‹ Prequel: A Summer Romance

Forgive and Forget

Nineteen

Sitting by the dining room table, dressed in sweatpants and a simple t-shirt with her foot pulled up on her seat, Elina had been emailing friends and family after she got off work and was in the middle of paying the bills when her cell phone rang, causing the device to vibrate across the table.

Entering the last three numbers of the day’s date, she reached out and picked up the Nokia-made phone, smiling slightly as she saw the name on the screen. “Hey girl,” she answered as she continued paying the last of that month’s bills.

I'm screwed,” was Caroline’s greeted which only caused her to laugh softly.

“What’s up?” Elina wondered, knowing that the other blonde had taken the day off work so that she could finish up some of her wedding plans and curious as to what it was that had gotten her so state.

I'm stuck in traffic, there’s some stupid accident on the freeway and I have about a thousand more things to do today,” Caroline began ranting. “Sam’s down in London on business and I have to confirm flower arrangements, and colour-samples for the dresses and about a million other thing,” her tone got steadily more shrill and Elina could only smile amused.

“What do you need me to do?” Elina asked, knowing the other girl well enough to know that she wasn’t exactly good at asking for help.

I don't want to trouble you, I really don't,” Caroline began excusing herself. “But it’s just that...

“Hey, I'm offering here,” Elina interrupted her. “Tell me what you need me to do, and I’ll do it.”

The invitations need to be picked up before six,” Caroline reluctantly admitted.

“Tell me what I need to know, and where to go and I’ll get them and then I’ll meet you back at your place,” Elina threw out from the top of her head.

You're a darling,” Caroline was quick to thank her

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Elina laughed softly before asking for the address and what she would need to know to pick up the invitations. Quickly scribbling the information down, she soon ended the call and finishing up with her bills, she shut off the laptop before standing from the chair.

Putting away the papers and the other things she’d used, she walked into her bedroom and quickly changed into a pair of jeans, grabbing her wallet from her bag and picking up her phone before heading out in the hall. Pulling on a pair of black suede boots, she shrugged on a dark jacket and grabbed a scarf from a dresser in the closet before leaving the apartment.

Texting Simon as she got into the car, telling him that she was helping Caroline and she didn't know when she’d be back, she turned the key in the ignition and slowly pulled out of the garage.

The streets of Liverpool obviously being a lot more familiar now than when they first arrived in the city, it didn't take her long to find the store her friend had ordered her wedding invitations from.

It did however take a while to convince the woman who owned the store that she had Caroline’s blessings to pick said invitations up. In the end she’d simply called the Scouse born girl and had her talk to the elderly woman behind the counter.

Not one of her proudest moments, she would admit, but at least she left the store with the box of invitations in her hands.

Driving back across the city, to a neighbourhood not too far from where she and Simon was staying, she parked the car on the street and jogging up the three steps she rang the doorbell, hoping that her friend had made it back before her.

Waiting a couple of moments, she broke out in a smile as the door with stained glass windows was pulled open and she was greeted by her friend. Who looked a rather dishevelled...

“You are an absolute angel,” Caroline greeted her with a one-armed hug before taking the box from her and stepping away from the door to let her inside the apartment.

“If the shoe fits,” Elina shrugged carelessly as she walked further into the house, having been there numerous times before, usually for dinner or a girls’ night.

“Always so modest,” Caroline rolled her eyes at her as they walked through the house, ending up in the open-planned kitchen that she and Sam had remodelled just the previous summer.

“You were the one who said it,” Elina smiled at her as she sat down by the island and thanked her friend when she handed her a cup of coffee.

“I’m just so grateful,” Caroline admitted as she leaned against the oak top of the island, sipping her own coffee. “Sam and I have to through these tonight, if he gets back here in time and sent them out tomorrow if we want to give our guests enough time to RSVP and make sure that they don’t make any other plans for that weekend.”

“I already told you to not worry about it,” Elina assured her once again. “Besides, you’d do the same for me.”

“I would,” Caroline nodded slightly. “But thanks again.”

“You're welcome,” Elina gave her one of her wider grins, causing the dimples in her cheeks to peak out slightly, only for the smile to fall the moment after when a familiar melody could be heard from the hallway. “Seriously?” she asked rhetorically, ignoring the amused look in her friend’s look as she slid off the stool and wandered back out of the kitchen.

Pulling the phone from one of the pockets of her short jacket, she frowned slightly as she saw the name blinking on the screen.

“Nando?” she answered confused as to why he would be calling her now.

I need your help,” Fernando pleaded with her, not wasting time of such trivial things as greetings. “I really need your help!

“What are you talking about?” she frowned, trying to remember if they’d talked about what he would be doing the last time they had lunch together, just the day before.

I don't know what I'm doing,” he told her frankly. “I'm completely out of my depth here. I need help.

“I understand that, but...” she struggled to get him to listen to her and actually answer her questions as she crossed her arm over her chest and leaned against the doorframe towards the kitchen where Caroline was watching her. Curiosity was shining in her green eyes as she could understand even less than Elina considering the conversation was taking place in Spanish, a language she didn't understand a word of.

She doesn’t want to eat, she doesn’t want to play, she totally ignoring me,” he continued complaining, unknowingly causing the frown across Elina’s forehead to deepen. “I'm supposed to give her a bath but every time I as much as bring her near the bathroom she screams at me, I don't know what to do!

“What are you talking about?” she repeated as she ignore the look Caroline sent her.

She hates me!” he stated frankly, frustration clear in his tone. “I promised everything would be fine, and she hates me!

“You have to tell me what this is about, if I'm going to be able to help you,” she pointed out frankly as soon as he stopped talking.

Pepe and Yolanda wanted to have a night to themselves, to have dinner and I promised that I would babysit Grecia,” he explained quickly. “I promised that she would be fine, and now she hates me,” he complained, sounding unbelievably annoyed at the prospect of this little girl potentially not liking him.

“Okay,” she replied slowly, nodding slightly as she tried piecing together what he’d told her.

You need to help me!” he pleaded, the slight panic in his tone causing her to smile slightly.

“Where are you?” she simply asked.

At Pepe’s house,” his response was immediately.

“The one next door to yours, right?” she asked. “The terracotta one?”

Yeah,” he confirmed quickly. “Will you come help me?

“Just hang in there and I’ll be there as soon as I can,” she was barely managing to contain the grin that was threatening to spread across her lips.

Thank you so much,” he sounded really grateful. “No! Don't do that!

Giggling slightly as she moved the phone from her ear and ended the call, his panicked cry having been accompanied by someone throwing some hard plastic item down on what sounded like wooden floors. “That was Fernando,” she said simple as she looked over at Caroline.

“So I gathered,” the other blonde told her.

“Apparently it’s some sort of Elina-to-the-rescue day,” Elina sighed slightly. “He needs my help. He’s babysitting one of his teammates’ daughters and apparently he’s having some problems.”

“And you he called you,” Caroline smirked secretively, clearly reading too much into what was simply a friend helping a friend.

“Don't go there,” Elina shook her head, a slight smile playing across her lips. “Just don't,” she added softly. “Anyway, I got to go, so...”

“I’ll be seeing you at work tomorrow,” Caroline nodded with a smile. “You can tell me all the details then,” she added with another smirk.

“I'm not going there,” Elina rolled her eyes playfully before turning on her heel and walking back out in the hall.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Caroline called after her as she stepped into her boots and shrugged on her jacket.

“You know it, bye,” Elina replied before walking out through the front door, shuddering slightly as the wind attacked her, tugging on her hair and the ends of her scarf.



The gates surrounding the unfamiliar house parting as soon as she arrived, Elina slowly drove up the empty driveway and parked outside of the garage. Pulling her keys from the ignition, she climbed out of the vehicle and looked up at the beautiful house. It was very different from Fernando’s house, which she could see the upstairs from where she was standing, but it just as beautiful.

Approaching the door, she couldn’t help but wonder what it was the little girl was doing that was giving him such troubles, she’d seen him around a number of kids and he was great, they loved him. Raising her hand to knock, she had to press her lips together to keep from laughing as the door swung open and she was greeted with Fernando holding an angelic looking Grecia.

He was wet, very wet.

His hair was stuck to his forehead, his shirt was half-drenched and even his jeans had water stains on them.

“Hi,” she managed to squeeze out. “How are you doing?”

“She won't listen to me,” he ground out, his dark eyes revealing the frustration he was feeling. His usually very friendly face as scrunched up in a way that told her that he was ready to blow up any minute.

“Okay,” she nodded slowly. “And why are you wet?”

“We were going to take a bath but she doesn’t listen to me,” he told her, causing her to nod understanding.

“I can see that,” she smiled, finding his appearance highly amusing. “Hola Grecia, soy Elina,” she re-introduced herself to the little girl who was holding on to Fernando with all her might, not sure if she would remember her or not.

“Hola,” Grecia replied shyly, hiding her face Fernando’s shoulder and clinging to him.

“You know what,” Elina stated as she looked up at Fernando who was now looking very miserable. “You take this,” she began as she undid her scarf and shrugged off her jacket, handing the items to him before reaching out, “and I’ll take this,” she smiled as she easily picked the girl away from him and sat her on her own hip. “And you and I can get to know each other,” she told the little girl as she stepped into the house fully and easily shuffled out of the slouchy boots on her feet.

The little girl seemingly having no problems about a practical stranger carrying her through her own house, Elina walked further into the house before turning back to where Fernando was hanging up her jacket. “Which way is the bathroom?” she wondered, glancing around as he sent her a look that called them out as traitors.

“Upstairs,” he muttered darkly before following her as she after rolling her eyes at him set out to climb the stairs in the foreign house.

Finding the bathroom without too much trouble once she reached the second story of the house, she continued chatting aimlessly with the girl who seemed to be very fascinated by her blonde hair. Setting the little girl down on the closed toilet seat, she quite easily got the shirt off the toddler before she hit what she could guess was the same snag Fernando had run into.

“No.”

Suppressing a groan, Elina reached up and pulled her hair into a messy ponytail as she tried to figure out how to get the stubborn little girl to cooperate with her. She hadn't had too high hopes that she would succeed where Fernando had failed, but she would be lying if she claimed she hadn't hoped at all.

“Can you please work with me?” she asked softly as she crouched down before the little girl.

“No,” Grecia shook her head stubbornly.

“Please?” Elina decided to throw in the puppy dog eyes she knew had always worked on the boys around her as she was growing up.

“No,” Grecia simply continued to shake her head.

“Told you,” Fernando smirked as he leaned against the doorframe, pleased that he wasn’t the only one having trouble getting the little girl to cooperate. That earned him a glare from them blonde that only caused him to laugh slightly.

“You know what, missy,” Elina stated as she looked at the little girl who was a perfect mix of her mother and father, “it’s time for bed soon, and you have to take a bath so you are getting into that tub.”

“No,” Grecia broke out in a wide grin.

“No?” Elina asked scandalous. “Well, you have to,” she continued with a smile as she brushed her hand over the little girl’s head that was filled with soft dark curls. “Do you think we should kick Nando out?”

“No,” Grecia continued smiling but shook her head once again.

“I'm going to take a wild guess here,” Elina said as she looked up to where Fernando was standing, watching the two of them, “as assume that this is what they call the terrible two’s.”

“I'm not going to argue with you,” he smiled back at her, incredibly pleased that she was having just as much trouble with the little girl as he’d been. His ego would have taken quite a blow if she’d swooped in without any kind of troubles.

“Can you please be a good girl for me and take this bath?” Elina gave reasoning one more chance as she finished undressing the little girl.

“No,” Grecia’s smile got even wider if that was possible.

“Well, you are taking it whether you like it or not,” Elina smiled back at her before reaching for the hem of her own shirt and pulling it over her head, dropping it on the counter next to the sink as she didn't want to get it wet.

“You really think that is necessary?” Fernando’s voice hitched slightly as he couldn’t keep his brown orbs from travelling across her mostly bare torso, a white lace push-up bra everything that stood between him and seeing her half-naked.

“Considering how you look, I think it is,” Elina nodded once, her blue eyes glancing towards the dark stains across his grey t-shirt. “And get over it, you’ve seen me in less than this.”

“That’s the problem,” he noted under his breath, hoping that she didn't hear him, but judging by the way she rolled her eyes, and amused smile across her lips as she reached out and picked up Grecia, he knew it was in vain.

“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Elina smiled as she put the little girl down in the water after checking the temperature to make sure it wasn’t too hot.

“No,” Grecia smiled up at her after immediately having reached for one of the rubber ducks that was floating around in the water. Clearly Fernando had pulled out all the stops to get her to cooperate.

Only shaking her head at the little girl whose favourite word seemed to be no, Elina sat on her knees on the slate-tiled floor and engaged her in playing with the ducks as Fernando ventured into the room as well.

Sitting down on the toilet, he watched the two girls interacting like they’d known each other for a long time, not only met a handful of times before.

As always when he watched the blonde who had such an hold on him for years, his mind wandered. And like often, to a place he didn't consciously wanted it to go. He thought about a future with the both of them in it, he thought about commitments, family get-togethers and...and children. He thought about children.

Watching her play with Grecia, seeing the wide smile on the little girl’s face, he couldn’t help but think about her doing the same to her own children...their children....

Being pulled from his thoughts a while later as Elina, now wearing her t-shirt again, glanced over at him and asked for a towel, she handed her a pale pink one and uselessly watched as she picked up the small girl from the tub and dried her off before dressing her in the pyjamas that was laid out on the cupboard behind her.

“Thank you,” he couldn’t help but thank her as she held the little girl to her chest, her small girl’s arms wrapped around her neck.

“The evening isn't over yet,” she smiled up at him.

“Right, bedtime story,” he nodded before motioning for her to walk out of the bathroom first.

Proceeding to lead the way to the little girls room, he picked up the book Pepe had mentioned as one of Grecia’s favourites as Elina placed her down in her bed, tucking her in before sitting down in the chair next to the bed.

The little girl falling asleep a lot quicker than she would have expected, Elina quietly followed Fernando out of the room, gently pulling the door almost close behind them. The two of them lingering awkwardly in the hall, he suggested a movie as he held up the baby monitor in his hand pointed out he could keep an eye on the small girl from downstairs as well.

Agreeing, she wiped her hands on her jeans and then proceeded to follow him down the stairs and into the sitting room where a large screen descended from the ceiling with a push of a button.

Sinking down in one of the overstuffed armchairs, she pulled her legs up next to her and gratefully took the blanket Fernando held out to her before he sat down in the chair next to her and turned on the movie he’d chosen.

Looking at him from the corner of her eye, she couldn’t help but smile slightly, knowing fully well that she was dangerously close to that annoying edge once again. Cuddling beneath the blanket, she tried to keep her mind on the movie playing on the screen and not on the man relaxing next to her.

Easier said than done...



The movie capturing all her attention in the end, Elina was pulled away from it more than two thirds through it by a sound from the baby monitor placed on the small table between them. Glancing over at it at the same time as Fernando did, she caught his eye, and both of them smiled as he paused the movie and they stretched slightly as they waited to hear if the young girl had woken up again.

“What time is it?” she wondered, rubbing her hand over the bare skin of her left wrist where her watch usually rested.

“Ten thirty,” he replied after checking his phone.

“I should probably get back home,” she noted, not moving from the chair as it seemed as if the girl hadn't woken back up.

“And I have to go check on Grecia before Pepe and Yolanda gets back,” he threw out there as he stood up.

“I’ll come with you,” she surprised them both by saying as she too stood up and tugged up her jeans slightly before walking out of the room first, climbing the stairs like she’d been there before.

Gently nudging the door to the small girl’s room open, they found that she was still sleeping soundly; the only thing that had really changed since they left was that her teddy bear was at the end of the bed instead of in her arms.

Walking over to the bed, Elina gently moved it within reach of Grecia’s arms and hesitating slightly, she gently ran the back of her index finger over her soft cheek. “They are really lucky to have her,” she mumbled softly.

“Take it easy, or I’ll start thinking you want children,” Fernando whispered as he appeared almost right behind her, startling her slightly.

“Shut up,” she glared at him, wanting to elbow him in the gut but refrained as any sound he would make might wake up Grecia.

“I'm serious,” he moved to stand next to her, looking down at the sleeping girl. “Talking like that is dangerous around a guy like me.”

“A guy like you?” she arched her brows in surprised, not exactly sure what he was talking about.

“Yeah, a guy like me,” he nodded with a slight smile stretching across his lips. “A guy who has plans, who makes plans. Who likes to makes plans, plans about the future, plants that involves houses, and promises and...and children,” he looked at Elina before glancing down into the bed where Grecia was sleeping peacefully.

Unable to form any sort of coherent sentences, she kept her mouth shut, licking her lips as her mind was working overtime. Hearing him talk like that tugged at certain heartstrings, strings that made her want a happy ever after with him. But common sense brought her back from the edge and feeling him move closer to her, she raised up her hand, gently placing it flat against his chest as to stop him as she took a step back.

“I can’t,” she said regretfully as she looked away from him, his dark eyes boring into her.

Any potential awkwardness was thwarted by the sound of the front door being opened and quickly collecting themselves, silently agreeing to not mention that conversation again, they walked out of the room and greeted the returning parents.

Spending the next twenty minutes explaining just exactly why Elina had had to show up and help him, Fernando followed the blonde out to her car after they both said goodbye to Pepe and Yolanda.

“About...” he began as he held open the door to the silver Audi, watching as she climbed in behind the wheel.

“Let’s just not talk about it,” she interrupted him, glancing down at the keys in her hand before looking back up at him. “You just...” she trailed off, licking her lips slowly. “You just have to give me more time.”

“I understand,” he nodded, despite not really understanding.

“You have to take it slow.”

“I understand,” he repeated, smiling slightly as she leaned out of the car slightly and tugged him closer to her, placing a chaste kiss on his cheeks. “Drive safe.”

“I will,” she smiled up at him, ignoring the little voice in the back of her mind that was letting her know she was making a mistake by allowing him back in her life. All whilst ignoring that other little voice in the back of her head that was screaming at her to go for it...
♠ ♠ ♠

Elina