Page 43 of Tessa's Trust

That reminded me…

Me: Hey. Didn’t you have a crush on my sister?

I believed he’d kissed her once when inebriated, and that should cool my interest in him, right?

Nick: No. At first glance, there might’ve been some interest, but it quickly cooled when we became friends. I have since discovered that my taste goes much more toward an Irish rose, who works hard and hopes big.

I gulped. Was Basanelli flirting with me? I thought we’d agreed to be friends, but this was as alive as I’d felt all year—maybe longer. I hadn’t had good luck with men, and Basanelli was definitely a heartbreaker. But I couldn’t help it. I texted him back.

Me: Are you flirting with me?

Nick: Yes.

Desire winged through me, which was nuts since we were only texting. Even so, this was more fun than I’d had in way too long.

Me: We decided to be friends. Different life paths, remember?

Then, dork that I was, I held my breath, waiting for a response.

Nick: I’ve decided that I forge my own life path. Right now, you seem to be as much trouble as your sister, but I like you.

Nick Basanelli had said the softer l-word to me. I was such a complete dork.

Me: I’m starting to think you like trouble.

Nick: There’s enough truth in that statement that it keeps me up at night. Thoughts of you do, as well.

It was the sweetest thought he’d ever shared with me. I swallowed, noting my body was full-on alert and ready to rumble. That kiss had stayed with me, and I couldn’t help but wonder what an entire night with Nick would be like. Probably life-changing.

Me: What’s your plan, then?

It was a risky question.

Nick: I’ll let you know when I figure it out. For now, you stay safe. I mean it.

I’d never been good at taking orders from anybody. Even so, I knew what he said came from a good place, even if his bossy execution didn’t sit well with me. And he was actually flirting on purpose.

I sat back, bemused. It was time to banish thoughts of the hot Italian and figure out my life. Yeah, I’d lied to him, but why worry the guy? I was fairly safe right now, and I really needed to find Sadie and that money. It was my life savings, and if it turned out I didn’t own the building, I had to figure something else out. But I’d be crushed.

However, right now, my only goal was finding the woman.

Chapter 16

I had my doubts Timber City was big enough for an authentic French restaurant like Crème de la Crepe. They’d kept it fairly casual, however, which had been smart.

I arrived before Eddie, and a smoothly moving woman in a form-fitting black cocktail dress showed me to my table, which was at the far end of the restaurant and in a nice, secluded area.

Trying to be different instead of going for the normal fireplace found in most of our establishments, the Crème de la Crepe owner had opted for a vast and bubbly aquarium in the wall that featured beautiful and vibrant fish, floating around peacefully. It actually gave me a sense of calmness, and I could understand why they’d chosen that for decor, although I didn’t see anything French about it.

I put my back to it so I could watch the door. I didn’t recognize many people in the small dining area; most of them must have been tourists in town for winter sports.

Eddie soon entered, wiping snow off his head. He looked pretty much like I remembered. He wore a blue button-down shirt open halfway down his chest, and a dark brown corduroy jacket over jeans. His thin hair was slicked back, and he had two black earrings in his ears. A gold necklace hung into what could only be called a copious amount of chest hair.

He was sparsely shaven, and his eyebrows appeared as if they’d been tattooed on, because they were much thicker than his hair. They looked a little unnatural. Although that chest was hairy, so who knew?

He winked at the hostess and maneuvered between tables to reach me. “Well, Tessa Albertini, didn’t you grow up nice?”

I wasn’t sure whether I should stand or not, so I didn’t. “Hi, Eddie. It’s good to see you.” I kept my hand around my water glass.

---