28. Tessa

Rosie grinned over at me. “Things are looking good.”

Fiona caught my eyes from where she sat beside Rosie and subtly arched a brow with a small smile teasing her lips.

“What do you mean?” I hedged.

Quinn snorted beside me. “You and Adam. I actually saw you together in public, and damn if you don’t both look happy.”

Haven was smiling as well, and I glanced around at my friends. “You think he’s happy?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh my God. Are you serious?” Rosie rolled her eyes. “Adam is downright giddy when he’s with you.”

I couldn’t help my smile. I almost giggled. I was feeling downright giddy. Shockingly, Rich was minding his own business. Ever since he’d started dating, he finally seemed content to leave me in peace. Oh, I still had my moments when I woke during the night and fretted that I should probably warn his girlfriend. I didn’t know how to go about doing that. I was just so relieved that he wasn’t bothering me anymore. The nights he was scheduled to have Eric for visits were truncated to just dinner. He didn’t even want to bother with more. Although part of me was sad that’s how little he cared, the relief was far more powerful.

Little sprouts of hope were growing in the barren, burned patches of my heart. Whenever worries started getting noisy in my thoughts, I swatted them away. I desperately wanted it to be okay finally.

“Does Rich know you and Adam are seeing each other?” Haven asked.

“I think so. Obviously, I won’t have a conversation with Rich about it. But this town is small. I don’t see how he couldn’t have heard. No matter what, at some point something had to give. I can’t hide from Rich forever.”

“Definitely not,” Rosie said firmly. “I still think you’re not telling us the whole story of how bad it was with him, and I totally understand. You don’t have to tell us. You deserve to be treated well, and I’m really happy for you.”

Quinn curled an arm around my shoulders, giving me a side hug. “Adam is a good guy.”

Whenever I thought about Adam, the word that came to mind was safe. I felt safe. Beyond that there was the combustive force of our chemistry and the intimacy that was stitching us tighter and tighter together. But those only existed within the sense of safety I felt with him.

McKenna came walking in at that moment. We were having our casual get-together at Quinn’s house tonight. “I’m late!” she announced as she shrugged out of her jacket and kicked off her boots by the door. She lifted three pizza boxes aloft. “I come bearing food.”

“That makes up for everything,” Haven teased as she reached for the plates in the middle of the table and began passing them around.

After we started eating, McKenna asked, “What did I miss?”

“We’re all ecstatic that Tessa and Adam aren’t hiding anymore,” Fiona offered between bites of pizza.

“Let’s toast to that.” McKenna held up her glass of water, and we clicked our glasses together. Her eyes were warm as she smiled over at me a moment later. “That man is so into you. And I have to say I thought Adam was the least likely to fall.”

“Really?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“He’s so serious. He was busy taking care of all of us when we were growing up, the classic middle brother. But then, when I think about it, it makes sense. He has a good heart. I think you two are good for each other.”

Conversation moved along, and later that night, when Adam came over, I thought about McKenna’s observation. I hoped we were good together. I just hoped somehow it would all hold.

“Hey, sweetheart.” Adam’s voice beside my ear sent a hot shiver through me.

He brushed a kiss on the side of my neck just below my ear, and goose bumps prickled over the surface of my skin.

“Hey.” I felt the tug of my smile. The sense of joy rising inside was fizzy and bubbly, like champagne. That was my reaction to Adam all the time these days.

He reached for my hand, his grip warm as his fingers laced within mine. “Ready?” he asked.

“Always.”

We fell into step beside each other. I was slowly getting used to doing things with Adam in public, as though we had a regular life. He was my boyfriend. We’d even done gone to two cooking classes together like we talked about. I’d scrambled up the courage to go here in Fireweed Harbor, and I’d loved it. All because Adam was with me.

I almost couldn’t believe it. For years, I had assumed I would be stuck with Rich, because it seemed too risky to try to leave him. I had carried a weary sense of dread in my heart.

When I had somehow mustered the courage to actually leave, I had been so relieved. All I’d wanted was to be alone. The freedom of being free from the weight of Rich’s abuse had been powerful.

I’d believed it would be disastrous for me to even try to date. And honestly, I hadn’t thought I would ever be interested in a man again. Rich’s jealousy had been so out of control. If I happened to look in the direction of a man, not looking at the man, but say because I was looking for a street sign, and a man happened to be standing near it, that led Rich to cold fury.

Ever since he had started dating, it felt different with him. Not that we interacted all that much. My interactions with him had been limited to court paperwork, drop-off times, or the occasional out-of-the-ordinary encounter in the community.

But when we met for drop-offs for Eric, it was like I didn’t even exist to Rich anymore. He usually had his girlfriend with him. She would smile, and I would smile, and that would be it. I was still wrestling with the worry that I should say something to her about him, yet I had no idea how to go about handling that.

Being out in public holding a man’s hand, a man who I actually liked, was far beyond what I had ever expected. Adam held the back door to the winery open, dropping my hand and coaxing me forward with his palm in the curve of my back. I savored every touch from him.

I took an unsteady breath. Anticipation mingled with a little anxiety spinning through me. I was pretty sure Rich had to know I was dating Adam, but I didn’t know for sure.

“What do you think?” Fiona asked from where she stood by a round table in the corner of the employee break room.

Even though I had come and gone through here many times with permission from McKenna and the family, it felt different coming in here with Adam. It felt like I belonged.

My uncle David was seated at the table. He winked as he glanced over. “Hey, Tessa,” he said as Adam and I approached.

“Hey, Uncle David. What are you doing working so late?” I teased.

My uncle was known for working late hours. He’d been the main chef here for years and years until he hired Fiona as the chef and stepped down to only administrative management. An array of plates was set out on the table.

“We’re testing some new recipes,” Fiona explained when Adam and I stopped beside her.

She gestured her hand in an arc over the table. “Please, try everything.” She handed us a little notepad. Each plate had a number on it. “Just write the number and what you think.”

“Can this be an official job?” I teased as I reached for what looked to be a scrumptious cheesy roll.

My uncle chuckled. “We could add a line item to the budget, but people are willing to taste test for free, so I don’t think so.”

Adam’s hand fell away from my waist as he reached for a sample.

“What is this?” I wrote the number on my notepad as I held it up.

“It is a brie pastry with blackberries. I want to have some new specials for the holidays,” Fiona replied.

“That’s months away,” I pointed out before I took a bite and moaned as the savory and tart flavors broke across my tongue.

She grinned. “It is months away, but we need time to plan.”

I finished chewing and reached for the pencil. “Should I write moan-worthy?”

“You can write whatever you want,” David replied.

“Were you part of the menu planning?” I asked him as I selected another item.

“I had input, but these are Fiona’s ideas.”

“Don’t give me too much credit,” Fiona said dryly. “Everything’s derivative. There are so many recipes out there these days. I just try to come up with my own twist.”

“This is absolutely delicious,” Adam said after he finished chewing.

“Are you staying for locals’ night?” I nudged my head in the direction of the restaurant down the hallway.

Fiona nodded. “I’ll be out there in about half an hour.”

My uncle stood from the table and rounded it to give me a quick hug. “It’s good to see you.” He glanced toward Adam. “You take good care of her.”

Adam held his gaze. “Always.”

My heart squeezed with a sharp, sweet pang when I felt Adam’s eyes shift to me. I swallowed and took a breath. I wanted to fling my arms around him, but we were in public, so I had to keep myself together. Emotion tended to crest in startling waves when I was with him. I was trying to play it cool, to let this be a normal relationship. But I’d never had a normal relationship, if there was even such a thing. Rich was my only serious relationship. My view of relationships was distorted and damaged. When all was said and done, I felt lucky I had escaped.

My uncle squeezed my shoulder as he walked by. “Have a good night.” He waved over his shoulder as he slipped out the back door.

A few other staff came into the break room. Word had traveled that there were samples to taste. With Adam’s hand holding mine securely, we walked out to the restaurant and mingled with his family. The Cannon family could be a lot. I had been friends with McKenna since kindergarten, but with her being the youngest sibling, my interactions with her brothers had been mostly brief. Over the years of growing up with her, I’d listened to her various complaints of being teased and annoyed with different brothers. I’d witnessed the gaping silence about her family after their father had died.

It was nice to see the camaraderie they shared and how they had become closer in different ways now that they were adults.

Adam’s mother stopped beside us at one point, smiling warmly over at me. “Hi there!”

“Hi. Nice to see you,” I replied politely.

“I always love to see you, Tessa. I’m really happy to see you with Adam. I think you two might be perfect for each other,” she said.

Adam was beside me, talking with Blake and Rhys about something. When I reflexively glanced his way, he gave me a reassuring smile. My cheeks felt heated when I looked back at his mother.

“Thank you,” I said, unsure what else to say.

My bruised heart wanted to shout for joy and clap, to announce to the world that Adam and I were perfect for each other. But my anxiety knew better. I was deeply cautious and didn’t dare hope for too much. I took a careful breath.

Adam happened to glance toward his mother at that moment. “What did you say to Tessa?” His tone was protective, as if he sensed my uncertainty.

His mother’s eyes twinkled. “I told Tessa I think you two might be perfect for each other.”

His gaze softened. “Might?” He squeezed my hand, and my heart flipped over in my chest.

McKenna and Jack came over to chat with us, and Fiona made her way out. Blake tugged her into a hug, giving her a lingering kiss. Nothing was too overboard about it, but whenever I saw them together, a tender intimacy almost seemed to shimmer around them. I loved that for her. I didn’t like admitting it to myself, but a small part of me wished I could have something like that. I wouldn’t quite call how I felt as jealous, but a pang of wishing for more than I thought I deserved.

Blake and Kenan were joking about something when I experienced a familiar and unsettling sense of awareness. The hairs rose on the back of my neck. Reflexively, I held still. I was relieved there was plenty of conversation flowing around me. I forced myself to wait several minutes before I carefully glanced around the room. Rich was here with his girlfriend. He wasn’t looking in my direction at the moment, but I assumed he had been. It was all I could do not to run out of the room.

Adam squeezed my hand, and I glanced up at him. “Don’t worry.” His words were quiet, only for me to hear. “It’s going to be fine. You’re not doing this alone.”

Tears stung my eyes, and my throat felt thick with emotion. At this moment, they weren’t bad tears. They were tears of relief, of an immense gratitude. I had felt so alone for too long. It was almost surreal to realize I had someone standing right here with me, assuring me that I wasn’t alone anymore.

Not much later, we left. We actually walked past Rich and his girlfriend. If Rich noticed us, he didn’t give any indication. He had his arm around his girlfriend’s shoulders, talking to someone I didn’t recognize and gesturing toward the television above the bar.

My body hummed with a confusing muddle of emotions when we walked outside. But rising through the detritus of my fear and anxiety, so easily triggered by Rich, was a sense of triumph and a deep sense of love for Adam.

When he stopped beside his SUV to open the door for me, I placed my hand on his chest. He had his hand curled on the door handle. “What is it?”

“I love you,” I said simply.

I didn’t need him to tell me the same. I just needed to emphasize how much he meant, and how strong my feelings were.

He was silent before a wide smile unfurled across his face. “I’m a lucky man. I love you too.”

He placed his hand over mine, where it rested on his heart. Joy rushed upward inside. It felt like cymbals clanging inside.

“I told you I would wait until you were ready.”