Lily’s face lit up. “You too. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“You have?” What could she have possibly heard? Tessa had only gotten to town yesterday.
Tessa’s reaction must have seemed like more than just surprise because Lily began explaining. “Oh no, nothing bad. Sorry.” Lily waved her hands like she hadn’t meant to say that. “Eric just told me that you were Jake’s ‘one that got away.’”
The room went quiet and Tessa could feel everyone’s eyes on her. Her cheeks started burning and she was sure that they were bright red.
Lily looked around the room that was so quiet, they could have heard a pin drop. “I’m sorry. Should I not have said that?”
“No, it’s fine,” Tessa said. She knew that Lily hadn’t meant anything by it. Changing the subject, she asked, “So you teach dance lessons?”
Lily nodded as Karina jumped in, explaining, “She got roped into it by Henry. Lily is an ah-may-zing dancer and I hired her to do my winter tour. She moved here from Sacramento on what was supposed to be a temporary basis, but within a week of being here, Henry had her teaching classes and Lauren rented her the house next door to Eric. Poor Lily didn’t stand a chance. Once Hope Falls claims you as its own, it’s like the Bermuda Triangle. You can’t escape.”
I did, but not because I wanted to.
Then Karina added, “Case in point: Sam, Lauren, Justin, me, and now you. We all came back.”
“Oh I’m just here for a little bit. Until I can fix up the house and sell it,” Tessa provided, quickly setting the record straight. She knew that conversations like these were what turned into rumors, and she didn’t want anyone—Jake!—to hear false information.
A knowing twinkle lit in Karina’s eyes as one brow arched. “We’ll see.”
As Tessa looked around the room, she could see that all the ladies had similar looks of keep-telling-yourself-that on their faces. But that was only because they didn’t know what she knew.
She couldn’t live in Hope Falls and not be with Jake. Since she couldn’t be with Jake, she couldn’t live in Hope Falls. It was that simple.
Chapter Twelve
‡
“So what happened in the tent?” Eric leaned his head in and asked quietly with an I’m-your-big-brother-so-you-have-to-tell-me look in his eye. Eric might not be a detective anymore, but the reason he had been so successful was that, when he wanted information, his pursuit to gain it was relentless.
Looking around the lively bar, Jake knew that no one was paying attention to his and Eric’s conversation. The rest of the guys were in a heated sports debate.
“Tessa and I went camping up at Mountain Ridge after Prom. Parker found us. That’s it,” Jake answered.
Eric stared at him, trying to read Jake’s expression.
Getting a little irritated, Jake continued, “That’s ancient history. Why the hell do you even care?”
Eric lifted his mug of cold beer to his mouth and took an unhurried swig. “No reason.”
No reason, my ass.
“Girls are on their way,” Luke declared as he typed on his iPhone.
Every Thursday, the girls all had a “book club meeting” while the guys played hoops. Then afterward they would all meet up at JT’s. Usually, this was the portion of the evening when Jake would find someone to go home with since everyone coupled up with their significant others. Eric used to be his wingman, but now even he was engaged. But being on the solo tip had not slowed Jake down.
Tonight, however, he had zero interest in starting up a conversation with one of the half dozen girls who had been undressing him with their eyes since he had been there. The only girl on his mind was Tessa. He didn’t want anyone else, but he couldn’t have her.
He also didn’t trust himself to leave right now. It was too early and he was sure that if he got behind the wheel he would drive right over to his house, the one that was currently being occupied by the one girl he wanted and couldn’t have. If he waited a couple hours until he knew she’d be asleep, it would be less of a temptation to go see her.
Well, that was his plan anyway.
So he figured that he’d hang out with Nikki. Her fiancé, Mike, was a senator and was back in Washington. He figured they could play some pool, maybe throw darts. Anything to kill some time.
“Sorry, guys. I’m slammed,” Levi said as he dropped off a pitcher they’d ordered about fifteen minutes ago.
“No worries,” Jake assured his friend. “You should really think about getting some help in here.”
“Yeah, I think it might be time,” Levi agreed before he turned and went back behind the packed bar.