20 | Abandoned Partners
The tarmac was smaller than I expected.
Private. Tucked away from the main terminals, with just a sleek glass building and a white jet waiting on the runway, the company logo sharp against the tail.
I slowed without meaning to.
Theo’s fingers tightened slightly around mine. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, glancing around again. “Just… taking it in.”
A small group had already gathered near the plane. I recognized a few faces from the party—David, James, Marina.
And Vanessa.
She stood slightly apart, like she always did, composed and deliberate. Cream trousers, silk blouse, sunglasses pushed into her hair. Effortless in a way that felt practiced.
She was talking to a man I didn’t recognize—tall, relaxed, dressed in that expensive, understated way that didn’t try too hard.
“That’s Blake,” Theo said quietly, following my gaze. “He’s here with Vanessa.”
Something in my chest tightened, small but noticeable.
We walked over.
David spotted us first, his expression brightening immediately. “Theodore! Tessa!” He clapped Theo on the shoulder, then turned to me with the same easy warmth. “Good to see you both. Everyone’s here, so we should be wheels up in about ten minutes.”
“Great,” Theo said.
David nodded, satisfied, then added to me, “I’m glad you could join us. Theo works too hard. It’s good to see him making time for… other things.”
His tone was light, but I felt Theo’s hand shift slightly in mine.
“Thanks for having me,” I said.
“Of course.”
The announcement came a minute later, and the group started moving toward the plane.
Inside, everything felt softer.
Leather seats arranged in small clusters, warm wood, low lighting. Space. Actual space. I paused just long enough to take it in before Theo guided me toward a pair of seats.
“Everything okay?” he asked quietly once we sat.
“Yeah.” I let out a breath. “It’s just… a lot.”
His mouth curved faintly. “You get used to it.”
“I don’t know if I should.”
He glanced at me, something softer passing through his expression before he looked away.
People were still settling when Vanessa caught his eye.
“Theo,” she called lightly, already moving closer. “Could I borrow you for a second? I wanted to go over the Henderson numbers before we land.”
He hesitated—just long enough for me to notice—then looked at me. “Do you mind?”
“Of course not.”
“Just a few minutes,” she added, already turning.
He squeezed my hand once before standing. “I’ll be right back.”
Blake appeared almost immediately, like he’d been waiting for the opening.
“Mind if I?” he asked, nodding to Theo’s seat.
“Go ahead.”
He sat easily, leaning back. “Blake.”
“Tessa.”
We shook hands.
“First time?” he asked, glancing around.
“That obvious?”
“A little.” He smiled. “Don’t worry. It wears off.”
Across the aisle, Vanessa leaned in toward Theo, her tablet angled between them. She said something I couldn’t hear. He laughed quietly, nodding.
Her hand rested on his arm.
I looked away.
Blake kept the conversation easy—travel, work, nothing that required too much thought. I answered, smiled where I was supposed to, but my attention kept slipping.
Back to them.
Too close.
Too familiar.
Theo came back about twenty minutes later.
“Sorry,” he said, settling beside me.
“It’s fine.”
Blake stood. “I should probably go rescue Vanessa from spreadsheets.”
Theo huffed a quiet laugh. “Good luck.”
Blake moved off, leaving us alone again.
Theo’s hand found mine almost immediately, grounding, familiar.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. Blake’s nice.”
“Good.”
He leaned back slightly, his thumb brushing absent circles over my knuckles. “So—plan. We land in about an hour. Check in, unpack. I’ve got a session at four, runs until six.”
“Okay.”
“You can do whatever you want. Pool, spa, explore.” A small pause. “Or we skip the reception later and just… disappear somewhere. If you’d rather.”
I glanced at him.
“Won’t people expect you there?”
“Probably.” He didn’t sound concerned. “I don’t care.”
Something warm flickered low in my chest before I could stop it.
“Let’s see how we feel,” I said.
“Okay.”
He lifted my hand slightly, brushing his lips over my knuckles.
My breath caught, sharp and unexpected.
“Theo—”
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said quietly.
“Me too.”
The resort was worse.
In the best way.
Stone cottages scattered across rolling hills, vineyards stretching out in soft green lines that blurred into the horizon. Everything smelled faintly of lavender and sun-warmed earth.
It didn’t feel real.
We checked in as a group. Names, keys, quick instructions.
“James and Marcus, cottage six. Marina and Robert, eight. Vanessa and Blake, twelve. Theo and Tessa, fourteen.”
Vanessa’s eyes flicked toward Theo again. “Neighbors.”
“Looks like it.”
Neutral. Easy.
Like it meant nothing.
It didn't.
The cottage was quiet when we stepped inside.
Too quiet.
I stopped just inside the doorway.
One bed. White linens, soft light, doors opening onto a private terrace overlooking rows of vines that seemed to go on forever.
“Wow,” I said softly.
Theo set his bag down, watching me instead of the view. “Yeah.”
A small pause stretched between us.
“So,” he said, clearing his throat slightly, “they booked us as a couple, so—one room.”
“I figured.”
“I can take the couch, or—”
“It’s fine.” I glanced at him. “We’ve shared a bed before.”
Something shifted in his expression at that, quick and unreadable.
“Okay,” he said.
He checked his watch. “I need to go.”
“Right.”
“I won’t be long.”
Then he was gone.
----
The afternoon passed slower than I expected.
The pool helped. The sun. The steady, mindless rhythm of reading the same paragraph three times without actually processing it.
I was starting to relax when someone dropped into the lounger beside mine.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
I looked over.
Blake again.
“Yeah,” I said. “It is.”
“Mind if I join you? Vanessa’s stuck in meetings and I’m already bored.”
“Sure.”
He was easy. Conversation that didn’t ask anything from me, didn’t push, didn’t dig.
It was… nice.
Too nice.
“Hey,” he said after a while. “There’s a wine tasting at four. Just for the abandoned partners. You should come.”
I hesitated.
“Come on,” he added, smiling. “What else are you going to do? Sit here and wait for Theo?”
Something in that landed just a little too close o I said yes.
The wine was good.
Too smooth.
By the third glass, everything felt softer, edges blurring, thoughts loosening in a way that made it easier not to question them.
“So,” Blake said, leaning back slightly. “How long have you and Theo been together?”
“Not long. It’s… new.”
“Ah.” He nodded. “That explains it.”
“What?”
“The way he looks at you.”
I stilled slightly. “What about you and Vanessa?”
He let out a quiet breath. “We’re not really together. Not seriously.”
“I'm sorry.”
“It’s more like… convenient.” He shrugged. “Which works, because she’s not that into me.”
My stomach tightened.
“What do you mean?”
He glanced at me, then away. “She’s into Theo.”
The words landed harder than they should have.
“She talks about him a lot,” he continued. “And when this trip came up, she was very motivated to be here.” A small pause. “I think I’m mostly here so it doesn’t look obvious.”
My fingers tightened around the stem of my glass.
“But he’s with me.”
“I know.” He didn’t argue. “I’m just telling you what I’ve seen.”
Something cold slid through my chest.
“I don’t think it’s mutual,” he added quickly. “Theo seems pretty into you.”
I nodded.
Didn’t trust my voice.
The sommelier stepped in. “Another round?”
“Yes,” I said.
Blake frowned slightly. “Maybe slow down—”
“Another round.”
By the time we left, the ground felt just a little less stable than it should have.
The path back stretched longer than I remembered, sunlight lower now, shadows deeper between the cottages.
Vanessa was into Theo.
She thought she had a chance.
She came here for him.
The thought didn’t sit right.
It didn’t just stay where Blake had left it—it kept shifting, stretching into something else before I could stop it.
If Vanessa brought Blake to make Theo jealous…
then what was I doing here?
My steps slowed.
A second later—
What if Theo did the same thing?
The idea hit fast. Too fast.
I frowned slightly, trying to push it away almost as quickly as it came.
No. That didn’t make sense.
He’d come to me. The coffee. The drive. The way he’d looked at me on the plane—
But the thought didn’t disappear. It lingered, just beneath the surface, quiet and insistent.
Or maybe it was just the wine.
Too much of it.
Everything felt a little off—too warm, too loud in my head, like my thoughts weren’t quite lining up the way they should.
I exhaled slowly, trying to steady myself.
“This is stupid,” I murmured under my breath.
But I didn’t know if I meant the thought—
or the fact that I couldn’t quite shake it.
We rounded the corner.
And I stopped.
Theo was on the terrace.
With Vanessa.
They were sitting close—too close for something that was supposed to be purely professional. She said something, laughing softly, her hand already resting on his arm like it belonged there.
He didn’t move it away.
Something twisted low in my stomach, sharp and immediate, stealing the air from my lungs before I could stop it.
“Tessa—” Blake started beside me.
I didn’t answer.
I just stood there, watching, my body going still in a way that felt dangerously close to breaking.
It didn’t feel fake at all.
“There you are!” Vanessa called out. She stood. Smiled. “We were waiting for you.”
“I’m sure you kept him company,” I said.
My voice came out flat. Cold.
I walked past them. Into the cottage.
Slammed the door.
It opened thirty seconds later.
????
This book is part of The Echoes of Us contest, so every comment and reaction means the world—if you’re enjoying what you’re reading, make sure to leave a trace.