Page 116 of All I Feel

I didn’t want to bring it up, but I had no choice. “Based on the things he said, I don’t think he regrets it. Even if he’s in the ICU now.”

Tessa bit her lip and eyed me with uncertainty.

“What is it?” I asked.

“He said a lot of stuff while you were there,” she noted. “I hope you know that just because I wanted to comfort him in that moment that I don’t have any romantic feelings for him, Ace. He was a part of my life, and a big part of the reason it didn’t work out is because he screwed up. I would’ve been happy never speaking to him again, but that didn’t mean I wanted him to get shot. I swear, you have my whole heart, and I hope you don’t ever question how much I love you.”

My own body began to let go of the lingering tension. To have that confirmation from her meant the world to me. “I love you, too,” I murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Can I ask you one question?”

“Sure.”

“Why did you say that a big part of the reason things didn’t work out between you and Hastings is because he screwed up? That sounds like you think there’s another reason.”

Her features warmed as she reached up to brush her favorite lock of my hair back from my brow. “If he hadn’t cheated on me, I don’t think it would’ve worked out for uslong term. Something else would’ve pulled us apart, because we just weren’t meant to be together.”

“But you thought that at one point,” I noted.

Tessa nodded. “I made a mistake. But what I know with certainty now is that Ryan and I didn’t work out because I was meant to be with you all along.”

Closing my eyes, I dropped my head forward and pressed it against hers. “You have no idea what it means to me to hear you say that.”

We stayed like that for a long time, her hand in my hair, my arms holding her close.

“Are we okay, Ace?” she eventually asked.

Pulling back, I looked her in the eyes and said, “You’re here with me, Princess. There’s no way I could be anything other than okay. What about you? Do you think we’re okay?”

The corners of her mouth tipped up in a small smile. “We’re here, and we’re alive, so yeah, I think so.”

I kissed the tip of her nose. “Are you tired?”

“Exhausted.”

“Alright. How about you let me make you some food? Then we’ll go to bed.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she argued.

I arched a brow. “I ruined breakfast this morning. This is the least I can do.”

Tessa took one look at my face, realized she wasn’t going to get her way, and acquiesced. “Okay. You can make food.”

“How about a kiss first?”

That earned me a full-blown grin before I got a kiss. Then, I made some food for us, feeling far better than I had all day.

TESSA - ONE WEEK LATER

“He makes you happy, right?”

I offered a small smile and nodded. “Yes, he does.”

“Then I wish you nothing but the best, Tessa.”

Reaching for Ryan’s hand as he laid in the hospital bed, I said a silent prayer of thanks. He’d made improvements every day over the last week and had finally been moved out of the ICU.

Ace had been keeping tabs on his status and shared the updates with me as he got them. Much to my surprise, when we woke this morning, he asked if I wanted to take a trip to the hospital to visit Ryan. Deep down, I think he knew I needed closure and to thank the man who’d risked his life for me.

So, we came after work today.