Chapter 36
36
TESSA
I’d come to expect the three o’clock knock on my door, but I’d assumed it would be Mom. Instead, Nora stood outside my door, blinking prettily.
“I like the blue,” I said, gesturing to her hair, which had been a fading purple, but was now a vivid blue. It made her bright green eyes appear to glow.
“Thank you,” Nora said, following me as I walked back into the house, shedding her coat and tossing it over a chair. “Is that what you’re wearing?”
I looked down at myself. I was in a pair of workout leggings and a baggy T-shirt. “I wasn’t going anywhere.”
Nora frowned. “I’m supposed to take you to the doctor’s office today. Is it not today?” she pulled out her phone, tapping furiously at the screen. “No, it’s today. I’m right. Grant said you could be cleared to go back to work.”
“You talked to Grant?” I hadn’t told a soul that Grant had dropped me off four nights ago and not answered my calls since. Mom had come by twice and Val once, and I hadn’t said a word. I had felt like I should talk to Grant before anyone else, but he didn’t seem to feel similarly.
“Mmhmm,” she said absently. “He said you needed to see his dad for this appointment because you were possibly getting a release for work, and he had patients so could I drive you.”
“Okay,” I choked out, struggling with the crushing disappointment that came from hearing Grant, once again, would be avoiding me. “I’ll go change.”
Nora smiled brightly. “Good. I wasn’t going to say anything, but you look awful.”
I rolled my eyes with a sigh and headed upstairs.
“Things are looking excellent, Tessa,” Richard said, lowering my shirt over the incision as he turned toward a knock on the door. The door swung in, and I sucked in a ragged breath as Grant walked through.
“How’s it look?” Grant asked, his tone clinical and eyes on his father.
“Take a look yourself,” Richard said, “but I think it looks great.”
Grant bellied up to the sink, washing and drying his hands meticulously before turning back to me. Even then, his gaze was on my torso, never wandering up to meet my eye. “Let’s see,” he said, gently rolling up the edges of my shirt to reveal my incision site. His delicate touch ran over my stomach, tenderly prodding a few spots. “Does it hurt anywhere?”
“It’s sore sometimes, but it doesn’t hurt anymore,” I replied.
“You’re right, looks great,” Grant said, looking back at his dad. I stared at the two men, willing them to look at me. Willing Grant to look at me.
“Do you feel ready to go back to work?” Richard asked, offering me a hand to sit up.
I sat, but hesitated to answer. Mentally, I was more than ready, tired of sitting around my house alone, especially now that I spent all day thinking about Grant. Physically, though, I was nervous.
“I think we should clear you for a couple weeks of half days only,” Grant said, his eyes settling on mine. I could barely breathe. “What do you think, Tessa?”
I thought I missed the sound of Grant’s voice, and my eyes filled with tears I didn’t have the slightest hope of hiding. “Tess,” Grant said softly.
“Why don’t you two talk about what Tessa is ready for, and I’ll be right back,” Richard said, slipping through the door and letting it snick shut quietly behind him.
“You haven’t taken my calls,” I said, sniffing hard.
Grant sighed, sitting down on his stool and running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t want to answer the phone because I think I’d always choose you, Tess,” he said quietly. I didn’t know what to make of his words. “I would be your secret forever just to be near to you.”
“I don’t want you to be a secret,” I protested.
“I believe you,” he said, “but I don’t know if I believe you because I can trust you, or if I believe you because it hurts too much not to.”
The words stung, not because he was accusing me of lying, but because I hated hurting him, and the need to make this right was absolutely overwhelming. I owed him a lot more than an apology. “So, you think I should do half days for the next two weeks?” I asked, and it was clear my words surprised him.
“I think that’s for the best,” he said.
“I trust whatever you think.”
“I’ll let my dad know,” he said, standing.
“Hey, Grant?” I said, sliding off the exam table so I stood in front of him. He paused, saying nothing, but clearly waiting for me. “I love you, and I’m sorry. I fucked everything up—me, not you—and I’m going to fix it.”
“Tess,” he said, and it sounded like he might disagree, so I shook my head.
“Don’t start my release until Monday, okay? I’ll pick up the papers tomorrow. I have to go.”
“Just wait—” he began, but I was already out the door, weaving down the hall. I paused at the spot where we’d kissed the night we’d put up the tree, and I touched the mismatched seam in the wallpaper Grant had referenced before.
“I don’t want to wait. I’ll call you. Love ya’.” I walked through the door and into the waiting room. “Nora! Let’s go.”
Eyes wide, she hopped up and followed me out the door, waving goodbye as we walked to her car. “What’s with you?” she asked with a laugh as she slid in the driver’s seat.
“You free tonight?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Yeah, sure. I’m not doing anything. Are you okay?”
“Drive toward Claire’s, okay?”
“Okay.” The word sounded like a question, like she was beginning to question my sanity—which was fair at this point—and I sighed, realizing she needed to know everything.
“Grant and I kind of broke up,” I said, and Nora gasped.
“Just now? What happened?”
“No. A few days ago. After dinner at the Duprees, actually. He overheard you and me talking about how I hadn’t told Claire and Emily about dating him yet.”
“Oh. Why didn’t you just tell them?”
I inhaled deeply. “Grant got offered a surgical job back at Pine Valley.”
“His old hospital? Where you were?”
“That’s the one. And I was worried we would go public and then he’d take the job in the city and dump me, and everyone would figure I wasn’t good enough or pretty enough or interesting enough to hang on to Grant Dupree. They’d figure he’d used me as a rebound after Claire.”
Nora snuck a glance in my direction. “Were you worried about other people thinking that, or did you think that?”
I shrugged. The truth was, as afraid as I’d been about how my sisters would view my relationship with Grant, or how Bridgeport would look at me, the scariest thing of all was always the possibility they were all right. That maybe Grant Dupree liked scandalous no-bed sex more than he liked me. “A little of both, maybe. I know he’s not interested in Claire—I’m not worried about that—but…” I couldn’t say the words. They were too embarrassing.
“But what?”
“But I know what people think about me. I have three gorgeous, charming sisters, and I’m the plain-Jane teacher.”
“Seriously?” Nora asked, grinning.
“I mean, yeah.”
“You know we’re basically identical looking, right? If it weren’t for our eyes and the fact that I keep my hair colored, no one would be able to tell us apart.”
Bullshit. I mean, people had told me this since Nora had hit puberty, but I didn’t see it. “I don’t think that’s true. I think it’s just a thing people say.”
Nora laughed. “I don’t know. I see it, and Mom can’t even tell our baby pictures apart. Besides, imagine how I feel, I’ve grown up my entire life in the shadow of three brilliant older sisters.”
“You’re smart, Nora.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, but not as smart as you three. Don’t try to tell me you three don’t roll your eyes at the idea of me and Ethan going out in the van.”
“I don’t,” I said, which was true, but I knew Claire and Em did.
“Look,” she said, making the turn onto Claire’s street, “Grant has always been, like, zero fun.” I laughed, unable to help myself, but Nora continued. “But the last few months he’s been different. I actually liked the new version of Grant, and if you did that, then you’re the perfect woman for him. Doesn’t matter what anyone else—including our sisters—thinks.”
“Thanks, Nor,” I said.
“And besides,” she added, “Emily is just butthurt because he took her spot as valedictorian.”
“I doubt that’s her problem with him.”
Nora’s brow arched. “Because it would be so unlike Emily to hold a petty grudge?” she asked sarcastically, and she had a point.
Nora pulled up in front of Claire’s new place and opened the door. “Maybe we should call?” I suggested.
“Nope. You brought me along because I don’t take Claire and Em’s bullshit. Let’s go.”
“I brought you along because you were driving,” I joked, elbowing her in the ribs gently. She shot me a grin and hit the buzzer.
“Is everything alright?” Claire asked as she led us into her apartment. I hadn’t been back since the day I’d helped her unpack, but I wasn’t surprised to see everything perfectly in its place, every picture neatly hung as if she’d lived there for years.
“Everything’s great. We’re having some sister time. Where’s Hudson?” Nora asked.
“He’s working tonight,” Claire replied.
“Spectacular,” Nora said. “Grab your coat, we’re heading down to Emily.”
“I don’t want to drive all the way out to Emily tonight,” Claire protested.
Nora’s brow arched up. “Your boyfriend is spending the night at the firehouse and you're done with work. Tessa is asking for sister time and she literally asks for nothing , so you’re going to get your coat and we’re driving down to Emily.”
Claire frowned, her gaze darting to me worriedly. “Okay,” she said, walking to the coat closet and pulling out coat and boots.
“Should we call Emily?” Claire asked as she climbed into Nora’s backseat.
“Probably,” Nora said. “But even if she’s working we only need five or ten minutes between patients or surgeries or whatever.”
“What is happening here?” Claire asked. “You guys are freaking me out.”
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing bad. Just sister time. Like I said,” Nora replied, pulling out of her parking spot and shooting me a grin.
Claire didn’t look convinced, but she sat back and pulled out her phone, hitting a couple of buttons until we all heard the ringing.
“Hey,” Emily said a few rings later. “What’s up?” In the background, I heard water sloshing, and Claire made a face.
“We’re coming out to see you. Are you home? Sounds like you’re in the bathtub.”
“I am. Why are you and Hudson coming out here? I’m kinda tired.”
“Not me and Hud. Me and Nora and Tess. And you’re on speaker.”
“Hi,” Nora and I said in unison.
“Is everything okay? Tess, Mom said you had your doctor’s appointment today. Was everything okay?”
“Everything’s good,” I said. “I’m cleared to go back to work half-time on Monday.”
“That’s good,” Emily said, sounding skeptical.
“We’re just having some sister time,” Nora announced. “Impromptu sister time. Should we come to your condo?”
“Um, sure,” Emily said, and we heard another splash.
“Relax,” Nora said. “We’re still an hour away. We’ll call when we’re close.”
An hour later, the three of us were trudging up the stairs to Emily’s industrial loft. My stomach was beginning to hurt, but I wasn’t mentioning it to anyone. I needed to stay focused tonight. It was already going to be overwhelming.
Emily swung the door open, and though I’d pictured her answering the door in a robe with her hair wrapped in a towel, she was dressed in jeans and a sweater with her hair—her entirely dry hair—tied in a loose top knot on top of her head. “I thought you were taking a bath,” I said.
Em frowned. “I was. I got out and got dressed, obviously.”
“Your hair is dry,” I said, not sure why I felt compelled to question such a minor detail.
Emily looked equally flummoxed. “I keep it tied up when I take baths. Did you seriously drive over an hour to interrogate me about my baths?”
“No,” I replied, walking into Emily’s living room and sitting down on an overstuffed chair. It was much more comfortable than the car had been. “I wanted to talk to you and Claire, so have a seat.”
Emily and Claire shot each other an alarmed look, but they shuffled into the living room and sat down side-by-side on the couch. Nora plopped down in the empty space next to them. “Do you know what this is about?” Claire asked Nora, who frowned in reply.
“Just listen,” she said, gesturing back towards me. I gave her a grateful look.
All three of my sisters sat opposite me, six identical green eyes blinking at me, waiting. “Grant and I are dating,” I said. There was a gasp from one of them. “Whatever your issues are, you’ll have to get over them, because I’m in love with him.” This statement was answered with a grunt, but no one said anything.
“In love?” Emily murmured.
“Is this new? Why didn’t you tell us?” Claire said finally, frowning so deeply her brow was a single streak of brown across her forehead.
I sighed, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. “Can you really ask me that?”
“Yes,” Claire said. I felt my brow tighten and I imagined my expression was a perfect twin to Claire’s. Maybe we all looked a bit more alike than I’d thought.
“You can’t go a day of your life without telling someone how much you hate Grant,” I said.
“That’s true, you’ve even told me,” Nora piped in, her smile a ridiculous contrast to Claire and Emily’s deep frowns.
“I don’t hate him,” Claire said—an obvious lie—“I was just worried he was the kind of guy that would jump from woman to woman and break someone’s heart. And frankly, I’m not sure I’m wrong. Six months ago he was supposedly pining after me.”
I pressed my lips together, wanting to yell or scream or maybe cry, but at a total loss for words instead. It was Nora who piped in. “See? This is Tessa’s problem. Her own sisters don’t believe she’s good enough. How could she?”
“Tessa, no!” Claire exclaimed. “My worries are about Grant. You deserve the world.”
“But it’s inconceivable to you that he wasn’t all that interested in you? That it was me, instead?”
“No. No, it’s not inconceivable,” Claire stammered. “But what about the wedding? He was having sex in Mom and Dad’s room with some woman.”
“Also me,” I replied.
“What wedding? My wedding?” Nora asked. “Did you two know about that?” She was looking at Claire and Emily.
“ You knew about it?” I asked Nora.
“Yeah. Someone told me you and Grant had sex in the groomsmen room that night, but I didn’t believe it. It was true?”
“Who told you that?” Emily asked, glancing at Claire.
“Don’t look at me,” Claire said quickly. “We agreed not to tell Nora, and I didn’t. Besides, I certainly didn’t know it was Tessa.”
Nora scoffed. “Why would you agree not to tell me? This is bullshit. You three don’t tell me anything.”
“Because we didn’t want to sully your wedding memories with mental pictures of Grant Dupree having sex.”
“Not loving this conversation,” I muttered.
Nora made a face. “I don’t care if Tess and Grant get theirs during my wedding. You two are a bunch of prudes,” she added, waggling her finger between Emily and Claire.
“Thank you, Nora, but I still don’t understand how you found out if they didn’t tell you.” There was no way Grant would’ve told Ethan or Nora, and no one else besides Hudson knew.
“Jock told me.”
“Jock Jurkowski?” Emily and I asked in unison.
“Do you know another Jock?” Nora asked with a grin.
“Thankfully, no,” Emily muttered. “But how did Jock know?”
“Stop,” I said, holding up a hand. “If you’re about to tell me Jock Jurkowski somehow witnessed Grant and I having sex, I’m going to need Emily to prepare herself, because I’m going to require medical attention.”
Nora laughed, a sound that was high and tinkling. “He didn’t. He said he saw Grant follow you upstairs and he noticed one of his condoms was missing.”
“A regular Sherlock Holmes,” Emily grumbled.
Nora shrugged and added, “Apparently Grant was the only groomsman who knew about the box of condoms.” She made a face at me. “I didn’t realize it was Mom and Dad’s room. Did you have sex in their hotel bed?” And then Nora was lost in a fit of giggles.
“No,” I said, covering my eyes with my palm as I felt my cheeks heat up. “I didn’t know it was Mom and Dad’s room either, and we didn’t go near the bed at all. It was up against the wall.”
Claire and Emily were making a face, but Nora grinned. “Nice, Tessa. This is a whole side of you I didn’t know existed. It’s awesome—am I right?” She looked at Claire and Emily, but received no support.
I sighed. “Forget the wedding night. Is this it? You two have nothing to say about me and Grant?” I asked, sitting up straight and staring down my older sisters. Both were quiet. Emily rubbed the butt of her palm along her cheek, a move I hadn’t seen her do in ages, but had been a clear tell she was upset as a kid. “Fine. Well, now you know, and Grant and I are going to be together, and I hope you can support that, because despite whatever bullshit you think, he’s amazing. He’s sweet and thoughtful and funny, and I love him.” I stood, but Nora hesitated, looking at our sisters. “Nora,” I prompted.
“You guys,” Nora pleaded, looking at Emily and Claire.
Emily inhaled deeply. “Tessa’s right. I think Grant is a good guy.”
For a solid ten seconds we all stared at each other, shocked into silence.
Then Nora said, “I’ve been saying that for years.”
“Seriously?” Claire asked, her eyes only on Emily.
“Yes,” Emily replied, “but even if I’m wrong, it doesn’t matter. The four of us—we’re not going to shit on each other’s relationships. We’re not going to pretend to know better than each other.
“For example,” she said, “Nora got married very young.”
“That’s your example of not shitting on each other?” Nora asked, frowning.
“And you,” she continued, nodding toward Claire, “brought a man you barely knew to your sister’s wedding and pretended to be in a relationship.”
“I knew it!” I exclaimed while Claire gasped in shock.
“Emily,” Claire whined, sounding exactly like she was thirteen again. “What the hell?”
Ignoring her, Emily kept talking. “And I have the literal worst taste in men. I’m a magnet for assholes. So, none of us are going to judge the others. Period. If Grant Dupree makes Tessa happy for reasons I cannot fathom, then I will support her. I will be nice to him and I will tell anyone in Bridgeport who questions their relationship to suck a bag of dicks.”
“Charming,” Claire grumbled, still disgruntled over having her fake date outed.
“For once, I agree with Emily,” Nora said. “I’m Team Emily.”
“There aren’t teams,” Claire snapped.
Nora’s eyes lit up. “When you join Team Emily, there won’t be teams, because we’ll all be on the same side,” she said. Claire’s face pinched in irritation, and I grinned. Next to me, Nora wore a matching smile.
“Fine. I’m sorry,” Claire said, though the tone sounded a lot more like “fuck you” than “sorry.”
“That’s that, then,” Emily said with finality. “Team Davis Sisters.”
“Team Davis Sisters,” Nora agreed.
“One hundred percent, I love that, but are we just going to glide right by this Hudson thing?” I looked at Nora. “This half of Team Davis Sisters has so many questions. Were you strangers when you brought him to Nora’s wedding? Is his name even Hudson?”
“And why did you bring him?” Nora asked.
Claire glared at each of us in turn. “You know his name is Hudson,” she groused. “And I brought him because I knew mom was trying to set me up with Grant.”
It took everything in me to keep from rolling my eyes yet again, because Grant was handsome and sweet and not worth finding a fake boyfriend over—although I guess I was grateful Grant and Claire were never a thing. “And we got stuck in the elevator together,” Claire added. “That part is true.”
“What’s true is you never would have brought him all the way to Bridgeport if you didn’t already have a major crush on him,” Emily said.
Claire shrugged. “Okay, yes, that’s probably true.”
“But when did it turn real?” I asked.
“I dunno. Probably by the first dress fitting. We had a nice date after that.”
“That’s cute,” Nora said, smiling. “I brought you together.” She gasped. “I get the credit for you and Grant, too, don’t I?”
My nose curled. “No.”
“Excuse me,” Nora said—the words coming out as a mess of syllables, sounding more like ex-ca-use-me— “You and Grant had sex at my wedding.”
“Fine, but you still don’t get the credit for us getting together.”
Nora lifted her brow. “Say what you want, but if it wasn’t for me dating Ethan, the Davis family wouldn’t be spending so much time with the Dupree family.”
Debatable. The families had been friends for years before that.
“So you can thank me,” Nora said.
“Fine, Nora. You get the credit for our relationship,” I muttered begrudgingly.
“And Claire’s,” she reminded us.
“That too,” I said, and Emily rolled her eyes across from me while Claire scowled.
“So all I have left is you,” Nora said with a wide smile, turning to face a horrified Emily. I laughed, holding a pillow against my stomach so the uncontrollable giggles didn’t hurt so badly.