Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Teresa
I opened the door to two snow-covered individuals, smiling with excitement. Bess and Charlie!
“That’s some weather,” Charlie huffed, as they shook off the excess snow and came inside. “Made for a slow drive, but here we are.”
“You haven’t killed each other yet?” Bess gave me an unsure smile, looking over my shoulder.
“He’s… um, taking a shower. We had a bit of a rough night at the office last night.”
She raised her brow. “A rough night?”
“An indoor camping experience.”
“Sounds great.” Charlie laughed. “How’s the office?”
“Pretty good for camping,” I said. “Probably better as an office, though. And will be infinitely more comfortable with furniture.”
“You coming around to Cozy Creek?” Bess shot me a hopeful smile, and I smiled back.
“It’s cute,” I said noncommittally.
“Speaking of cute, what are you wearing?” Bess scanned my elf outfit.
“Yeah… I didn’t have anything comfortable for the night, so Trevor found this at a laundromat.”
Bess stared at me, blinking. “He brought you an elf costume, and you put it on voluntarily?”
I stretched the waistband of my leggings, amused by her shocked expression. “These are way more comfortable than my jeans, and Cozy Creek is hardly the Mecca of fashion.”
“You’re my fashion icon, so I first thought this was a trend. Like, an ironic after-Christmas elf style.”
I laughed. “Pretty sure it’s not. But anything goes in Cozy Creek. I think I saw someone dressed as Cupid earlier.”
“I know! We saw the pink decorations and stopped to buy some themed sugar cookies from one of the Cupids. They were advertising a sled contest.”
“They must be desperate for entries. How were the cookies?”
“Very sweet. A bit nauseating, but only because I’m nauseated most of the time.” She touched her stomach, wincing.
She’d been looking pretty green for her first trimester, patiently waiting for February.
“Is it getting any better?”
“A little.” She pulled a face. “But I guess I expected everything to change overnight, and it wasn’t that clear cut.”
“Where’s Celia?” I asked.
She peeled off her jacket, and I helped her hang it on the rack. “With my mom. She thought we could use this opportunity for a little getaway. We had a fun trip, but traveling with a six-year-old is full-on. I miss adult interaction!”
I nodded in understanding, watching as they shed their winter layers and took in Trevor’s living room. My living room.
“Wow.” Bess whipped around to look at Charlie, then me. “Trevor told us he bought a cabin up here, but I never imagined…”
Charlie studied the room, turning to me with a guilty look. “He told you, didn’t he?”
“Told me what?”
“I mean… he didn’t have to tell you. You’re a designer, with eyes.”
“Having eyes is a great advantage to a designer.” I used mine to bombard him with a look of absolute innocence.
Charlie was starting to look red, which gave me a modicum of satisfaction. If he’d known about this, he might as well come clean right now.
“Don’t play dumb!” he said. “This is straight out of your Pinterest board. He told me.”
I pinned him with a questioning look. “And you encouraged him?”
“No! He showed me the pics, and I told him not to make a fucking replica.” He browsed the room. “Fuck me. This is…”
“I swear I didn’t know!” Bess cut in, casting a panicked look in my direction, then a fierce one at Charlie. “I can’t believe this.”
Charlie sighed, glancing apologetically at his wife before he turned to me, his voice level. “Are you okay? I know he’s a bit much and I know you hate him?—”
“For good reason!” Bess inserted.
“For good reason,” Charlie repeated dutifully. “I’m sure this feels creepy as hell, but I swear he’s a good guy. He’s just a bit lost. He needs to move on, and he will. We’ve been talking about this. He’s seeing someone…”
“Seeing someone?” I swallowed.
“A therapist,” Charlie clarified. “And I know he’s working on it. For the record, I told him to check out the office space alone . I said we could talk to you later if it was any good. I don’t even know how he managed to drag you along, but I’m so sorry. I really hope he hasn’t crossed any boundaries.”
He looked at me expectantly, eyebrows drawn in concern. It took me a moment to catch up to the real meaning behind his words, and I shuddered. If only he knew.
“He’s been fine,” I replied curtly.
Bess observed me with caution. “You two getting along?”
“Like a house on fire!” Trevor announced, emerging from the bedroom. “Sorry, I was in the shower.” He hugged Charlie, then Bess. “I wasn’t expecting you today at all. How did you get here so fast?”
His hair looked damp. Had he wet it in the sink or something? Mine had dried into awkward curls.
“We just thought we’d better not leave you two alone for too long,” Bess said, her gaze darting between the two of us.
I clenched, glancing at Trevor. I didn’t want to lie, but I wasn’t ready to publicize our fledgling relationship. I wasn’t even sure what we were to each other. Enemies? Lovers? Enemies to lovers? The Pinterest stalker and his stalk-ee? Was that even a word?
“We’re cool,” Trevor said, placing his hand on my shoulder, giving me a wink.
I must have looked particularly uncomfortable, since Bess pulled me away from him, her eyes filled with concern. “You don’t have to pretend for us! Come on, let’s go find something to eat. Do you have any snacks? I’m ravenous.”
“Please! Help yourself!” Trevor called behind us.
I wasn’t particularly hungry, but I followed Bess to the kitchen, helping her open cupboards until we found a bag of chips and some pistachios. She filled some bowls and started eating. “God, I wish I could have just one glass of wine right now.”
“I promise I won’t drink either,” I said. “We can be awkward and sober together.”
I had to keep a clear head, or at least avoid getting any more emotionally overwhelmed.
“I can’t believe you got stuck here with him on Valentine’s Day! How did Richard take it? I know you guys had plans.”
I cringed at the thought. I’d gushed about those plans with Bess before she’d left for her trip. Harmless office chatter, which now made me feel sick.
“He… um… we’re not together anymore.”
“What? Since when? What happened?”
I took a breath and gave her a quick rundown of recent events, leaving out the little detail of me having sex with Trevor. That part sounded insane, and very much like a crazy rebound tryst. I didn’t regret it but couldn’t say it out loud. Not yet.
Bess stared at me, dumbfounded. “That’s quite the Valentine’s Day. Are you sure you’re okay? I don’t think I’d be.”
I glanced over my shoulder, checking the men were out of earshot. Trevor gave me an upward nod across the room, throwing another log into the fire. Charlie sat on the ottoman next to him, warming his hands by the flames.
“Trevor’s been a good distraction.” A smile crept up lips despite my best efforts.
“You’re not giving him false hope, are you?” Bess’s words yanked my gaze away from him. There was a pained look in her eyes. “I know what he did was deplorable and you’re over him, but he’s so in love with you, it’s painful to watch. I can’t help it… He’s Charlie’s best friend, and I’d hate to see him get hurt.” Bess filled her mouth with chips.
So in love with you? My throat closed up, making it impossible to swallow the chewed-up pistachio in my mouth. I’d only just learned Trevor was still attracted to me and wanted me to give him a chance. Sure, there were signs… like this living room, but I’d refused to see anything else.
“You never told me he was in love with me,” I whispered, forcefully swallowing the nuts. “Nobody said anything.”
Bess looked confused. “I thought it was obvious. You guys had a thing… He never got over it and you did.” She shrugged as if to say this kind of thing happened all the time. “And we thought he was getting over it, slowly. He made a lot of progress over Christmas, and I honestly thought he’d be dating someone else by now. But…”
“What?”
Bess winced. “The way he’s looking at you now.” She shook her head, taking a crunchy bite of another chip. “It’s like he’s back to where we started, mooning over you. And this house…” She looked around the room. “It’s insane! What if he meets someone else? What is she going to think when she finds out that he did all this for you? Best-case scenario, she’ll change every little detail or force him to sell.”
“And the worst case?” I asked, my voice sticking to my throat.
Bess looked at me like I was playing dumb. “She’ll run. I wouldn’t touch this kind of crazy with a barge pole.”
I felt all the blood drain from my face. She was right. Trevor might have been crazy about me, but to anyone else, he was just crazy. The only thing that could make this okay was me. If I loved him back with all I had, he wasn’t crazy anymore—he was passionate. But how could I ever match this level of devotion? Trevor wasn’t just maybe sort of into me. He was obsessed. And I’d been crazy enough to sleep with him. I’d fueled the fire. I’d led him on so hard, I was one hundred percent responsible.
He’d been on his way to getting over me, and I’d ruined it.
I felt like throwing up, but instead stuffed my mouth with chips until the salt burned my lips. What was even worse, I still craved him. My body was insatiable, already pulsing in anticipation of the next time I could be alone with him. Maybe we were both crazy.
I had to be kind and cut him off before I hurt him even more. But that meant cutting myself off. I huffed in frustration.
“How’s it going?” Trevor asked, appearing behind me. “We were just talking about the sleeping arrangements. I don’t think anyone should be driving back tonight. There’s one bedroom, two empty rooms with no beds that I’m still… um… decorating, and then there’s the couch.”
“Bess and Charlie will take the bedroom, obviously,” I said. “You can take the couch and I’ll take an empty room and that camping bed I had last night. I’m already used to it.”
“Great!” Charlie said. “Really appreciate it.”
“You can have the couch. I’ll camp on the floor,” Trevor corrected.
I shrugged. “I’m easy.”
At that moment, our gazes caught, and Trevor’s mouth quirked. “Debatable,” he said.
“No, I mean it. A nice meal and a glass of wine and I’m good to go.” I rolled my eyes, and everyone laughed.
I didn’t miss the hungry look in Trevor’s eyes. If I truly wanted to cut him off, I had to ease up on the stupid jokes and innuendo.
“Anyway, it’s not bedtime yet.” Bess raised her hand. “And we planned some stuff on the way.”
“Work stuff?” I asked hopefully.
“Yes!” Bess announced.
“No! Not like work work,” Charlie corrected. “We were looking up team-building exercises. I mean, we appreciate you both. You’re amazing at what you do. But there’s been a lot of tension at the office.”
“We thought this could be an opportunity to work on all that,” Bess continued, beaming at us with hopeful eyes.
Oh, fuck.