Page 128 of Rum & Coke

“That was amazing!” Paul boomed from behind Tessa.

I didn’t pay him any mind as I grabbed Tessa’s hand and pulled her to me, bringing her against my body in a hug. “Are you okay?”

She nodded against my chest. “Better than okay.”

Paul closed the door behind him. “Joss said to stay here until she comes.”

Tessa and I broke apart. She moved to Colton, who was sitting in the center of the bed with his iPad. “Hey, Slugger. Did you have fun with Vinny?”

While Tessa made sure Colton was fine, I turned to Paul. “How were you even involved today? You’re FBI now?”

“No.” He shook his head. “Plan was for me to get Colton, remember?”

“But you got Tessa,” I countered. “That was part of the mission?”

“Not originally, but since you took care of Colton, Joss figured it would be better if Tessa went with someone she knew.”

“Makes sense.”

“I wish I could get out of this dress,” Tessa muttered as she walked toward the closet near the bathroom. She opened the door. “Yes! They have a robe. I’m going to slip into that, okay?”

I grinned. “Need help?”

“Actually, I do.” She winked.

I didn’t hesitate to follow her into the bathroom. Once the door was closed, I pulled her into my arms and pressed my lips to hers. I’d gone too many days without her. There was a lot of catching up to do.

When we’d first met, I’d felt as though she was looking into my soul. Maybe it was because I was looking into the eyes of the woman who I’d fall in love with. “I really missed you, more than you can imagine. I was going crazy.”

“I’ve missed you so much. You have no idea,” she replied.

“We can talk about all that later. Let’s get you out of this dress.”

“Please.” She turned around, and I unzipped it. She started to step out of the poofy thing.

“I never thought I’d be taking you out of a wedding dress you were going to marry another guy in.”

“I was never going to marry him.”

“I’m glad it all worked out.”

“Me too. Since that night, I kept trying to figure out how to leave.”

“I kept trying to figure out how to get you back.”

“I’m sorry.” She sighed and hung her head.

I spun her to face me and lifted her chin with my finger. “It’s not your fault.”

“It is.”

“How?” I furrowed my brows.

“Because I went to check out his bathroom to compare it to Mark’s and …” She paused and looked off to the side. “It was stupid, a silly idea that made my life a nightmare. I walked in on him killing a guy.”

“You saw him kill a guy?” I asked, my eyes wide.

She nodded.