12. Tessa
Tessa
Rolling into Harbor’s Head in a bike pack at dusk was something she would never forget.
“Greer, look,” she said with awe, just as the group pulled up to a stunning open view of the ocean.
She’d grown up in Boston, so she and the mighty Atlantic were well acquainted.
But here in this small coastal Maine town, she’d never seen anything more beautiful.
The vastness of the deep blue ocean. The boats coming and going, gathering for celebration as well as returning home from work.
The soft roar of the waves as they touched down on the granite beach.
Breathtaking.
“I know,” he said, coming up from behind her and scooping his arm around her waist. It was a practiced move that hadn’t changed at all since they’d decided to take their relationship further.
Had that only been last night?
Probably. Her body still hummed from his touch.
“Look down there,” he said, turning her body and pointing to a massive gathering on the beach. Sure enough, groups of people were staking out spots on the sand with oversized blankets and chairs, celebrating the height of summer and making themselves comfortable while they did.
“The beach party,” she said. “Tierney must be down there.”
“She said her daughter was getting engaged, right?”
“Yes,” Tessa recalled. “So she’d be an older woman with a grown daughter, and a young man.”
“Natalie said it was a family party, right?” Greer asked. “So… she’d be there with family and friends, too?”
“Yes,” Tessa agreed, scanning the beach and nearly getting lost in the droves of people there. “I have no idea if it’s a big group or a small group, though.”
“Well, one way to find out,” Greer said, sliding his fingers in between hers. “Let’s go mingle.”
She took one last look at the lovely e-bike they had secured and locked on the street. She hated to leave it behind, given she’d had such fun on it. Still, she had to remember she was here for a reason.
Even if she’d do it all again in a heartbeat.
Taking in the large group of people below, not to mention those still coming in from the street, she wondered, were they really about to do this?
Approach a stranger and try to convince her to let them buy something from her?
Greer leaned in, as if her thoughts were broadcasting across her forehead. “I’ve got you, Tess.”
Feeling that little bit of encouragement wrap around her spine like liquid steel, she looked up at him and smiled.
“Thank you, Greer,” she whispered.
His brow furrowed as he studied her expression, probably trying to figure out where her gratitude suddenly came from. “For what?”
“For absolutely everything,” she said, unable to narrow it down. The all-encompassing feeling she held in her heart for this man was like nothing she’d ever felt before.
And it was nothing she ever wanted to let go of, either.
Squeezing his hand and tugging him forward, she kissed him.
He seemed surprised by the move but caught on quickly, turning her intended sweet gesture of thanks into a full-on love scene worthy of the big screen, complete with his palm cupping her cheek, an intentional slowdown, and a takeover of her lips, mind, and body.
If she didn’t know any better, she’d think for some reason, he was acting pretty thankful, too.
Turning to walk down the wooden stairs with a flood of people, they touched down on the beach below. As the sun had already set, the sky was getting darker by the minute, making the search for Tierney that much more difficult.
“Do you have any thoughts on where she might be?” Tessa asked, looking at a family with three small children who were in no position to get engaged at their age.
“No.” Greer sighed. It was actually the first time she’d ever heard him say something that wasn’t positive. “Short of standing up and announcing to everyone here that we’re looking for a woman named Tierney and just hoping she comes forward, I’m running out of ideas.”
“Wait, let’s think this through.” More than once, Tessa had learned that tackling a problem chunk by chunk kept the overwhelm at bay. “The whole reason they’re here is for her daughter’s proposal, right?”
“Right.”
“So,” Tessa said, pausing to look around. “If you were asking a woman to marry you, you wouldn’t just do it anywhere, right? You’d pick a spot.”
For some reason, Greer took a beat longer than normal to respond, staring after her. “Right.”
“So, let’s find a spot that’s engagement worthy,” Tessa said, looking around. The ocean backdrop was stunning enough, but they were standing right in the middle of the beach among throngs of people. “They’d want to be somewhere a little more private, but not so private that it looked odd.”
Greer looked around, stopping to point near the surf. “What about on the edge of the crowd?”
“It’s as good a place to start as any,” Tessa agreed.
Following on Greer’s heels, they made their way across the sand, around bonfires now being built, and over to the side of the beach edged by massive granite rocks.
Tessa looked at each person they passed, chatting and enjoying the evening, giving a pleasing smile and a nod of acknowledgement.
While she knew the whole point was to find Tierney, she was also very aware of the man at her side.
It had been a hot minute since she’d been out in a big gathering such as this.
Normally, she avoided large crowds simply because her ex had hidden himself so well at past events, popping out only to let her know he was there, and watching her from a distance for who knew how long.
But with Greer? His large, looming presence didn’t feel oppressive; quite the contrary.
Having him near made her feel safe for the first time in months.
But not only safe from any sort of physical harm, as after watching some of his fight footage, she knew he was effective when it came to taking down an opponent.
It was more that she now felt safe to get back in touch with the person she had always been.
Back before her ex made her cautious. Scared at every turn.
Hazarding a glance up at him, she watched him study the crowd, his eyes searching every group they casually walked past. She knew he was looking for danger as well as devoting effort to their search.
Just as much as she was, really, even though it was her project.
While she’d always thought she’d had devoted friends and boyfriends in the past, they all had their own lives and priorities.
If she asked for help and was turned down, she thought that was normal.
That is, until she saw how all-in Greer was with her, in every aspect. Her goals and dreams were his. He wanted to see her succeed in everything.
And she wanted the same for him.
When he tugged her hand, she unconsciously stepped closer to him, listening hard as he leaned down. His lips ghosted the shell of her ear, causing an electrical current to prick along the skin of her neck.
“I’ve got an idea.”
Without any more information, he pulled her to a large boulder that overlooked the surf and offered a picture-perfect view of the crescent moon now hanging overhead.
The sky was darkening more, and the brief glimpse she had heavenward showed a solitary bright star shining above.
Sitting back against the rock, he pulled her to stand between his legs, wrapping a firm palm around the back of her neck.
“What’re we?—”
“Shhh.” She didn’t have a moment to consider before he leaned in and softly kissed her.
And truly, it was like something out of a movie.
The scenery was gorgeous, and they were just far enough away from the crowd to make this spot feel like the most perfect bubble in the world. Just the two of them.
And a few hundred others.
“Greer,” she said, pulling back just a fraction. “As lovely as this is, we should keep looking for Tierney.”
“Trust me,” he said, his deep, rumbling voice touching something deep in her soul.
It was almost hypnotic as he leaned back in, pressing his lips to hers.
She quickly became lost in his embrace again, feeling his palms press to her lower back, holding onto her like he never wanted to let go.
Her hands slid from his chest to twine around his neck, her fingers delving into his hair.
She’d never considered anything other than trusting him fully.
“Um… excuse me?” Someone asked somewhere around the fringes of her consciousness. “I’m so sorry to bother you.”
“Yes?” Greer asked, separating from her with a mischievous grin. Tessa wondered if he ever did anything without that expression. There was just something about a man who smiled all the time. He was like her own personal dopamine hit.
“I’m a photographer, and my client is going to be proposing to his girlfriend in a few minutes, right in this spot.”
“No kidding,” Greer said, almost convincingly. Tessa looked at him, trying to mask her shock.
He’d known.
Somehow, he’d known that this was going to be the exact spot Tierney’s daughter was going to be proposed to.
At least… Hopefully, that was this woman’s client?
“If you wouldn’t mind moving?” she suggested, looking back at a group of partygoers. At first glance, they blended in right along with everyone else. However, as Tessa looked closer, she realized there was a particularly excited energy permeating the group.
It was them!
“Oh, of course,” Greer said, standing up and taking Tessa’s hand. “Good luck.”
“Thank you,” she said, beaming and looking quite relieved that they were so willing to cooperate.
Greer led Tessa away as the woman discreetly checked the display on her camera, now glowing brightly as the sky continued to darken.
Soon it was going to be too dark to see anything, but for just this moment, it almost felt mysterious.
The cooler air, the roar of the surf, and the stars twinkling above.
If this young woman didn’t say “Yes!” after all the hard work and timing this young man was putting in, Tessa would venture to say he was better off without her.