Page 57 of Two Risks I'd Never Take Again

“You built all this for me?”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I did. I started working on plans for it while we were at the house. This was my side project.”

My heart raced, and my chest tightened. What I’d gotten him didn’t compare to this at all.

“Tessa?” He hesitantly pulled one hand out of his pocket.

I stepped closer to him, wanting to bury my face in his chest and knowing I shouldn’t. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You could say that you hate it, and you want me to send it back. Or...” He inched closer. “You could say that you like it and invite me to join you for afriendlysoak in the hot tub.”

I latched onto the word friendly. That word would get me through the next two weeks. Part of me wanted that word to last forever.

“No one has ever given me such an amazingly thoughtful gift. I love it.” I hugged him, and his other hand came out of his pocket in a fraction of a second. “Now I know why Delaney suggested I pack my swimsuitjust in case.”

Garrett grinned. “I wrangled a few elves to help with the surprise. Like Ava, who made sure you were away from the cabin this afternoon while I finished installing the screens.”

I gave him another quick hug. “Go get your swimsuit on.”

He strode toward the door.

“Wait!”

Alarm registered on his face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, but you need to open your gift. I almost forgot that part. It’s in my bag.”

He pointed toward the bedroom. “I put it in there.”

I rushed into the room and found another gift on the bed. My name was on the tag. “What’s this?”

“Another present.” He leaned against the door frame. “Open it, and you’ll understand.”

I tore off the paper but froze when I saw the logo of Delaney’s store on the box. Just thinking about lingerie had Skeeter’s words blaring in my head. Inching backward away from the bed, I bumped into Garrett.

He rested his hands on my shoulders. “You can trust me, Tessa.”

I glanced back at him. “I know.”

Trusting Garrett was instinctive. He wasn’t like Skeeter. Garrett wasn’t the type to cheat. That only made this harder. I found someone I could trust, and he was the last person in the world I wanted to disappoint.

Also, I wanted to believe Delaney wouldn’t have set me up to be blindsided with something lacy or see-through.

“I’m glad you trust me.” His voice was almost a whisper.

I pulled off the lid and lifted the white fuzzy robe out of the box. “This looks exactly like the one at the house.” I buried my face in the soft fabric. “You thought of everything.”

“A reminder of that week. And of our friendship.”

I dropped the robe onto the bed and pulled his gift out of my bag. “I was going to put a bow on it tonight, but I guess it doesn’t matter if there is a bow.”

He tore away the green and red striped paper. “You bought me a cowboy hat.”

“I had an elf help me guess the sizing.”

He set it on his head. “It’s perfect. And now I know why the guys made a game of putting their hats on my head the other day. Clint’s hat made me look like I was five.”

“It looks good on you.” That was the friendly way of saying that he looked hotter than a tater tot in a fryer.

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