“Does that include you?” Evelyn asks. “Sol, she’s still a stranger. There’s nothing between you but a child. You can’t commit because of that. Because of a one-night stand that got out of control.”
He pushes away from the railing, opening his mouth, ready to tell his sister to butt the hell out, but the calm of the crashing ocean chases away his urge. Of course Evelyn’s prickly, worrying about him moving on. He wants to tell her he does know Tessie, and he likes every side he sees.
A whole damn lot, in fact.
Tearing his eyes from the water, he strides toward the suite. “Evy, I’m not discussing this with you,” he murmurs and then hangs up.
His shoulders settle as he stares down at the photo of him with Tessie and Bear set as his phone lock screen.
He has more important things to focus on.
“You haven’t left the room, have you?” Ash crows as Tessie, phone tucked under her ear, pulls cocktail dresses from the closet. “All you’ve been doing is having hot, hot monkey sex with that steel cage on legs.”
She has. She and Solomon are having so much sex that if she wasn’t already pregnant, she would be now.
“We did leave the room,” she argues. “We went to the beach yesterday and today.”
“Wait. That’s it? No cheesy activities like water aerobics, yoga, or beach limbo?”
“No.” She cocks her head, frowning. “Is that bad?”
“Tessie, you planned nothing?” Ash gives a whoop. “You are fucking living chaos! I bow to thee, chaotic queen.”
Tessie rolls her eyes but laughs. “Let’s not go that far. We’re going out tonight. To a dance.” She appraises herself in the mirror and smiles. Long sultry waves waterfall over her shoulders, her makeup dark and smoky. On point, as always.
“You sound swoony,” Ash says, breaking Tessie from her dreamy daze.
She huffs. “Swoony is the last thing I am. What’s the point of falling for him? He lives across the world. Besides, he’s staying for Bear. He doesn’t want me.”
Biting her lip, Tessie arranges a plethora of dresses on the bed. Bright, colorful pops of fuchsia, lime, and coral. Ignores the plummet of her damn dumb heart.
“Are you sure?” Ash prods. “Have you asked?”
“I can’t worry about it.” Shaking off her nerves, Tessie selects the coral gown. Then, putting the phone on speaker, she steps into the dress, hoping this time she doesn’t need to be cut out of it.
“I have to find a new job.” Her voice comes out muffled as she shimmies the slinky garment up her hips, her bump. Her only lifesaver is, thanks to a clause in her contract, she still has insurance until the baby’s born. “I have to focus on Bear.”
“Bear will be happy when his mama’s happy.”
“We barely know each other.”
“Isn’t that what you’re doing? Getting to know each other? Face it, Tess. It’s like you’ve been on five dates by now. By LA standards, you should already be divorcing.” Ash’s bouncy voice turns serious. “Wouldn’t you want to be with Bear’s father if you could? Isn’t that, like, the ultimate goal of this whole thing?”
“No.” Not wanting Solomon to overhear, Tessie picks up the phone, switching off the speaker. “The ultimate goal was to figure out how we raise Bear, and we have. We can’t let it turn into more than it is.”
A growl of frustration. “But what if it’s already something? What if it’s the most splendiferous occasion of fate in the universe? You met the guy for a reason. You slept with him for a reason. You came back to LA with him on your mind. And Bear happened. Solomon saw you on TV, a thousand miles away from him when you never even exchanged names, numbers. What are the chances? You know me, I’m cynical as fuck, but if that’s not the universe, not your mom telling you to work it out, then we gotta get someone new in the big up above.”
Tessie’s breath catches in her throat. Her words of refute lost. Even as she tries to deny what her cousin is saying, her thumping heart screams its protest. That girl who doesn’t believe in love, who’s never had it, maybe, kinda, sorta, wants to dip a toe in. Because isn’t that the point? To take risks? To live?
She could try for once in her life.
She could try with Solomon.
“You can raise Bear alone,” Ash says. “I know you can. But do you want to?”
The question hangs in the space between them.
Does she want to do this alone? Would she do it with anyone else? The answer is no. She likes Solomon. So serious. Protective. His steady ways. She and him—they feel natural. Bear is his son. It fits.
It all fits.
Then why is it so damn hard to let herself give in?
She searches for her voice. “No,” she admits. “I don’t want to do it alone.”
“So don’t.”
“Tess?” A knuckle rap on the door. “You ready to go?”
Her heart beats fast at the deep rumble of Solomon’s voice. “Ash,” she says into the phone, “I have to go.”
Smiling, she crosses the room, grabbing her clutch and kicking on her heels. She rips open the door, a wisecrack on her lips, but the second she sees Solomon, her voice dies a quick death. A solid wall of chiseled muscle stands in front of her. His dark blue eyes flashing, Solomon wears a crisp white shirt with light gray chinos. His black hair and beard combed neatly.
Suave. Sexy as hell.
She ogles without shame, drinking him in.
A sizzle hits her in her core, and she pulses down below. All of a sudden, going out seems like a very bad idea.
His eyes brush over her face. “Tess, you okay?”
At her silence, Solomon moves close. A massive arm bands around her waist, holding her up. Her stomach takes a dive. Her legs promptly turn to gummy noodles.
Okay, now she’s swooning. Damn Ash.
She shakes her head, clearing it. “I’m fine. I’m just—” Voice strained, she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. “It’s—I mean, you. . .”
His mouth flattens. Somewhere behind that dark beard, there’s a grin tucked away. “You’re looking like you like me, Tessie.”
She sniffs. “I’m only mildly besotted.”
“Mildly?” He threads a big hand through his dark hair, disheveling it, looking devilishly handsome. “Guess I’ll have to brush up on my skills.”
“Oh? For who?” The words leave her lips in a breathless rush. She feels the briefest sting of jealousy at the thought of Solomon with another woman. Because he isn’t hers, not permanently, and there’s a very strong possibility he’ll meet someone in the future.
Oh God. The thought makes her want to hurl.
A half smile turns up the corner of his lips. “For you, Tess.”
She swallows, forcing a wobbly smile, trying to ignore the way her galloping heart suddenly high-fives her chest. “Oh. I see.”
Solomon’s piercing gaze holds hers. He offers an arm. “You ready?”
“Ready,” she whispers, her stomach tightening.
For this, yes.
For everything else, putting a lockbox on her feelings, saying goodbye in less than seventy-two hours?
Most definitely not.
Still, she links her arm with his. “Ready.”
Tessie stops at the top of the pyramid of stairs that leads up to the entrance of the open-air beach pavilion and gasps. Every inch is lit up in a ball of brilliant bright light. A canopy of jewel-colored flowers and garland hangs from each beam. Scarlet lanterns flicker in the night, bobbing and dipping in the air. A swell of banda music—clarinets and trumpets and trombones—fills the dewy night air.
“It’s so beautiful,” she says, her mouth open in a kind of joyous awe.
“It is,” Solomon murmurs.
It’s all he can say. Because the rock in his throat has him in a stranglehold. The perfect fucking ten at his side has him damn near on his knees.
Tessie’s drop-dead gorgeous. Her beauty white hot and searing. He’s never seen her look so refreshed, so radiant. Streaks of gold shimmer on her eyelids, making her chocolate-brown eyes shine. Her long blond hair spreads around her shoulders like melted honey. Her bright coral off-the-shoulder dress is practically painted on, showing off her mouthwatering curves, her tiny bump, that perfect baby in her belly.
His son. Theirs.
He’s never been so goddamn whipped.