27. Adam

That night, I parked in the out-of-view spot behind Tessa’s house and lightly knocked on her kitchen door.

Seconds later, she opened the door, and my lips curled into a smile. Her hair was up in a messy ponytail, and she wore one of my sweatshirts. It shouldn’t matter, but I loved it when she wore something of mine.

“Hey,” she whispered, opening the door a little wider.

I slipped inside, and she closed the door quietly behind us before catching my hand in hers. We tiptoed into her bedroom. As soon as the door clicked shut, I caged her between my arms and kissed her.

She tasted a little sweet and smelled like sugar. When I lifted my head, I felt breathless at the rush of emotion.

“How was your day?” I managed to ask.

She smiled. “Good. They’re switching me to the earlier weather report, which will be great so I don’t have to juggle finding babysitters.”

“Nice. I know that’ll work better for you and Eric.” I stepped back, reaching around her to make sure the door was locked.

We’d been lucky so far. Not once had Eric walked in on us, but we were both sensitive to that possibility.

I toed my shoes off by the door and caught her hand in mine. I took a few steps back before I sat on the foot of her bed. She stood between my knees. “Can I say something?”

Her eyes held mine as she nodded. “Of course. What is it?”

I actually felt a little nervous, but I knew my brothers were right. Either Tessa and I treaded water and stayed in limbo with our relationship or I tried something else. I would hand her my heart and see what we could do together.

I held her hands in mine and looked up in her eyes. “I love you, Tessa. And I’ll wait for you. I’ll wait until you’re ready. I want you to know that I’m here, and I’m ready whenever you are. I am not saying this to rush you. I just want you to know how I feel.”

She blinked, and a tear rolled down her cheek. I lifted my thumb, swiping it away. “What is it?”

“I love you too. But…” She let out a shuddery breath.

“I know you’re worried about Rich, and I completely understand. I’m here, and we’ll deal with it together. I know you don’t want money, but I have plenty of it. When it comes to lawyers, that’s kind of handy,” I pointed out.

Tessa’s lips twisted to the side. “I know.” She paused for a few beats before asking, “What do you want?”

“You. Us. Every day. I want you not to be afraid. What do you want?”

“All of that.” She paused again, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “Since Rich started seeing someone else, it’s been better.”

“Maybe we stop sneaking around and see how it goes. Let me at least get you an alarm system. Then you don’t have to be worried about him showing up here.”

Tessa never spoke of it, but I knew she worried about it. Whenever I left her house, she would peer out the windows and check on things. Witnessing her anxiety created a literal ache in my heart.

She held my gaze for a few beats before she nodded. “Okay, let’s do it.”

“Do what? I really didn’t tell you this to pressure you. I just wanted you to know how I felt. I thought maybe if I didn’t tell you, we might end up in limbo forever.”

She stepped a little closer, her palm landing on my cheek as her thumb traced along my cheekbone. “I love you, Adam. I don’t want to be in limbo either. The only way through this is through it. Let me have you over for dinner with Eric soon. I know you know him, but that’ll give me time to tell him that I’m seeing someone and you can come over. And it’ll be like a regular thing.”

“How do you want to handle it with Rich?”

“I’ll ask Colin what I should do. If you want to come with me when I meet with Colin, that’s fine with me. Deal?”

“Deal.” My heart drummed hard and fast in my chest. I leaned forward, dropping a kiss in the sweet divot at the base of her throat.