“What did Liam say?”
Why is she avoiding my question? “Tessa, where’s your car?”
“I got a ride here from a friend, well, from her husband. I went to see her and brought a bottle of tequila so we had a few shots. Even though I’m not close to tipsy, I didn’t want to add DUI onto my list of crimes since coming to Ember Falls.”
Her.
I know where she went. My heart is pounding and I’m both nervous and angry at her because I can guess who the “she” is that she went to see.
“You saw Meredith?”
Tessa sits back, bringing her other leg up and wrapping both arms around her legs. “I did, but I’d like to hear what Liam said before we talk about it.”
“Fuck Liam. I want to know what happened with Meredith. You…I would’ve gone with you. You didn’t need to do this today. We could’ve talked, come up with a plan. You didn’t have to face all of this alone, I would’ve been at your side!” I lean forward, coming closer to her.
Right then my phone rings, but I don’t care. I need to tell her how I feel before she tells me that Meredith doesn’t want her best friend with her father.
I know that she told me to let her go last night, but I can’t. I can’t just let her walk away. In the month that I’ve had Tessa in my life, it’s been the best possible time I’ve ever had. She makes me so fucking happy. Everything about her gives me joy. She lights up any room she enters.
I see what life could be, what we could have.
Yes, we’ll have obstacles, like our age, where we both live, and my daughter, but we can find a way. I won’t let her go.
“That’s sweet and all, but I thought this was the best way to handle it.”
I shake my head. “No, it’s not.”
“It’s not?”
“No!” I get to my feet, feeling all the frustrations fill my entire body. “I care about you, Tessa. More than I should. More than I ever thought possible. You make…everything in my life make sense. You’re smart, beautiful, caring, and I’m sorry, I don’t care what anyone says, we belong together.”
The phone is ringing, but I ignore it. She’s more important than anything else.
Her arms fall away from her legs, and she rises. “I can’t. Not without her being okay with it.”
“I understand that she’s your best friend, but do you not understand this isn’t about anyone else? It’s about us. You belong with me.”
“It doesn’t matter what we want, Killian. She’s your daughter! Your freaking daughter and my best friend. How do we navigate that, huh? Do you lose her? Lose any chance of knowing your daughter and son-in-law? What about when they have kids? Are you going to be okay with never knowing them? No, you’re not. Because you’re an amazing man. She didn’t say she’s against it, just that she needs some time, but we need to be realistic.”
I want to fucking scream. “I can’t lose you.”
“I don’t want to lose you either, but you and I can’t pretend this isn’t an issue.”
“I’m not willing to give up on this, Tessa. I…” I hold the words back. This isn’t a time to say it and score points. This has to be on her terms.
“You what?”
The phone rings again. I look down at it, grateful for the interruption so I don’t put my foot further in my mouth.
“Are you going to answer that?” she asks.
“It can wait. I’d like to know what happened. Did she get upset?”
Tessa sighs and shakes her head. “That’s the worst part—she wasn’t. She just needs to kind of wrap her head around it. She wasn’t mad. She said neither of us have anything to be sorry for, but can you imagine how she must feel?”
It would be great if I could lie to her, tell her I wouldn’t care if it was me, but I can’t do that. If the roles were reversed and Nathaniel was sleeping with my mother, I’d fucking lose it.
“Tessa,” I say her name with exhaustion. I’ve been up half the night, I’m hungover, my head is pounding, and after my meeting with Liam, I don’t know what end is up. I have to sit tight while I wait for him to tell me if Travis somehow involved me in some organized crime scandal.
