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See, I can lighten up on the caveman shit. Unless, of course, there’s a real threat. Never mind that “unless”; this is Tessa we’re talking about, and there’s always someone trying to keep her from me.
The back door screeches open, and my mum’s voice calls our names through the house just as I reach the halfway point of the staircase. I groan, and Tessa wiggles, begging me to put her down. I do as she wants, only because I’ve missed her all day and my mum will be extra obnoxious if I show Tessa too much affection in front of her and the neighbor.
“We’re coming!” Tessa responds when I put her back on her feet.
“Actually, we aren’t.” I kiss the corner of her mouth, and she smiles.
“You aren’t.” She waggles her new eyebrows, and I smack her ass as she rushes down the stairs.
Most of the weight on my chest has been lifted. I behaved like a fucking idiot last night for no reason. My mum wouldn’t have purposely taken Tessa around Natalie; why was I so worried?
“What do you two want to do for dinner? I was thinking we could go to Zara, the four of us.” My mum turns to her soon-to-be husband as soon as we enter the living room. Tessa nods even though she has no idea what Zara is.
“I hate Zara. It’s too crowded, and Tessa isn’t going to like anything there,” I grumble. Tessa would eat anything to keep the peace, but I know she wouldn’t want to eat liver or pureed lamb for the first time in a situation where she’d feel obligated to smile and pretend that it’s the best thing she’s ever eaten.
“Blues Kitchen, then?” Mike suggests. Honestly, I don’t want to go any fucking where.
“Too loud.” I rest my elbows on the counter and pick at the edges where the Formica is chipping.
“Well, you decide and let us know,” my mum says in exasperation. I know she’s growing impatient with me, but I’m here, aren’t I?
Glancing at the clock, I nod. It’s only five; we won’t need to leave for another hour. “I’m going upstairs,” I tell them.
“We need to leave in ten minutes—you know how parking is around here,” my mum says.
Great. I hurry out of the living room. I hear Tessa following behind me.
“Hey.” She grabs the sleeve of my shirt as I reach the hallway.
I turn to face her.
“What?” I ask, trying to keep my tone as soft as possible despite my irritation.
“What’s going on with you? If something’s bothering you, just tell me and we can fix it,” she offers with a nervous smile.
“How was your lunch today?” She hasn’t brought it up, but I can’t help but ask.
She catches on. “Oh . . .” Her eyes look down to the floor, and I press my thumb under her chin to make her look at me. “It was nice.”
“What did you talk about?” I ask her. It obviously wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but I can tell she’s hesitant to discuss it.
“I met her . . . Natalie. I met her.”
My blood runs cold. I slightly bend my knees to get a better look at her face. “And?”
“She’s lovely,” Tessa says. I wait for her to frown or for her eyes to give away her anger, but nothing comes.
“She’s ‘lovely’?” I repeat, completely and utterly confused by her response.
“Yes, she was so sweet . . . and very pregnant.” Tessa smiles.
“And Susan?” I hesitantly ask.
“Susan was very fun and nice as well.”
But . . . but Susan hated me for what I did to her niece. “It was okay, then?”
“Yes, Hardin. My day was fine. I missed you, but my day was fine.” She reaches her hand out to grab my shirt and bring me closer to her. She looks so fucking beautiful in the dim lighting of the hallway. “Everything is fine, don’t worry,” she declares.
My head rests on top of hers, and she wraps her arms tightly around my waist.
She’s comforting me? Tessa is comforting me, assuring me that everything will be okay, after coming face-to-face with the girl that I nearly destroyed. She says it will be okay . . . Will it?
“It never is, though,” I whisper, almost hoping she won’t hear the words. If she did hear them, she chooses not to respond.
“I don’t want to go to dinner with them,” I admit, breaking the silence between us. I really just want to take Tessa upstairs and lose myself in her, forget all the shit that’s been torturing my mind all day, push all the ghosts and memories away and focus on her. I want hers to be the only damn voice in my head, and burying myself in her right now will ensure that it is.
“We have to—it’s your mother’s wedding weekend. We don’t have to stay long.” She stretches to kiss the top of my cheek, then her lips travel down to my jaw.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” I mutter sarcastically.
“Come on.” Tessa leads me back into the living room, her hand in mine, but the moment we join my mum and Mike, I drop her hand.
I sigh. “Well, let’s go eat.”
DINNER IS JUST AS TEDIOUS as I expected. My mum is keeping Tessa busy, chatting her ear off about weddings and the small guest list. She fills her in in on the family members that will be there, which isn’t much from my mum’s side; only one distant cousin will be attending since both of my mum’s parents are dead and have been for years. Mike is quiet during the meal, like me, but he doesn’t appear to be as bored as I am. He’s watching my mum with an expression that makes me want to smack him in his head. It’s sickening but somehow comforting. It’s obvious that he loves her, so I guess he’s not so bad.