I squinted through the glass. "Where?"
She pointed. "On that handlebar."
I looked toward the back room. Sure enough, my bra was dangling off the handlebar of a bright yellow bike – one that Griff had been fixing long before he had fixedme.
I blinked long and hard. There was no salvaging this – not the scene, not my dignity, and definitely not my bra.
I mean, how on Earth would I ever wear it again without blushing? In reply to Tessa's question, I mumbled, "Uh…yeah. I think so."
Who was I kidding? Iknewthe bra was mine – just like I knew that I couldn't stand at the window forever, because for one thing, my feet had gotten wet from the sidewalk and were absolutely freezing. I looked back to Tessa. "We should probably go inside."
She gave a hard shake of her head. "No, I'm good." She hesitated. "But thanks. I think I'll just…um…head back home." She turned away, as if to leave on foot.
"Wait!" I said. "You can't walk back alone."
She turned back. "Why not?"
"Because it's the middle of the night." Even as I said it, I felt a little silly. Oh sure, I meant what I said, but it wasn't lost on me that Griff had said pretty much the same thing to me when I'd wanted to answer the door.
Tessa gave a breezy wave of her hand. "Nah, don't worry. It's fine. I mean, I made it here okay, didn't I?"
"Speaking of which…whydidyou come out?"
She looked at me like I was the crazy one. "Because I was worried." She lowered her voice. "You know…because you didn't come home."
Right.I winced. "Yeah…sorry. I guess I should've called."
"Or…you could've answered when I calledyou." Her lips twitched. "But I guess you were kind of busy, huh?"
Oh, boy was I ever."You called?"
"Yeah, like a million times. There was the storm, and you didn't come home, and, well…" Her voice softened. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
Warmth blossomed in my chest, only to spread to my face when she added on a snicker, "But it looks like you were in excellent hands."
Good golly.It wasn'tjustthe hands.
Tessa cocked an eyebrow, clearly expecting some sort of retort. Instead, I just stood there like a deer in headlights, wondering if there was a graceful way to exit this moment with my dignity intact and my bra unclaimed.
From somewhere behind me, Griff asked, "You coming inside?"
With a little jump, I whirled to look. "Me? Why?"
He looked to my feet. "For starters, because you're wearing no shoes."
He wasn't either. And now, his feet were getting just as wet as mine. I bit my lip, not wanting to say what I must. "Yeah, but then I'm gonna walk Tessa home."
From behind me, Tessa spoke up. "No, it's fine. You stay. I'll go."
Feeling like a spectator at a tennis match, I whirled to face her. "Not by yourself."
She smiled. "Don't worry, it's fine."
"No, it's not."
From behind me, Griff said, "No kidding. That's why I'm walkingbothof you back."
I turned to face him. "You don't have to do that."