Chapter 3
TESSA
After Gage left, I stared at the space where he’d stood seconds earlier, my breath catching in my chest. Now that I didn’t have to act like seeing him didn’t wreck me, the adrenaline that had carried me through the confrontation bled out of my system all at once.
My hands trembled so hard I had to press them against the counter to steady myself. I hated that he could still affect me at all. That my body recognized him even when my heart wanted nothing to do with him.
The anger and hurt were so close to the surface that I felt scraped open.
The silence pressed in, and I exhaled shakily, suddenly aware of the weight of Jace’s hand at my back in a way I wouldn’t have been just yesterday. Before I could dig too deeply into why that was, the kitchen door swung open.
Jenny hovered just inside the doorway, her fingers twisting in the hem of her apron. Her gaze darted toward the front windows, as though she was afraid Gage might come barreling back inside.
“I’m so sorry,” she blurted. “I should’ve handled that better. I—I must’ve said something wrong. I didn’t know what to do when he was so angry about such a pretty cake.”
“Hey.” I stepped toward her, keeping my voice soft. “You did nothing wrong.”
She blinked at me, disbelief written all over her face. “But he—”
“What he did was not okay,” I cut in gently. “I don’t pay you to be treated like that by my customers. No matter who they are or why they’re upset.”
Jenny’s lower lip wobbled. “I tried to stay calm, but my mind just went blank. I love this job, and I was scared I was going to mess everything up.”
“You didn’t.” I shook my head and gave her a gentle smile. “In fact, I’m proud of how you handled yourself. You’ve done great these past two weeks, and today doesn’t change that.”
Her shoulders sagged on a relieved exhale. “Really?”
“Yes, really,” I assured her. “And you won’t need to deal with him again. I promise you that.”
I’d be the one who handled Gage if he ever dared to show his face here again. Which I didn’t expect to happen now that he knew I owned Hale & Honey.
“That’s really good to hear.”
She moved toward the counter, and I reached out and squeezed her arm when she got close enough. “There will always be the occasional difficult customer. But you’re not dealing with them alone. I have your back.”
“Thank you,” she murmured with a shy smile. “I really like working here.”
“I’m glad.” I gave her arm another quick squeeze. “Will you be okay out here while I go take care of a couple of things in the kitchen?”
She looked around the empty space. “Yeah, I think I can hold down the fort while we’re so busy.”
Her ironic comment let me know her humor had returned. She was fine now.
Jace slid his hand a little more firmly against my back and nodded toward the hallway. “Can we talk for a second before you head into the kitchen?”
“Sure.” My legs felt unsteady enough that I was grateful he stayed at my side to guide me into my office.
The moment the door clicked shut behind us, Jace sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “What a fucking asshole.”
I huffed out a laugh that held no humor. “I can't really argue with that description.”
“He seriously came in here with that attitude? Talking to Jenny and you like he did?” Jace kept talking, as though he hadn’t heard me. “I should’ve hit him.”
“That wouldn’t have helped.” I hopped up onto the edge of my desk. “It might’ve felt good for a minute, but he wasn’t joking about the lawyers. You really would’ve been stuck in jail. He’d use all of his considerable influence to make sure you were charged.”
Jace leaned against the closed door, his arms crossed over his chest. “I don’t get what you ever saw in a guy like that.”
“Gage wasn’t like that when we were together.” I dropped my gaze to stare at my hands. “He could be arrogant at times, which isn’t surprising considering how he was raised. But he was never cruel.”
Jace pushed off the door and stepped closer. “Shit, I’m sorry, Tessa. I shouldn’t have thrown your relationship with him in your face like that. I’m pissed at him, not you.”
I tilted my head up again to meet his gaze. “Trust me, I understand being mad at him.”
That was a major understatement, considering how furious I’d been with Gage after he ended our relationship to marry Vanessa without even having the decency to give me a real conversation. Just that voicemail asking me not to hate him before being blocked.
A muscle in his jaw jumped. “I know.”
I hadn’t shared all the details with Jace, just enough for him to get why I didn’t want anything serious. Even after all this time, the rest still felt too raw to talk about.
“I’m sorry you had to swoop in to rescue me like that.” I gave him a half-hearted smile. “But I appreciate it.”
His gaze softened in a way that made my breath catch. He’d given me that look before, and I knew what it usually led to.
He closed the distance between us and lifted his hand to brush his fingers along the side of my jaw. His touch was familiar, safe in a way that should have comforted me. “Tessa.”
I leaned into him, and Jace pressed his lips against mine. His kiss stoked a spark of chemistry between us. We were mostly just friends, but Jace and I had blurred lines before. I knew he could make me feel good if I let him.
But something about this time didn’t feel right. The ghost of a different touch came between us, uninvited and unwelcome. A memory I didn’t want. The one I’d spent three years pretending couldn’t still bother me.
I pulled back, my hand coming up to his wrist to gently guide it away from my face.
“I’m sorry. I can’t,” I whispered, shaking my head.
Pain flickered across Jace’s expression, but he masked it quickly and took a step back to give me space. “It’s okay. You don’t owe me anything, Tessa.”
“I know.”
But that didn’t make me feel any better about pulling away from him. Jace was a good guy. He’d always been kind to me and never pushed for more than I was willing to give. He was exactly what I needed for the past year.
What we had between us had proved I wasn’t completely broken. Gage hadn’t taken that from me.
Unfortunately, that kiss showed me something I hated to admit, even to myself. A piece of me still reacted to my ex, even after everything that happened. And until I figured out how to pry it loose, I wouldn’t be ready to fully move forward with someone else.
Jace lingered for a moment, like he wasn’t sure if he should stay or give me space. In the end, he let out a quiet breath and jerked his chin toward the door. “I should get back to my shop, but you know where I am if you need anything.”
“Thanks.”
He hesitated another second, then slipped out, closing the office door behind him with a soft click. For the first time since Gage walked in, I was alone. But I wasn’t ready to face the thoughts swirling in my head. So when my gaze drifted over my cluttered desk, I decided to tackle the mess.
I organized printed copies of order forms and invoices and filed everything into the cabinet on the wall behind me.
Then I opened a new pack of highlighters and yanked on the top-drawer handle to drop them inside.
I moved around the scraps of everyday things I’d already stuffed in there—receipts, pens, and a sticky note with a half-finished idea for a flavor combination.
But sitting near the back, half buried beneath a jumble of rubber bands, was a narrow strip of glossy paper.
I squeezed my eyes closed to shut out the image of the matching set of photos to the ones that had been inside the box of my stuff Gage had left in my apartment. This one wasn’t ruined, and I hadn’t been able to throw it away even though I hadn’t looked at it in all this time. Until now.
I unearthed it from the chaotic mess in my drawer and stared down at the proof of happier times. My head on his shoulder. His mouth pressed to my cheek in the last frame. We looked like we were so in love with each other. The version of me in those pictures had no idea what was coming.
I pressed my fingers to my trembling lips, but a sob ripped free anyway. Clutching the worn strip of photos against my chest as the dam cracked wide open, I dropped onto my chair and let myself cry it out. Again.
I wasn’t the same woman Gage had walked away from. Not anymore.
But I couldn't ignore the fact that I wasn’t as over him as I’d thought I was.