“Why did you say yes?” There was no suspicion in her tone, just genuine curiosity.
Tess considered her answer. “It seemed…expedient. We’re working closely together on this project. And despite my father’s enthusiasm for it, I won’t know for certain for a few more weeks whether everything will work as I expect. Getting my own place this early seems premature. But taking up the most expensive suite in the hotel is also poor business. Plus, I really am in love with his kitchen.” None of that was a lie, even if it wasn’t the whole truth.
“It is an amazing kitchen. But is that really all it is?”
“What else would it be?” Tess fought to keep the panic from showing. Did Norah know something? Had they done something to reveal themselves?
“I thought maybe it was because you were uncomfortable around your dad and Sandy.”
Tess opened her mouth and closed it again. “Is it that obvious?”
Norah held her thumb and forefinger millimeters apart. “Little bit.”
“That was not my intention. Sandy is a really lovely woman. I just…don’t have
any idea how to behave around her. I don’t really have any idea how to behave around your entire family. I am an only child of divorced parents.”
“Me too.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I come from prime, Type A, overachiever stock. And I thought for a long time that meant I couldn’t have my career and a solid relationship. The Campbells helped teach me I was wrong.”
“I can see how that would be the case. It seems like everybody in the family is paired off in some ideal relationship.” It still felt a little unnatural to Tess.
“They’re great people. Often nosy, interfering, and overwhelming, but always well-intentioned. And yeah, other than Ava—she’s Reed’s sister. She’s a photojournalist working in Afghanistan right now—and Mitch, everybody’s paired off.”
“You’ve known him a long time? Mitch, I mean.”
“We’ve been friends almost as long as Miranda and I have. I met him when she brought me home with her from college, and he’s always been like my very flirty older brother. But flirtation aside, he’s as loyal as they come. And honorable. So don’t have any concerns that he might take advantage of you.”
“That hadn’t even crossed my mind.” How could it? The idea was laughable. The man had ignored her less than graceful acceptance of his help and taken care of her. He’d fed her chicken and dumplings and watched her favorite movie. And he’d been content to simply hold her. If anything, it had felt like she was taking advantage of him. Especially with this secret hanging over her head. But she’d fix that. And she’d just have to hope and pray that the news wouldn’t be the death knell she believed it to be.
Chapter 10
The house was too quiet when Mitch got home. Tess’s car was in the garage, so unless she’d gone off with somebody else, she had to be here. Maybe she was napping. She’d been awfully tired since that stomach flu. Not that she’d appreciated it when he suggested she was working too hard and ought to take it easy. Tonight he’d opted for sneakier tactics to achieve the same end. He was cooking dinner. It wouldn’t be on par with the Italian feast she’d made or even the everyday gourmet fare she tended toward, but by damn, he could grill. After stowing the groceries he’d picked up on the way home, he went to search her out.
Moving into the dark living room, he switched on a light, pulling up short when he spotted her curled in a chair, a mug in her hands. “Hey.” He knew before the word even fell from his lips that something was very wrong. Her expression was too set, too serious.
“Hi.” She didn’t smile.
Mitch searched her face. Had she been crying? “Baby, what’s wrong? Is there a snag with the project? Did you have a fight with your dad? Has somebody died?”
She shook her head. “Would you please sit down?” The fingers around her mug were white.
Dread curled through his gut as he moved toward her. “Why do I feel like I should do that with a glass of bourbon?”
“You may want some before this is over.”
That didn’t bode well. But he sat without it, taking the end of the sofa nearest her and hating that he couldn’t easily touch her and try to comfort. Or maybe he wanted some comfort for himself.
Tess took a measured breath, staring into the mug. “I’ve been trying to think how to tell you this for days.”
She’s breaking up with me. The sick certainty of it hit him like a sucker punch. He couldn’t imagine any other reason she’d look so grave and uncomfortable. Their days together, both here and in Scotland, spun through his head in a jumbled loop. His mind tried to sift through, to find a reason, so suss out some argument he could use to combat what was coming. But all he saw were the best days of his life. If she didn’t feel the same, how could he change her mind?
She lifted her gaze to his, steeling herself. “There’s no good way to ease into this, so I’m just going to rip the Band-aid off.”
Their living together was too much, too soon. That had to be it. She’d decided she couldn’t handle this. Mitch braced himself for the blow, wondering if the knowing it was coming would lessen the inevitable pain or make it worse.