Bree didn’t know what to label it, but it was so much more than simply mutual attraction. So much more than lust. She was falling for this complex woman, this proud woman who had learned to guard so much of herself but had dared to reveal so much to Bree. Tess was a woman who had indicated she wanted to try to trust Bree with her heart, and Bree had realized tonight that she was willing to do the same.
Suddenly, someone yelled across the lot, “Hey, get a room.”
They broke apart and burst into laughter.
“Busted, like a couple of teenagers,” Bree finally choked out when she regained control of herself.
“I’m living up to the wild and naughty Flo keeps telling methat I’ve been missing out on.”
“It might be pretty embarrassing if someone took a photo of us. I’d say you’ve paid your chocolate-cake-kiss debt, so shall we head out before we do something we shouldn’t out here in this parking lot?” Bree asked.
Tess nodded and Bree stepped back. Tess opened the passenger door for her. Once they were both belted in, Tess pulled across the lot and headed back to the highway for the twenty-minute drive to Corazon Cove.
“What do you have planned for the rest of the weekend?” Tess asked.
“Not a whole lot. Hank might come by sometime to help me change out a few light bulbs. He’s got a ladder and I don’t. I don’t know if he’s available tomorrow or not.” Bree leaned back in her seat and relaxed. She set her arm on the console, and Tess took her hand again without shifting her attention from the road.
“It must be nice to have a brother like Hank,” Tess replied. Bree could hear a touch of envy in her voice.
“Family—it’s the main reason I accepted the judicial appointment at the Corazon County Superior Court.”
Tess looked straight ahead as she followed the tunnel of illumination the headlights cast in the dark that surrounded them. An occasional car passed, moving in the opposite direction.
Bree considered how much she wanted to finish the day off in one of their beds, but sleeping with Tess before telling her everything—and she couldn’t do that before she talked to Ned because she’d made a promise—just wasn’t her style. But at this moment she wished that it was.
As they neared the edge of town, Tess cleared her throat before asking, “Do you want me to drop you off at your place or…?” She let the question trail off, and Bree could hear the hope in her voice and knew exactly what theormeant. It engulfed herin regret.
The vulnerability in Tess’s tone, the splendid day they’d just spent together, Bree’s epiphany regarding her desire to pursue a future with Tess—suddenly, her inability to be open with Tess was a weight that was crushing Bree. And with this increasing pressure mounting in her chest and climbing her throat, Bree wished she hadn’t made Ned a promise that she’d tell him before she spoke to Tess.
“Tess, I’d love for you not to drop me off at my place tonight. I want theoras much as I’ve ever wanted anything, but we need to talk.”
As they passed theWelcome to Corazon Covesign, Tess glanced at her with a quick lift of her brows before she refocused on the road and took the turn that led to Bree’s place. She remained silent, but the sad, puzzled look that now pervaded Tess’s features said it all.
“Please, Tess. We need to discuss this reset mode that we’re so bad at achieving. But first, there are things I need to explain, and I can’t do that tonight…nothing bad, just a little complicated. Will you meet me tomorrow? Please. Let me explain.”
They drove in silence until Tess finally spoke, her manner reserved. “Thelma has a late afternoon vet appointment tomorrow for a follow-up to a skin issue she had when I got her. I’m not giving it up—it’s a clinic open on Sundays, and I’ve had the appointment for a month.” After another long pause, she said, “The Steam Stop, tomorrow evening. Seven o’clock. I’ll drive myself—meet you there.” Her voice was a monotone, lacking the energy that had been there just a few minutes ago.
Shit.Bree wanted to say so much more, but with Tess’s withdrawal, she’d probably said enough until she was able to tell Tess everything. With no evidence to support Ned’s assertion that her silence would increase Tess’s safety, screw thecomplaint investigation because it could go on without her.
She’d never expected these feelings for Tess, but even in Tahoe, Bree had realized how good they were together. Her feelings for Tess had only deepened since then. She needed to tell Tess that she was ready to put her history with Cora behind her. She needed to tell Tess that she was convinced that Tess would help her make her new life work. She wanted to see if she and Tess stood a chance at a future.
She knew that she’d hurt Tess. But damn, she didn’t know how to not hurt Tess any farther except to wait until tomorrow night when she could tell Tess everything. And in the meantime, she’d pray that they’d laid enough groundwork to navigate this.
Chapter Twenty-two
Tess had dropped Bree off with a stilted agreement that it had been a good day and they’d meet tomorrow evening. The fact that again tonight, Bree had not wanted to be with her—that was the bottom line she’d focused on, and it had hit her harder than she wanted to admit. She’d driven home in a state of despair. She felt as if she’d scored another rebuff—she knew whatWe need to talkmeant.
She fed Thelma and Louise, then crawled into bed after she showered. The cats weren’t going to let her pull the pillow over her head and close the world out until she’d spent some time paying attention to them. Thelma crawled into her lap and kneaded the blanket until Louise charged across the mattress and landed on top of Thelma. They rumbled with contentment as they took turns stretching out next to Tess and headbutting her hand until she stroked them. Their purring usually comforted Tess, but tonight, even their antics didn’t lift her spirits.
Tess chewed herself out for feeling so let down. It was really more than wanting Bree in her bed tonight, even if that had crossed her mind several times today. She knew that the commitment had only been for sharing this raffle prize day with Bree, but she’d let herself want more than that. Worse, she only had herself to blame. Bree had been clear that a relationship was not on her agenda with all the change in her life.
She’d hear Bree out, but she was upset with herself because she should never have let herself feel this way. She’d spentdecades learning the lessons of protecting herself. Why couldn’t she just ignore that obnoxious hole in her heart instead of setting herself up to make it bigger?
The best sleep Tess had was from five to nine a.m. because before that she hadn’t managed to doze off—and four hours certainly wasn’t enough. She ran on her treadmill but couldn’t convince herself to drag her exhausted derriere on another virtual climb up Kilimanjaro, so she settled for a Welsh coastal path. Then she read the Sunday news and fretted until it was time for Thelma’s vet appointment. Her upcoming meeting with Bree twisted in her gut, leaving her nervous and without an appetite all day.
Tess was back home from the vet by five o’clock and opened a can of chicken noodle soup. She needed to eat something, and she hoped it would settle her stomach. She tried to focus and absorb more details of the court operations budget, but she couldn’t concentrate on the numbers. She was nervous and tired. Not the Sunday state of mind she’d been hoping for after the raffle prize day with Bree the day before. She’d been hoping for something a lot more romantically optimistic.
Finally fed up with the anxiety that had worn on her since her parting from Bree last night, Tess headed out to her car at six thirty p.m. She wore what she’d put on after she’d cleaned up from her treadmill run—jeans, a white T-shirt, and a black blazer. She refused to go out of her way to look good for Bree this evening.
