Let It Snow(30)

She’d promised she would, and oddly enough…she had. As soon as Jake and Lucky had left, she’d taken a quick shower. After lying on the grass and walking through her grandma’s dusty, spider-webby house, she’d felt really grimy. And since she’d planned on leaving after she’d met with Henry, her suitcase had been packed in her trunk, so she’d had fresh clothes to change into.

Either the former owners or Jake had renovated the house, so there were upgraded appliances and fixtures throughout, but they had outdone themselves in the master bath. Jake’s shower was like heaven in water form. Not only was it large enough to hold eight easily, it also boasted dual massaging showerheads, a skylight window, dark brushed-stone tiled walls, and a bench seat in the corner that had been perfect for shaving her legs. The room also had barrel ceilings, natural stone heated flooring, an electric towel warmer, and two wood-framed mirrors sitting atop rock crystal his-and-hers basin sinks with warming lights in the ceiling.

Tessa could have lived in just that room and been perfectly happy. It was larger than her first apartment in New York had been. The only thing it was missing was a claw-footed bathtub. Tessa had always dreamed of a claw-footed bathtub. She thought her desire might have stemmed from reading all those historical romance novels as a teen. They had just always seemed so decadent to her.

Although if there would have been one there today she might have fallen asleep in it, which would probably not have been safe. Because as it was, she’d barely made it to the large king-sized bed in Jake’s room before it had been lights out.

The only reason she’d woken up when she had was because Sue Ann had called to see if she would be staying another night. When Tessa told her that she wouldn’t be needing the room, Sue Ann had asked if she was leaving town. Tessa had said that she wasn’t. To which, of course, Sue Ann had asked, “Then where are you staying?” When she’d told her that she would be staying next door to her grandma’s at Jake’s, she’d tried to downplay the “Jake’s” portion of things and play up the “next door to my grandma’s” part. Still, Tessa distinctly heard a smile in Sue Ann’s voice when she’d cheerily told her that was “just lovely” and to “let me know if you kids need anything.”

Tessa sighed as she climbed out of her car and made her way up the familiar dirt path leading to the front door of the main house. Nerves began flittering in her stomach. Other than Nikki and Lauren, whom she’d only briefly seen today, she hadn’t seen any of these girls in over a decade. Two of the women in the room would be Jake’s sisters and the rest were his friends.

She wasn’t sure what they knew about her past or present. Nikki had seemed friendly enough today. But maybe that was because she’d been so young at the time that Jake hadn’t told her about what had happened. Or maybe he had.

Also, what would they think about the fact that she was staying in his house? Because now that Sue Ann knew, Tessa would happily put money on the fact that half of Hope Falls was probably aware of her current living situation.

Oh well. She wouldn’t be in town long and she was only staying at the house for Jake.

Well, that wasn’t completely true. Sure, it had started out that way. But now, it definitely didn’t hurt that after forty-five minutes in Jake’s bathroom she was as relaxed as if she’d had a two-hour massage in a luxury day spa. Not that she’d ever been to a luxury day spa, but she’d imagined it.

As she stepped up onto the porch, the door swung open. Nikki rushed outside and pulled her into a hug. “You made it!” Nikki exclaimed happily.

“Yep,” Tessa nodded as she followed Nikki inside.

As she walked into the large living area, Tessa was greeted with hugs galore from the girls she hadn’t seen yet upon her return—Karina, Amanda, Sam and Amy. Every one of them was saying how happy they were to see her and how sorry they were about Adeline. Tessa was having a hard time taking it all in as well as getting over how grown up everyone looked.

Of course she’d seen Karina in magazines and on television. Karina Black was a huge pop star now. But when Tessa had known her, she had been just Karina Blackstone, a quiet, dark-haired sophomore girl who always carried around her guitar. Tessa did remember though that they’d had photo lab together and Karina was always making her laugh. She’d had a very dry sense of humor and quick wit.

Tessa had watched, with the rest of the world, as Karina skyrocketed to fame. Her debut album had gone platinum—and so had every album she’d released since. But after a decade of touring and “Hollywood life,” Karina had returned to Hope Falls, where she’d met Sue Ann’s grandson Ryan. Apparently, from what Sue Ann had said when she was filling her in on all-things-Hope-Falls this morning after Henry had left, Ryan and Karina had had a bumpy start but they were now happily engaged, living together, and even touring together.