Chapter 8 The Words They Were Afraid to Say
Love.
The word hovered between them for weeks.
Unspoken.
Powerful.
Waiting.
Tessa nor Jamison said it first.
Not because they didn't feel it.
Quite the opposite.
They felt it so deeply that saying it out loud suddenly seemed terrifying.
Because once the words like that were spoken, everything would change.
And for two people who had spent most of their lives protecting themselves from heartbreak, change was frightening.
Three months after their first date, Tessa found herself sitting in room 323.
The room had long since been occupied by other patients.
The bed where Jamison had once lain unconscious now held an elderly man recovering from heart surgery.
Yet whenever Tessa passed the room, she smiled.
Because that room had changed her life.
On her lunch break, she stepped inside for a moment.
The elderly patient was asleep.
The room was quiet.
Tessa sat briefly in the chair beside the window.
The same spot where she had once read books to a stranger.
A stranger who wasn't a stranger anymore.
Her phone buzzed.
Jamison.
A smile immediately appeared.
Jamison: Where are you?
Tessa: Room 323.
Three dots appeared instantly.
Jamison: Again?
Tessa laughed.
Tessa: It's sentimental.
Jamison: You're sentimental.
Tessa: Says the man who still has every bookmark I've ever given him.
A pause.
Jamison: Those are collector's items.
Tessa smiled so hard her cheeks started tingling.
The truth was she missed him.
Terribly.
He was currently in New York attending meetings for three days.
And somehow it felt like forever.
Absolutely pathetic.
Yet completely true.
In New York, Jamison stared out the window of his hotel suite.
The Manhattan skyline glittered beneath the evening sky.
People would have assumed he was admiring the view.
Instead, he was thinking about Tessa.
He was always thinking about her.
The past three months had transformed his life.
His employees noticed.
Lauren noticed.
His board members noticed.
Even his family noticed.
He laughed more.
Smiled more.
Worked fewer hours.
Actually even took weekends off.
The change was so dramatic that his younger sister, Jasmine, had shown up at his penthouse unannounced.
Which was unusual.
The two of them weren't close.
Not because they hated each other.
Because years of distance had settled between them.
Yet Tessa had slowly begun changing that too.
"You're different."
Jasmine had studied him suspiciously from his living room sofa.
Jamison looked up from his laptop.
"I've always been different."
"No."
She shook her head.
"You're happy."
The statement surprised him.
Because it was true.
And because he hadn't realized how obvious it was.
Then Jasmine smiled knowingly.
"Who is she?"
Jamison sighed.
Apparently everyone asked that question now.
"Her name is Tessa."
The smile that followed was completely involuntary.
Jasmine immediately noticed.
"Oh wow."
"What?"
"You love her."
Jamison didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
The truth was written all over his face.
Back in Atlanta, Tessa received a surprise visit during her lunch break.
Lizzie walked into the break room carrying a coffee.
Then froze dramatically.
"Oh no."
Tessa looked up from her book.
"What?"
Lizzie sat down.
"You've got it bad."
Tessa blinked.
"Got what bad?"
"The lovesick look."
Tessa nearly choked on her drink.
"I do not have a lovesick look."
"You absolutely do."
Denise appeared beside them.
"What are we talking about?"
"Tessa being in love."
Tessa groaned.
Both women ignored her.
"Has he said it yet?" Denise asked.
"No."
"Have you?"
"No."
The two nurses exchanged a look.
Then simultaneously said:
"Why?"
Tessa opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
Because she didn't actually know.
Afraid maybe.
That if she said it first, he wouldn't feel the same.
Fear that she had misread everything.
That happiness this good couldn't possibly last.
"See?"
Lizzie pointed.
"You're scared."
Tessa sighed.
Unfortunately, Lizzie was right.
The following evening, Jamison finally returned to Atlanta.
The moment he stepped off his private plane, his phone buzzed.
A text.
Tessa.
His smile appeared instantly.
Tessa: Welcome home.
Home.
Such a simple word.
Yet something about it made his chest tighten.
Because lately, home didn't feel like his penthouse anymore.
Home felt like wherever Tessa was.
Saturday afternoon, they met at Piedmont Park.
The weather was beautiful.
Children played nearby.
Families spread blankets beneath trees.
Dogs chased tennis balls.
And for once, neither of them had anywhere else to be.
They walked slowly along one of the winding paths.
Talking and laughing.
Enjoying each other.
Eventually they found a quiet bench overlooking the lake.
The conversation softened.
Neither spoke for a moment.
Enjoying the peace that surrounded them.
Then Tessa asked quietly:
"Can I tell you something?"
Jamison immediately turned toward her.
"Always."
She smiled.
That answer never failed to affect her.
Always.
It was never maybe.
Or sometimes.
It was always, always.
Tessa looked down at her hands.
Then back up.
"I almost didn't survive what happened with Anthony."
Jamison's jaw tightened immediately.
Not because she still loved her ex.
Because he hated knowing she had suffered.
"I don't mean physically."
Her voice softened.
"I mean emotionally."
He listened carefully.
"I trusted him."
The pain was still there.
Smaller now.
But still there.
"I trusted Nicole too."
Tears gathered in her eyes.
Not falling.
Just lingering.
"And after everything happened, I kept asking myself what was wrong with me."
Jamison's heart broke for her.
Because he knew exactly where this was going.
"He made me feel like I wasn't enough."
Tessa laughed sadly.
"Too big."
The old wound surfaced briefly.
"Too much."
Her eyes met his.
"Not worth staying for."
Without hesitation, Jamison reached for her hand.
Holding it firmly.
"Tessa."
His voice was rough.
Emotional.
Intense.
She swallowed.
"What?"
Jamison looked at her as if he needed her to truly hear him.
Every word.
Every truth.
"There was never anything wrong with you."
Tears filled her eyes immediately.
"You don't know that."
"I do."
His thumb brushed gently across her skin.
"Because I know you."
The words landed directly in her heart.
"You are kind."
His voice softened.
"Beautiful."
Tears slipped free.
"Strong."
Another tear followed.
"Brilliant."
He smiled slightly.
"And incredibly stubborn."
Tessa laughed through her tears.
Jamison smiled.
Then grew serious again.
"The problem wasn't you."
His blue eyes locked onto hers.
"The problem was that Anthony was too blind to appreciate what he had."
The tears came harder now.
Not because she was hurting.
Because she was healing.
Finally healing.
And somehow Jamison seemed to know exactly where the broken places still lived.
Later that evening, they returned to Jamison's penthouse.
Dinner had already been delivered.
The city sparkled beyond the windows.
Music played softly in the background.
Everything felt perfect.
Almost too perfect.
After dinner they sat together on the sofa.
Talking quietly.
Tessa curled beneath a blanket.
Jamison's arm rested along the back of the couch.
Comfortable.
Easy.
Natural.
Then suddenly neither knew what to say.
Not because the conversation had ended.
Cause something bigger had arrived.
Something that had been waiting.
It was something both of them felt.
The silence stretched.
Tessa looked up.
Jamison was already looking at her.
Neither looked away.
The moment felt familiar.
Like standing at the edge of a cliff.
Knowing one step would change everything.
"Tessa."
Her heart accelerated.
"Yeah?"
Jamison opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
The powerful businessman who could negotiate billion-dollar deals suddenly looked nervous.
Very nervous.
It was strangely adorable.
"What is it?"
He laughed softly.
Ran a hand across his face.
Then finally spoke.
"You make me brave."
The confession surprised them both.
Tessa blinked.
"What?"
Jamison smiled.
"Most people think I'm fearless."
His eyes softened.
"But I'm not."
She stared.
Because this was a side of him almost nobody ever saw.
The real him.
The vulnerable him.
"The truth is..."
He paused.
Searching for the right words.
Then finally found them.
"The truth is I've spent years protecting myself from being hurt."
Tessa's heart squeezed.
Because she understood.
Completely.
"And then you showed up."
A small smile touched his lips.
"With books."
Tessa laughed.
"And sandwiches."
"Yeah. Don't forget the sandwiches."
They smiled.
Then the laughter faded.
Leaving only honesty.
Only the truth.
Only them.
Jamison reached for her hand.
Holding it.
Then whispered the words he had been carrying for weeks.
"I love you Tessa."
The room became perfectly still.
Tessa stopped breathing for a second.
The city lights blurred beyond the windows.
Everything disappeared except him.
His face.
His eyes.
His voice.
Those three words.
I love you.
Tears immediately filled her eyes.
Jamison's expression softened.
"Oh no."
She laughed through the tears.
"What?"
"You're crying."
"I'm happy."
His smile widened.
"Really?"
Tessa shook her head.
Then did something she rarely did.
Something vulnerable.
Something brave.
She let him see everything.
Every fear.
Every hope.
Every feeling.
"I love you too Jamison."
The words felt right.
Perfect.
True.
Jamison closed his eyes briefly.
As if hearing them healed something deep inside him.
When he opened them again, emotion shone clearly there.
Neither one of them tried to hide it.
Nor wanted to.
Slowly, he pulled her closer to him.
Resting his forehead against hers.
"I've loved you for a while now."
Tessa laughed.
"Me too."
"How long?"
She smiled.
"Maybe somewhere between Ocean and Thomas."
Jamison laughed so hard he nearly fell backward.
The sound filled the room.
Warm.
Free.
Happy.
The happiest either of them had been in years.
Because the words they feared saying most...
Had become the words they needed to hear.
And for the first time, neither of them had to wonder anymore.