Page 4 of Claiming Tessa

T essa opened her eyes , sat up, and stared out the window. She could tell by the slant of light that the sun had not been up for a long time. A groan tore out of her mouth when she stretched and felt her tight muscles pull and her joints pop.

It felt like she’d aged a decade since she left Egypt. Instead of feeling young and twenty-seven, she felt sore, tired, and dull-witted.

She knew a shower would help some, but moving around would also. She’d have to keep from sleeping during the day so she could sleep that night.

She sat up on the side of the bed and noticed the guys had brought in her duffle and backpack, so she had a change of clothes. Most of her things needed to be laundered, but she’d deal with that later.

After her shower, she dressed in faded jeans and a t-shirt. She brushed her hair out until it lay in a soft curtain down her back.

She made the bed and cleaned the bathroom before pulling on her socks and tennis shoes. She snatched up her backpack and duffle before heading out.

“Good morning.”

She’d been looking down at her phone, checking messages, and hadn’t realized she stopped in front of the kitchen where the men sat.

Her head jerked up. “Hi. Good morning.”

Diego stood up and grabbed a coffee cup. “Would you like some coffee?”

“You mean, do I want the juice of life?” She chuckled. “Absolutely.”

Both men laughed.

“Come and sit down and eat,” Gavin said, and pulled out a chair.

“I-I don’t want to be a bother. You guys have done so much for me, and I can’t thank you enough. But there is a lot I need to get done today.”

Diego lifted the bag from her hands, grabbed her backpack, and put it on top before nudging her to the table.

She stared at the plate of food they set in front of her. She hadn’t realized she was hungry until that moment.

“You guys didn’t have to do this,” she said, trying to keep her emotions concealed.

Diego placed a cup of coffee down in front of her. “We knew you hadn’t eaten for a while.”

“This is a lot of food.”

“Don’t worry,” Gavin said and grinned. “It won’t go to waste.”

“Thank you. It looks delicious.”

“Baby, it’s just French toast and bacon.”

She looked at Gavin. “I’ve been out of the country. I haven’t seen this type of food in years.”

Gavin sat down next to her. “What were you traveling so long for?”

“I had just graduated from college in the States and then took a year overseas. After that, I had no plans, so I decided to travel. I helped out at the colleges over in England, Scotland, and Australia. About a year ago, a friend got a grant to work on this excavation site in Egypt and asked me to help.” She took a few bites and washed it down with coffee.

“The grant ran out a few weeks ago, so I came home. I could have worked at some of the colleges, but I missed the States, and I was sick of living out of a suitcase.”

Both men studied her, and it made her conscious of eating in front of them. She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “What?”

Diego sat back in his chair. “Why did you leave in the first place?”

She sighed. “My dad died when I was thirteen. He and I were extremely close. My mom isn’t a nice person, so he and I stuck together. After he was gone, she treated me badly.” God, that was an understatement. “I decided to work hard and graduate early so I could go off to college and away from her.”

Tessa pushed the plate away from her. “I went to Penn State and one in England and got my doctorate in psychology, and a master’s in archeology.”

“Wow,” Gavin said, impressed.

She shrugged. “I didn’t have anything else to do, so I studied.”

“Do you plan on doing any more traveling to archeology digs?”

“No. I’m done with traveling. I want to put down roots somewhere.”

“Are you thinking in this area?” Diego asked.

“I’d like to be close to Jared. I probably will never see him, but he’s the only family I have left.”

“Why would you say that?”

“He’s everything my mother wanted in a child, so the two of them were pretty close before I left. I’m not sure my mom didn’t poison him against me.”

Gavin set a hand on her arm. “I can guarantee he isn’t against you. We talked to him last night. He was glad you got home but then pissed at his mother when we told them about your reception.”

“He’s coming here in a bit to see you,” Diego added.

Her eyes widened at Diego. She didn’t know if she was ready to see him. “I think I need to go.” God, why did the thought of never seeing these two make her stomach ache and tears sting the back of her eyes?

“No,” Diego said. “You’re going to stay here.”

“I can’t do that to you.”

Diego cupped her cheek, startling her. She had very little human contact for a long time, and she was the type of person who craved it. Besides two short relationships, she’d had no human affection except for handshakes in years.

At the site in Egypt, the crew consisted of seven people.

She and another woman, and then five men.

One had been obnoxious, so she stayed away from him, but the others were there to do a job, and that’s all they did.

If they talked, it was about the dig. Nothing personal was ever shared.

It had been weird and interesting to watch.

“We know you don’t know us, but we’d like to know if you feel anything at all for us?”

It felt like her heart wanted to beat out of her chest. “I ... I find you both attractive, but I must admit, I’m unsure how I’d fare in a relationship. It’s been a while, and I couldn’t choose one of you over the other.”

Gavin grinned. “That’s good because you’d get us both.”

“Are you talking about a menage relationship?”

Diego nodded. “Yes.”

“Hmm.” Tessa nodded. “I’ve actually studied those. They are actually more common than people think, especially in Europe, and have happened for centuries.”

Diego laughed. “There are several in this town alone.”

“With two men and one woman?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“I’d like to study the dynamic.”

“How about we get to know each other?” Diego said.

“You stay here, and if it doesn’t work out, we’ll find you a place to live.

This way, you can take your time looking for a job, if that’s what you want to do.

We own a construction company and do very well, so you’ll never have to worry about money. ”

“I couldn’t just sit home every day...”

The men nodded.

“There’s a lot I should tell you.”

“We’ve got time.”

A knock at the door made her jump.

“That’s probably your brother,” Gavin said and squeezed her shoulder as he walked by her.

Diego held onto her hand, which started to shake. “Baby, you don’t have to worry. He talked about you all the time.”

She nodded and exhaled before standing and facing her brother. “Hi.”

Jared scanned her, as if trying to take in the changes that time had wrought. Since her second year in college in the States, she hadn’t seen him when he’d stopped because she never came home. There was no point. The meeting had been awkward and painful.

“Hi, Honey. You look really good.”

She snorted. She had on old clothes and no makeup.

“No, I’m serious,” Jared insisted. “I’ve thought about you a lot over the years. I could never get your phone number from the university, and when I went there to find you again, you’d gone to Europe.”

Tessa gnawed her lip. “Yes.”

“You were trying to get as far away from the family as you could?” he guessed.

She heard his rough tone and was surprised.

“At the time, I didn’t think I had any. Mother told me to leave and never come back, so I did.

I never knew you tried to find me. We ran into each other in Pennsylvania, and it didn’t go well, remember?

” She sighed and ran a hand through her hair awkwardly.

“Why do you want to see me now? Did you have business you needed to talk about?”

Jared sighed. “No, it was about being your brother and finding out after I got home from college what had been happening. It bothers me that you didn’t tell me when I came home to visit when you were younger. You just stayed in your room.”

“Because she always said you were her child, and I was an accident.”

Jared glared at her. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

She was shocked at his anger. “No. It was bad before Dad died, but after it became hellish.”

Jared sighed. “God, I wish I had known.”

She shrugged. “You wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it.”

“You wanna bet? There’s so much we have to talk about.”

“Can it wait?”

Jared sighed and nodded. “Can I have a hug, though?”

Damn, she felt the tears fill her eyes, and she hated showing so much emotion. She walked into his arms when he opened them and waited for her.

She closed her eyes and soaked up the feeling of family. She’d gone so long without it and never thought she’d have it, so the hug was even more special to her.