The Arrangement

Chapter 27: Tess POV

It was the next morning. Declan called early and said he was going to be a few extra days. He had some last minute things to get in order in regards to a new investor. I would be lying if I said I wasn't bothered by it. I wanted him home. I wanted to run my fingers through the back of his hair. I wanted to breathe in his pine-scented cologne. I wanted to feel his warm, tender lips against mine. I wanted to feel the electricity run through my body, as his hands ran down my waist.

It was a funny feeling. Perhaps, a bit foolish, but in a way, I felt homesick without him here. My home was no longer a place, but him.

I had already blocked Steve, but I just knew he kept trying to send me messages. Steve never gave up, and that was one of his best and worst traits.

All of the sudden, my phone rang. It was Angela. "Hello, Angie," I answered the phone.

"Hey. I heard what happened with Steve. Steph told me and Olivia. I'm really sorry he treated you like that. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Ughh. I'd rather not," I admitted.

"That's okay. I'm here if you need me," she replied. "How about we go grab some lunch later? Just the two of us."

"I'd like that a lot, Angie," I said.

*****
We went to a local Japanese grill, where they prepared the food in front of you on a big griddle.

Angela grabbed a pair of chopsticks, and used them to pick up a piece of shrimp. "Steve has been trying to call me all morning," she said after a long moment of silence. She popped the shrimp in her mouth.

"And?" I pushed some of the vegetables to the corner of my plate, and ate a spoonful of rice.

"I didn't answer. I don't have anything to say to him. He hurt my best friend, so he's dead to me."

Steve really didn't see how he ruined more than just our relationship. We had all been good friends in high school, and now Angela, Steph, and Olivia were all distancing themselves from him, too.

"If I could turn time back, I never would've went to the seaport," I blurted out.

"It's not your fault. You couldn't have known he was going to do that."

I shook my head. "I know I hurt him, Angie, but I didn't ask for any of this." My voice cracked. "My mom got sick and I couldn't follow him. I just couldn't!"

Tears started forming in my eyes. "Then, the bills were just too much so I had to marry Declan. If things were different it may have been Steve... no, it would have been Steve. But they weren't different."

"Shhhh. It's okay, Tess. You don't have to explain yourself." She had already gotten up out of her seat, and came behind me to wrap her arms around me.

I let the tears flow, as Angela hugged me. It felt good to have at least one friend back.

Eventually, she sat back down in her chair and I got a grip. "I just can't believe after everything we've been through..."

"Okay, enough about Steve. He's in the past," Angela said, taking another bite of her shrimp. "What I really want to know is how you feel about Declan."

I looked at her with surprise on my face. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm not blind, Tess. I've seen the way you look at him. Do you love him? I mean, really love him?"

That question caught me very off guard. What is love, anyways? We've been through a lot together; through marrying as strangers to the trip to Brazil to now. If that's not love, then, I don't know what is.

"Yeah, I guess I do."

"You guess? Come on, Tess. You either love him or you don't."

I thought for a moment. If that's not love, then, I don't know what is, I thought again. I nodded. "I do, Angela. I do love him."

"Then, go tell him!"

My eyes widened. "Right now?! He's in New York City for another-"

She cut me off. "Tess, planes exist. If you love him, you have to tell him. I mean that."

I studied her gaze for a moment. She was right. He needed to know, and I missed him dearly. I knew what I had to do.