Page 15 of All I Feel

She nodded. “I… Yes.”

“Did he try to contact you at all since last night?”

Shaking her head, she pulled her hand away, sat back in the booth, and answered, “No.”

I gave her forearm one last squeeze and removed it. “You’re sad about that?”

My tone remained gentle as I asked the question. Even if I could see this guy for the piece of trash he was, there was no doubting that Tessa had gotten in deep with him. It wouldn’t do any good to make her feel worse about it.

Her stare had been focused on her lap, but when shelifted her chin and her gaze met mine, I couldn’t miss the tears that had welled in her eyes. “As angry as I was and still am, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hurt. That I don’t feel such overwhelming sadness about it.”

Before I could respond, our waitress returned. “And here’s your breakfast. I’ve got the egg and cheese on a bagel sandwich.” She set Tessa’s plate in front of her before dropping two in front of me. “And here’s the mushroom omelet with bacon and toast, along with a Belgian waffle.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“Is there anything else I can grab for you?”

I shook my head. “I think we’re good for now.”

She smiled. “Enjoy.”

Once the waitress took off, I focused my attention back on Tessa. She’d gotten a handle on her emotions, and tears were no longer clouding her vision. I jerked my chin toward her plate and said, “Dig in.”

There was a moment of hesitation before she lifted one half of the egg sandwich in her hands and brought it to her beautiful lips. I quickly dropped my gaze to my own plate, realizing it wouldn’t be wise to focus on her mouth like that, especially when I was aware there was something so heavy weighing on her.

For a few minutes, we didn’t speak. The two of us simply sat in comfortable silence, enjoying our breakfast. Though I wanted to talk to her, Tessa needed to eat. And I got the sneaking suspicion that if we got back on the previous topic, she’d be too upset to eat anything.

Surprisingly, it was Tessa who eventually broke the silence. “Do you remember when we used to come here as kids?”

I smiled at her and the hint of light I saw in her eyes. “Ido. Breakfast before snowboarding for hours at Parks Ridge.”

“Those were the days.” She picked up the second half of her sandwich. “Life was so much simpler back then.”

“No work. No responsibilities.”

“No awful men.” I tipped my head to the side and arched a questioning brow. “Present company being one of the few rare exceptions.”

A chuckle escaped. “Appreciated. But I can understand the sentiment. And there’s no question life was all about fun and games when we were younger.”

“I hate that heartache is thrown into the mix now.”

“For what it’s worth, Tessa,” I began as I switched my empty omelet plate with the Belgian waffle one. “This heartbreak you’re going through is completely unnecessary. I’m not saying there’d never be a breakup in your life, but the way this happened is unacceptable.”

She nodded, that sadness returning. “I don’t understand it. I don’t understand how it all went so wrong.”

It seemed we were going to have this discussion now, whether she’d finished her food or not.

“Was there ever any indication before last night that he was being unfaithful?” I asked.

“None.” Her tone was as firm and resolute as that single word. “That’s what makes this so confusing. I mean, I realize I’m a bit inexperienced with long-term, serious relationships, but there was nothing beyond him working late over the last week.”

“You two often spent time together throughout the week?”

She jerked her chin down. “Regularly. Ryan was always so attentive and generous with his time. He made me feelspecial, like our relationship mattered as much to him as it did to me. It’s why I was able to fall for him like I did. He had me convinced that I was all that mattered to him. And then?—”

Tessa froze, her fingers losing the grip on her sandwich. As it fell to the plate, her face twisted in horror. It was as though some awful truth had just slammed into her. “Tessa, honey, what is it?”

Her eyes met mine, the pain in them like nothing I’d ever seen before. “It was all a lie.”