Page 135 of Love Is an Art
It could be nothing. She’s with her ex. She’s allowed to be with her ex. Paisley and I danced at the wedding.
But she did worry that I might still have feelings for Paisley.
Because she still has feelings for Wyatt?
Wyatt made it clear yesterday that he wants her back. He bought a fricking table and invited all her friends, as if to say he’s the man for her.
Tessa would never cheat on me.I know that.
I race down the street.I’m the man for her, and she’s the only woman for me.
A whoosh of air signals a summer thunderstorm, and then the rain torrents down in a straight line. The guy in front of me starts running. I look like I’m chasing him, and indeed, he looks back.
He stops short under an awning, and I almost bump into him. He jumps.
“Sorry,” I say. I run through the torrential downpour. My button-down shirt is drenched and sticking to my body.
I reach Tessa’s door and ring the doorbell. She buzzes me in, and I hear her calling my name in the stairwell.
Tessa is up there on the landing, looking over, like our first date.Right.
I reach her floor. I want to hug her, but I’m soaked.
“Why are you so wet? Did you run over in that thunderstorm?” she asks.
“I saw you and Wyatt in the window,” I say.Stupidly.
I glance in the room. Wyatt is sitting at the table, sprawled out, a huge, fresh bouquet of flowers in a vase next to him. A small ice cream cake is on the table.
“He’s leaving,” Tessa says.
He puts his hands up. “All friends here. I came to clear my name. Tom said I told him that she wanted to work for FLAFL, and that’s how it got leaked to Jack, so she lost the bonus.”
I turn to her. “What? What happened?”
Wyatt talks again. “What I said to Tom was that Tessa always wanted to work for FLAFL, but it seemed like she was able to have her cake and eat it too because here she could work for White & Gilman and still do pro bono work. I admit I shouldn’t have said that, but I didn’t realize that Tom would immediately figure out that she’d applied for the open FLAFL job and tell Jack.”
She lost her bonus?
“I told you Tom is not a friend,” she says and opens the door. “You’ve said what you had to say, and I accept your apology. Now please go.”
“I’m going,” Wyatt says, slipping out the door.
Tessa is standing there, and her face is pale. “Did you think I was cheating with Wyatt here?”
“You lost the bonus?” I ask. “Not really.” But I know she can see on my face that the thought crossed my mind. Because I’m messed up.
She sinks into a seat. “This day can’t get any worse.”
“It doesn’t look like you were having a bad day here,” I say and regret it immediately. “I’m sorry.”
Her eyes fill with tears. “You thinking I’m cheating on you says a lot.”
“Look. I pulled an all-nighter last night. My thoughts aren’t entirely rational. I haven’t slept. I know you wouldn’t cheat on me.”
She stares at the table—at the ice cream cake melting and spilling over the plate.
“But the thought crossed your mind?” She stares at me.
