Chapter Eleven — Tessa #2
“I’m not telling you to reject the interviews,” he said.
“I’m not rejecting them.”
“Then what are you saying?”
I looked at the packets.
At the neat labels.
The timelines.
The future already arranged.
“I’m saying I want to decide.”
My voice shook.
Barely.
But it did.
Dad noticed.
So did Rhett.
My father nodded slowly.
“Then decide.”
It was not approval.
Not completely.
But it was room.
More room than I had expected.
The tension at the table eased slightly.
Dinner resumed.
Not normally.
There was no normal after that.
But quietly.
Carefully.
Dad asked Rhett about hockey again.
Rhett answered.
He did not mention Boston.
Did not look at me every time the word future appeared.
Did not act like he had saved me.
He simply stayed.
That might have been the most dangerous thing yet.
After dinner, Dad carried plates into the kitchen.
I followed with the serving bowl.
Rhett reached for the glasses.
“I can do those,” I said.
“So can I.”
“You’re a guest.”
“I brought recycled pie. I’m practically family.”
I glared at him.
He smiled.
The moment felt almost normal.
Then my father turned from the sink.
“Rhett.”
Rhett stopped.
Dad dried his hands.
“Walk with me.”
My stomach dropped.
Rhett looked at me.
I shook my head once.
Do not joke.
His mouth twitched.
Then settled.
“Sure.”
They went out through the back door.
I stood in the kitchen holding a bowl of potatoes like it contained the last stable part of my life.
Mara appeared in the doorway.
I had not heard her arrive.
“You survived.”
I turned.
“You sent him.”
“I delivered pie.”
“You engineered dinner.”
She looked toward the back windows.
“He came.”
“That is not the point.”
“It might be.”
I set the bowl on the counter.
“What is Dad saying to him?”
“Probably threatening him.”
“That is not funny.”
“It is a little funny.”
I moved toward the window.
Outside, my father and Rhett stood near the back fence.
Too far away to hear.
Dad said something.
Rhett nodded.
Then Dad pointed.
Rhett looked toward the house.
At me.
Even through the glass, I felt it.
Mara leaned against the counter.
“You like him.”
“I did not ask.”
“You did not have to.”
“This is temporary.”
“So you keep saying.”
I turned.
“You too?”
She shrugged.
“It sounds less convincing every time.”
Before I could answer, the back door opened.
Dad came inside first.
His expression was unreadable.
Rhett followed.
He looked calm.
Too calm.
“What happened?” I asked.
Dad picked up his coffee.
“I told him not to waste your time.”
I looked at Rhett.
“And?”
Rhett met my eyes.
“I told him I wouldn’t.”
The room went still.
Mara looked between us.
My father did too.
I could not tell whether Rhett had just made a promise about the fake arrangement—
or something real.
That uncertainty followed me all the way to the front porch.
Rhett stepped outside.
I followed.
Cold air wrapped around us.
The porch light cast warm gold across his face.
He shoved his hands into his pockets.
“You okay?” he asked.
“You survived.”
“Your father likes me.”
“He threatened you.”
“Affectionately.”
“What did he actually say?”
Rhett looked toward the driveway.
“That you work too hard to make other people comfortable.”
My throat tightened.
“He said that?”
“He notices more than you think.”
“So do you.”
His gaze returned to mine.
“Yes.”
No joke.
No smile.
Just yes.
I folded my arms against the cold.
“You shouldn’t have argued with him.”
“I know.”
“You did anyway.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
He stepped closer.
Not touching.
The distance between us became deliberate.
“Because he answered for you.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
I looked down.
“You made dinner worse.”
“I did.”
“You made me say something I wasn’t ready to say.”
His voice softened.
“No. I made space. You said it.”
That was true.
I hated that too.
“I don’t know what happens now.”
“Neither do I.”
“That doesn’t bother you?”
“Terrifies me.”
I looked up.
He smiled faintly.
Not hiding.
Just admitting.
That was new.
“You don’t look terrified.”
“I have a very marketable face.”
I laughed.
He watched me.
The smile faded from his mouth.
The warmth stayed in his eyes.
For one second, neither of us moved.
Then I stepped closer.
Only slightly.
Enough that his breath changed.
“Thank you,” I said.
“For dinner?”
“For showing up.”
His expression went still.
The phrase mattered.
I knew it did.
His voice dropped.
“You asked.”
“I know.”
The porch seemed too quiet.
The house too far away.
The cold no longer relevant.
Rhett’s eyes dropped to my mouth.
This time, I did not look away.
His hand lifted.
Slowly.
Giving me time.
He touched one loose strand of hair near my cheek and tucked it behind my ear.
The gesture was almost nothing.
It felt like everything.
“Tessa,” he said.
My name sounded different in his voice.
Not teasing.
Not public.
A question.
I knew the answer.
That was the frightening part.
I leaned in.
Just enough.
Rhett went completely still.
No easy confidence.
No practiced move.
He was waiting for me.
I closed the distance.
The kiss was soft.
One brief touch of his mouth against mine.
Warm.
Careful.
Real.
Then I stepped back.
His eyes opened slowly.
For once, Rhett Callahan had no words.
I understood the appeal.
“That,” I said, because my voice was shaking and apparently cruelty was easier than vulnerability, “was not part of the arrangement.”
His mouth curved.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
“No.”
“Good.”
“Good?”
I should have walked inside.
Instead, I stayed.
He leaned closer.
Not kissing me.
Not yet.
“Do you want me to pretend that didn’t happen?”
My pulse raced.
“No.”
His eyes darkened.
“Good.”
The word moved between us.
A promise.
A problem.
Possibly both.
I backed toward the door before I did something more reckless.
“Drive safely.”
“Tessa.”
My hand paused on the knob.
“What?”
He looked at me like the entire night had narrowed to one truth.
“I meant what I told your father.”
My heart kicked.
“Which part?”
“That I won’t waste your time.”
I stood there, unable to breathe properly.
Then he walked down the porch steps.
I watched him reach Eli’s car.
Watched him look back once.
Watched him smile when he saw I was still there.
The fake relationship had started because I needed one event to go well.
One favor.
One controlled lie.
But there was nothing controlled about the way my mouth still tingled.
Nothing fake about the way he had looked at me.
And absolutely nothing temporary about the fact that I already wanted him to come back.