I shuffled my feet. “You’d be surprised what you can do with a few spare parts.”
Tessa grinned. “I’ll take your word for it. I can fix a leaky sink or bake just about anything, but I know next to nothing about cars.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. I was safe. “Well, I’m happy to help you out whenever you need.”
Tessa laughed. “Be careful what you ask for.”
I didn’t think I’d ever wanted someone to ask me for help so badly in my life. Tessa could ask me to work on her car every day for the next fifty years, and I’d do it with a smile on my face. If my friends, Austin and Ford, back in LA, could see me now, they would laugh their asses off. I was a total goner for a girl I hadn’t even kissed.
Tessa took a step closer to me. “Do you have time to hang out for a bit, or do you need to get back?”
I flexed my hand, wanting so badly to reach out and tuck a strand of Tessa’s hair behind her ear. “I’ve got no plans and could use a little writing time.”
Tessa beamed up at me. God, I could get lost in that smile, the way her eyes danced, and her nose crinkled. Yep, I was so totally gone for this girl. “Good, because I could use some drawing time, and your playing always gives me good inspiration.”
I grinned down at my boots and turned to pull my guitar from the car. “Happy to keep an artist in her creative flow.”
Tessa let out an adorable little snort. “I don’t know about that, but I like the company.”
I lifted my guitar case through the rails and then ducked between them myself, holding a hand out to Tessa. We settled into our usual spots on the boulder—Tessa with her sketchpad, me with my guitar. We lost ourselves in our tasks, in the beauty around us, in simply being with each other.
I set to work on what I’d secretly dubbedTessa’s Song. I had snatches of lyrics and sections of music, but I couldn’t quite fit it all together. I let my mind wander as my hands shaped chords. Nonsensical musical creations that floated away on the wind. I took in the horses, the rolling hills, the forests below, but my gaze kept traveling back to Tessa.
A smile stretched across my face. Tessa was so damn cute. When she was really focused on her task, the end of her tongue peeked out from between her lips. My gaze zeroed in on Tessa’s mouth. I wanted to taste her so badly I could almost convince myself I had. My playing slowed as my eyes focused more intently on those perfect bow lips.
Tessa looked up from her work. “What’s wrong?”
I blinked a few times, attempting to clear the haze in my brain. “Did you know that when you concentrate really hard, you stick your tongue out just here?” I couldn’t resist the pull, I swept my thumb across the corner of her mouth.
Tessa sucked in a breath but didn’t pull away. “Um, no. I didn’t.”
The air seemed to still around us. I didn’t dare move as she leaned in, didn’t even breathe. Tessa needed to be the one to close the distance between us. Just as our lips were about to touch, a large creature shoved between us. Phoenix.
Tessa burst into laughter. “Phoenix, were you jealous you weren’t the center of attention?” She scratched between the mare’s ears.
I eyed the horse dubiously. Next time I got Tessa alone, it needed to be an animal-free zone. No horses. No tiny terror kittens. Hell, no zebras either. Nothing to keep me from my girl’s lips.
23
Tessa
Ibit my lip to keep from laughing as Liam studied the bakery case as though he were about to attempt to defuse a bomb. I tapped the top of the case from behind the counter. “You know this isn’t a life or death decision.”
Liam’s eyes shot to mine. He straightened, pinning me with a very serious stare. “This is my afternoon dessert choice. The fate of the rest of my day hangs in the balance. If I get a sugar cookie but then realize I should have gone with the peanut butter and chocolate Rice Krispies treat, my entire afternoon will be ruined.”
I couldn’t hold in my giggle. “You could always get both.”
Liam’s eyes lit. “I like the way you think. Just give me one of everything sweet.”
A snort of laughter escaped me.Cute, Tessa. Real attractive.“There are at least eight different desserts in there.”
Liam shrugged a shoulder. “Better to have too many than to be riddled with what-might’ve-beens if I pick wrong.” He leaned on the top of the case, his face so very close to mine. “We can take my selection up to the horses, I might share with you.”
A flash exploded. My heart stopped. It was almost closing time, and Jensen had already left to pick up Noah from school. I hadn’t even heard the bell on the door sound. Liam had that much of an effect on me. And now, someone had taken a photo of the two of us. Together. My heart rate tripled as my breathing picked up its pace, blood roaring in my ears.
A teenage girl I’d seen in here more than a few times dropped her phone from in front of her face, blushing. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. You guys are so freaking cute!”
I rounded the counter, movements jerky like a robot who hadn’t been used in years. I reached out a hand. “Give me your phone.”
