Falling Madly

Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Trevor

“ A ww, you guys are adorable!”

Charlie’s words, followed by a laugh, cut through my sleep and I jerked upright, nearly launching Teresa off the couch.

She cracked open her eyelids, peering at me through dark lashes. “Is it morning?”

“Yes!” Bess announced. “Good morning! We have two hours until the competition. I was thinking we could grab breakfast at that cute cafe in town before we head out to Grandview Hill.”

Charlie wrapped his arm around her, and they smiled at us, looking every bit the perfect couple, ready for brunch.

“Can’t we just eat here?” Teresa muttered sleepily.

“You go,” I told Bess and Charlie. “Take the sled. We’ll walk to my car and meet you wherever Grandview Hill is.”

“It’s not far,” Teresa supplied, burying her face in the pillow, clearly not ready to get up.

Bess cast Charlie a coy look. “Maybe we should give them some privacy.”

“Yes, please,” Teresa said. “I told you guys, we’re… sleeping together. In the present tense.” She flashed us an adorably wicked, sleepy smile.

Yes, I thought. I needed time with her. Waking next to Teresa felt like Christmas morning as a kid, full of wonder and uncertainty. I lay back on the couch, letting my head sink into the pillow, stretching my arms overhead so I didn’t accidentally snuggle her. I’d wait for her move.

The door slammed as Bess and Charlie left, sending a cool blast of air our way. Teresa sat up, rubbing her eyes. “How did you sleep?”

“Surprisingly well,” I said, forcing myself upright. “You?”

The couch beat the floor I’d laid on the night before, but I missed my bed. Teresa got to her feet and rummaged through the bags we’d left by the door, pulling out her earlier work clothes. “I’m okay, but I really need some fresh underwear.” She grimaced, taking the clothes to the bedroom.

I got up and made my way to the kitchen, listening to the sound of the shower. What was she thinking? Did she regret last night? Stupid, bullish optimism had gotten the better of me, again. I’d forged ahead in blind faith, then crashed into a wall.

She wasn’t sure about us. She’d never been in love.

The heavy thoughts circled my brain on relentless repeat as I paced the kitchen, pulling random items onto the breakfast bar. A packet of waffle mix caught my eye. That I could do. That, and coffee.

A bit later, Teresa emerged in her purple sweater and jeans, a literal skip in her step, hair still damp but curling behind her ears.

The waffle iron sizzled, melted butter dripping onto the counter.

“It smells amazing in here,” she said between long sips of coffee. “What are you making?”

“Waffles.”

“Oh.” She inhaled deeply; her eyes closed. “I could get used to this.”

My heart leaped, but I held my tongue. She took the macchiato I offered and looked at me over the rim of her cup, eyes sparkling. “Good thing I own your couch now. Can I keep it here? So, it’s like a consulate in a foreign country.”

“Sure. I’ll check your passport every time you visit.” I took a fortifying gulp of my own coffee.

I wanted to ask how she was feeling, but I’d learned my lesson. My phone buzzed on the counter, and I picked it up. It was a text message from Boris.

Did you hear about Gavin?

Underneath, he’d added a link to a news article. When I saw the headline, my heart lodged in my throat.

Billionaire Gavin Hellsten Questioned About Missing Tourist

I browsed the article, which contained little information other than that a female tourist was missing in Cozy Creek. A search was underway, as well as an investigation. She’d disappeared right outside her cabin, which sounded suspicious.

“What is it?” Teresa asked.

I closed the message and dropped the phone on the counter, contemplating my choices. Was it possible Gavin had something to do with this? The article alluded to the possibility of a crime, but there was no hard evidence, not even a body.

“It’s… an article about the missing tourist. Boris sent a link.”

She smiled. “Is he concerned you’ll be captured by the evil lurking in Cozy Creek?”

I bit my lip. If I said something about Gavin, I’d open a can of worms. And she looked so relaxed right now, sitting by the window as faint morning light flooded into the room.

She sighed. “This place is so gorgeous.”

Just as we finished our coffees and waffles, there was a knock on the door and Charlie barged in. “Somewhat dressed,” he informed Bess, who stepped in from behind him, holding a bag of pink, heart-shaped biscuits.

“Thank God.” She smiled. “We thought you might be… you know.”

Teresa glanced at me, and pink blotches appeared on her cheeks. That’s all my imagination needed to run through every intimate moment we’d spent together. I took a breath, trying to keep my partial under control.

Bess placed the cookies on the counter. “Look, fifty percent off! But you were right about the coffee, so we decided to take everything to go.”

“There’s another cafe down the road,” Teresa piped up. “Cozy Coffee. My mom says their coffee is great.”

“Well, too late. Can you make us coffees?” Charlie pleaded. “I hear yours are amazing.”

I nodded and got to work as they peeled off their winter gear, shaking snow everywhere.

Before she made it back to the kitchen, Teresa grabbed Bess’s arm, pulling her towards the bedroom. “I need to borrow her for a sec, sorry.”

“What was that about?” Charlie asked me, taking a seat across the kitchen island.

“I don’t know,” I said, although I was suspected it was about underwear.

I worked on the coffees, my mind on Teresa’s naked body, until my phone pinged again, reminding me of the news article. My neck twitched.

“Are you okay?” Charlie asked. “You look pale.”

“I’m Scottish and it’s winter.”

He fixed his sharp stare on me. “Something’s up.”

He knew my subtle tells. I took a breath, grateful for the opportunity to unload my conflicted thoughts. I picked up my phone and opened the article, this time reading all the way to the end. It was worse than I’d thought.

I handed Charlie the phone and watched his face also turn white. “Gavin? They’re questioning Gavin about a missing tourist? Seriously?”

“I always had a bad feeling about him. There was a reason I didn’t want him working with Teresa. And now…”

He nodded at the bedroom door. “Does she know? Did you tell her?”

“No.”

“Why not? She needs to know! This is relevant information.”

“She’ll find out. It’s in the news. But if I bring it up, it’ll sound like I’m trying to justify my actions. I never had any proof, only a feeling. I could still be wrong.”

Charlie frowned, staring at my phone. “This sounds suspicious.”

“Even so, I should have never tried to control who she works with. I should have been there, keeping an eye on that guy. Protecting her.”

“But what if he killed this lady? What if he’s killed before? That missing tourist… it could have been Teresa!”

A shiver ran through me. I picked up the milk jug and turned on the steamer, letting my fingers rest on the warming metal.

“I don’t care about being right. I want to be right for her .”

“You are! If she doesn’t see it, it’s her loss.”

“In which case… Let me guess… Ye want me to move on?” I gave him a wry smile.

Charlie smiled apologetically. “Disagreeing with your therapist seems like a stupid move.”

I handed him the coffee and offered him the remaining waffle. “Thanks. I’ll save it for Bess,” he said.

Along with the discounted Valentine’s Day cookies, they’d picked up smoothies and sandwiches, spreading them across the counter.

“She doesn’t love me,” I said quietly, starting another coffee. “She’s never been in love.”

Charlie frowned. “Does she even know what it’s like?”

“I don’t know, and now I’m wondering if I know that either. I thought it was this horrible feeling I have… like nothing makes sense without her. That I’d rather have her angry wi’ me than not have her in my life. I don’t want to imagine my life without her. Maybe I shouldn’t have told her that.”

Charlie hung his head. “No! You didn’t really say that to her, did you?”

I grimaced. “Well, kind of.”

He groaned. “You’ve been obsessing over her for months. She’s not going to be on the same page. She needs time to catch up.”

“I know! I’m not expecting her to be where I am. Maybe she thinks I am, but I’m not. But it’s hard to not feel disappointed when, you know…”

Charlie let out a long sigh. “I know.”

“She wanted to sleep next to me, maybe not totally out of pity. Wasnae about sex, either.” I pushed the button and watched coffee drip. “The sex is amazing, though.”

Charlie nodded. “The way she was looking at you… she’s warmed up a lot. Give her time. And she needs to know about Gavin. You could have saved her from getting murdered. If it was me, I’d love you for that.”

“Aw, cheers, pal.” I rolled my eyes. “They’ve no’ even found a body yet. I don’t want to jump to conclusions.”

Charlie gave me a long, appraising look. “You used to trust your instincts, man. What happened?”

My instincts led me to lose the love of my life, that’s what happened, I thought with painful clarity. If Charlie was right and I had another chance with her, I wouldn’t let any gut reactions ruin it.

It was time to take deep breaths and chill the fuck out. I’d be so chill she’d think she was dating a snowman.