Chapter 3
THREE
ACE - PRESENT DAY
I didn’t know what it was that prompted me to look over at Tessa when she’d walked away from the table where I’d been sitting with the guys, but I was glad I did.
Because judging by the way she was clinging to me, Tessa was suffering.
And while I never wanted to see her upset at all, I definitely didn’t want her to be in such a state alone.
I hadn’t cared much for the guy she’d been dating for a few months now, but without even knowing what happened, I could confidently say I didn’t like him at all.
For a long while, I did the only thing I could do and simply held her in my arms.
Tessa.
She was my best friend’s little sister. A girl I’d known all my life.
I never thought I’d find myself in this situation with her, but then again, I never thought any man would be stupid enough to reduce her to tears like this.
With her cheek pressed against my chest, her fingers gripping my shirt at my waist, Tessa’s breath hitched multiple times as she attempted to settle herself down. And each of those rapid intakes of breath had me grinding my teeth together to fight against doing something worse with my anger.
It took her some time, but eventually, she calmed and pulled her face from my chest. That’s when I asked, “Are you okay?”
Tessa shook her head, released her hold on me, and said, “No.”
“Want to tell me what happened?”
“He’s cheating.” Tears filled her eyes. “Ryan is cheating on me.”
I hadn’t wanted to jump to conclusions when I’d seen her run out of the saloon, but knowing she’d been calling her man and wound up in tears only minutes later, I could admit the thought had crossed my mind.
Tamping down my anger as best I could, I pressed for more information. “He… He came right out and admitted this to you?”
“No.” She paused a moment, and I watched as she stared off, like she was recalling the horrible details in her mind.
Eventually, she returned her attention back to me.
“He called me earlier today and explained he was tied up with work, letting me know he’d be late and wouldn’t make it to dinner.
But he was going to meet up with me here at Lou’s tonight, and I texted him after we left the restaurant.
When I called him now, he answered and sounded like he’d just woken up.
And he even admitted he went home to get ready, laid down, and simply fell asleep.
I didn’t think twice about it, because he's had so many late nights this week with work. Or, well, that’s what he told me. ”
I wasn’t a betting man, but I wouldn’t have put it past the guy to be such a lying tool. Though there was a strong possibility of that being the case, it really wouldn’t matter in the grand scheme. So, I opted to steer Tessa’s focus to the facts. “What happened tonight?”
“I told him how bummed I was about him not making it. That I’d been looking forward to seeing him all week. And he just told me he was too exhausted and would come over tomorrow morning to spend the whole day with me.”
“How does that equate to him cheating on you?”
She winced, stumbling back a step. Only after I’d reached for her wrist to steady her did she respond. “I was just about to tell him I’d see him tomorrow when I heard a woman’s voice calling him baby and asking him to come back to bed.”
Anger bubbled up inside me, my fingers twitching against her wrist. I had no less than a dozen thoughts running through my mind, but none of them were good. I wasn’t quite sure what I could say that wouldn’t send Tessa spiraling. “I’m so sorry.”
Tessa pressed her lips together, her bottom lip trembling as tears filled her eyes again. “I feel like such a fool, Ace. I was so stupid.”
“You aren’t stupid. He’s an idiot, among other things.”
“But I actually believed he might be the one. I thought he loved me. I… I went to the trouble of getting all dolled up tonight for him.”
My eyes swept over her from top to toe and back again. I’d never looked at Tessa as anything more than a lifelong friend. She was my best friend’s sister. She was my sister’s best friend. We’d known each other all our lives, but there hadn’t ever been anything romantic between us.
Now, as I took in her form, I made a mental note of just how much I liked what was in front of me.
She was gorgeous, with her long dark blonde hair and bright blonde highlights, sparkling blue eyes, and full, pouty lips.
As for her body, she was fit. Toned. Able to wear anything and make it look good.
Just like the dress she was wearing now that molded perfectly to her body like a second skin.
But even as she stood before me, none of what I was seeing was anything new.
I reached up and tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear.
“Tessa, you’ve always been beautiful. I can’t think of a time when you didn’t take the steps to make yourself look nice.
That guy isn’t responsible for any of this, because you were a gem long before he entered the picture. ”
She offered a small, appreciative smile in return. “Thanks, Ace.”
I returned the smile. “So, can I ask what happened after you learned he was with another woman? Did he admit to it?”
Any hint of happiness that had been present on her expression vanished. “He wasn’t even concerned enough to want to try to fix it tonight. He told me he was going to stop by my place in the morning so we could talk.”
I wanted to ask her if it would matter if he’d shown up tonight. I couldn’t think of what difference it’d make in the grand scheme of things. From where I was standing, that guy didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as her, let alone have the opportunity to hurt her once again.
But perhaps she saw it differently, and I hated that.
Because it killed me to think Tessa would ever settle for less than what she deserved and even consider taking this asshole back.
There were no guarantees it would work—and if she was truly in deep with this guy, there might be little impact it would make—but I was going to make sure he didn’t get the chance to slither back into her life, whatever it took.
“You deserve so much better, Tessa.”
She shrugged, sending another wave of anger crashing over me. “Evidently, Ryan doesn’t think so.”
“I don’t give a shit what he thinks. If he thought it was a good idea to cheat on you, he’s clearly an idiot.”
Tessa swallowed roughly and looked away.
I needed to cool it. Sure, I believed every word coming out of my mouth, but Tessa’s pain was still so fresh. I didn’t need to rub salt in an open wound.
“What would you like to do now? Do you want to get out of here?” I asked.
Shaking her head, she answered, “No. I’d like… If you wouldn’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you’d hang out here with me for just a few more minutes so I can pull myself together. Then we can go back inside. I just don’t want to ruin Harper’s day.”
I wrapped my arm around her back, my hand landing on her opposite shoulder. Giving her a light squeeze, I said, “I’ll stay out here with you as long as you need me.”
Tessa tipped her head toward me as her arm went around my waist. “I appreciate that, Ace.”
For the next few minutes, we didn’t say a word.
I was certain Tessa was just too caught up in her thoughts and the hurt inflicted by what had happened tonight to even know what to say.
When it came to me, I didn’t want to say or do anything to make things worse for her.
Whatever she needed right now, I’d give it to her.
And if she needed something different tomorrow, I’d give her that, too.
After a while, I said, “I want you to have everything you need right now, Tessa. Would you like me to get Lark?”
Tipping her chin up, her eyes met mine. “My sister deserves to have a great night without all my drama. I love your sister, Ace. She’s my best friend. But when I tell Lark about this, I think you know just as well as anyone that she’s going to lose her mind.”
I chuckled and gave her another squeeze. “I can see your point.”
Following a beat of silence, Tessa said, “I think I’m ready to head back in there.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind staying here with you if you need more time.”
She smiled appreciatively again. “I’m sure. Thank you for coming out to check on me.”
“Anything you need, Tessa. Anything at all.”
When she dropped her hand from around my waist, I released my hold on her. Then we went back inside the saloon to join the festivities. Fortunately, caught up in their own shenanigans, nobody seemed to notice I’d been gone for so long, and I was able to slip back in without anyone questioning me.
And though I’d done what I could to focus on whatever was happening in front of me—conversing with the guys or celebrating Harper with the girls—the truth was that I couldn’t stop myself from consistently glancing in Tessa’s direction to make sure she was okay.
TESSA
While I loved summertime, I hated that it was beyond deceiving first thing in the morning.
Because when my doorbell rang and forced my eyes open, the light filtering into the room indicated it was entirely possible it was approaching lunchtime. But a quick glance at my phone on my nightstand revealed it was just before seven.
Lovely.
Not only did Ryan decide that destroying what we had was worth it, but he also felt that waking me up at the crack of dawn the next day to deal with it was necessary.
I didn’t want to see him. Not now. Maybe not ever, if the way I felt at the moment was any indication.
When the bell rang again, a clear promise that I wasn’t going to get back to sleep, which had already been difficult enough to find last night, I figured it was best to get this over with. Then I could move on and forget any of this had ever happened.
Throwing back the blanket, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, considered pulling on a robe to cover my coral satin nightie trimmed with flamingo colored lace, and ultimately decided against it. Ryan and I were over. Let him see, one last time, what he’d thrown away.
I was surprised by the fury building inside as I made my way to the front door. I’d spent enough time crying last night—both at Lou’s and after Lark had dropped me off at home—and now, it seemed, I was angry.
On my way there, I attempted to come up with something to say to him, but I hadn’t quite worked anything out by the time I put my hand on the doorknob. It looked like I was just going to have to wing it.
But even if I had come up with something to say to Ryan, it wouldn’t have mattered. Because I opened the door to find Ace standing on the opposite side.
I blinked in surprise. “Ace?”
His lips parted, his eyes briefly taking in my chest before dipping down toward my legs. “Tessa…”
I stepped back, and the movement forced his eyes back to mine. “What are you doing here?”
“I… I didn’t—”
“I thought you were Ryan.” I waved him inside and closed the door behind him. “Can you give me a minute to grab a robe?”
“Sure.”
I took off toward my bedroom, snatched up my matching coral satin robe, and cinched it around my waist. My legs were still on display, but it provided more coverage than just the nightie. And since I was too curious about what Ace was doing here, I decided this was going to have to do.
When I returned to the living room, Ace seemed to have snapped out of the fog he’d been in at the front door. “I apologize for just dropping by like this.”
I waved my hand in the air dismissively. “It’s okay. What are you doing here, though?”
“I wanted to check on you.”
Tipping my head to the side, warmth moved through me. “That’s really sweet, Ace. But don’t you think it’s a bit early?”
He nodded. “Yes. But I didn’t want to risk giving that guy the opportunity to get here before I did.”
My brows shot up. “Do you plan to be here when he arrives?”
Ace hesitated. “If you want me to be, I will. But if you want the full truth… I came here because I wanted to check on you and take you out for breakfast.”
“What?”
Shrugging, he explained, “If I’m honest, I don’t think you should be here when he arrives.”
This was so strange. Never. Not once had Ace ever shown up on my doorstep at this hour of the day to take me to breakfast. We’d been friends for years. I loved him dearly. But I didn’t know what to do with this.
“You don’t think I should talk to him at all?”
“I’m not saying that. I’m saying that I don’t think you should talk to him less than twenty-four hours after he broke your heart.
” He cupped me behind my head, his fingers threading through my hair.
“Give yourself some time to consider how you feel about all of this. Because the last thing I’d want to see is that man manipulating you when you’re already feeling vulnerable. ”
That wasn’t a bad idea.
Granted, I didn’t think I could ever look at Ryan the same again. Not after that kind of betrayal. But I wasn’t stupid. Would I be able to just shut off all that I’d felt for him as quickly as I could snap my fingers?
“Will you give me a few minutes to get myself dressed?” I asked.
The corners of his mouth tipped up in a handsome smile. “A few minutes? Tessa Stone can be ready in a few minutes?”
I bit my lip, grateful for his teasing. “Okay. So, maybe you should grab a seat and put on the television. I’ll try to be quick.”
“Take your time, Princess.”
I ignored how that endearment sounded rolling off his tongue directed at me, turned, and walked away. But I swore I could feel his gaze lingering on my legs as I did.