Chapter 24
TESSA
Tessa banged out of the back of the house and ran down to the trail that led to her dock. She and Hayes hadn’t talked much on the way home from the bakery, and then he had been called back to the school.
Which was probably for the best, Tessa thought.
Landry's return had really boggled her thoughts. She had been so sure two minutes before he walked through the door of the bakery that she and Hayes were right for each other, and it might be time to have a real relationship. Then Landry walked in. Tessa knew she should still be angry at how he had left things, but he truly seemed sorry. Hayes didn’t seem very happy with Landry, though.
She ran down the path, trying to sweat out her emotions.
She made it to the dock and sat on the edge.
Similar to when she and Hayes were here last. She knew that she felt something for Hayes, but then she had loved Landry for most of her adult life.
What was she going to do now? Of course, she didn’t think Landry would be staying in Hickory Falls, and she was actually married to Hayes.
Maybe there wasn’t anything to debate at all.
Tessa sighed and lay back on the dock. She was almost thirty years old. Shouldn’t things be easier? Why did she feel like she had been transported back to high school? Tessa sat up as she heard a twig snap on the trail. She turned around expectantly. Had Hayes found her?
A blond head appeared through the brush. Not Hayes, she thought, disappointed. Landry walked over to the dock.
“Hey, Tess,” he said somewhat sheepishly.
“Landry,” she said tersely. “Why are you here?”
“I’m sorry for many things, but right at this moment, I am sorry for disturbing you. I know you value being here alone,” he said as he sat down a couple of feet away from Tessa.
“So, I ask you again, why are you here?”
Landry sighed. “I’m really sorry, Tessa. I hate the way we left things before I moved to New York.”
“How we left things?” Tessa asked incredulously. “You mean how you took me to the most romantic restaurant in town and dropped the bomb on me that you were moving away? Is that what you are referring to?”
Landry had the decency to look a little bit ashamed. “I know, I know. That was not my best move. But you know me, Tessie, I just don’t think sometimes.” He smiled at her endearingly.
Tessa smiled despite herself. “Well, you got that right.”
Landry smiled back. “I have deeply regretted how I left you. I have really missed you.”
“You know, I thought you were going to propose that night,” Tessa confronted him. “I really thought we were serious, and you just acted like I was some random fling.”
“You are absolutely right,” Landry said. “I was terrible. And I really apologize.”
Tessa thought for a moment. Staying angry at Landry wouldn’t hurt anyone but herself.
And she had never really been able to stay mad at him long anyway.
He always managed to charm his way out of bad situations.
She frowned a little at that thought, not sure that it was a good thing.
“Well, despite your many flaws, I forgive you,” she told him.
He smiled at her and reached for her hand. “Thank you, Tessa,” he said, squeezing her hand. “So, tell me, how is it that you ended up married to Hayes?”
Tessa jerked her hand back. Despite her warring emotions, she was a married woman, and she wouldn’t disrespect Hayes, fake marriage or not.
“We started spending a good bit of time together, and it just happened,” Tessa said, sticking as close to the truth as she could.
“It just seems so quick after we broke up,” Landry mused.
“You mean when you took a job and moved to New York without mentioning it to your girlfriend?” Tessa questioned. “To you, we weren’t serious, so what does it matter what I did after you left?”
“That’s exactly my point,” Landry smiled. “You were serious about me. It seems weird that you just got married so quickly.”
Tessa looked at Landry, her anger simmering again. “Now, you just wait one minute—"
Landry held up his hands. “I’m sorry. I am making a mess of this. What I am trying to say is you are right; I was a big jerk.”
“Was?”
“Okay, apparently, I’m not redeeming myself very well.”
“Redeeming yourself?” Tessa stood up. “What exactly is the point of your visit, Landry?”
Landry stood up next to Tessa. “I’m here to win you back.”
“What?!” Willow exclaimed when Tessa recounted her encounter with Landry later that day.
Tessa paced back and forth in Willow’s apartment. “I know! What in the heck is he thinking?”
“He’s thinking someone else has you, so now he wants you back,” Willow said.
“What?!” Now it was Tessa’s turn to exclaim.
Willow walked over to her and guided her to the couch. “Here, sit down. I will get you some water.”
Tessa flopped on the couch and put her head in her hands. “What is my life right now?”
“Pretty exciting,” Willow laughed.
“This is not funny!”
“I know, I know,” Willow said, trying not to smile. “But it is a little bit exciting. Nothing ever happens around here.”
“I’m glad my life is a source of entertainment,” Tessa muttered.
“Okay, seriously,” Willow said as she sat down on the couch and handed Tessa a water bottle. “What are you thinking? Do you want Landry back? What about you being married? What about Hayes?”
“I am thinking all of those questions,” Tessa wailed. “I am pretty sure I don’t want Landry back; that is done. I am only fake married. I don’t know what to do about Hayes.”
“Have you told him what Landry said?”
“No, I came right over here after I left Landry,” Tessa said.
“What did you say to Landry?”
“Nothing, really,” Tessa said. “I don’t think I handled it well. I just said I had to go. And then I came here.”
“Well, Landry sure has a lot of nerve,” Willow said.
“Yes, he does. He always has.”
“Do you still love him?” Willow asked seriously.
“No,” Tessa said firmly. “No, I don’t think so.”
“You don’t think so?”
“No, no, I don’t love him anymore,” Tessa sighed. “I think it’s just a habit. It was Landry and me for so long. Last year, I really thought it was like a fairy tale when we got back together.”
“Well, you know the original fairy tales were scary stories to warn children not to misbehave, right?”
“Willow!” Tessa laughed. “You know that Hayes and I were supposed to talk this morning.”
“Yes!” Willow exclaimed. “You haven’t seen him since Landry showed up?”
“No, and now I am worried the moment has passed,” Tessa said.
“No, Tessa! You two still need to talk,” Willow protested.
“I know,” Tessa said. “But I was so sure before, but this Landry thing has thrown me. Not that I have feelings for Landry, but what if he is right? What if what I am feeling for Hayes is just being in the moment? Could I have really fallen in love with someone so quickly after breaking up with Landry?”
“Yes, you could have!” Willow argued. “Maybe your feelings for Landry were just leftover feelings from the first time you and Landry dated. Maybe your feelings for Hayes are the ones that are real.”
Tessa looked thoughtful. “You could be right, but how do I know? I really don’t want to hurt Hayes. It’s not fair to him. I’ve already dragged him into all this craziness. I don’t want to hurt him.”
“That is because you care about him,” Willow said. “And I’m not so sure you're faking all these feelings in your fake marriage.”