Page 187 of Tessa and Nash

But it’s too late. I can’t take it back.

“You’re saying,” Mayor Caldwell begins slowly, “that this engagement was fabricated. Which is why the Long and McCoys cannot agree on the land for the proposed ranch.”

I can feel my heart hammering in my chest as the mayor’s words echo in the room. She’s right. That’s exactly what I’ve said. And it feels like the floor is dropping out from under me. I didn’t think this through. I didn’t think any of it through. But it doesn’t matter now, does it? This is my mess to own. And I can feel the weight of every single person in this room waiting for me to fall apart.

And maybe I deserve to.

“Yes.”

“And Miss Long was involved in this deception.”

Tessa’s head snaps toward the council, her expression tightening as every eye in the room shifts toward her.

“She didn’t plan it,” I say quickly. “I did.”

Anger ripples through the crowd.

A man near the back laughs harshly. “So the whole thing was a stunt?”

“Typical McCoy move.”

“Or typical Long move,” someone mutters.

The words bounce around the chamber as sparks hitting dry brush.

I look at Tessa again, and it’s like a punch to the gut.

She’s gone pale. Her face is hollow, the color draining from her like she’s fading.

And her eyes…

It’s not just anger anymore.

It’s betrayal.

The same look I’ve seen in the mirror a thousand times, when I realize I’ve screwed up beyond repair. I’ve hurt her. And I’m so damn angry that I didn’t think this through. I didn’t think about how it would feel for her to have the whole town turning on her, thinking she’s in on it.

She deserves better than this.

But it’s too late. It’s already done.

And I don’t know if I can do anything to make it right.

“I thought I could control the situation,” I say, forcing the ashy-tasting words out. “Turns out I was wrong.”

Mayor Caldwell presses her fingertips against her temples, as though she’s trying to keep the room from spinning apart.

“Well,” she says finally, lifting her head, “that certainly explains a great deal.”

The murmur in the chamber swells again.

She raises the gavel.

Bang.

“Order. Everyone, sit down.”

The authority in her voice cuts through the noise just enough that people start lowering themselves back into their chairs, though the whispering continues as wind through dry grass.