Page 25 of Tempting Tessa

“You’re going to have to try harder.”

He chuckled again. “You’re tough on a guy’s ego, you know that?”

A group of loud travelers passed by, and he fell silent but lowered the paper to track them.

That’s when he saw her.

Or thought he did.

It was just a flash—a face in the crowd, partially obscured by a scarf and a mass of people weaving toward the exit. But for a heartbeat, Tommy could’ve sworn it was Jessie. The tilt of her chin, the way she turned her head. The dark hair slipping from under her hood…

His breath caught and jammed in his throat.

Not Jessie. Jessie is dead. I buried her.

And yet… He stood, dropping the paper, his legs moving before his brain caught up. “Hey!” he shouted, shoving past the loud tourists gathered before him.

The figure turned a corner and disappeared into a stream of commuters. His heart pounded, and he forced his way through the crowds, scanning every face and figure for a glimpse of familiarity. Overhead, the drone of announcements faded into the background.

He couldn’t help himself. “Jessie,” he shouted. Heads turned, but none of them belonged to her. By the time he reached the end of the corridor, she had vanished.

He braced a hand on a pillar, sucking in a breath as the cold reality settled over him.

He was losing it.My sister is dead.What is wrong with me?

It hadn’t been her at the cemetery after her burial. It hadn’t been her in Bucharest before the embassy attack. His mind had been playing tricks on him then. It was now, too.

When he headed back to the bench, Tessa was striding down the corridor toward him, hands on her hips and a frown etched into her face. Both brows went up in question, and he shook his head, veering away from the crowd to stop with his back against one of the cement walls of the station. He needed it to brace himself.

She spoke under her breath. “What the hell was that?”

Tommy hesitated. She wouldn’t let it go if he tried to brush her off, but he didn’t have the energy to get into it. “Just my mind playing tricks on me.”

The frown deepened. “Come on.”

She led him outside, where the noise of the station faded. They moved to a section where smokers and those searching for rides hung out. She scanned him from head to toe, her eyes dissecting him as if she could see straight through to his brain. To all the secrets he was trying to keep from her. From himself. “Well?”

He ran a hand through his short hair, missing his longer locks, and exhaled hard. “It’s stupid.”

“Tell me anyway.”

“I’d rather you didn’t think I was delusional.”

She moved so she was next to him, her back to the wall. People came and went, but they paid no attention to them. Still, she pulled out her phone and began tapping again. They were back to being strangers.

Was it because she was so stubborn or because he wouldn’t confess the truth, and she was pissed?

Several minutes passed, and dozens of travelers swept by them. Announcements came over the loudspeakers. Tommy replayed what had happened in his mind. All the excuses he’d given himself before bubbled up hot and acidic to batter him: It was a trick of the light. It was just someone who looked similar to her.You were thinking about her this morning, and so you brought her to life, transferring what you wish for onto someone else.

“We should probably go back inside,” he said.

She pushed off the wall and started to march past him.

Seeing her stiff posture, something inside him broke. “I thought I saw Jessie.”

She stopped in mid-stride. “What?”

“It’s happened three times in the past year.” He whirled a finger around his temple. “Grief has screwed with my brain.”

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