Page 154 of My Heart Still Beats
Thud.
Reality is back in full fucking force.
I wasn’t working yesterday afternoon. I was dealing with Dirk Conrad. That tooth he was wearing around his neck is still in the pocket of my jeans.
I grab my jeans to get my phone. Damn. It’s dead.
“Tessa!” I yell into the bathroom.
“Yeah?”
“I need to plug in my phone.”
“There’s a charger on my nightstand and another in the kitchen,” she calls back.
I glance at the nightstand. Tessa’s phone is plugged into the charger, so I walk, still naked, out to the kitchen, find the charger, and plug in my phone. Then I return to the bedroom and join Tessa in the shower. I’m used to a much larger space, but the closeness seems apt for Tessa and me.
She smiles. “I was hoping you’d join me.”
“How could I not?” I stroke her wet hair. “You’re at your most beautiful in the water, Tessa. Whether it’s Dunn’s River Falls, or taking a cold plunge, or in the rain where I kissed you. Water brings out the most amazing beauty in you. It’s like you were a mermaid in another life.”
She smooths shampoo onto her scalp. “I never dreamed of being a mermaid,” she says, “but I used to dream that I could fly.”
I move my hands to her head and begin massaging the shampoo through her gorgeous hair. “Did you? I’m pretty sure I’ve had that dream, too.”
“My therapist said it’s a common dream for children.”
“Is it?” I work the lather through her long hair and then turn her toward the shower water to rinse. “I’d like to know all your dreams, Tessa.”
“The best one just came true.” She rinses the last of the suds from her hair and turns to me, water dripping off her long lashes the way it did in the rain.
I cup her cheeks. Her hair is a sleek wet curtain clinging to her shoulders and neck.
I want to say the words.
Mustsay the words.
“I love you, Tessa.”
She drops her jaw.
“I know it’s too soon. I know it makes no sense, but I love you, Teresa Maria Logan.”
She opens her mouth, but I gesture her to stop.
“Don’t say anything. I don’t expect you to say it back to me. But it’s important that you know how I feel.” I kiss her forehead. “I love you so damned much, Tessa. When I first laid eyes on you, I lost a piece of my heart. I don’t want it back, not ever.”
She melts into me, and the shower pelts us.
When it becomes lukewarm, I turn off the water and leave the shower, handing Tessa a towel.
I look away as she dries off, toss my used towel onto a rack, and enter her bedroom to put on my clothes. I have to get to the office for a meeting at ten. I keep several spare suits and accessories ready at the office. I’ll need one today.
After that…I need to talk to Braden.
I need to finish this Dirk Conrad thing once and for all, and it’s high time I tell my brother what’s going on. He should hear it from me.
He should have heard it from me fifteen years ago.
