Page 202 of Tessa and Nash

I hesitate before deciding that holding anything back at this point would be pointless.

“I fell in love with you,” I say.

Her breath catches. She looks at me like she doesn’t know what to do with that.

“And when you ran,” I continue, forcing the words out before hesitation can interfere, “I assumed that meant you didn’t feel the same way. Tessa, I told the truth at the council meeting because I didn’t want you stuck pretending anymore. You deserve better than being tied to my stupid plan.”

She looks down at the porch floor.

I think I’ve made everything worse again.

Then she laughs.

The sound carries a note of disbelief. “You thought I ran because I didn’t care about you?”

“That seemed like the obvious conclusion.”

“I ran,” she says slowly, “because you told me you loved me after you had been drinking in what was supposed to be a ‘no feelings’ arrangement.”

“That’s a slight exaggeration.”

“Is it?”

“Maybe a medium exaggeration.”

She shakes her head, though the tension in her shoulders has softened. “You are an impossible man.”

“Probably.”

“And extremely frustrating.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

She studies my face for a long moment. “You really did that for me,” she says quietly. “The council meeting.”

“Yes.”

“You blew up your own project.”

“It was already exploding.”

“You let the entire town believe you manipulated the engagement.”

“That part was technically true.”

“And you thought I didn’t care about you.”

I shrug. “You ran.”

“You don’t get to rewrite that like it didn’t matter. It mattered. That’s why I ran.” She exhales slowly, like she’s trying to steady something inside herself. “I’m still angry with you. That was still a stupid, impulsive move on your behalf.”

“I know.”

“You idiot,” she murmurs.

“Probably.”

She steps closer.