towards women, even women they intended to marry- or perhaps especially towards women they intended to marry. Costa had almost dropped her in his haste to set her down and apologize prettily to her, for old Gustav's benefit.
Rubbing Emmy's back, Tallia tried to think of something to say to make everything better but words escaped her. She had really believed Fidelio and Emmy loved each other. While they were in London the two had spent every available minute together.
She remembered afternoons spent in her hospital room playing cards and board games, or watching movies on the telly. When one of them came to visit, th
ey always seemed to have a story to tell her about the great party they went to together the night before, or the swank show they both attended. From her limited point of view, they had seemed to have so much in common. They both loved the spotlight, glittering events, fashion, paparazzi, famous people, and big to-do's.
Oh, she had no illusions about either of them. She knew Emmy and Fidelio were shallow and self-absorbed. But she had thought that since they both shared that quality they might, well… cancel each other out as it were. Tallia had seen them tease each other about their vanity and love of attention. She believed their narcissism would be something to bring them together, since they were going in with their eyes open about each other’s failings. Clearly, she knew even less about relationships than even she realized.
Emmy jumped off the bed and began pacing the length of the room with her trademark strut. Tallia had to smile whenever she saw her sister walk that way because it made her think of the little girl with all the brilliant golden hair she helped raise. She could tell Emmy was about to work herself into a real fit, the sort of tantrum only a diva like her sister could have the arrogance to pull off. Tallia was more amused than worried. If Emmy was being dramatic then Tallia knew she would be fine. Her sisters’ heart might be bruised, but Tallia was beginning to suspect it was far from broken.
"I don't know where he gets off treating me like a prop", Emmy ranted, "as if I'm a brainless bimbo, happy to stand around laughing at all his jokes and smiling like some cheap… catalogue model! I've got men throwing themselves at me, smart men, men with a point of view- and a job!"
Tallia bit back a grin, finding it strangely ironic that Emmy was finally looking past the superficial and rejecting a man for not being serious and gainfully employed. Two years ago, her sister would have been raving about how lucky Fidelio was not to have to work for a living, swooning over his good looks, and preening because she had caught his eye. Obviously Emmy had changed, and all for the better.
Tallia was delighted to see more proof of how far her sister had come since her wild, reckless days as a vain, thrill-seeking drug user. She nodded her head in grave agreement to everything Emmy said, shaking her head and tut-tutting where appropriate, and did her best to be as supportive as a sister could be in such a crisis.
When it was time for dinner, Emmy refused to budge from the room. She pitched a screaming fit when Tallia told her she was going down to eat, with her or without her. Emmy must have been making quite a racket because the bedroom door flew open without warning. Costa stood in the hall with a dark glare on his face, looking as formidable as only he could.
"Downstairs, both of you. Now," he barked. When he turned to go after dictating, Tallia was amused to see Emmy fall into step behind him like an obedient puppy dog, all the fight gone out of her.
The table on the terrace was set for four, and Fidelio was already seated and waiting when they stepped outside. He rose politely and said a subdued greeting to everyone as a whole. Tallia almost objected when Emmy took the seat beside Costa, but then realized she could hardly expect her sister to sit next to Fidelio.
Costa gave her a quick, sly smile across the table. Glancing at their dinner companions, who were both busy fiddling with their silverware and napkin, he rolled his eyes. Tallia hid her smile in her water glass.
Fidelio and Emmy spoke not a word for the duration of the meal, while Costa made Tallia miserable. He spent the time giving her hot, steamy looks that made her blood burn and fizz in her veins. Ari served dinner as if it were a formal affair, not cracking a single smile or speaking. He whisked around the table with crisp efficiency. Tallia was so used to Calamini's informal puttering that she hardly felt as if she were in the same house anymore.
Her time at Seleni felt uncomfortably as if it was drawing to an end. She dreaded the next day as she realized she would have to leave with Emmy. Though I will come back, she told herself. She was trying to let the thought cheer her, but it did not.
At the end of the meal Fidelio excused himself, and everyone rose. Emmy waited until Fidelio was gone before she thanked Costa tightly for dinner, and then she grabbed Tallia by the hand to drag her back upstairs. Costa's arm whipped out and he caught Tallia by the other hand, holding her firmly in place.
Literally torn in two different directions, Tallia looked from her sister to her lover. She had a grim premonition that this was going to set the tone for the relationship between the three of them for a while to come. Emmy stopped when Tallia didn’t budge. When she saw Costa had a hold of her sister, she shot him a fulminating look.
"I need a moment with Tallia, Miss Maitland," he informed her coolly. Emmy visibly bristled, but nodded her head. She stormed off without a backwards glance, leaving them alone on the terrace.