Chapter 8 Tessa
TESSA
Iwake up slowly, and the moment I open my eyes I realize I’m alone. This isn’t the first morning I’ve woken up alone, but I prefer having Owen still in bed with me. I turn, not completely ready to roll out and go in search of him when my eyes catch the window.
He must have pulled the curtains before stepping out, and as beautiful as it is out there, my heart stills in my chest as I realize the snow has stopped.
The street in front of his home is clear. It’s obviously been plowed. I should feel grateful. I know what a blizzard can do to people on our mountain. It can be inconvenient and frightening if you’re not prepared. But a heaviness settles in the pit of my stomach.
The blizzard is gone.
What if our time is up? What happens now? I try to shake off the questions, but I can’t seem to shake the negative thoughts away.
Everything will be fine, I try to remind myself. What is the absolute worst-case scenario here? Owen sends me packing and this is just a beautiful amazing memory that will have to fill my heart until the day I die. Dramatic much? I scold myself.
Everything will be fine!
Owen told me himself he has been loving his time with me.
Why am I being a Debbie Downer now? After giving myself a small pep talk, I roll out of bed and reach for the blue flannel shirt Owen wore the day before.
Buttoning all but the top two, leaving those undone to see if maybe I can manage to tempt him to come back to bed with me and pretend it’s still snowing outside, I go to look for him.
Not that I get too far.
I’m about halfway down the hall when I hear Eli’s voice, and my feet stop.
“What do you mean, she’s staying here?” Eli hisses. I rest my hand on the wall, hiding from being seen.
“She doesn’t need you to take her anywhere,” Owen tensely shares, and I feel my eyes widen. He almost sounds jealous. Of Eli?
“Look, man, can you just go to the guest room and…” Eli’s voice drifts off to almost nothing when all of a sudden, he growls. “What did you fucking do?”
“Eli—"
“It’s Tessa!” Eli shouts, and I hear Owen hush him.
“I know! Now keep your fucking voice down! She’s sleeping. You don’t think I know how it is?” Owen scolds.
“Jesus, please tell me you didn’t fuck her!” Eli hisses, and I wince.
“Don’t talk about her like that!” Owen clips. My feet take me closer to the archway that connects the hall with the living room.
“What the—"
“I love her!” Owen blurts, and my heart stops mid-beat. Oh my god! Owen loves me.
“What?” Eli gasps. I can hear feet pacing. I manage to get my feet to cooperate and move a little more down the hall. Owen’s back is to me, and Eli is in front of him. Both of them are standing but are too involved in their conversation or argument to notice me.
“Wait, what? You love her?” Eli is clearly confused by this development, and I don’t blame him. Owen and I have had a crush on one another. We both admitted that. But love?
“I do.”
“Tessa?” Eli asks, and I roll my eyes.
“Yes!”
“My best friend Tessa, the one you growl at, Tessa?”
“I don’t growl.”
“When? How? Is this new, or has it been happening for a while?” Eli rambles. I press my lips together as I watch it all unfold.
“Since the night you called for me to get her. But man to man, I’ve loved her since you brought her home in high school.”
“What the fuck?” Eli whispers, and my heart starts to beat faster. Every moment, it goes a little faster and faster. “You what? Had your thumb up your ass this whole time? Never thought you should, I don’t know, make a move?”
“I thought maybe you two…” He runs his fingers through his hair. “And even though it fucking killed me to keep my hands to myself, you’re my brother, Eli! I wouldn’t do that to you!”
“And you, Owen, are an idiot,” Eli points out. I find my lips twitch.
“An idiot who loves her,” Owen cuts Eli off and once again repeats how he feels. “She may be your best friend, but you gotta know here and now, to be crystal clear, she’s mine. All mine. And I pray to freaking God I can find a way to talk her into having me.”
“Having you?” Eli’s eyes go wide. “Like, you’re saying—"
“Forever.” Owen’s voice is deep and confident. My heart flips in my chest as a flock of butterflies come to life in my belly and my nose starts to sting. He loves me. He really, really loves me.
“Like you’re going to ask her to marry—" Eli starts to ask, but I don’t want to know that. I do, but I don’t want to learn more from eavesdropping. I step closer, and somehow, as if sensing me, both Woodman brother’s eyes move and lock on to me.
“You love me?” I ask the moment my feet drag me through the archway.
“Shit,” Eli curses as he looks down at his shoes like they’re the most interesting thing in the world.
“Princess.” Owen’s voice is so full of emotion as his dark eyes are pinned on me.
“Oh shit,” Eli mutters under his breath with a grin on his face.
“Do you?” I press, locking my gaze on the man of my dreams. The one I never thought ever gave me a second thought stares back at me. And in that moment, he’s the only one there as we both ignore Eli’s presence.
Owen’s eyes smolder as his long legs make their way toward me. I stand straighter. Locking my body in place, afraid of what his answer may be.
What if he doesn’t?
What if he does?
“Baby, I need you to breathe,” he calmly orders as his arms wrap around the small of my back and he pulls me into his solid chest. "Just like that,” he coos sweetly as he strokes my hair.
“This wasn’t how I wanted to tell you.” He sighs atop my head, and my body relaxes completely.
Any defense mechanisms I was trying to grasp dissolve, and I hug him back as big, ugly tears silently roll down my face.
“Baby,” he soothes, and I feel his lips on my hair.
“Shit,” Eli rumbles. “I should get out of here now that I know she’s okay.”
“Yeah,” my guy clips. I don’t have to look up at him to know Owen’s glaring in Eli’s direction.
“I’m okay,” I try to mumble, but a huge overpowering sob takes hold.
Without hesitation, Owen picks me up just as I kinda make out the sound of the front door opening and closing.
Owen quickly settles us on the couch, my body draped over his as his huge man paws grab my face and he tips it up to meet his warm gaze.
“I love you, Tessa Cruz. I love you more than anything in this world.”
“More than Wifi?” I whisper. His lips tiwtch as he nods.
“More than anything,” he repeats as the pad of his thumbs wipe away my tears and he brings me closer into his body. Cuddling close, he doesn’t rush me to calm down. He gives me the time I need to process what he’s just said, and when I pull away, his gaze is intense.
Concerned.
“I love you, Owen Woodman. I’ve loved you for so long, and now that this, you and me…” I pause and watch as he swallows hard. “It’s better than I could have imagined, and I don’t want it to end,” I admit. His brows bunch up.
“Is that what you thought? That we would what? Just go back to being friends?”
“I wasn’t sure,” I confess. He exhales roughly.
“Let me tell you something right now, princess. You’re mine. Completely and utterly mine. Today, tomorrow, and forever.”
“Is that right?”
“You bet your sweet ass.” He grins, and I breathe in, resting my forehead against his. “And you being mine, do you know what that means?” His voice drops an octave, and my skin heats up.
“What?” I whisper, feeling like I’m on the edge of my seat.
“That I’m yours. Only yours.” He seals that promise with a kiss. One that doesn’t end until we’re both breathless and pawing at one another.
But time would teach me that’s just what happens when we kiss.