Page 149 of Tessa and Nash

Clara squeals and demands to see Tessa’s ring again. Becca Haskins hovers too close, eyes wide and shining in a way that would be cute if I wasn’t such an anxious mess. Pastor Miller congratulates us and asks about the wedding date. Dottie Mae Carter narrows her eyes at us, waiting for the scandal to drop.

Then the band shifts into a faster song. People start lining up for a dance.

Faith spots us and waves excitedly. “Nash! Tessa! Get over here!”

I stiffen.

Tessa’s eyes narrow. “No.”

“Yes,” Faith insists, grabbing my sleeve. “You’re dancing. Both of you.”

“I don’t dance.”

Faith snorts. “You absolutely dance. I’ve seen you dance.”

“That was at Boone’s wedding, and I was emotionally compromised.”

Boone appears behind Faith, arms crossed, wearing the face that says he already knows I’m trying to escape.

“Dance,” Boone says.

“I hate all of you,” I mutter.

Tessa’s mouth twitches. “You should’ve stayed home.”

“I tried.”

She lifts a brow. “And yet. Here you are.”

Faith drags us into the line. Tessa stands stiffly beside me, looking about to sue someone.

The music starts.

I move automatically. Because apparently my feet remember line dances even if my soul doesn’t.

Tessa hesitates, then follows.

And it almost feels… easy.

We’re just two people in a barn full of noise, moving in sync.

If only I could stop my heart from absolutely pounding…

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Tessa

February 1st

From the outside, it probably looks fine.

Two people in a line of neighbors and cousins who’ve known us since we were small enough to trip over our own boots, moving in time to a fiddle we’ve heard a thousand times. Nothing remarkable.

From the inside, it feels like standing on a fault line and pretending the ground isn’t humming.

Faith is clapping along from the edge of the floor, beaming like she personally orchestrated this moment. Boone stands behind her, arms crossed, watching Nash with the narrowed focus of an older brother who knows when something is off but hasn’t decided whether to intervene yet.

Everyone is watching.