Paul looped his finger around one of Tessa’s. “Since I showed up in Mystic Water, ate Tessa’s poison pancakes, had her question my ideas about always being on the move.”
Tessa snorted, but her chest felt warm, and her stomach turned to marshmallow fluff. She squeezed his finger, thinking that everything—the house, her life, Paul—was falling into place, and she didn’t see how anything could go wrong.
The next morning Tessa rolled over and sighed at the sunlight trickling into the apartment bedroom. Warm, pale-yellow sunbeams illuminated the bed. Paul stepped into the doorway as though sensing she was awake.
He sat on the edge of the bed. “I came up with more ideas about the house last night, and I woke up early thinking about them. Let’s go downstairs, have breakfast, and get over to the house. Aren’t the workers going to be there at seven? I want to talk to Charlie.”
“Whoa there, cowboy,” Tessa said. “I need a shower first.”
“Yes, you do.”
Tessa reached behind her, grabbed a pillow, and threw it at Paul. He caught it, laughed, and tossed it back at her faster than she could lift her hands in defense. The pillow smacked her in the face and dropped into her lap. She narrowed her eyes at him, and he jumped off the bed.
As he backed out of the bedroom door, he said, “You have fifteen minutes to make yourself lovely, but you don’t need that much time. Even with that hair.” He winked.
After Tessa brushed her teeth, showered, and dressed, she and Paul popped into Scrambled. The Monday morning crowd was already nestled into their usual spots, and Tessa sat in a booth while Paul slipped into the kitchen to speak to his parents.
On her next pass through the dining room, Laney filled two cups with coffee and raised her eyebrows at Tessa. “Interesting development,” she said as she dropped a handful of creamers onto the table.
Tessa reached for two creamers. She knew exactly what Lanie was referencing. “For me too. I didn’t like Paul at first, but he’s socharming. He could charm the pants off anyone—not that he charmed the pants offme. I was being figurative. Oh man, that sounded racy, didn’t it? Pretend I didn’t say that. But yeah, I wasn’t expecting it.” She smiled up at Laney. “But it’s nice.”
Laney propped her fisted hand on her hip. “I was talking about the rumor I heard about you buying Honeysuckle Hollow.”
Tessa’s eyes widened. “Oh.”
Laney laughed. “I didn’t know you’d put the moves on the Borellis’ son. Good for you. He’s handsome.”
Paul exited the kitchen, causing Laney to scurry off. He slid in across from Tessa. “Mom’s going to make us buttermilk pancakes with bacon maple syrup. She said it’s one of your favorites.”
“Everything here is one of my favorites,” Tessa said, pouring creamer into her coffee. Her cell rang inside her purse. “Excuse me for a minute. Let me see who that is because it might be the condo buyer. He said he’d call early this week.” Tessa pulled out her phone and hesitated. “It’s Anna. The last chat we had was dismal.”
“One of the naysaying friends?” Paul asked. Tessa nodded, and he shrugged. “They probably meant well, but sometimes our friends are wrong. Give her an opportunity to admit it.”
Tessa accepted the call. “Anna, hey, how are you?”
“Hey, Tess! I’m so glad you answered,” Anna said. “I’m in town. In Mystic Water. Eli and I got home late last night. One of our workers, Natalie, is covering for us at the bakery for a couple of days. She’s great. Anyway, we stayed at Mama and Daddy’s. We want to see the house and see you, so tell me when you’re free. I promised Lily we’d call her too. She wants to come over.”
Tessa frowned. “Y’all said that me buying Honeysuckle Hollow was a terrible idea.”
Anna sighed. “We could have handled it differently. I’m sorry. We were surprised is all. It’s such a big undertaking, but we don’t want you to think we don’t believe you can do it. You’re smart and resourceful, and we’re excited for you. You’ll be down the street from Lily, almost neighbors. We want to support you.”
Tessa looked across the table at Paul. He lifted his eyebrows in question. “Paul and I are having breakfast right now, but afterward, maybe in an hour or so, we’ll be at the house. Y’all can meet us over there.”
“Paul?” Anna said, and Tessa heard the smile in her best friend’s voice. “Can’t wait to meet him. We’ll see you soon. I’ll call Lily.”
Tessa disconnected and dropped her phone into her purse. “My two best friends want to meet us at the house this morning.”
Paul lowered the coffee cup to its saucer. “That’s unexpected pressure.”
Tessa tilted her head in question. “What do you mean?”
“Meeting your two best friends is more challenging than meeting your parents. They’re going to judge me.”
Tessa snorted. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. They’re gonna love you. I was just telling Laney that you can charm the pants off anyone.”
Paul smirked. “That’s a hypothesis I’d like to test. Are you available at,” he glanced down at his watch, “eight a.m.?”
Tessa’s cheeks warmed, and she pressed her lips together as she stared at her coffee cup. “You’re a scoundrel,” she said, lifting the cup to her lips.
