Page 40 of Homebody
“In fact there is. Can you give me Tessa’s phone number?”
It took Dean a few seconds, during which he couldn’t think, could barely breathe, before he stuttered, “Uh, um, what?”
“I have money in my budget for an assistant at the lab. I haven’t really taken the time to look for one. I figured the chance of finding someone both interested and qualified who lived locally would be impossible. And bringing someone in for just a few days a week from the University at Albany or farther is untenable. But then you introduced me to Tessa. I’d love to talk to her about the position. I think she’d be a perfect fit.”
Yeah, Dean bet Liam would like to talk to Tessa about thispositionbecause she’d be aperfect fit.
Okay, maybe his good old friend hadn’t meant any of what he’d said to sound sexual but it sure as hell did sound that way to Dean. Maybe that was because he couldn’t stop himself from thinking of her in that way and of all the many ways he wanted her.
That realization made his stomach churn.
Useless fantasies did nothing but lead to frustration and unhappiness. Knowing that truth didn’t change the facts. Dean was leaving in just days. But Liam lived and worked in Mudville permanently. Nice and close to Tessa.
And that was Dean’s fault.
Dammit. If only when Liam had called Dean a couple of years ago he’d just ignored the call. Or said he couldn’t help him with his property search for a location in upstate New York for his new lab. But no. Instead Dean had talked up Mudville. Convincing Liam he couldn’t find a better town to settle in.
This was all his own fault. He’d inflicted this misery on himself. Insured that Liam would be there conveniently close to Tessa while Dean was hundreds of miles away, if not farther.
Liam and Tessa. Working together. Two attractive people talking about brains all day. Bonding over medical stuff Dean couldn’t even pronounce, never mind understand. Like a secret language between the two of them for a conversation he couldn’t even pretend to participate in if he were there, which he wouldn’t be. Not for much longer.
The decision to take a course of action he wasn’t proud of became clear. He knew what he had to do. He couldn’t have Tessa, but he’d be damned if Liam got her.
“Nope. Sorry, man. Can’t help you there,” Dean lied smoothly.
“What do you mean?” Liam asked.
“I don’t have her phone number.”
“You don’t… aren’t you two friends?”
“More like acquaintances, really.Notthe kind that exchange numbers.”
“Um… all right. Do you know her last name? Or where she lives or works so I can get in touch with her?”
“Sorry. I really don’t know.”
Liam’s silence seemed to ooze doubt.
Dean decided he needed some truth sprinkled in with a few more lies to shore up his fib. “I met her at the bar, man. We talked about the homeless community a bit. I told her about the church food donation then and we agreed to meet up for that.Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to get in touch with her. But if I run into her again before I fly out next week, I’ll be sure to tell her you’re looking for her.”
After a slight pause, Liam said, “Yeah, you do that.”
Was that sarcasm? Skepticism? Dean didn’t hang around to find out. “Gotta go. Later, bud.”
He punched the screen to disconnect then gripped the wheel tightly in both hands.
Liam and Tessa.Dammit!
As jealousy ate a hole in his gut and was beginning to make his palms sweat, Dean realized something. He was definitely in trouble when it came to his feelings about Tessa.
Chapter Twenty
“So? Tell me everything,” Ruby demanded when Tessa walked into the hair salon the next morning.
“There isn’t that much to tell.”
Well, there was. What Dean had done, from involving the Veterans’ Affairs people to coordinating the food donations for the unhoused, was amazing. Well worth mentioning. But Tessa knew Ruby well enough to know that wasn’t the kind of report she was looking for.
