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I crossed the wide porch, ignoring the squawk of Chessy, who was chasing Jack across the lawn as he hovered just far enough away from me that I knew he was assigned to me for today, and I went inside to find Tess.
“Hey,” I said, stepping into the kitchen. She was wiping the countertop, cleaning things up after lunch.
She stopped moving and looked up to meet my eye, something quizzical and uncertain there. “Hey,” she said, and then opened the dishwasher and put a few things into the rack.
I leaned against the counter, watching her. I wanted to talk to her, but if I was being honest, I just liked watching her move. She was lithe and graceful, but she wasn’t lean like her sister. Tess was clearly a woman, with curves under her clothes that begged for exploration, and a hint of movement when she walked that was mesmerizing. I’d never had a type, I didn’t think, but my hands itched to fill themselves with those generous curves, and I was beginning to think I’d been living in a world surrounded by women who were definitely not my type.
“You’re making me nervous,” Tess said, finally stopping her movements around the kitchen and turning to face me. “Staring like that.”
“Sorry,” I said, brushing my hands against my thighs as if I could clear the nervous energy out of my body. “Is there anything I can help with today?” I tried. “For the party?”
Tess washed her hands slowly and seemed to think about her answer. “I took today off work so I could get things ready for Gran’s party, but I think things are pretty much set. Turns out I’m more organized than even I realized.” Her light laugh dissipated some of the nerves that were gathering in my stomach.
She ran a hand over her hair, smoothing up a tendril that had escaped over her shoulder and was hanging in her face. She looked at me a long minute, and little spikes of excitement skewered my gut, my muscles tightening as I tried to figure out what the look in her eyes meant.
“I’m sorry we lied,” I said. I wanted to banish the awkwardness between us, address the biggest issue so maybe we could move forward.
She nodded slowly, lowering her eyes and spreading her hands on the countertop, her slim fingers splaying wide on the dark granite. “Yeah,” she said, her voice almost a breath. “I get it. I mean, I guess I do.” She turned to face me, her beautiful face bunched with worry. “You and Juliet … you live these lives I can’t even begin to understand. Your world is just so different.” She smiled and shook her head as if to brush away her concerns.
“Not that different,” I said.
She squinted up at me, like she was trying to see inside me somehow, see why I would agree to lie. “It’s okay,” she said finally.
The topic seemed to be closed, even though there was a lot more I wanted to tell her. Maybe now, standing in her kitchen with an insane chicken shrieking just outside the door, wasn’t the right time. I hoped there would be more time for us. That she might give me a chance.
“Tess,” I said, lowering my voice and taking a step nearer. “I’d love to see more of the area. I wondered if you’d have time to show me around a little bit while I’m here.”
Her eyes widened and her breath hitched, making her gorgeous chest swell before she let out a quick huff of breath. “I mean … the party is tomorrow night, and …”
“So let me help you get ready. What can I do?”
“I mean … I guess it’s mostly done, really. The cake is done. The caterers will do the rest.”
“So do you have some time?” I should have stayed back, let her tell me she didn’t want anything to do with me, let her tell me that because I’d lied, whatever magnetic pull was between us meant nothing. But I couldn’t. I needed to see if she felt it too, now that I was free to try. I stepped closer still, until we were just six inches apart. I could feel the heat of her body against my own, and longed to close the distance, to pull her into my arms. “Please show me around,” I said, my voice low.
Her eyes didn’t leave mine, and I saw it the second she gave in, her body relaxing slightly. Relief washed through me. “Sure,” she said on a whispered sigh. “Okay.”
“Great,” I said, trying to push down the excitement building in my veins at the idea of a day spent at Tess’s side. “I’ll get ready.”
“Sure,” she said again, looking a little baffled as she shook her head lightly. “Okay. Fifteen minutes?”
“Perfect.” I was about to start for the stairs to get ready when Juliet walked in, spotted us inches from one another, and stopped in her tracks. “Everything okay in here?” Her nose wrinkled and she cocked her head to the side, trying to decipher the odd atmosphere, mistaking intimacy for trouble.
Tess turned back to the sink and rinsed her hands again. “Just planning for an afternoon of sightseeing. You in?”
I didn’t want Juliet to say yes, but schooled my expression into something friendly.
Juliet laughed lightly, but glanced over her shoulder back at the porch before responding. “I think I’ll pass. I’ve seen it all. Plus … if I go, we might get mobbed. Do you mind showing Ryan around on your own?”
I ignored the unspoken assertion that I was not so famous we’d get mobbed, mostly because my heart was busy swelling in my chest and my stomach had just filled with little trapeze artists at the thought of having Tess all to myself for the afternoon.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” Tess said.
“I’ll look after Granny.” Juliet said. “You don’t mind, do you Ryan?”
Mind? I was trying to hide how very much I did not mind. “Not at all,” I said. “It’ll give me a chance to get to know your sister a bit better and see a little more of Maryland.”
That strange look passed over Juliet’s face again, as if someone wanting to get to know Tess was actually a little confusing. But she covered it quickly with a smile. “Great.”
