Page 37 of Cherished Lands
When she finally re-emerged, the boner I'd spent the last thirty minutes willing away sprang back to life.Goddamn it.
If the Tessa of this morning—the one wearing my baggy sweatpants and too-big t-shirt with no makeup and her hair piled on top of her head—was beautiful, this one was utterly fucking stunning.
Her blonde hair fell across her shoulders in loose waves. Minimal makeup, just enough to make her emerald green eyes shine. And a long-sleeved black bodysuit with a v-neck that showed off her perky tits. But it was the skin-tight jeans that did me in.
I was an ass man, and Tessa Belmonte had a fine fucking ass.
Ten minutes later, walking through downtown Sable Point, I was still thinking about it. Tessa's small hand felt foreign in mine, but I was hyper-aware of every point of contact. The ring box in my pocket—the one she'd handed me in her bedroom with a simple, "Here, use this"—felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
I clenched my jaw. "What's wrong with the way I hold hands?"
Mrs. Dulinsky from the flower shop bustled past, her eyes widening at the sight of us together. I plastered on my besteverything's normalsmile while Tessa waved with her free hand.
"Well, for starters, you're holding my hand like you're afraid it might bite you." Her fingers flexed against mine. "Which is interesting, considering how confident those hands were earlier."
I interlocked our fingers and squeezed. Hard. The sooner we got to Callaghan's, the better. "Let's just get this over with."
"Oh, how romantic."
Another curious onlooker. Another fake smile. The muscles in my face ached. "I'msosorry this fake romance isn't romantic enough for you."
The neon beer signs from Callaghan's flickered ahead like a beacon of salvation. Just a few more steps, and we were that much closer to getting this proposal over and done with.
Fuck, but I was dreading it.
No one who knew me well would describe me as wordy or well-spoken. I was just a guy who worked with his hands. Iliked to drink beer, eat home-cooked meals, and fuck beautiful women.
I was a simple man with a simple life. Until I agreed to marry Tessa Belmonte.
Thisbeautiful woman was going to be the death of me.
My impending proposal may have been fake as shit, but the nervous energy coursing through me was as real as the feeling of her hand in mine. Hated to admit it, but the further we walked, the more her grip on my hand started to ground me. Being tethered to Tessa felt almostcomforting.
"Alright, Paul Bunyan, showtime," Tessa whispered as we approached the door to the bar. "Don't fuck this up."
"I fucked it up."
Chase snorted and spluttered, barely avoiding spraying beer on Andy and Sarah's leather couch. "How bad?"
"Remember junior year when I asked Sarah Martinez to prom by throwing up on her shoes?" I took a long pull from my bottle. "Worse."
"Oh shit." Chase leaned forward, eyes wide. "What happened?"
I scrubbed a hand over my face. The proposal had gone sideways the moment we walked into Callaghan's. Tessa looked fucking incredible in those tight jeans, and I couldn't string two words together. When she bent over the pool table to take a shot, my brain short-circuited completely.
"I dropped the ring."
"That's not so bad," Andy offered from his recliner.
"Into Mr. Henderson's beer."
"Oh no." Andy winced.
"Yeah. Then while fishing it out, I knocked over three other drinks, and when I finally got down on one knee, I slipped in the spilled beer and racked myself on the foot rail of the bar."
Chase was crying with laughter now. "Please tell me you at least got the speech right."
I took another long drink. "You mean the speech about how I've been in love with her for years, and I didn't want to keep dating her in secret anymore? What came out was something like 'You're really hot and I like your face and also your brain thoughts, will you marry me?'"
