Page 13 of All I Feel

“Anything you need, Tessa. Anything at all.”

When she dropped her hand from around my waist, I released my hold on her. Then we went back inside the saloon to join the festivities. Fortunately, caught up in their own shenanigans, nobody seemed to notice I’d been gone for so long, and I was able to slip back in without anyone questioning me.

And though I’d done what I could to focus on whatever was happening in front of me—conversing with the guys or celebrating Harper with the girls—the truth was that I couldn’t stop myself from consistently glancing in Tessa’s direction to make sure she was okay.

TESSA

While I loved summertime, I hated that it was beyond deceiving first thing in the morning.

Because when my doorbell rang and forced my eyes open, the light filtering into the room indicated it was entirely possible it was approaching lunchtime. But a quick glance at my phone on my nightstand revealed it was just before seven.

Lovely.

Not only did Ryan decide that destroying what we had was worth it, but he also felt that waking me up at the crack of dawn the next day to deal with it was necessary.

I didn’t want to see him. Not now. Maybe not ever, if the way I felt at the moment was any indication.

When the bell rang again, a clear promise that I wasn’t going to get back to sleep, which had already been difficult enough to find last night, I figured it was best to get this over with. Then I could move on and forget any of this had ever happened.

Throwing back the blanket, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, considered pulling on a robe to cover my coral satin nightie trimmed with flamingo colored lace, and ultimately decided against it. Ryan and I were over. Let him see, one last time, what he’d thrown away.

I was surprised by the fury building inside as I made my way to the front door. I’d spent enough time crying last night—both at Lou’s and after Lark had dropped me off at home—and now, it seemed, I was angry.

On my way there, I attempted to come up withsomething to say to him, but I hadn’t quite worked anything out by the time I put my hand on the doorknob. It looked like I was just going to have to wing it.

But even if I had come up with something to say to Ryan, it wouldn’t have mattered. Because I opened the door to find Ace standing on the opposite side.

I blinked in surprise. “Ace?”

His lips parted, his eyes briefly taking in my chest before dipping down toward my legs. “Tessa…”

I stepped back, and the movement forced his eyes back to mine. “What are you doing here?”

“I… I didn’t?—”

“I thought you were Ryan.” I waved him inside and closed the door behind him. “Can you give me a minute to grab a robe?”

“Sure.”

I took off toward my bedroom, snatched up my matching coral satin robe, and cinched it around my waist. My legs were still on display, but it provided more coverage than just the nightie. And since I was too curious about what Ace was doing here, I decided this was going to have to do.

When I returned to the living room, Ace seemed to have snapped out of the fog he’d been in at the front door. “I apologize for just dropping by like this.”

I waved my hand in the air dismissively. “It’s okay. What are you doing here, though?”

“I wanted to check on you.”

Tipping my head to the side, warmth moved through me. “That’s really sweet, Ace. But don’t you think it’s a bit early?”

He nodded. “Yes. But I didn’t want to risk giving that guy the opportunity to get here before I did.”

My brows shot up. “Do you plan to be here when he arrives?”

Ace hesitated. “If you want me to be, I will. But if you want the full truth… I came here because I wanted to check on you and take you out for breakfast.”

“What?”

Shrugging, he explained, “If I’m honest, I don’t thinkyoushould be here when he arrives.”