Page 54 of All I Feel

“Nothing now. We’re good. Thanks.”

Alone with each other once more, Tessa said, “As much as that made me feel, Ace, you’re right. I just got out of a relationship, and my head’s a mess. Maybe, for now, we should just talk about something else.”

Even though there was a hint of disappointment lingering, I smiled at her. Because the bottom line was that she’d admitted she enjoyed our kiss, that she felt the effects of it all over her body. If I did right by her, I could only hope she’d get to a place where she’d allow me the opportunity to give her a kiss that would rock her world completely.

With a renewed sense of hope, I smiled and said, “You’re planning to visit Chloe tomorrow, right?”

Relief swept through her. “I am. I’ve really missed her, but I’ve heard she’s doing so much better now.”

“I still can’t believe it was just a few weeks ago thatwe were in the hospital fearing the worst for her.” Maybe that was a big part of the reason I’d woken up and noticed Tessa the way I hadn’t all these years. One of our dearest friends had nearly died. Being smacked in the face with mortality seemed to have that ability to get me to see what I was missing and wanted in my life.

“Agreed. I can’t wait to see her.”

Tessa and I both took several bites of our food. Everything felt like it always had between us, and for that, I was grateful. But after a while, I had to ask something that was nagging at me.

“Tessa?”

“Yeah?”

“Did Hastings contact you earlier this week?”

She nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Sighing, she confessed, “I didn’t think it was worth mentioning for several reasons. First, it wasn’t as though he showed up anywhere. He just texted me one time and left me a voicemail. I’d originally responded to his text, but once I got his voicemail a couple of hours later, I just blocked his number.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. I don’t want him to continue bothering me. I really do just want to move on. But I don’t want to have to deal with him in my face all the time.”

I smiled. “I’m proud of you for doing that.”

“Thanks.”

“Can you promise me that if he does contact you again somehow, whether in person or over the phone, that you’ll let me know?”

She had her sandwich halfway to her mouth when she stopped, lowered it, and said, “I promise.”

“Good. Now, tell me about your morning. Did you have a bridezilla to contend with?”

Laughter spilled out of her. “No. Thank goodness. But there was a situation with a sister-in-law. It didn’t have anything to do with me, but I got to witness the drama.”

Tessa went on to tell me about her morning and the wedding day drama for her client. As she spoke, it became clear we were back on track and things were normal between us again.

If this was all it would ever be, I’d find a way to accept it.

But I would’ve been lying if I said that hearing her talk didn’t have me thinking about how badly I wanted a lifetime of listening to her voice. In the morning. Throughout the day. And in bed every night.

FIFTEEN

TESSA

“You looklike you’re doing so much better.”

“Yeah, I know you just shared that there’s been some struggle for you lately, but it’s such a relief to see you like this.”

After our whole group of friends arrived at Chloe’s parents’ place, we’d taken time to eat together while Chloe and Hawk had filled us in on how her recovery had been going. But once she’d shared, and everyone had gotten something to eat, Hawk seemed to sense Chloe wanted time alone with her girls. So, he and the guys took off toward the kitchen to congregate there while the women stayed in the family room.