Chapter 204

Tori woke first the next morning, stretched experimentally, rose from the bed and slowly made her way to the bathroom. Sinking into a tub of steaming water, she sighed in relief and shook her head ruefully. The massage helped, but she wouldn’t be running anywhere just yet.

The door opened, then shut quickly to keep the warm air in the room. “Morning angel. How are you feeling this morning?”

“Morning honey. A little better I think. That massage really helped. Thank you.”

Turning from washing his hands at the sink, Richie’s lips twisted in a wry smile as he bent over to kiss her. “Considering that I helped cause the problem, it was only right that I help try to fix it.”

She laughed. “True.”

“Breakfast?”

“Please.”

He started towards the door then stopped. “Do you need help getting out?”

She smiled ruefully. “We’ll see in a few minutes.”

“Yell if you need me.”

She did manage to climb out of the tub by herself while he ordered breakfast. He walked back into the bedroom just as she was about to get dressed – if you could call a bathing suit dressing.

“Wait a minute. Lay down on the bed.” She crooked a brow at him and he chuckled. “Relax. Kiki gave me some lotion that she said would help.” Once she settled on the bed he squeezed some lotion into his hand, rubbed them together and gently massaged her thighs and hips. Then he hesitated, shook his head and handed her the bottle. “Sorry babe. Kiki said that it could be used everywhere, but if I apply it where you are the sorest, I’m afraid that I’ll only end up making it worse.” He was damn close to needing a cold shower as it was!

She grinned. “What happened to your self control?”

“As soon as I touch you it goes up in flames.” He waggled his eye brows.

“Mmmmm…in a blaze of glory!”

He groaned. “That’s really bad angel.” She just grinned and took the bottle.

He watched while she proceeded to finish the job herself. Noticing, she looked up at him and slowed the movements of her fingers. After a few minutes he managed to raise his gaze to hers. She felt almost burned by the fire lighting the dark depths.

“Brat!” He growled, turned and headed for the shower.

“Cold is to the left!” She called after him, laughing when the slamming of the bathroom door was the only response she got.

They had finished breakfast and were sitting on the terrace, Tori debating whether she was ready to try to manueuver the stairs and go for a walk on the beach, when Richie’s phone rang. He’d left it in the bedroom since he wasn’t taking any calls, but the ring indicated it was Ava, and he ran to grab it.

“Hello? Hi baby girl. How..Ava calm down. Take a deep breath honey I can’t understand you. What happened? Was anyone hurt?” He slumped back down in the chair. Tori watched him, frowning in concern. “Where is Mommy now? Where’s Julie? Let me talk to her for a minute okay? Hi Julie, start from the beginning. Uh huh. Uh huh. And how is she now? What did her doctor say? Okay. Thanks for taking care of Ava. I’ll check in regularly. Yeah. Hey Bean. Mommy’s going to be alright. Everything’s going to be okay. We’ll be home in another week, and we’ll plan a weekend of fun. Mmmmhmmm. Yeah. I will. We love you too baby girl. Call me if you need to. See you soon. Bye.” He sighed as he closed the phone. He glanced at Tori. “Ava says hi.”

“What happened?” She was almost afraid to ask.

“Heather got nailed for DUI.”

“Drinking?”

He shook his head. “No. Prescription meds. She says she forgot when she took the last pill and accidently took too many.”

“Was Ava in the car with her?”

“No, thank God.”

Tori hesitated, but had to ask. “Do you believe it was an accident?”

“I don’t know. I hope so, but with the depression….I can’t be sure. Julie says her doctor thinks it was, but he’s still going to keep a close eye on her.”

They sat in silence for several minutes, then Tori sighed and stood up. “You make the travel arrangements, I’ll go pack.”

“We don’t have to go back.”

She looked him in the eye for a long moment. “Yes we do.” When he frowned, she continued. “Was Ava upset?”

“Yes, but she’ll be okay.” His lips twisted. “It’s not like she hasn’t been through this before.”

“Yes she will, but she needs you right now.” She turned and headed inside.

Ten minutes later Richie walked in and watched her placing clothes in a suitcase. She glanced at him. “What do you want to wear on the plane?” She was already dressed.

He grabbed a pair of chinos, a t-shirt along with socks and underwear, shucked his bathing suit and started to dress.

Tori kept packing. “What time do we leave?”

“About an hour and a half.” She nodded. He stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m sorry.” She nodded again, and fought back her tears.



It was a very quiet trip back to L.A. Tori answered when spoken to, but otherwise didn’t speak. Her disappointment was choking her, and she didn’t want to take it out on him. It wasn’t his fault. For his part, Richie felt guilty, and responsible for them having to cut their trip short. He didn’t know what to say, so he kept quiet.

Tori hadn’t really been paying attention to where the car was going when they left LAX, so she was surprised when they pulled into the laneway to the house. She had expected to go to Heather’s.

Inside, Richie took their suitcases upstairs while Tori went to let the staff know they were home. She didn’t get any further than the doorway to the living room. Rosa was coming to meet her.

“Mrs. Tori you’re home. Will Miss Ava be joining us for dinner?”

“I don’t know yet Rosa. You don’t seem surprised to see us.”

Rosa shook her head. “No. We knew you would come home for Miss Ava.”

“Angel?” Richie called from the bottom of the stairs.

“Yeah?” She she retraced her steps.

He leaned down to kiss her. “I’m going to run over there and see what’s going on. I won’t be long.”

Stunned, Tori watched him walk out the door. Frowning, Tori struggled up the stairs. In the bedroom, she unpacked, debated going downstairs again, but grimaced at the thought and opted instead for the balcony. She sat there for a long time trying to figure out why she was spending her honeymoon sitting at home alone while her husband was visiting his ex-wife.