Or maybe the right thing,his bear said.You’ve put the idea of a second chance here in Bear Creek in her head. For her, as well as Rachel and her girls.
They walked toward the door, their steps deliberately slow as if both were reluctant to end this intimate moment.
“Thank you for showing me the garden,” Tessa said as she collected her purse and slipped her notepad inside. “And for asking me to sketch it.”
“Thank you for saying yes,” Matt replied. He wanted to say more—so much more—but the words caught in his throat.
His bear shifted restlessly, urging him forward.Just ask her to stay. Ask her to dinner. Ask her anything that keeps her here a little longer.
But Matt held back. Tessa needed to get to Rachel. He knew that. Understood it. Respected it, even as everything in him rebelled against letting her walk away.
“I’ll have a more finished version for you in a few days,” Tessa said, adjusting the strap of her purse on her shoulder.
“I’d like that,” Matt said. “Though I hope you know that even this sketch is already special.”
Her cheeks colored slightly at the compliment, a sight that made his bear rumble with satisfaction. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a gesture he was beginning to recognize as something she did when feeling self-conscious.
“I should go,” she said again, though she made no move toward the door.
No, you shouldn’t,his bear said.
She needs to,Matt replied.
But as he walked her to the door, it took all of his strength not to make her stay.
Chapter Nine – Tessa
“Sweet dreams,” Tessa whispered as she closed the door to Lucy’s room and headed downstairs, even though she was ready to go to bed and have her own sweet dreams.
About one certain Thornberg brother.
But before she could allow herself that luxury, she had to make sure Rachel was okay.
“I should be back on my feet in a day or two.” Rachel flexed her foot slightly, wincing only a little as Tessa joined her in the living room.
“That’s good,” Tessa replied. And it was. It was wonderful news. Exactly what they all wanted.
So why did the thought make her stomach tighten with something that felt suspiciously like panic?She mentally shook her head. She knew exactly why. Once Rachel was back on her feet, Tessa would no longer be needed to stand in for her shifts.
Which meant no more delicious encounters with Matt. No more stolen glances. Or glasses of wine shared in the courtyard.
“Is it?” Rachel asked as if she could read her friend’s mind. Which, in a way, she probably could. They had known each other long enough to pick up on small changes in mood or tone of voice.
“Of course.” Tessa flipped open her sketchbook and bent her head over it, hoping the curtain of her hair would hide the heat she could feel rising in her cheeks. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
She immediately winced at asking such a leading question.
“Oh, I don’t know.” Rachel gave Tessa a small smile as she picked up the TV remote and flipped through the channels.“When you came home this afternoon, you had that look.” She twirled the remote in a circle and pointed at Tessa’s face.
“What look?” Tessa asked innocently as her pencil moved across the paper, tracing the outline of the courtyard’s stone walls, the climbing vines, and the terracotta pots overflowing with herbs.
“The one where your eyes shine all bright, and your cheeks are a smidge flushed,” Rachel teased. “Like the one you wore when Jeff Winters invited you to the Snow Ball.”
“Pf-ft,” Tessa said, trying to deflect. “It was warm in the restaurant. That’s all.”
“That might explain the flushed cheeks…” Rachel rolled a little on the sofa so she could get a better look at Tessa. “But the bright eyes…”
“If you must know, that was probably because I had a small glass of wine.” Tessa leaned back and looked at her sketch with a critical eye. The garden took shape, but something was missing. Her hand seemed to move of its own accord, adding a figure near the wrought-iron bench… a figure with broad shoulders, a particular way of standing, like he was in control of his environment.
