Chapter 15
TESSA
I’d spent the past few hours elbow-deep in flour, trying to force my brain to focus on something other than the wreckage that was my social media. Three new recipes I’d been meaning to test for weeks sat cooling on the counter.
I was creaming butter for another batch of frosting when there was a knock on my door. My finger trembled as I turned off the mixer.
After wiping my hands, I crossed through the living room, my stomach in knots.
Gage stood there looking wrecked, and the sight hit me harder than I wanted to admit.
His shoulders were rigid, his jacket and tie were gone, his sleeves were pushed up, and his dark hair was mussed.
As though he’d been repeatedly dragging his hands through it since he’d left the restaurant several hours ago.
And there was a flash of vulnerability in his eyes that was at odds with his firm tone. “It’s been handled.”
I stepped back and opened the door wider. “Come in.”
Gage stepped inside but didn’t come any farther into my apartment. I appreciated that he wasn’t using the situation to press his advantage.
“Handled how?”
He scraped a hand along his jaw. “Vanessa isn’t going to be a problem anymore.”
I folded my arms over my chest, more to keep my hands from shaking than anything. “Just like that?”
“She lost everything that’s important to her today.”
I wasn’t sure how to feel as he explained that she had been fired and disinherited. Vanessa had tried to destroy me twice, but watching someone’s entire world collapse wasn’t something I’d ever wished for.
“And Rupert made it very clear that if she ever wants a relationship with him again, she needs to make things right for you. The influencer who posted that garbage already took it down. A retraction is coming any minute.” He loosened the collar of his shirt, exhaling.
“Vanessa will also be doing her own post to make it clear you had nothing to do with the end of our marriage.”
That was beyond anything I could’ve hoped for, and Gage had managed to arrange it all in one afternoon. He hadn’t taken the easy way out. He fought for me.
“I don’t even know what to say,” I whispered.
“You don’t have to say anything.” His eyes softened. “I just wanted you to know this will be fixed.”
My phone chimed on the counter behind me, and we both turned toward it. “Do you think…?”
He jerked his chin toward the kitchen. “There’s only one way to know for sure.”
There was another notification ding as I crossed into the kitchen.
Gage stopped beside me, watching my face instead of the device. “Check it.”
My fingers trembled as I reached for the phone. Two new notifications from the same account lit up the lock screen, from the influencer who’d made the first post.
If Gage hadn’t told me what to expect, I would’ve been too afraid to look. But everything he’d set in motion gave me the courage to open the video I’d been tagged in—both on the caption and comments.
The influencer sat stiffly in front of her ring light, her makeup flawless but her expression devastated.
“I owe my followers—and especially Tessa from Hale & Honey—an apology. The information I posted earlier today was wrong. My source lied, and I ran with the information before confirming anything. Tessa had nothing to do with Gage Langford’s marriage ending.
I take full responsibility and will do better. ”
My knees almost buckled in relief as I watched the number of views climb in real time. It was working. My lungs expanded fully for what felt like the first time all afternoon.
She ended her statement by encouraging people to support my bakery, emphasizing that I accepted online orders for her followers who weren't in Connecticut.
I looked up at him, unable to disguise the disbelief in my voice. “That was so fast.”
He stepped closer. “Vanessa’s post will be next.”
“On the heels of this video, the internet is going to eat that up.” I tried to wrap my head around how quickly the tides had turned in my favor.
“The ex-wife defending the woman who was blamed for the end of her marriage is the kind of narrative that rockets to the top of every feed. Hale & Honey will be a trending topic tonight.”
“At least some good will come from this mess.”
I set my phone down on the counter and lifted my gaze to Gage. An overwhelming mixture of relief, gratitude, and the love I’d tried so hard to bury surged at once. Before I could even think better of it, I stepped toward him and threw my arms around his waist.
He caught me instantly, and his breath brushed the top of my head as he murmured, “I told you I’d take care of it.”
I tipped my head back, just enough to see his face. There was no missing the depth of emotion in his eyes.
We were so close, our breaths mingled. I should’ve stepped back. But I didn’t.
Instead, my fingers slid up the front of his shirt, and I went up on my toes. Then his lips were on mine.
The kiss deepened in an instant, hungry and familiar. Years of longing condensed into the touch of our mouths.
His hands framed my hips, anchoring me against him as if he was afraid I’d disappear. “Are you sure?”
A month ago, I would’ve sworn I’d never speak to him again. But I wanted him now, and I refused to second-guess my decision. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”
“Thank fuck.”
He lifted me, and my legs wrapped around his waist. His mouth found mine again as he walked us from the kitchen to my bedroom. We left a trail of clothes in our wake, forgotten the second they hit the floor.
After setting me down next to my bed, he brushed his thumb across my bottom lip. “If this is too much, tell me to stop. I will.”
“No.” I shook my head. “Please don't stop.”
That was all the encouragement he needed. He picked me up again to set me on the middle of my mattress. His gaze darkened as he took in the simple lace bra covering my breasts. “So damn beautiful, even more so now.”
I felt my cheeks heat. “You always did know what to say.”
“No.” He knelt between my legs with just his boxer briefs on, his hands settling on my thighs. “But I’m learning.”
He kissed the curve of my shoulder, then lower, tracing the line of my collarbone with his lips. I sighed, my fingers threading into his hair. He tasted every inch of skin he uncovered as he tugged the lace away, almost as though he was memorizing me all over again.
I shivered as his mouth closed over one nipple, his tongue circling until I arched into him. Then he switched sides, giving the other the same attention, his hands sliding up my ribs to hold me steady.
“Gage.” My voice cracked on his name.
He lifted his head, his gaze meeting mine. “Tell me what you need.”
“More,” I breathed. “Please.”
He didn’t hesitate. His hands moved to my panties, and I lifted my hips so he could tug them down and toss them over his shoulder. “Spread for me, baby.”
I moved my legs farther apart, and he settled between them, kissing the inside of my thigh before moving higher, his beard scraping against my sensitive skin.
When his mouth found my core, I gasped, my fingers tightening in his hair.
He licked through my wetness, circling my clit until my hips rocked against him.
“Gage,” I panted, threading my fingers through his dark hair.
He growled against me, the vibration sending sparks through my core.
His tongue delved deeper, then returned to tease, while two fingers slid inside, curling just right.
The pressure built fast, and I cried out as the first wave of my release crashed over me.
My body trembled, and my thighs clamped around his head.
He didn’t stop until I was gasping. Only then did he kiss his way back up my body. “You’re everything, Tessa. Always were.”
I reached for him, tugging him closer. “Then give me everything.”
He shoved his boxer briefs off but paused when he lined the head of his dick at my entrance. “Shit, I don’t have any condoms. It’s been almost two years since I needed one. I’m clean, though.”
I stiffened at the reminder that he’d slept with Vanessa, but knowing that part of his marriage had been so short-lived eased some of my pain.
As though he sensed the direction my thoughts had strayed, Gage leaned down and pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “I’m sorry, baby.”
“You can make it up to me with more orgasms.” I twined my arms around his neck. “I’m still on birth control, and I was tested after I ended things with Jace last month.”
He grimaced at the reminder that I had also been with someone else during the time we were apart, but I felt no guilt. I never would’ve seen Jace as more than a friend if Gage had still been in my life. He had nobody but himself—and Vanessa—to blame.
“You’re okay with me taking you bare?” he asked, his nostrils flaring.
I tugged his head down to give him a quick kiss. “I wouldn’t have suggested it if I wasn’t.”
He stared into my eyes as he pushed in slowly, inch by inch. “So fucking perfect.”
We both stilled, breathing hard. Having him deep inside me felt better than I remembered. I forced myself to focus on the pleasure and not the emotions that welled up.
He moved slowly at first but need quickly took over. His thrusts grew harder and the pace faster, our bodies finding the rhythm we’d once known so well.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, my nails digging into his back. “More.”
He groaned, his hips circling on his next downward thrust. “Like that?”
“Yes! Oh yes.”
He shifted the angle, hitting that spot inside me that made stars burst behind my eyelids. I arched, crying out as my second orgasm built. He rocked faster and wedged his arm between our bodies to circle my clit with his thumb.
“Come for me, baby,” he growled. “Let me feel you.”
I shattered, clenching around him, his name a broken moan on my lips.
He followed after a few more thrusts, shuddering as he spilled inside me with a low groan. “Tessa.”
We stayed wrapped together with his forehead pressed to mine while we caught his breath. When he finally eased out, he got out of bed to grab a washcloth, using it to gently clean between my legs. After discarding it in the laundry basket, he settled next to me in bed again.
I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. “This doesn’t mean we’re back together.”
He kissed my temple. “I know. But I’ll take whatever you’re willing to give me.”
I felt his body brace, as though he was waiting for me to pull away. To tell him to leave.
After everything that happened between us, it was the safe call. But taking risks was what had made me so successful during our years apart.
I rested my palms against his chest to lever myself up so I could look into his eyes. “You can take me on a date. The bakery is closed on Mondays, so my next day off is a full week away.”
“Just tell me when you’re free, and I’ll make it work.”
“You must’ve changed more than I thought.” I shook my head for a laugh. “Your schedule used to be impossible.”
“Yeah, well…Vanessa wasn’t the only person who was let go from Langford Tech today.
” He stroked his palm down my back as though I was the one who needed comforting.
“Rupert and my dad are worried about my judgment. They want me to take some time to make sure I won’t make the same mistake of that magnitude again. Which is fair.”
“Without Vanessa there to manipulate everything, you’re not—”
He broke off my muttering with a kiss, smiling when he pulled away. “I love that you want to defend me, but I’m okay. The important thing is that you’re coming out of this with your reputation intact.”
Gage had lost his dream job today. The one he’d been groomed to take since he was a little boy. But instead of worrying about himself, he’d been focused on what Vanessa had tried to do to my bakery. That bought him a little trust, but I was nowhere near ready to let him all the way in.