Chapter 9
NINE
ACE
The familiar buzz sent countless waves of relief washing over me.
Knowing that Tessa was going to be meeting with Ryan, I’d been a mess from the moment I woke up this morning. My phone had been practically glued to my palm, so the second I saw her name on the display, I let out a breath and answered.
“Tessa.”
“Ace.”
Her voice was hushed, barely a whisper, but it held so much agony. I ignored the way my body locked at her delicate tone, softened my own, and asked, “Where are you, Princess?”
“Home.”
“I’m leaving right now. I’ll be right there.”
Silence. Then, “Thank you.”
She was barely holding herself together. “Hang tight, Tessa. Just a few minutes, okay?”
“Okay.”
I disconnected the call and took off. Minutes later, just as I promised, I was at Tessa’s front door. When she opened it and our eyes locked, she lost it.
Kicking the door shut behind me, I scooped her into my arms and carried her over to the couch.
Although I wanted answers to every question that I’d been asking myself since I woke this morning—what she would learn, or would he convince her to forgive him—the only thing I could manage at the moment was holding her while whispering comforting words.
It took a lot longer than I would’ve liked for Tessa to settle enough that her breathing returned to normal, and her breaths no longer hitched. But the second I believed she was in a place to handle it, I asked, “Are you okay?”
Tessa’s cheek had been pressed against my chest while my chin rested lightly on the top of her head. One hand held her firmly in place, the other stroking reassuringly over her shoulder.
At my question, she pulled her face from my chest, tipped her chin up, and looked at me. “I’m so disappointed, Ace. How could I not have known what was happening in my relationship for six of the eight months I was with Ryan?”
Six months?
Why I thought this had been a one-time thing was beyond me. Maybe it had simply been hope for Tessa’s sake because the thought of her having to experience any pain was too much to bear.
If I thought I’d felt angry on Tessa’s behalf for what she’d been through over the last week, I now knew it was only the beginning.
Something told me I wasn’t going to like one word of what she was going to share with me.
Even still, there wasn’t a chance I’d walk away and leave her to deal with it on her own. She was far too important.
Doing my best to tamp down the anger I felt, I slid my fingers up her neck and into her hair. Stroking along the back of her scalp, I said, “I’m so sorry to hear that, Tessa. What happened? Why did you burst into tears the moment you opened your door to me?”
She closed her eyes and leaned her head back into my touch. I pressed in a bit more firmly, wanting to give her whatever she was seeking. A moment later, she asked, “How long do you have?”
“For you? All the time in the world.”
Tessa’s eyes met mine, and her gaze softened. “You’re such a good man, Ace. You’re not like Ryan at all. He’s a bad guy and an awful boyfriend.”
Damn. She hadn’t said ex-boyfriend. “Do you want to tell me what makes that so?”
Tessa dropped her stare to her lap and let out a deep breath. “He was only faithful for two months. Evidently, he had needs, and he decided that waiting for me to be ready wasn’t an option for him. So, he took care of those needs by hooking up with his ex-girlfriend over the last six months.”
It was a good thing Tessa hadn’t asked me to be here with her when this conversation went down because it was likely I’d now be at the police station. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
Shaking her head, she murmured, “I wish I were.”
“So, is he back with her now?”
Tessa shrugged. “No, I don’t think so. It didn’t seem that way when he was here.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Ryan actually thought he could tell me that I was basically to blame for his infidelity, but since I took that step in our relationship with him two weeks ago, everything would be perfect between us now.”
Though he’d never given me any legitimate reason for it, I’d never really liked the guy from the start. Now, I was relieved to know my gut instincts about him were accurate. “Seriously?”
She nodded. “Yes. I told him there was absolutely no chance for us, but he was adamant. I don’t know. It was like he couldn’t grasp the level of hurt his betrayal caused, like he didn’t understand I’d never be able to trust him again.”
Some relief settled inside me to hear she was choosing to walk away and give herself what she deserved. Tension eased out of my shoulders. “But you made it clear you weren’t interested in continuing a relationship with him, right?”
“I did.” There was such a sense of resignation in her tone. “But Ryan had things he wanted to make clear to me, too.”
I thought I’d already heard the worst of it. Apparently, I hadn’t. “What were those things?”
“It’s crazy, Ace. I’ve never seen him so scared.”
“Scared?” Safe to say, I hadn’t expected her to say that. “About what? What did he want to make clear to you, Tessa?”
Tipping her chin up, her eyes roamed over my face for a long time.
I could only assume she was attempting to determine whether I could handle what she was about to share.
“Ryan doesn’t like the idea of losing me.
So, he said he’d give me some time, but he isn’t going to let me go, promising to do whatever it takes to win me back. ”
My arms tightened around her. “We’re not going to let that happen. I won’t allow that to happen. You’ve told him where you stand, so it might suck for him, but he’s going to get used to the idea of living without you.”
“That all sounds logical and reasonable, Ace, but I just don’t think it’s going to be as simple as me having this conversation with him one time.”
“You leave that to me.”
Tessa blinked, clearly caught off guard by my declaration. “Pardon?”
“You told him where you stand. It sounds like he doesn’t plan to respect your wishes, so I’m going to make sure he understands that this isn’t negotiable. That’s it.”
“Ace, I don’t want—”
“I’m doing it, Tessa. You don’t need his nonsense in your life, and I’m going to see to it that you don’t have to deal with it. If it’s over for you because that’s what you want, then it’s over. I’ll make sure he gets that message.”
Her shoulders sagged with relief. Even if she’d been just about ready to claim she didn’t want me getting involved, Tessa’s response told me everything I needed to know. She was worried he wasn’t going to leave her alone. I wasn’t going to stand by doing nothing while it happened.
“I don’t know who showed up here today,” she shared.
“The man who stood here saying all that Ryan did was not the man I gave my heart to. I mean, at first, he was apologetic and remorseful. But he eventually showed me such a dismissive attitude, like he didn’t think my feelings on the situation mattered much at all.
And once I told him I was done, he became aggressive.
Not in a physical way. He just… He was so different. ”
Moving my fingers through her hair again, I said, “Clearly, he had an abundance of confidence. He’d have to, if he thought he could get away with cheating on you for so long.
But it’s worse that he believed he could do that, and you’d just overlook it.
Like he believed he was the prize in the relationship, when it was you all along. ”
A small smile spread across Tessa’s face. “That was sweet of you to say.”
“I wasn’t trying to be sweet, Princess. I was telling the truth.”
She leaned into my hold as warmth and affection stole over her expression. Following a beat of silence, Tessa said, “It’s done and over, and I have no desire to go back to him. I know I need to just move on, but it’s hard. I feel stuck.”
“What do you mean?”
Gone was the softness from her appearance. She was consumed with regret. “Today was such an eye-opening experience. I feel like such a fool. How could I not have seen Ryan for who he is, Ace?”
I hated that this guy had been the one to cheat on her, and Tessa was questioning herself as though she was the problem.
I was tempted to tell her that anyone could see Ryan was the idiot, but I couldn’t.
I didn’t have any sympathy for Ryan, though.
The problem was that the last thing I wanted was Tessa questioning her own judgment or believing she’d overlooked something and was responsible for putting herself in this position.
“You’re not a fool. I think it’s normal when you feel strongly for someone that you always want to assume the best. It wouldn’t make sense to believe they could do anything to ever hurt us.”
A small smile returned. “I think you might be right. That’s a great way of looking at it.”
I gave her a squeeze. “Moving on might not be easy, but you shouldn’t feel stuck or like you can’t trust your instincts. And no matter what it takes, I’ll do anything I can to help you through this. To make sure you get all the happiness you deserve.”
Leaning her weight into me, Tessa slipped her arms around my torso and hugged me tightly. “Thank you. You’ve been such a good friend to me, and I feel so lucky to have you in my life.”
The desire I had to be so much more to her than just a friend consumed me like never before. But no matter how badly I wanted to act on those feelings, I couldn’t. Not yet. Not until she was ready.
I smiled, hugging her back, and promised, “You’ll always have me in your life, Princess.”
If we were both meant to be lucky, she’d have me in her life in a way neither one of us had considered, and it’d be the best thing that happened to either one of us.
I didn’t waste any time.
I was up earlier than usual the next morning because what I needed to do couldn’t wait. Not even if it meant I’d wind up arriving late to work.
As quickly as I could, I grabbed some breakfast, got myself ready, and was out the door in a flash. There was no guarantee I was even going to be able to accomplish what I intended to, but failing to act wasn’t an option.
Arriving right on time, I exited my truck and entered the building. I was met by a receptionist. “Hi, can I help you?”
“Yeah, I was hoping to have a moment to speak with Ryan Hastings.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
I shook my head. “No. This isn’t a legal issue. I’m here on a personal matter.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but Mr. Hastings has a full schedule today.”
Jerking my chin down, I asked, “Can you let him know that Ace Townsend is here? I won’t need more than five minutes.”
“Give me one moment.” The receptionist eyed me curiously as she lifted the phone out of the cradle.
She held the receiver to her ear, tapped a few buttons, and waited.
“Yes, sir, I have a Mr. Ace Townsend here. He says he’s here on a personal matter and would like five minutes of your time.
” She paused, listening to his response. “Of course, sir. I’ll send him back.”
“I appreciate that. Where can I find him?”
“Right around the corner and down the hall. It’s the third door on your left.”
“Thank you.”
I took off in that direction and came to a stop outside the closed door.
Knocking once, I didn’t wait for him to respond and tell me it was okay to come in.
He was sitting behind his desk in a high leather back chair, and all I could think was that there wasn’t anything about him that made him and Tessa a good match.
“Ace,” he said as I approached his desk. “What can I do for you?”
I pressed my fists onto the top of his desk and leaned in. “Tessa is done with you. Whatever plans you have to pursue her and try to win her back need to be forgotten.”
“Excuse me?”
“Tessa is off-limits to you.”
He narrowed his eyes on me. “I don’t take orders from you, man. You have no idea what Tessa and I have.”
“Had. What you and Tessa had. And it couldn’t have been anything that special to you since you were fucking your ex nearly the entire time.”
“I’ll talk to Tessa whenever I want.”
“And I’m telling you to rethink that. You fucked up. She’s no longer interested. And I’m not going to allow you to fuck with her head. Steer clear.”
“And if I don’t? What are you going to do?” he countered. “You think I’m afraid of Tessa’s best friend’s brother?”
I shrugged. “I don’t care if you are or not. I’m telling you that you aren’t going to like what happens if I find out that you’re harassing her.”
“Did you just threaten me?”
Pushing off his desk, I said, “Threat. Promise. Look at it however you want. Leave Tessa alone, and you won’t have anything to worry about.”
“Do you know how many people in powerful places I know in this town? I could make your life a nightmare.”
“You think I care about your lawyer buddies and judges?” I smirked. “You aren’t the only one who knows people in powerful places. And the people I know aren’t the kind you want to mess with.”
With that, I turned and walked out without waiting for a response. I could only hope this moron would heed my advice.