13. Greer
Greer
“You don’t?” Greer asked, as if he hadn’t heard her correctly.
His eyes drifted immediately to Tessa, whose head dropped neatly. It was like her heart had plummeted with Tierney’s words, and she was looking to see if it was now beating on the sand between her feet.
No, no, no!
Yes, they’d come unannounced, and yes, they were interrupting a beautiful moment for another family. And yes, Greer had every intention of moving along as soon as they made contact, perhaps enjoying the rest of this beach party with one of his favorite people.
Or perhaps heading straight back to the inn to take full advantage of the room Tessa had booked.
Yet, standing in the face of adversity, Greer found himself absolutely rooted on the spot. They couldn’t have come all this way, put in all this effort, just for Tierney to refuse them.
Tierney shook her head, her face reading an almost helpless expression. “I don’t have it anymore.”
That caused Tessa’s head to snap up again next to him. “Wait, what do you mean? I thought you said it was in a trunk of your mother’s belongings?”
“It was,” the woman said, nodding to them both.
“I found it when I pulled my stuff out of storage for the first time in two years. I finally saved up enough to buy my own place after getting divorced,” she said, breaking into a lovely smile.
“But once I got all that back under my roof again, I had some friends over to help me unpack. That’s when my dear friend Anne found it. ”
He had an unsettling feeling about this story. If Tierney didn’t have it, where did it go?
“Anne is an artist,” she explained. “She was putting together a local display at a private gallery in Newton. Something that was focusing on the history of jewelry, and she asked if she could use it in her display.”
“Newton as in… Newton, Massachusetts?” Tessa stared wide-eyed at Greer, and he could practically hear her thoughts. Newton was just west of Boston.
The necklace was practically under their nose the whole time!
“Yes, that’s where we’re from,” she said, her eyes darting over toward her family before returning again.
“Is there any way you might consider selling it to us?” Tessa asked, a tinge of hope in her voice again.
“No,” Tierney said, shaking her head and confirming what Greer had dreaded most. “I couldn’t sell it.”
“Tierney—”
She held up a hand to her, a smile forming on her face.
“I’m happy to give it back to your family.
My mother never mentioned it, which tells me it wasn’t a piece she really cared for.
I have everything from her that I want and all the wonderful memories that I carry close with me.
” She paused. “I’ll call my friend tomorrow morning and let her know you have my permission to take it out of the display. ”
“You’d do that?” Tessa asked, rising up on tiptoe in excitement. Greer figured she probably didn’t realize it, but she gripped his forearm in a pretty tight hold, almost like she was looking to him to keep her rooted in reality.
And Greer was happy to be of service to her in any way he could.
“I will,” Tierney confirmed. “Technically, it’s not really mine anyway. But if Natalie calls again, I can tell her I went through the trunk, and the necklace isn’t there.”
“We don’t want to cause you any strife with Natalie,” Tessa said with a fearful voice. Greer knew his rule-follower would struggle with the idea that someone would lie, even if it was on her behalf.
“Darling, that necklace has gone missing for over fifty years if I’m mathing correctly,” Tierney said with a wink, “they can’t have wanted it too badly if they never followed up.”
Reaching over, he squeezed the hand she held against him. A show of support with the slightest taste of celebration.
She’d done it.
Greer felt like puffing his chest out in response. That was the Tessa he knew. The woman who took control, who fought for what she wanted.
Suddenly, the realization hit him like a punch to the gut.
It wasn’t just that things were different with Tessa.
That she made him feel things he’d never felt before.
That they were partners and friends and had explosive chemistry he couldn’t have imagined, though he’d tried plenty prior to this vacation.
It wasn’t that he wanted Tessa.
It was that he loved her.
“Here ya go,” Greer said, holding out a bottle as he approached Tessa sitting alone on the beach.
She’d been staring off into the abyss with a serene look on her face as he went up to the last few food trucks on Main Street.
By now, the crowd had thinned out quite a bit, and the bonfires were dying down.
The cool breeze off the ocean was starting to make things a little chilly, but not uncomfortably so.
As predicted, her face lit up as she took the bottle of raspberry iced tea he’d gotten for her. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, plopping down next to her. “They were out of martinis.”
“That’s too bad,” she said, snuggling up next to him, which was a move he’d come to love. “I had a hankering for a sparkly one.”
“You liked that, huh?” he asked, grinning as he thought back to the one he’d gotten her at the Bruins game.
“I did,” she said, smiling as she clearly recollected the same. “A little outside of my norm, but surprisingly good.”
“Like most things in life.” He grabbed after one of the two cardboard takeout boxes he’d brought back with him. Setting it on his lap, he fixed his eyes on her before dramatically popping the cover with his thumbs. “Dinner?”
“Oh, my gosh,” she said, her eyes as wide as saucers as she took in the heaping serving of fish and chips. “That looks fantastic.”
“Dig in,” he instructed, sliding the box over to her before reaching for his own. “I thought you might be hungry and figured, if we were in Maine, we should probably try out the seafood.”
“Best plan ever,” she said around the large hunk of fish she’d already bitten into.
Up until now, he’d never seen her eat with her hands.
While it shouldn’t have been a remarkable thing to note about her, he couldn’t help but marvel at it.
She was a woman who could fit in anywhere.
A high-end restaurant or an impromptu dinner under the stars.
And watching this poised woman cut loose and chow down with a healthy appetite and full-on appreciation was something he wholeheartedly adored.
“So, are you ready for this last leg of the journey?” Tessa asked, breaking into a lighthearted smile.
“I think so?” he said, having really no idea of what the plan was. But still, “I’m down for just about anything with you.”
“Well, that’s a good thing,” she said, smirking. “We still have to figure out what to do with the e-bikes. I’m sure they’ll want them back, but I can’t say I’m anxious to ride them through the dark for five miles tonight.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Greer assured her. “When I was in line at the food truck, I gave them a call. Turns out they had a pickup scheduled for a few other folks in the bike pack. They said to leave them, and they’ll get them in the morning.”
“Oh, phew,” Tessa said, chuckling in relief. “That just leaves the matter of the car. I figure we can ask around tomorrow morning about a mechanic, see who can get us in the quickest. As soon as we find someone to look it over, we’ll see how fast we can get it repaired.”
“What happens if it’s a bigger repair?” Greer wondered. “One that’ll take too long for us to wait?”
Tessa lifted a shoulder. “Then I guess we leave it behind for now and go back to Boston. I’m not sure about flying or where any of the airports are around here.
But I’m thinking that by the time we get a ride to one, it might be a short enough distance that we could just keep on going right to Boston at that point. ”
“There’s always the train,” Greer mentioned, popping a couple of french fries. “Then, when we get there, we can take the Green Line over to Newton. Tierney should have gotten in touch with her friend at that point and arranged our pickup.”
“The rest should be easy,” Tessa said, chewing a fry thoughtfully.
“Don’t say that out loud,” Greer said, laughing. “Don’t want to jinx the whole trip.”
“Seriously,” she said, laughing at herself. Another trait he loved about her. “Are all fighters as superstitious as you?”
“Yes,” he answered truthfully. “You should see some of the things the guys in my gym will do. Everything from wearing the same pair of sweaty socks to going through this whole ritual before the fight even starts.” He laughed along with her, taking in her sparkling sapphire eyes.
“You look genuinely relaxed for the first time since I met you.”
“I suppose I am,” she said, turning her face up into the chilly breeze. She’d been staring at the ocean almost to distraction since before he left for the food truck.
“What is it you’re thinking?” he wondered, causing her head to swivel back to him, pausing as she licked the tartar sauce from her thumb.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s written all over your face.” Her expression held a look of shock that he knew she was thinking of something, along with an attempt to conceal it.
But he toned it down to a perfect smile, all for her.
“I can tell you’re thinking of something every time you look out there, and now you’ve got me wondering what it is. ”
She rolled her eyes as they darted to the waves rolling in just a moment before connecting with Greer’s. “I have this thing with water.”
“Do tell,” he said, closing the box top and giving her his full attention.
“Ever since I was little, I’ve loved wading in the water,” she said, chuckling a little to herself before looking up to gauge his reaction.
He made sure she saw nothing but a rapt listener.