Her smile vanished the second she saw me. Jace turned toward me, sizing me up like he was deciding whether or not to throw the punch he’d threatened me with a week ago.
He only looked away when Tessa tugged on his shirtsleeve.
“Want me to stick around?” The protective edge in his voice pissed me off, and I had to remind myself that I didn’t have any claim over Tessa anymore.
I braced for her answer, but she surprised me by shaking her head. “No. I’m fine.”
Jace hesitated, clearly unconvinced, but he finally nodded and headed next door to his shop. He kept his gaze on me the whole damn time, making sure I knew he’d be nearby if she needed anything.
The fact that I’d given him reason to be worried made me want to throw something through a window. Preferably his. But losing my temper would only prove him right and make Tessa even angrier with me. Instead, I turned my focus back on her.
Tessa used to be an open book, but her expression was unreadable when she asked, “What do you want, Gage?”
“I came to apologize to your employee.” It wasn’t all I wanted to say, but it was the only acceptable excuse I had to stand here.
Tessa studied me for a moment, still giving nothing away until she finally stepped back from the doorway. “Fine. Come in. Jenny’s just finishing up her shift.”
Jenny stood behind the counter, and she dropped her pen when she looked up and saw me.
“Oh, um. Hi.” Her gaze darted toward Tessa like she wasn’t sure what she should do.
Feeling even worse, I lifted my hands in surrender. “I’m not here to cause trouble. I owe you an apology.”
Her lips parted, but she didn’t say anything.
“I shouldn’t have spoken to you the way I did last week. You didn’t deserve that. I’m sorry.”
Jenny blinked at me, clearly thrown. Then she gave a shy smile. “Thank you.”
Her easy acceptance made me more ashamed of my behavior. This girl was too nice to have put up with the bullshit I’d put her through.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the bills I’d gotten from the bank on my way here, glad that I’d pulled out more than I initially planned. “I’d like to make up for it, in some small way.”
Her eyes widened, flicking immediately to Tessa.
Tessa shrugged. “Go ahead. Consider it an asshole tax.”
I huffed out a breath, but I couldn’t argue with the description. I’d unfortunately earned it.
Jenny laughed softly and took the cash from my outstretched hand before ducking in back, leaving the two of us alone.
I cleared my throat. “Thank you for not calling the cops.”
“I wasn’t the one who did it last time.” Her gaze didn’t soften. “But I probably should have.”
Her response was in stark contrast to when she trusted me without hesitation. “Tessa?—”
“No.” She shook her head. “We don’t have anything left to say.”
Years ago, she would’ve met me halfway before I even asked. Now she looked at me like she regretted ever letting me close. It’d been three years, but I felt the loss of her like a physical ache.
“We used to talk.”
Her eyes flickered, but she masked the reaction too quickly for me to figure out what it had been. “That was three years ago. I have no interest in going back there.”
Standing here and seeing her walls up like this hurt more than I’d expected. I knew I’d earned her anger last week, but apart of me hoped she might drop her guard a little when I wasn’t acting like an asshole.
I probably should’ve walked away. But something about the rigid way she held herself was so different from how she used to melt against me that it broke whatever restraint I had left.
