Page 54 of Every Heartbeat After

“I wish hiding from it worked, Tess. I really do. But I’m living proof that it doesn’t.” I gently massage the base of her skull, and her eyelids flutter closed. “You can’t outrun a pain like that. It always finds you in the end.”

Her whimper brushes my lips. I want to close the minimal space between us. To take all that hurt and make it something that feels good instead. But I can’t fix it. I know that. All I can do is be here, and hope she comes to me when she’s ready. If she’s ever.

“Let’s go back to the Carmen, okay? We can make it in time for dinner. I’ll bet I can have your favorite dish waiting in your room for you when we arrive with a single phone call.”

She sighs, her entire body deflating into me. “They’re too good to me.”

I smile because she doesn’t even see it. Doesn’t realize how many people would get on their knees and crawl for her, if only she asked. Myself included. “Nah. They’re on to the same thing I am: Tess Monroe deserves the world. We’re all just vying for a chance to give it to her.”

Her playful swat meets my sweat-slicked bicep with a wet thwack. Turns out the minute the rain disappeared, humidity rushed in with a vengeance. I’d kill for a towel right about now.

When she pulls away, her nose is wrinkled. “You need a shower.”

“Is that an offer?” I ask, raising a brow.

I catch a glimpse of her rolling her eyes as she scoots off me, freeing me from her seat. By the time I make it around to my side, she’s buckled in and ready to go. Exhaustion tugs at her puffy lids. As I signal to merge into the long line inching around the remnants of the accident, Tess reaches for my other hand. I expect her to let go once we’re past the scene, but she doesn’t. She holds on until her hand goes limp in mine, her lips parted as she drifts off to sleep. And then it’s my turn to hold her.

And I do, the whole way back to the Carmen.

ChapterTwenty-One

Tess

When we stepinto the lobby of the resort, it’s absolutely bustling. Five o’clock is prime check-in time, and the crowd of new arrivals threads through that of those headed out for the evening, whether that be for dinner or some other off-property activity. Flip-flops thwack against the opalescent tile. Voices echo from the high ceilings. I’m shocked that Jenna even spots me through the masses, but before I know it, her thin arms encircle me, competing with Kit’s hand at my back to give me warmth.

She pulls back, cupping my face in her hands. “Tess, are you okay? Alex said there was an accident.”

One sidelong glance of Kit’s sheepish shrug tells me he made good on his promise to order dinner ahead. Must’ve been while I dozed off. I sigh, then turn back to my friend. “We’re okay. It wasn’t us. We came up on a hit-and-run on the interstate. A mom and her young son had totaled their car.” I don’t have it in me to try to be convincingly unaffected, and it shows. I sound every bit as bedraggled as I feel.

Jenna’s brown eyes are wide, her lips bracketed by deep frown lines. “Is everyone okay?”

“They’re going to be fine,” Kit inserts. He offers the hand that’s not holding up the base of my spine to Jenna. “I’m Christopher, but most people call me Kit. You’re either Mara’s mom or her sister, right?”

Her olive cheeks turn a deep shade of rose. “She mentioned she’d chatted with you,” she replies warmly, taking his outstretched hand. “Jenna. Nice to finally meet you. And yes, Mara’s my daughter. Her father and I own the resort.” She smiles, pride bubbling from her words. Her gaze dances between us as she adds, “I’m so glad the woman and her boy were okay.”

“We are, too.” I can feel myself wilting with every second that passes. As happy as I am to see Jenna—and even, deep down, to introduce her to Kit—I’m not sure how much longer I can maintain this conversation. Not since the events of this afternoon have effectively chewed me up and spit me back out again.

She must sense it, because a wrinkle forms between her brows as she measures me from head to toe. “I won’t keep you two. Just had to be sure you were all right. Alex said your dinner would be waiting for you in your room, Tess. Let me know if I can send anything else. Some bubble bath, perhaps?”

Kit chuckles softly, and I shake my head. “Not this time, Jenna. But thanks for offering.”

She pinches my side playfully. “Any time.”

The wheels of my suitcase click over the tile as Kit pushes it toward the elevator bay. His bag is slung over his shoulder, leaving his hand free to continue guiding me down the hall. It should feel overbearing, but it doesn’t. In fact, I’m already dreading the moment we part ways and that steady pulse of warmth leaves me. That bit of contact that anchors me on this side of my sadness.

Before the elevator door has even closed, Kit is smirking at me. “Bubble bath?”

I press my lips together. “There was an incident when I was nine. I may or may not be the reason the whole hotel got upgraded carpet that year.”

His laughter drowns out the hum of our upward climb. It’s a welcome buoy after hours spent below the surface, struggling for gasps of air. I somehow manage to giggle in return, though it sounds weak even to my ears. We spill out onto the third floor, and despite the fact that both of us were blessed with long legs, we make our way slowly to the very tip of the building where our rooms await our return.

I was so sure when I walked out of here with him just a day ago that I was only tagging along to support him. So how is it that I’m crawling back wounded, and he’s the one who picked up my pieces in the end?

We pause awkwardly outside my door. The Marilyn Suite placard has been freshly polished, welcoming me with its gleam. I thumb through my purse, find my key card at the very bottom, and try to ignore the ache in my throat when the mechanical whir of the lock announces I’m free to enter.

The moment I’ve been dreading comes. Kit’s hand slips from my back to open the door. I walk through the gap he’s created like I’m leaving home rather than returning to it. The wheels of my suitcase make hardly any noise as he pushes the bag across the plush carpet. He opens the door that leads to the separate bedroom, where he deposits my suitcase right next to my bed. When he returns to my side, his gaze follows mine to the room-service table sitting in front of the armchair in the corner of the living room. After a long pause, Kit clears his throat.

“Well, food’s here. So I’ll give you some privacy.” His tongue wets his bottom lip, and he draws in a ragged breath. “If you need anything?—”

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