But the kiss…and the moment…those are gone.
And an hour later, after Tessa licks the last bit of juice from the corners of her mouth, she’s gone too. I try to convince her to spend the night at Loveland—but who am I kidding, I’d rather have her sleeping here. She says she needs to work at the law firm this weekend to catch up.
Leaving doesn’t seem to be as hard for her as it is for me. So I let her go.
Back to LA, back to her separate life. An hour later, my phone rings and Chad needs me to give him a ride home from the Hitching Post because he stopped off for beers after work and knows better than to get behind the wheel.
Tessa texts me soon after to say she made it back to LA with almost no traffic. I stare at the message for a second longer than I should before typing back.
Me:
So glad you’re home safe
Tessa:
That was the perfect afternoon and evening
Me:
Anything for you, Duchess
Tessa:
Aw, thank you, cowboy. Sleep tight
And our lives keep moving, separately. The way they’re supposed to. The way they always will.
Still…I’m starting to hate LA just a little bit more every time it steals her back.
CHAPTER 23
Tessa
Six MonthsPregnant
It’s beenthree weeks since I’ve seen Fitz, and it feels like three months. Work has kept me in LA for the past two weekends, and Fitz has been working crazy hours getting ready for the spring harvest, so he hasn’t been able to come down.
So I’m feeling a nervous flutter in my belly at the thought of seeing him. I know it’s silly. Nothing has changed between us. But it almost feels like a first date as I sit outside the back entrance to the baby shop near my house in LA.
The screech of tires makes me look up. Fitz steers his truck into the parking lot and pulls to a halt in a parking space. He gets out and slams the door. I can tell something’s off. His head hangs down, and he digs the toes of his boots into the ground, taking out whatever’s bothering him on the asphalt parking lot.
I'm so used to seeing him at the ranch with his sun-kissed skin and his comfortable outdoor attitude setting the tone. Hedoesn’t see me, evidenced by the angry set of his jaw as he speed walks toward the back door of the shop.
“Hey,” I say.
He looks up, recognizing me. His expression softens a little. It’s not quite a smile, but he looks slightly less annoyed, pulling his sunglasses off.
“Oh, hi. I didn't see you there.”
“I know. Don't worry, you're not late. It's all good.”
“Right, right. Okay, yeah, let's do this.”
Something is off. There’s none of his usual care and attention, checking out how much bigger I’ve gotten, putting a hand on my belly to feel for movement. He crosses his arms. Closed off. Edgy.
“Are you sure? We can go grab a cup of coffee and catch up for a few minutes if you want. Maybe we should do that.”
For a moment, he looks like he might agree, but then he shakes his head. “No. Let's just get this done.”
