Page 29 of Homebody (The Long Road Home #21)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

“ N o. You cannot run out of here after being evasive all morning.” Ruby stood in the doorway of the salon, blocking Tessa’s exit on the one day she really had to get out of work on time.

“What do you mean? I’ve been busy. You’ve been busy. I’m not being evasive,” Tessa denied.

Okay, maybe she had skimmed over really answering how things were going with Dean when Ruby had asked.

But what was she supposed to say? That they’d spent hours last night in her bed together.

That her first-floor neighbor had given her the side-eye this morning when they ran into each other on the sidewalk because, as she’d feared, they’d gotten too loud.

That she was sore in unmentionable places because she hadn’t had sex in so long that Dean’s enthusiastic lovemaking had been a real work-out.

Nope. She wasn’t going to share any of that with her boss. Even if Ruby was a large part of the reason she’d been with Dean to begin with.

Ruby shook her head. “You have a hickey.”

Tessa’s eyes flew wide. She covered her throat with her hand as she remembered Dean’s mouth on her neck.

“No, I don’t,” she denied.

Ruby laughed. “Okay, Liar-Liar-Pants-On-Fire. Have it your way. But I’m glad things are going well.”

Cheeks hot and no doubt bright red, Tessa admitted, “They are.”

“Good. I’ll text Susan and Red.”

The burning in her cheeks increased. She opened her mouth to protest but knew it would do no good, so she said, “May I go now?”

“Yes. See you tomorrow. And say hi to Dean for me.” Ruby smirked.

Ignoring it all, Tessa skirted around Ruby and pushed open the door.

Compared to this, her afternoon job would be a pleasure.

There was no way Liam was going to interrogate her about Dean.

They had more important things to do than chat about her love life.

But she did stop by her apartment quick to cover her hickey before heading to the lab.

Thank goodness Ruby and Red had left make-up at her place. She located some cover-up and powder and managed to disguise the bruise enough that Liam wouldn’t notice.

While she was there she should grab her notebook and a pen too. Wherever she’d left it last night before Dean had interrupted her work in the most wonderful way. She had no regrets about that, but she did have to find it now.

Finally, she located the notebook, pen stuck in the page where she’d left it, under her new old sofa. She smiled. She loved the stupid old thing, so ugly it was cute, mostly because it was from him. The most thoughtful gift ever from the most amazing guy.

Still grinning like a fool over her hand-me-down sofa, she was about to open the door to head for the lab when there was a knock.

Dean maybe? Crap. It would be very hard to leave and go to work if he was here tempting her. Of course, having to choose between her dream job and her dream man was a good problem to have.

Pulling the door open she came face-to-face with a giant arrangement of flowers in a cobalt blue glass vase. So big and so beautiful it was gasp-worthy. Roses, hydrangeas and sunflowers mixed with some other flowers and foliage she couldn’t name but loved all the same.

The delivery lady peeked around the bouquet. “Tessa Hawthorne?”

“Yes.” Grinning like a fool, she took the arrangement, thanked the woman and turned back inside to put the flowers on her new old coffee table that Dean had delivered with the sofa.

She had no doubt the flowers too were from Dean but still, she was over the moon to find the little white envelope stuck amid the blooms. Tearing into it, she read the note inside.

See you tonight?

D

It was only a few simple words but she loved every one of them.

Reaching for the phone in her pocket she typed in a text.

Yes! Tonight! Thank you for the flowers.

Then she added a second one.

And for the vase. I didn’t have one.

Dean hearted the first message and replied to the second.

Dean

I had a feeling you might not

Even texting Dean was enough to have her grinning like a fool, her heart pounding and her hands trembling as she held the phone. She’d happily do this all day—lay on the sofa texting Dean and waiting for his reply.

For a split second she considered that, then reality edged into her fantasy.

The lab. What time was it? She looked at the time on her cell. She was already late. She had to go! She shoved the cell in her pocket, took one last look at the gorgeous flowers and ran out the door.

She saved time by grabbing her bike rather than walking and arrived at the lab only about ten minutes past the time she’d promised him she’d be there.

Liam had given her the code to the door so she keyed it in and rushed inside to find him standing there blocking the way, arms crossed, stare leveled on her.

Uh oh.

Breathless, she said, “I’m so sorry I’m late. I had to stop home.”

She held up the notebook as proof of why she’d gone home first. Leaving out the part about having to cover her hickey and gush over her flowers as she hoped she hadn’t pissed off her new boss on her first real day on the job.

“You’re not late. I told you that you can set your own hours. That’s not the problem.”

“Um, okay. Thanks. So, is there a problem?” she asked, trying to figure out the reason for this odd stand-off if it wasn’t her tardiness.

“I need you to explain to me why Dean Sinclair believes you’re some flighty commitment-phobe who’s never completed a thing in her life.”

Her eyes widened as things began to make sense. “Oh. That.”

“Oh, that?” He let out a short laugh. “And what exactly does that mean?”

She lifted one shoulder figuring a lie had gotten her into this, another lie would have to get her out of it. “Guys like girls who aren’t too serious. Or smart.”

“So you’re honestly telling me that you’re hiding from him who you really are and all that you’ve already accomplished because guys don’t like smart women?”

“Yup. That’s it exactly.” She nodded. “So, what are we working on today?”

Her lame attempt at changing the subject didn’t work as Liam continued to stare at her, unmoving.

Finally, he shook his head. “I don’t buy it. I have your CV. I’ve seen your academic credentials. There is no way a person as brilliant as you’ve proven yourself to be is playing dumb to get a man.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m playing dumb, per se. I’m just not delving too deeply into specifics with Dean. You know. Just keeping it casual.” She shrugged.

Liam shook his head one more time. “Try again. And before you pile on one more lie let me remind you the research we do here is not only enormously important, but highly confidential. I have to be able to trust who I work with. I would like to believe I can trust you. That you’re an honest person.

Right now, that’s seriously in question.

Oh, and before you answer I need to tell you I will find out if you’re lying. ”

She was going to lose this job.

No. She could not throw away her dream job all because of her deal with Susan Sinclair.

The fear of that was stronger than her loyalty to Dean’s mother. She felt bad about that but this was her life they were talking about. Her career. Her future.

“Dean’s mother paid me to pretend to be a bad girl to keep Dean away from his ex-girlfriend Juniper while he’s home on leave.” Her heart pounding hard, the truth came out in a breathless rush of words.

Liam’s eyes flew wide as his mouth opened but no words came out.

Tessa took that as an opportunity to plead her case.

“I’m so sorry. Please don’t fire me. I really am an honest person.

I like never lie usually, I swear. But I needed the money to make rent and I didn’t think anyone would get hurt by it.

In fact I never thought it would work because I mean look at me compared to Juniper.

She’s like a girl from an eighties hair-band video and I’m…

me. But then we started to hang out together and I started to really like Dean, like a lot, and now it’s a big mess and I can’t tell him this all began with a lie but it doesn’t matter anyway because he’s leaving and I’ll probably never hear from him again.

” She stopped to take a breath and dared to look at Liam.

She found him smiling. The expression threw her enough she didn’t know what to say. So she just stood there and waited for him to reveal her fate.

“You like Dean?” Liam asked.

She felt her cheeks warm again. “Yes.”

Liam tipped his head. “Good. Now, come on. We’ve got work to do. I got a fresh brain delivered this morning.”

“That’s it? I’m not fired?” she asked, rushing to follow him as he turned toward the back of the lab where she knew there was a fridge that was horrifyingly filled with brains.

“You’re not fired,” he said over his shoulder as he strode ahead of her.

“Um, are you going to tell Dean about what I told you?” she asked when Liam stopped in front of the appliance that contained a disturbing number of human brains.

He turned to look at her. “No. But you are.” One dark brow rose in challenge as he stared at her and waited.

The words or else had been left unspoken but she heard what Liam was really saying.

Confess it all to Dean. If she didn’t, her new boss might not be so understanding.

Liam could dismiss her at any time for any reason, and not coming clean to Dean after he’d told her to might be a good enough reason.

Well, crud.

Being involved in this research could be the most important thing she’d ever do in her life. She couldn’t risk it.

She swallowed hard and said, “Okay.”

Like it or not, she was going to have to be honest with Dean. And possibly destroy the man’s relationship with his mother.

Susan, Red and Ruby were all going to be so mad at her. Dean would probably hate her for lying. It would all be over between them then, right as it had just begun.

But it—whatever this thing was between them—was ending soon anyway with Dean leaving in just a couple of days. They’d never talked about what would happen after, not that they’d done much talking at all last night.

And her boss hadn’t specified when she had to tell Dean. So why couldn’t she wait? Enjoy the remaining time they had together before they said goodbye.

In fact, maybe this was one of those things that would be better delivered after they separated. Perhaps in a nice handwritten letter he’d receive after he was back on base and had already gotten on with his normal life.

Yeah. That sounded like the perfect plan. Something she’d implement later. Much later.

Right now Liam was coming toward her with a brain in his hands, and that was pretty much all she could think about. That and not vomiting.