Chapter 12
TESSA
Tessa looked around the guest room, which she had just freshened up for Hayes.
Luckily, it was one of the more masculine rooms in the house with a cozy plaid theme.
Not that Hayes would mind, he was one of the most laid-back people she had ever met, but he was helping her in a major way, so she wanted to try to make him feel comfortable and a little more at home.
She wondered how this living arrangement was going to go.
It had been a while since she had lived with a man under her roof, and then it was her father and brothers.
She felt this was going to be very different from that.
But she and Hayes were friends; everything would be fine.
The memory of their kiss tried to resurface, but she pushed it away.
She also ignored the butterflies in her stomach at the thought of kissing him again.
She heard a knock at the door, so she left Hayes’s room to answer it. Hayes stood on the porch with a suitcase.
“I guess I should get you a key,” Tessa said. “You don’t have to knock. You live here now.”
“Well, I didn’t want to presume,” Hayes said. “I just brought a few clothes for now. I thought we could go back to my place sometime and figure out what to bring over here so it looks like I am moving.”
“Good idea,” Tessa replied, as they both stood awkwardly in the entryway. “Well, let’s go upstairs, and I’ll show you to your room.”
Hayes followed her up the stairs and to the right. She showed him his room, and then motioned down the hall. “I’m still in the room down the hall. I haven’t been able to move into the master bedroom yet. I’ve stayed in my old room.”
Hayes smiled at her and squeezed her arm. “That’s understandable.”
Tessa returned his smile. “So, both of our bedrooms have ensuite bathrooms. Luckily, we don’t have to share.” She shuddered at the thought.
“Hey!” Hayes acted offended. “I am much neater than your brothers!”
“Ha! Sharing a bathroom with them was a nightmare!” Tessa laughed. “I hope, for my sisters-in-law’s sakes, they are much better now.”
Hayes laughed, “We boys can grow up sometimes.”
“Well, I’m going to head downstairs and start dinner. Please make yourself at home here, Hayes,” Tess said. “I mean it. This is your home now, too.”
Their gazes lingered on each other for a moment.
“Okay,” Hayes said.
“Okay,” Tessa echoed. “Well, I’ll see you downstairs.”
She quickly exited the room and hurried down the stairs.
What was that? Tessa thought. The air had practically crackled with the electricity between them. So much so that Tessa almost hugged him as she left the room. Once again, she shook off those thoughts.
It was fine. Everything was fine. This was going to work.