When we finally step out, wrapping ourselves in towels, Tessa looks at me with those big brown eyes and says, “I could get used to mornings like this.”
I pull her close, pressing a kiss to her damp hair. “Good. Because I’m planning on a lot more of them.”
She smiles against my chest, and I realize with startling clarity that I want every morning for the rest of my life to start exactly like this.
With her.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX
TESSA
Ahigh-pitched squeal pierces the air as I step into the coffee shop. Layla rushes around the counter and tackles me in a hug so enthusiastic that we nearly topple over.
“Oh my God, you’re here!” she shrieks into my hair.
I laugh, squeezing her back just as hard. “I missed you too.”
Bob and Joyce emerge from the back room, their faces lighting up the second they see me. They hurry toward us, and suddenly, I’m wrapped in a group embrace, surrounded by the people who’ve been the closest thing to family I’ve ever had.
“My girl,” Joyce says, pulling back to cup my cheek in her weathered hand. “How we’ve missed you.”
“It hasn’t been the same without you,” Bob adds, his voice gruff with emotion.
A slight pang of guilt settles in my chest. Bob was so close to retirement, and my absence has meant more work for them both. “I’m sorry?—”
“Don’t you dare apologize,” Joyce cuts in, reading my expression. “You did what you needed to do. We’re just happy you’re safe.”
She calls over her shoulder to the wide-eyed boy behind the counter, who can’t be more than eighteen. He looks absolutely terrified by life.
“Hey, Billy, we need some refreshments,” she says warmly, then turns back to me. “What would you like, sweetheart?”
“I’ll take my honey latte with oat milk, please,” I say, offering Billy an encouraging smile.
Joyce rattles off four drink orders, and panic immediately flashes across Billy’s face.
Layla chuckles from across the room. “Don’t worry, buddy,” she calls out. “You’re totally ready. You’ve got this.”
He nods, though he doesn’t look remotely convinced, and starts fumbling with the machine, muttering under his breath.
The four of us settle into a corner table—the same one where I used to take my breaks, where Layla and I would steal moments to gossip between the rush hours. It feels both familiar and strange to be sitting here as a customer, not an employee.
Layla leans forward, covering her mouth with her hand, and whispers, “He is so not ready.”
Joyce grins, waving a hand dismissively. “Well, this will give him a safe place to practice.” She reaches across the table and taps my hand, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. “So tell us everything. We’ve missed you. What have you been up to?”
I look at the three faces around this table, and my chest tightens with how much I’ve missed them. I think about the past month, how much my life has changed, how much I’vechanged since I walked out of this shop with Logan.
In so many ways, I feel like a completely different person.
I’m no longer scared. I don’t walk on eggshells anymore. I don’t live with the constant fear that love will turn on me, that one wrong word or look will set off an explosion I can’t predict or prevent. Preston has all but disappeared from my life, andI feel such overwhelming relief knowing he’s actually honoring the restraining order.
“I only have my thesis paper left,” I say, unable to stop the smile spreading across my face. “Then I graduate. And…” The words feel surreal even as I say them. “I’m so in love it hurts.”
Joyce gasps, her hand flying to her chest. Bob’s eyebrows shoot up. Layla squeals and grabs my hand across the table.
“Everything is great,” I say again, beaming so hard my cheeks ache. “Everything is so, so great.”
