Chapter Twenty-Four
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“Good on ya, boyo.” Jake’s dad patted his shoulder with enthusiasm after Jake finished telling them about the incident in the bar a few days ago after his mom had asked him if he’d really pulled a gun on someone. The Hope Falls rumor mill was no joke.
“And what about you?” Jake’s mom wagged her finger at her oldest son. “Why weren’t those boys arrested for harassing our girl?”
Tessa tried to jump in. “Oh no, Mrs. Maguire, Eric was gre—”
Eric lifted his hand, halting Tessa’s defense. “Well, since boyo over there decided to take matters into his own hands after asking Tessa if she wanted to press charges, I was mainly concerned about making sure those assh—”
“Language!” Rosalie snapped at her son.
“That those jerks didn’t press charges against Jake.”
Jake’s mom’s hand flew up in the air, “What do you mean?! That’s crazy! That man exposed himself and left a bruise on my Tesero’s wrist. Jake was just defending her!”
“Jake dislocated that guys jaw and knocked out another guy’s teeth, Mom,” Eric said in a flat tone.
Rosalie shook her head. “Ah, self-defense.”
Tessa could see that Eric’s tension was building, and it was feeling a little odd that Jake was so quiet. In fact, he’d been quiet since they’d arrived at his mom and dad’s house for Sunday dinner.
“So, Amy, how are the wedding plans going? Just one more week!” Lily said excitedly, smoothly changing the subject.
“Good,” Amy smiled. “I think everything is set. Asking Lauren to get involved really helped. I remembered how amazing she was when Amanda’s wedding fell apart just two days before she was supposed to walk down the aisle. And hers was a much bigger affair. We just want simple.”
Matt, leaned over and kissed Amy. Tessa felt her heart fill and a smile tug at her lips. They were so cute together. Matt seemed to adore Amy and vice versa.
“Actually”—Amy snapped her fingers as if something had just occurred to her, her gaze falling on Tessa—“the one thing I was supposed to take care of, I keep forgetting. I have been meaning to ask you… Would you mind taking some pictures at the wedding?”
“Yes, of course I will,” Tessa agreed. “I would love to.”
“Just a few. I don’t want you to feel like you’re working. I want you to enjoy yourself,” Amy quickly added.
“Are you kidding me? I love being behind the camera,” Tessa said emphatically, hoping to put Amy’s mind at ease.
“Okay, just let me know how much you char—”
“No,” Tessa interrupted her, shaking her head. “No charge.”
“No, of course I’m going to pay. Just let me kno—”
“I can’t charge you. You’re family.” The second the words left Tessa’s mouth, she wished that life had a remote control button and she could rewind and delete. The room fell silent and she could feel everyone’s eyes on her and Jake. Attempting to lessen the awkward level of this situation at least a degree or two, Tessa offered, “Consider it a gift from me to you.”
“Thank you,” Amy said, smiling sweetly.
Nikki, who was now Tessa’s favorite person in the whole world, moved the conversation along. She asked Amy about how her pregnancy was going and Lily and Eric about how the wedding plans were coming along.
While everyone was discussing all of the exciting news in the family, Tessa took the time to regroup mentally. The past couple of weeks had felt like both a whirlwind and an eternity. She had no idea how that was even possible. Everything had gotten so confusing and complicated.
Especially the past few days since she and Jake had started sleeping together. She’d meant to talk to him. She really had. Her several attempts at a serious conversation had been thwarted by their insatiable hormones. The second they were alone with each other, it was like erotic dynamite exploded. They couldn’t seem to keep their hands—and other body parts!—off of one another. Which was great except that Tessa wasn’t sure what it meant. To Jake or to her.
The fact remained that they needed to talk. She’d just been so scared to ruin what they had going on right now. Which, on the surface, seemed simple enough. They were attracted to each other and acting on it. But Tessa wasn’t foolish enough to believe that. What was going on between her and Jake was anything but simple.
Which was the main reason she hadn’t wanted to rock the boat. Bringing up the past or the future would definitely change the present. But maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Every second, every minute, every hour, every day, Tessa was doing something she would have thought was impossible. She was falling more in love with Jake Maguire.