Redemption Hills: The Complete Collection

13. Tessa

THIRTEEN

TESSA

“You sit that cute little butt down right there and spill.”

Salem pointed at the chair across from her as I sashayed my way into our favorite Mexican restaurant.

The vibe was casual, the margaritas were epic, and the owners were awesome.

I made no apologies for frequenting the place.

But this evening, I wasn’t sure if it was excitement or dread that would be the winning emotion that crawled over me in a slick sheen of sweat as I stepped through the door.

All I knew was my nerves had gone haywire.

A breaker tripped.

Circuits crossed.

I gave my friends a giant grin as I approached our table. “Um, I know how much you missed me and all, and my presence is required, but can’t a girl get a drink before you tear into her?”

“Hello, and no.” Aster rolled her dark brown eyes, though the action was riddled with affection. Her hair was in a high ponytail, and she sat back in her chair because her baby belly took up her lap. “I don’t think you’ve ever done anyone else that favor in your life, and I’ve basically been waiting for this for all of mine, so let’s hear it.”

Pride filled her voice.

“Hugs first. Have you no manners?” I let the feigned atrocity wind into my response.

Salem, Eden, and Aster all jumped up, and I came clomping over on my five-inch heels because hello, mama got her shoes back, and I threw my arms out and pulled my besties into an awkward hug. We were all swaying and squealing and clinging to each other and probably garnering the attention of every person in the restaurant.

I had this thing about hugs.

They weren’t frivolous to me. They were a connection. A direct link of spirits.

Whenever I hugged someone, I got a sense.

A wash of warmth. A roll of rightness.

Or a slow slide of cold callousness.

Some people masked it better than others, but it was always there.

Bobby had called me a weirdo, but I swore I could tell. I tried not to use it like a tool, but it’d gotten to the point where it was like radar.

Intuition.

I guess I should have listened to it the first time I’d hugged Karl.

Hugging my girls?

It was pure joy.

Murmurings of their love filled my ears. “So proud of you. This is a brand-new start. Good things are waiting for you.”

Crap.

Were my eyes stinging?

The truth was, I’d been dealing with so many conflicting emotions, I was having a hard time processing up from down.

Being at Milo’s had twisted me inside out. Made me want things I wasn’t supposed to want. Question my direction. My intentions. What the heck Milo and I actually thought we were doing and how it was going to affect our friendship in the end.

Salem was the first to pull away, and she straightened herself out, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she pointed at a chair. “Sit.”

“Bossy,” I said around the anarchy wreaking havoc on my spirit.

She scoffed. “Have you even met me?”

Salem was one of those black-haired, blue-eyed beauties who could slay you with a look. A total badass but a softie. She was married to Trent’s brother, Jud, and damn, they were freaking scorching together. They had a new baby boy who was only two months old, plus Salem’s daughter, Juniper, who was the sweetest little girl I’d ever met.

“Excuse me, then. I can see I don’t want to get on your bad side.” I mumbled beneath my breath.

I pulled out the chair across from her, and we all took our seats.

Aster sat next to Salem, and Eden sat next to me.

Salem slid a giant margarita glass my direction.

I groaned. “You do love me.”

“Barely.” A smile tugged at her lips.

“Keep lying to yourself.”

The second everyone got settled, the four of us leaned over the small table, drawn to each other.

Creating a bubble like we were getting ready to share the dirtiest of secrets.

No doubt, there would be plenty of that going on.

Eden reached out and took my hand. “How are you doing? I’ve been worried about you all week.”

We’d interacted over texts a couple of times, but I’d been so wrapped up with everything going on that we hadn’t gone deeper. I hadn’t even told her about what’d happened with Karl the two unfortunate times I’d run into him.

“I’ve been busy.” I kind of shrugged.

“You’d better have been busy gallivanting all over town and making up for lost time,” Salem tossed out.

“I second that,” Aster said before she took a sip of her club soda because… preggers . It seemed to be a sickness with this bunch, not that I minded getting to be auntie to all their cuties. “I’m praying this means you’re going to stop digging for details on the rest of us because you finally found a real man to put you out of your misery.”

“Now, why would I ever do that? That sounds boring.”

“Oh, dear, poor Tessa, finding yourself a man who does it right is not boring.” Salem grinned.

Pure Cheshire.

My stomach tilted when I thought of the raw power Milo had unleashed on Karl yesterday. I was pretty sure he would do it right.

“You did already, didn’t you, you dirty dog?” Aster slapped the top of the table.

Redness flushed.

Crap.

I fared way better when I was the one plying them for details.

“No.”

“Then why are you so red?” Aster pushed.

Both my hands flew up to cover my face. A round of gasps went up.

“What is that?” Eden whispered in horror. “Please tell me you didn’t let that monster talk you into going back to him?”

Oh, shit.

The ring.

Flustered, I ripped my hands away, flailing around the one sporting the most gorgeous ring ever created, like I wasn’t wearing the evidence of the cluster I’d gotten myself into. All dainty, twining bands and filigree, capped off with a huge, pear-cut, pink diamond.

“No, absolutely not.”

“Then what is that?” Confusion bound Eden’s expression.

“Milo gave it to me.” It flew out way too fast.

These girls were good at the coercion.

More shocked gasps rang out, and Salem grabbed my hand and jerked it across the table so she could inspect it. “Holy fuck, Tessa, this is like a $20,000 ring. And it’s on your freaking ring finger. What is going on?”

“Are you engaged?” Eden pressed.

Almost hurt.

Eden and I shared everything, but everything about this had bad choices written all over it, and I hadn’t had the guts to call her up and confess what Milo and I were up to.

The same week I’d promised her no more secrets.

I was not going to win the best bestie award this year.

Eden and Salem gaped at me, a thousand questions spinning through the air.

“If she’s engaged to anyone, Milo would certainly be my pick,” Aster rushed to fill the tension. “Have you seen him? And he’s super sweet.”

Maybe I’d gotten lost in the fantasy. Or maybe I’d just wanted to help a hurting man so badly that I’d convinced myself this engagement facade was a great plan. Convinced myself we could actually pull it off.

Right then, it wasn’t seeming like such a terrific idea.

Because explaining this out loud?

It sounded like I’d signed myself up for a load of trouble.

“It’s fake, you guys.” It came out thin. Wisps of disappointment.

That tension stretched tighter between us.

Slowly, Eden shifted, taking my hand again. Her brow twisted in emphasis. “What are you talking about, Tessa? What is going on?”

“It’s fake. I’m fake engaged to Milo.” I choked an incredulous laugh because yeah, saying it out loud? I sounded like an idiot.

A smirk lit on Salem’s face. “That sounds like a fine way to piss off Karl.”

“I don’t give a crap about Karl.” There was some honesty.

Aster blinked, working her way up to worry. “Then why?”

I pulled my hand away from Eden’s, and I took a long swig of my margarita, buying time before I was whispering toward the glass. “His in-laws got custody of his kids when his wife died. He’s trying to get them back.”

“Oh shit, Tessa,” Salem breathed.

A vat of distress dumped itself onto the already heavy atmosphere. I could feel the weight of Eden’s stare from the side.

I nodded. “He needs to show the court that he’s settling down and building a stable home. And he’s been so kind to me, so I offered to help him.”

“That’s…” Aster drew out.

“Complicated,” I supplied.

“Crazy and amazing and selfless.” Eden’s words were a breath, and she reached out and took my hand again. I shifted to look her way to find the concern written in her features. “But it’s a lot, Tessa. How long are you supposed to pretend like you’re marrying him? I can’t imagine anything related to a custody suit is going to be quick. It could be months…or years. Are you willing to sacrifice your freedom for that long?”

She didn’t have to say the rest of what she was thinking. I saw the implication of it in the tilt of her head.

After you’ve already sacrificed for years for Bobby.

She wouldn’t say it aloud, anyway. I knew she’d protect the secret I’d shared with her on Monday.

“I care about him.” It was the best way to explain it.

“I know you do…but you need to take care of yourself, too. And what happens when he gets his kids back? Do you just…break up? Isn’t that going to mess with their heads?”

Dread slithered beneath my skin.

I knew those were things Milo and I needed to discuss. We’d been so focused on the hope of getting them back that we hadn’t taken the time to address what would happen after.

It’d seemed logical in the shadows of his room.

But the daylight ushered in a thousand complications.

A groan grumbled from my throat. “I don’t even know. We haven’t planned it out yet. I just know that I want to help him, any way that I can.”

Aster leaned closer. “And you’re just living with him like this whole thing is real until God knows when? Aren’t you going to get tired of pretending? It seems like it’s too much to ask of you.”

My head shook. “I think the problem is how much I like being there.”

She tried to hide the glee lighting at the edge of her mouth. “You do like him, don’t you?”

“What’s not to like?”

All of it.

Everything.

All except for the undercurrent of darkness that curled around him like a building storm.

The ghosts that haunted him in the night.

But the truth was, I’d gladly take those on, too.

Crap.

I was screwed.

“You cannot be blamed, Tessa. The man is stupid hot.” Salem casually popped a chip into her mouth. “And you know the quiet ones are wild in bed.”

“Don’t tease me,” I whined.

“Someone needs to get laid, and she needs it hard.” She spoke no greater truth. “Maybe you can convince Milo to do you the favor since you’re giving up so much for him.” Salem sent me a salacious grin. “You know you want it.”

“Or maybe you go after what you really want, Tessa,” Eden cut into the joking, her voice serious.

I glanced at her. “And what do I really want?”

“You’re the only one who can answer that, but I remember not too long ago this really incredible friend telling me to take a chance. That the man I thought was all wrong for me, but who I couldn’t get off my mind, might be meant for me. That he might be my Ace.”

She’d been terrified of loving Trent. I mean, the guy was actually terrifying, so there was that. But together? There was something special about their connection. I’d pushed her. Told her she would never find what she was missing if she didn’t open herself to the possibility.

And I wanted that…someday, I wanted that.

My Ace.

Sadness stretched across my chest. Pain for Milo. For that hollowness I could feel echoing inside of him. “I doubt he could be my Ace, because I think he already lost his.”

And I didn’t want second best. I wanted someone who loved me with every fiber, the way I would love them.

I wanted passion.

Friendship.

An unending connection.

I wanted my person .

“I don’t know, Tessa. I’ve seen the way he watches you when we’re at the club, and believe me, it’s spicy,” Aster said.

I gave a small shrug. “I think he might be attracted to me, but his heart is all kinds of battered, and I’m pretty sure he’s boarded it up.”

“And if it wasn’t?” Eden asked.

“Then I’d hike that man like he was a mountain.” I waggled my brows, then cracked up.

“You are such a goober, Tessa McDaniels.” Salem laughed.

“Okay, hold up.” Aster lifted a hand. “We haven’t even talked about Karl, which is the whole reason I’ve been dying to talk to you. What happened? I honestly thought the three of us were going to have to take matters into our own hands. Tie him up and float him to the bottom of the sea where he’d never be found.”

My brows reached for the sky. “You really are a mafia princess. I’m scared for my life right now.”

She giggled. “I didn’t mean literally.”

“Sure,” I sang before I let the lightness bleed away. “There’s not much to tell. I finally couldn’t take his assholery any longer, and I told him it was over. He actually hit me. Can you believe that?”

I ignored the shiver of fear at what had happened when I’d gone to get my things.

“What I can believe is he’s dead.” Fury slipped over Salem’s face. “Aster’s plan is sounding incredibly reasonable right now.”

I gulped down the rest of my margarita before I grinned and poured myself another from the pitcher. “You don’t have to worry about it. I went over there to get my things, and Milo kicked his ass.”

It was out before I could stop it.

Eden’s eyes bugged out. “Um, what?”

“Yep. Karl decided to be an asshole.” I left out the gory details because the three of them would lose it, and Karl might, in fact, find himself floating at the bottom of the sea.

We definitely didn’t need a murder on our hands.

“One punch to the face and Karl was out cold. It was kind of embarrassing for the poor guy. I think he might have pissed himself, too.”

“Oh my God.” Aster laughed. “I love Milo. Such a beast.”

I giggled, and my chest stretched a little too wide with the affection I had for the man.

“I kinda love him, too,” I admitted.

“Crap, she has it bad.” Salem looked between Eden and Aster.

“I can hear you, you know,” I pouted.

“Honestly, we’re just proud of you.” Salem’s tone filled with sincerity. “I hated that you were with Karl. Hated the way he treated you. Hated that I saw you were unhappy. I never understood why.”

I searched for a valid explanation. “Once I make a commitment to someone, I have a hard time walking away.”

“I’m glad you came to the point where you realized Karl doesn’t deserve your commitment.”

No.

Only Bobby did.

But now…now I could care for my brother and be a better me while doing it.

My voice lowered with the significance. “You guys can’t tell anyone about this. Not your husbands. No one. I mean, it’s serious. I know you talk to them about everything, but this has to stay between us. We can’t risk any kind of rumors going around that we aren’t real.”

“Of course,” they all promised.

“Not even if they catch a whiff of a secret and try to withhold those delicious O’s they are so fond of giving you. Do you understand me?”

I pointed around the table at each of them.

Salem whined. “I’m not sure I’m that strong.”

“Suck it up. I’ve had to for years.”

“Fine, fine. I promise.”

“Promise,” Eden and Aster agreed.

Our hands were all back in the middle of the table again, clutching each other.

“Fantastic Foursome Oath,” I proclaimed. “It cannot be broken or unsealed.”

“That’s not a thing.” Salem laughed a throaty laugh.

“It is now. You break it, and bad, bad things will befall you.” I made sure the words came out all kinds of ominous.

She laughed. “Goober.”

“This might be rough, Tessa,” Eden whispered when the lightness wore off.

Determination took over the discomfort of her warning. “I know. But he’s my friend, and friends do whatever they can to support each other.”

“Your friend, who I bet has a giant dick.” Salem just had to add that.

“I hate you. I’m getting more margaritas.” Standing, I grabbed the pitcher and strutted toward the bar like I hadn’t wondered that very thing a thousand times.

“You know you love me.”

I swiveled to face her, walking backward when I gave her the same response she’d given me earlier. “Barely.”

I turned back around, and she called from behind, “Mad love, Tessa. Mad, mad love.”

My heart fisted, and I fought a grin.

The brat had learned all my tricks.

I set the pitcher on the bar and dug out my phone when it buzzed in my pocket, and I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face when I read the text.

Milo

How are you, Little Dove? Are you having fun with your friends?

So maybe the two margaritas I’d gulped down had already hit my bloodstream because I tapped out a response without giving it thought.

Me

Are you thinking about me, fiancé?

It took an entire minute for him to respond.

Milo

I shouldn’t be, but I am.

Wings fluttered in my stomach, and I jerked when a voice hit me from the side. “How about I get that pitcher for you?”

I turned to find this crazy-sexy guy who was watching me with a sly smirk from where he leaned against the bar.

Like, hello, Hottie McTottie.

I should so take him up on his offer and then have him take me to his place later. It wasn’t like there was any mistaking what his intentions were.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a speck of me that wanted to do it.

I flaunted the fingers of my left hand in his face. “Oh, sorry, I’m engaged.”

“Well, that’s too bad.”

My phone buzzed again.

Milo

Be safe, Little Dove. I’ll see you later tonight.

No.

It wasn’t too bad at all.