Let It Snow(35)

After all the introductions, Tessa excused herself to use the restroom because, let’s face it, she really did have a small bladder. As she weaved through the tables, she glanced up and her world stopped spinning on its axis.

Jake was slow dancing. With a blond. To their song.

Tessa would have thought it couldn’t get any worse but then…it did. The blond giggled at something he said, tilted her head up, and kissed him. On the dance floor. In front of everyone. With their song as the soundtrack.

Images of the night that she’d come back to Hope Falls before she’d left for New York, started flashing in her head. Jake in his truck with some blond. Two weeks after she’d broken up with him and left. Two weeks. Two weeks that she’d spent crying herself to sleep and woken up crying, and she’d come back to find him screwing some blond in his truck that was parked at their spot.

Tessa reminded herself that that was thirteen years ago. She might have had a right to be upset about him moving on so quickly then, but she had no reason to feel anything about his behavior now. Yet she did.

Turning on her heels, she quickly made her way back to let Amy know that she was tired and was going to call it a night. Amy tried to insist on driving Tessa home, but she lied and told her she’d already called a cab. Then she waved a quick goodbye, told everyone it had been nice meeting them, got the hell out of there, and didn’t look back.





Chapter Thirteen




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Jake jerked his head away from Darla the second her over-glossed lips touched his. He’d had enough. As much as he didn’t want to hurt her feelings, he was done being groped. After several attempts to shoot down her advances using subtlety and humor, Jake knew he was going to have to be blunt.

“This dance is over.” Jake pulled away from her and started to move off the dance floor.

Her hands wrapped around his wrist and she tugged on his arm pleading, “Please, stay. I’ll behave. I promise.”

Yanking out of her grasp, he said firmly, “Nope. Sorry. Three strikes and you’re out, birthday girl.”

“Jake,” she loudly whined his name.

He ignored her.

She’d already grabbed his ass, tried to grab his junk, and planted an unwanted kiss on him. Sure, maybe most guys wouldn’t be complaining about a hot blond getting frisky, and maybe it made him a pussy that he was, but so be it.

He’d just sat down when he noticed Amy sitting beside Matt. His sister was smiling at him weakly. He nodded his head. “Hey, sis.”

She waved and began talking just as Eric leaned forward, casually saying, “You just missed your new tenant.”

“What?” Jake looked at his brother, not sure what his comment meant but already not liking the cocky tone in his voice.

“Tessa was just here,” Amy clarified.

“Was?” Jake hadn’t been gone more than a few minutes. How could he have missed her?

“She left right after she saw you making out with Birthday Barbie over there.” Eric nodded to the dance floor.

Jake stood so fast the back of his knees almost knocked his chair over. He was halfway across the bar when he heard Amy saying something to him about Tessa catching a cab. He kept going.

He pulled the door open and heard a familiar voice. It was Chris, his engine driver, saying, “…love to give you a ride.”

Oh hell no.

Coming around the corner, he saw the back of Tessa’s blond head. It was shaking no. Her voice sounded friendly enough, but her tone was clearly broadcasting an I’m-not-interested signal. “No thanks. I’m fine waiting. Really.”

Atta girl.

Chris looked up, and the moment he saw Jake, his expression turned from “Hey, baby. How you doin?” to “Oh shit.” “Hey, Chief.” Chris nodded and moved around Tessa. Then, because he could obviously ‘read the room’, Chris quickly went inside the bar.

Tessa didn’t turn around. Her back was facing him as she looked out over the parking lot.

“Tessa?” Jake wasn’t sure what he was doing out here or exactly what he wanted to say to her. He had absolutely nothing to feel guilty about. It’s not like he’d done anything wrong. So why did he feel like he needed to apologize?

She didn’t speak, so Jake reached out and grasped her shoulder, gently turning her to face him. When she looked up, his feeling the irrational need to apologize increased by about a thousand percent.

Her large blue eyes had small pools of water in them as she put on a brave face and smiled up at him. “Hey,” she said quietly as she wrapped her arms around herself. The gesture could very well have been out of necessity because it was cold outside, but it seemed protective to Jake.