She tapped her temple twice. “Are you gonna spill, or what?”
“There’s nothing wrong, Mrs. Cal—” She shot me a glare. “Louise,” I corrected.
The bell over the entrance rang, and Tess strode in. Alone. She looked around, tucking some flyaway hairs behind her ear, the rest up in a messy ponytail. It looked like she ran here, given her workout clothes. The tank top and shorts were tight, leaving nothing to the imagination.
And I had been imagining. A lot. Every day. I was now more acquainted with my hand than I’d ever been in my life because of her.
The latest form of torment was that phone call yesterday and the sultry rasp of her voice asking me to come over.
My eyes fell to her feet, and sure enough, my heart skipped seeing those pink shoes. I loved how much she loved them. Itwas unstoppable when my gaze slid up her legs. It was the most skin of hers I’d ever seen in person, and it was…overwhelming to say the least.
“Ah,” Louise said. “I heard about this.”
I dragged my eyes off Tess. It was harder than it should’ve been. “Heard about what?”
“You and Tessie being sweet on each other.” I’d call it more of an obsession on my end. No clue what Tess’s end was, but I knew there was something, and that only made resisting her that much harder.
“No.” I’d never lied so blatantly in my life. “Just friends.”
Louise actually laughed. Loud, obnoxious, and enough to make heat crawl up my neck. And even worse, it caught Tess’s attention, and before I could brace myself, she was walking over to my table, her long ponytail swinging with every step.
“Hey.” Her smile was warm, her eyes sparkling, and I was instantly mesmerized. I took in every freckle on her face, every shade of blue in her eyes, the fullness of her lips. Her under-eyes were a little darker than usual; she must not have slept well. Had she had a nightmare? Luke? I wanted to know, wanted to chase their demons away.
Louise smacked the back of my head with a menu. “Ow!” I rubbed the back of my head, scowling at her.
She had her gray brows raised at me, gesturing to Tess. “You deaf?”
Tess giggled. She glanced at the empty seat across from me. “Can I sit?” She could sitonme for all I cared. Actually, I think I’d prefer it.
I’m losing my mind.
“Of course,” I forced out, my voice a little strained.
“Can I just get a smoothie, Miss Louise?” she said, her head tilted up towards her grandmother’s friend. “A fruity one.”
Louise frowned. “You sure, honey? I can make you some of those buffalo tenders you like.”
I snatched that piece of information up with pure greed, wanting to know everything about her. But I also found it oddly fascinating; the ‘under the radar’ girl liked spicy food.
Tess’s eyes widened, her lips forming an ‘o’. “Ooh, I haven’t had those inages,” she groaned, and I nearly died. “I’ll have two…and some fries…with ranch…and a Dr. Pepper, please.” She blushed a smidge harder with every item she tacked onto her order, like it was some kind of inconvenience.
Yeah…I was definitely falling in love with her.
“I remember,” Louise chuckled, and Tess folded in on herself a little with a shy smile. She was so tiny, dainty in a way that made me want to shield her from the rest of the world. “Cheer him up while I go get it.”
And there went my good mood that Tess had me in.
Tess frowned as Louise walked away before slowly looking at me. “Cheer you up? What’s wrong?”
I can’t be with you, and my family is full of soulless leeches who nearly destroyed yours—again. That’s what’s wrong.“Nothing. Everything’s fine.”
Her head tilted. “Levi.” My blood pumped faster at the way her lips formed my name.
“It’s really nothing, Tess.”
“If it’s nothing, then why not tell me?” She leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest, arching a brow. Not sure if she was trying to look intimidating or not, but it wasn’t working. I just wanted to haul her into my lap and shower her with kisses.
But I relented regardless, unable to deny her. “I had lunch with my grandfather and Preston last Saturday.” I stared down at the table. “It went about as well as you could expect after court Thursday.”
