Page 104 of Until We Meet Again

I quickly leave, settle back into the driver’s seat of my car, and watch through the window as the waitress passes the napkin to Tessa. She carefully reads it, lingering over the words for longer than necessary. I catch a hint of a smile playing out on her lips, but it’s clear that she’s fighting to keep it there. The pain behind her eyes and the tension in her body are obvious, and the guilt of knowing I put them there hits me. However, something shifts. There’s determination in her eyes, and I know she’ll meet me tonight. She’ll come at me with everything she has, even if it means unleashing her wrath, but I want it all—everything she’s feeling—I want her raw truth.

Chapter 48

Tessa

After drinking the last sip of my latte, I got my ass home, desperate to tell Jen what had just happened. As soon as I reach the doorstep, I burst through the front door, note in hand, calling out her name. Jen rushes halfway down the stairs, looking at me like she's waiting for me to tell her that I need her help burying a body or something.

I hold the note up in the air. "Zane," I say, shaking my head in disbelief, but she doesn’t seem surprised. Her brows furrow as she walks the rest of the way downstairs, stopping in front of me.

"He found you, didn’t he?" she asks, and confusion must appear over my face because she continues. “He came here looking for you. I’m sorry. I told him where you were, and maybe I shouldn’t have, but I did threaten him not to do anything to upset you."

I sit down as Jen thoroughly explains every second Zane spent at the house today. For the first time ever, he approached mydoor with no secrets and not one single fuck given about who knows about us.

Long hours drag on, and the clock seems to laugh at me as it slowly ticks by. I haven’t been able to concentrate on anything since I got home.

I'll walk into this situation tonight, embracing the butterflies hatching inside not only my stomach but my bones, too.

My entire body feels on edge, but this nervous energy only scratches the surface of my feelings for Zane, and I refuse to think of them as anything but beautiful.

Even if those feelings aren't reciprocated.

I haven't been able to eat, but a glass of wine went down easily while I was taking a bath, trying to find a way to relax my mind. Eventually, I got myself ready, and as much as I hated to admit it, I got dressed with him in mind. I want him to look at me tonight and feel regret for rejecting my heart and wrecking me in the process.

"Are you ready for this?" Jen asks as I enter the living room.

"Not even a little bit."

"Any idea what he wants to say to you?" I turn to face Harry and give him a shrug of my shoulders. It didn’t take long for him to find out what had happened between Zane and me, and he’s been nothing but a support and a great hugger when I find myself overwhelmed and drowning in ice cream.

"Maybe he wants to tell me the truth about why he couldn't be with me."

"Do you want to know the truth?" I nod at Jen, so sure of my answer.

"I need it. I need to know everything."

As I smooth down my little black dress, which hugs my curves and used to make him go crazy for me, I turn to face Jen for her approval.

"You look beautiful. Is this for Zane?"

"If I say yes, will you judge me?"

"Never."

"I'm not going there believing he still wants me, not that it would matter anyway because I can't go back there." He hurt me, and I know it was unintentional, but my heart broke anyway.

"You're the strongest person I know, Tessa," she says as she hugs me tightly. "Do what's best for you, but make sure you get your answers."

Jen swipes her keys, reaches out, and clasps my hand. We head to her car and walk over gravel—not an easy task in these heels—but she holds my hand, knowing that falling on my ass right now would result in me turning around and going straight back inside the house.

I can’t help but fidget with the rings on my fingers during the drive to the bar. I’m feeling some kind of anxiety, not necessarily about seeing him but more about the feelings that he stirs up in me. With some final words of encouragement from Jen, I make my way toward the entrance, my legs feeling unsteady.

As I glance at the wall on my right, I'm hit with the memory of the first time I tasted Zane and felt the power of his mouth. That first kiss felt like fire in my bones, and for a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

It was also the last time I owned my heart.

Nerves pool inside my stomach as I step into the Cordova Lounge. I see his imposing figure from behind, just like I did this morning. Then I’m struck by the memory of him being in this exact spot the first time I walked into this bar. Only this time, I’m here to meet him as Zane—the guy who stole my heart and shattered it.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. Fake it till you make it, Tessa.

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