Page 80 of Unsure in Love

“What?” I asked, opening my bottle.

“You seem different.”

My heart stuttered. Shit. Did I have pregnant stamped on my forehead?

I shrugged. “I’ve packed on a few pounds. The food in New York is the shit.”

She chuckled. “I wish I could have gone with you. I’ve never traveled outside of Nebraska. Lucy loved New York too. April traveled all over with Julian, and Ruby is experiencing another city. It’s time I ventured outside this little bubble too.”

I smiled.

“Maybe if you go to another tattoo convention next year, I can tag along,” she added with a hopeful note.

“Er… yeah.” I felt awful for lying about my reason for visiting New York.

“Sooo…” She lifted her eyebrows. “It sounded like you had something big to tell me.”

Gulping down the cool liquid, I said, “I think I’m in love.”

Tessa erupted in a series of sputters and then coughs. Wincing, I leaned closer to pat her back.

When the coughing subsided, she laughed. “Hilarious.”

I stared at her with a solemn, maybe terrified, expression until she sobered. Her lingering smile faded. “Oh, my gosh. You’re serious.”

My puff of breath blew strands of hair away from my face. “I got hit by Cupid’s arrow, Tess. The little angelic bastard got me good,” I grumbled.

Tessa sniggered and clamped a hand over her mouth.

“And let me tell you, I was more shocked than you are.”

Her eyes were glued to my face. “You said you think you’re in love.”

“Scratch that. I am in love. I can’t believe I let myself fall.” Why was it so easy to confess that to someone else but not Damian?

“Well, I don’t know much about romance.” Tessa’s cheek flushed a rosy hue. “I mean, I’m thirty and I’ve never experienced an epic amorous relationship like I hear so many people talk about.”

I studied my sister keenly. It seemed she was saddened by that, and I resented my father a little more. Things went to hell for all of us when he left. It was the aftereffects of his actions that caused us to grow up with aversions to relationships.

“People exaggerate,” I said, hoping to make her feel better.

Her lips twisted wryly. “Maybe. What about you? Are you overemphasizing your feelings for this mystery lover of yours?”

“Absolutely not,” I answered without hesitation. Everything was there with Damian— passion, exhilaration, yearning, and vulnerability. There was also the cascade of sometimes confusing emotions, including the terror of being hurt. Who knew falling in love could make a person feel so much?

Tessa nodded. “And I’m pretty sure you don’t have much control over it—falling in love. So, I’ve heard anyway. You didn’t let yourself fall because you couldn’t have stopped it. It was meant to be.”

Sighing, I combed my fingers through my hair, sending my ponytail into further disarray. Maybe she was right.

“Who is he?”

My gaze locked with Tessa, and heat seeped into my cheeks. “Remember Damian? One of Nic’s groomsmen?”

“The tall, hot, broody one you constantly salivated over?”

I scoffed. “I didn’t salivate over him.”

She snorted. “The thirst was real, Cass.”

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