“Yes! Oh yes.”
He shifted the angle, hitting that spot inside me that made stars burst behind my eyelids. I arched, crying out as my second orgasm built. He rocked faster and wedged his arm between our bodies to circle my clit with his thumb.
“Come for me, baby,” he growled. “Let me feel you.”
I shattered, clenching around him, his name a broken moan on my lips.
He followed after a few more thrusts, shuddering as he spilled inside me with a low groan. “Tessa.”
We stayed wrapped together with his forehead pressed to mine while we caught his breath. When he finally eased out, he got out of bed to grab a washcloth, using it to gently clean between my legs. After discarding it in the laundry basket, he settled next to me in bed again.
I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “This doesn’t mean we’re back together.”
He kissed my temple. “I know. But I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give me.”
I felt his body brace, as though he was waiting for me to pull away. To tell him to leave.
After everything that happened between us, it was the safe call. But taking risks was what had made me so successful during our years apart.
I rested my palms against his chest to lever myself up so I could look into his eyes. “You can take me on a date. The bakery is closed on Mondays, so my next day off is a full week away.”
“Just tell me when you’re free, and I’ll make it work.”
“You must’ve changed more than I thought.” I shook my head for a laugh. “Your schedule used to be impossible.”
“Yeah, well…Vanessa wasn’t the only person who was let go from Langford Tech today.” He stroked his palm down my back as though I was the one who needed comforting. “Rupert and my dad are worried about my judgment. They want me to take some time to make sure I won’t make the same mistake of that magnitude again. Which is fair.”
“Without Vanessa there to manipulate everything, you’re not?—”
He broke off my muttering with a kiss, smiling when he pulled away. “I love that you want to defend me, but I’m okay. The important thing is that you’re coming out of this with your reputation intact.”
Gage had lost his dream job today. The one he’d been groomed to take since he was a little boy. But instead of worrying about himself, he’d been focused on what Vanessa had tried to do to my bakery. That bought him a little trust, but I was nowhere near ready to let him all the way in.
16
GAGE
Ispent the week before our date planning every detail like it was my full-time job. Which wasn’t that much of an exaggeration since I was at loose ends, trying to figure out how to fill my time now that I didn’t have an office to go to each day. And the stakes were high since one wrong move might send Tessa walking away for good.
That was enough to keep me up at night, running through every possible way I could screw it up.
I didn't want anything flashy. Tessa didn’t care about five-star restaurants or private chefs. I needed to come up with something thoughtful, tailored to what was important to her.
I didn’t think she’d be willing to get on a private jet with me yet, so taking her down to Florida to see her dad wasn’t possible. Which was probably for the best since I couldn’t be sure I’d make it back on the plane without a few broken bones. Mike had every right to hate me for the pain I caused his daughter, and I doubted he’d be half as willing to give me a second chance as she was.
I wanted something quiet. So I went with a place she’d mentioned years ago. A small park on the edge of town with abench under an old willow tree that draped low over a pond. She used to go there after long days at her old office job, or when the grief over her mom hit hardest.
I drove out the day before to make sure it was still there. The bench was weathered but sturdy. The willow still swept low enough to make the spot feel private.
It was perfect.
“Where are we going?” she asked as I pulled my car onto the street in front of her apartment building late Monday morning.
I glanced over, smiling. “Do you still love surprises?”
“Ah, not so much anymore.” She fiddled with the hem of her shirt. “Finding out about your engagement the way I did cured me of that.”
Shit. Another way I’d failed her. A reminder of everything I wished I could redo.
