29. Tessa
Chapter 29
Tessa
I had no one else to blame but myself.
Sitting in my office, I was thankful that Jazz wasn’t here and I hoped whatever task she was doing kept her busy. I wanted to be alone. I walked to the windows and touched my fingers to the glass. I didn’t see all the people outside having a lovely time. I just saw my own blurry reflection.
I’d fallen in love with Ro.
I closed my eyes. My friends had tried to warn me. Enzo had tried to warn me. Even Tristan had tried to warn me.
This pain would dull eventually. I’d survive. I dragged in some deep breaths. He was leaving, but I’d survive.
God, it hurt . There would be no more smiles, no more fairy queens whispered in my ear, no more working together, or waking up together.
I always knew he’d leave.
I pressed my hands to my chest, like I could hold the pieces of my heart together. I’d get over this. I knew what it was to love and lose it. I knew it didn’t kill you.
It hurt like hell, but you stayed breathing whether you wanted to or not.
There was a knock at my door. God . My pulse jumped. I didn’t want to talk to him. Not now.
I turned and saw my aunt. Relief washed over me. “Hi, what are you doing here?”
“I was dropping a delivery off. Allie sourced some local soaps from my shop that she’s going to use in some of the rooms. I figured I’d stop by and see my girl.”
I hugged her. Hard.
“Oh, hey.” She patted my back. “What’s wrong, pretty girl?”
“Nothing. I just needed a hug.”
She led me over to a chair in front of my desk and made me sit. She knelt beside me. “What’s wrong?”
I heard the love, the concern. She’d been giving me that every day of my life.
“I don’t want to worry you.”
She took my hand and squeezed. “Tessa, I’ve been worrying about you since you were born. My job as your aunt and primary caregiver is to worry about you. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Tears filled my eyes. “Ro’s leaving.”
“Oh, my darling.” She squeezed my hand again.
“It was always the plan. My feelings changed. He did nothing wrong and made me no promises.” I dashed the tears away. “I know it’ll pass.”
“Tessa—”
“No.” I squeezed her fingers. “I promise I’ll be fine. Tomorrow, I’ll be my usual self, getting on with things.”
“Stop it.” Emily’s voice was sharp.
I blinked.
“You are allowed to feel. You don’t need to pretend you’re fine with me.”
“I don’t want to worry you.”
She cupped my cheek. “Darling girl, it’s not your job to make my life easy.” She frowned. “You’ve always been so good, followed the rules, got good grades, never faltered. I’ve always worried you pushed yourself too hard.”
“I didn’t want to cause you more trouble,” I whispered. “You took me in and it changed your entire life. I didn’t want to make anything harder than it already was.”
Shock was a quick slap to her face. “You weren’t a burden, Tessa. You weren’t trouble. You were a gift.”
“Em—”
“ No . Did you think you had to be perfect for me? To be good and forsake your own feelings for me?”
I shifted uncomfortably. “Well…”
“No.” She shook her head. “Now you’ve made me angry.”
I stood. “Don’t be angry.”
She sighed and pulled me into her arms. “I love you. With no strings. And I will worry, no matter what you do.”
I gave a hiccupping laugh. “I like doing well and I like helping people and following the rules. It wasn’t just?—”
“I know, baby.” She hugged me harder. “I’ve worried that you’d never find a man to love. I’ve always known a part of you was holding back. Losing your mom and dad was so hard. I know losing those you love the most is the hardest thing in the world.” Her voice thickened. I knew she wasn’t just thinking of my parents, but Max too.
She pulled back to look at me. “It’s worth it. I’d never give up the years with Max or the babies he gave me. I’d never give up the time with your mom to avoid the grief. Every precious second was worth it.”
God, I was going to bawl. “Emily…”
“How do you feel about Ro?”
“I wasn’t supposed to fall in love,” I whispered.
“Feelings aren’t so easy to control, my smart girl. You can’t plan love, Tessa. Have you told him how you feel?”
I stayed silent.
Emily pulled a face. “Tessa…”
“The rules were we would keep it temporary, casual. No expectations. He’s leaving.”
“He looks at you.”
My heart squeezed painfully. “So I hear.”
“Like he just stumbled out of the darkness. Like he can’t believe you’re real. Like he sees forever.”
No . Ro couldn’t look at me like that. “His parents are not good people, Emily. He grew up without anyone loving him or caring for him. His dad is horrible. His mom is absent.”
“So you need to be the first to tell him how you feel. Give him your love, darling girl.”
“What if he still leaves?”
She hugged me. “Then he’s an idiot. And you’ll still be my strong, amazing Tessa. We’ll all be here for you. But if you don’t tell him, you’ll never know how he truly feels.”
I nodded. “Did I tell you that I love you?”
She smiled.
The radio on my belt squawked. “Tessa, you’re needed in the restaurant.”
“I have to go.”
She ran a hand over my hair. “We’ll talk later.”
I kissed her cheek. “Bye.”
Wasting no time, I wiped my cheeks on my sleeve and hurried to the restaurant. It was empty at this time of the day. As I walked through the tables, I sniffed and frowned.
I smelled… Smoke .
That’s when I saw it curling under the door from the kitchen.
My heart kicked into higher gear. Oh, crap.
I broke into a run, just as the fire alarm started blaring.
Shit .
Quickly, I snatched a fire extinguisher off the wall and shoved the kitchen door open.
The smoke was thicker in the kitchen, and I saw people stumbling and coughing.
“Everyone out!” I grabbed one of the servers by the arm and shoved him toward the door. “ Go .”
I coughed, trying to shield my mouth from the smoke. More people hurried out.
“Keep moving. Don’t stop.”
Then I saw the flames coming from one of the big, industrial, stainless-steel stoves. I lifted the extinguisher and started spraying it.
A second later, Chef Harvey staggered out of the smoke and went down on one knee. He let out a hacking cough. I grabbed him and helped him up. “Come on, Chef.”
“I don’t know what happened.”
“We need to go.”
I got him to the door, then spun back. I had to put the fire out. I wasn’t letting anyone get hurt. I aimed the extinguisher again and kept spraying until the flames went out. The smoke was still thick and I coughed some more.
I heard a noise behind me and turned.
There was a shadowy outline in the smoke. I squinted.
“God, Rupert. What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to help.”
“We need to get out. Now.”
“We do.”
Suddenly, he grabbed me, wrapping both arms around me.
“Rupert!” The extinguisher fell from my fingers and clattered to the floor. “Let me go.”
His arms tightened and he whirled me around. “Never.” He yanked me backward and one of my shoes fell off. I struggled against him.
That’s when I knew.
I looked up into his face. “It was you . Everything was you.”
His face twisted. “Be quiet. We’re leaving.”