Let It Snow(46)

He tilted his head towards the front door. “Let’s check it out.”

Tessa wasn’t sure why he was being so nice to her. He had to be angry with her. Sure, she got the physical stuff. When things got heated between them, it didn’t confuse her at all. But the rest of it? She just had no idea what was going on in his mind.

Which was odd, considering that historically he’d been the open book out of the two of them. Sure, Jake had always been able to read Tessa like a book. But part of what made that special was that other people couldn’t. They would take her at face value or, like her parents, not really consider her at all. Growing up, she’d been expected to do what she was told and not only not have an opinion about it, but also be happy about it. So, she’d learned to smile through anything and hide what she was truly feeling. Sometimes she did such a good job even she didn’t know what she really felt.

Until Jake. She could say or not say whatever she wanted, but somehow he always just knew what was really going on inside of her. He’d seen her like no one else, not even Grandma Adie, had.

She’d only ever been able to hide what she was really feeling from him once. Thirteen years ago. When she’d lain in the hospital room and told him that she didn’t love him any longer and to get out.

As Jake opened the door to her grandma’s house, Tessa was once again struck by just how much had gotten accomplished that day and how different everything looked. The old green carpeting had been pulled up and the hardwood flooring, that had been original to the house, had been polished. All of the walls were empty, cleared of pictures and paintings. There were white spots throughout from where the holes had been patched.

As they walked up the stairs, she saw that the loose boards on the third and fourth steps had been fixed. Both upstairs bathrooms had new flooring, and to Tessa’s surprise, the master even had new fixtures.

“Wow. I still can’t believe all of this got done in just one day.” Tessa looked around in disbelief.

Jake nodded. “It’s amazing what Lauren can do with a few spreadsheets and an iPad.”

“Right?!” Tessa agreed with a little laugh.

“How does it feel?” Jake asked. “Being back here. In this house.”

Tessa paused, wanting to figure out how to explain her feelings in exactly the right words. But she could only come up with two. So she looked at him and shrugged. “Surreal and different. It’s just not the same place without Gran.”

Understanding flashed on his handsome features. His eyebrows lifted as his gaze dropped to the floor. He placed his hands in his pockets and rocked back slightly on his heels.

He looked unsure of himself, which was very un-Jake-like. It was starting to make Tessa a little nervous—well, more nervous than she already was being alone with Jake!—when he looked up and asked, “Do you want to get a pizza?”

Those were probably the last words that she’d expected to come out of Jake’s mouth. Okay, well maybe not the last words, but they did surprise her nonetheless. “Sure,” she agreed automatically.

“Do you mind if we go to my condo? I need to let Lucky out.”

“Yes, that’s great!” she said, perhaps a little too eagerly. But she couldn’t help it. She wanted to see where Jake lived. And there was the added bonus of getting to see Lucky. She’d formed an instantaneous bond with that handsome guy when he’d curled up beside her after she’d passed out.

At her lightning fast response Jake’s lips parted and his perfectly white teeth shone in a smile that she hadn’t seen on his face since she’d been back in Hope Falls. It was one of her favorite smiles. It was his you-are-the-cutest-thing-to-ever-walk-this-planet smile. Every time he’d flashed it, she’d felt like the luckiest, most special girl in the world. Right now was no exception.

After closing up both houses, Jake insisted on driving them both, which she’d thought was ridiculous because then he’d just have to drive her back home tonight.

Unless he planned on her staying with him tonight.

Oh boy. Just when she felt the butterflies in her stomach beginning to wage a full-on wing-war of flutters, he said from beside her, “So how have you been? Really?” His tone was even and serious.

In an instant, her excited nervousness turned to dread. She knew he’d added the “really” because he didn’t want her to answer with a generic “good” or “fine.” He honestly wanted to know how she’d been. Really.

Tears began filling her eyes, but she instantly tried to blink them away. There was no reason for her to get emotional. Her life hadn’t been that bad. It hadn’t been easy but it could have been a lot worse.