The Tessa Randolph Collection, Books 1-3 by Paula Lester (good short books .TXT) 📕

As they both finished their spaghetti, Tessa suddenly realized something. "I'm so sorry. I don't have anything for dessert."

Silas pushed his plate aside and pulled the wine goblet in front of him. "This is good enough for me. I'm stuffed. Thank you for dinner." Suddenly, he leaned forward and locked eyes with her. "But you really have to do something about the cat. You know you're not allowed to have one."

Her eyes fluttered for a second. How did he know about Pepper?

Then, she sighed as she caught sight of the tortie’s tail peeking out from under the table. Tessa leaned sideways to see that the cat was weaving her way in a figure-eight around Silas’s feet. "How did you get out?" she demanded.

"Out? Did she lock you in somewhere?" Silas sounded shocked, and he leaned down to scratch Pepper’s forehead.

"Um. Well, I just thought it would be nice to eat without her fur flying into our food. We’re lucky she’s not on the table."

"Really? So, you didn't lock her away so I wouldn't happen to see her?" A muscle jumped in his lip, and Tessa realized he was holding back a smile.

She blew out a breath. "Okay, I'm sorry. And, by the way, I think she may be more than a cat. Like, I suspect the little brat may be part witch or something because I have no idea how she managed to open a closed bedroom door and get out here. Seriously, though, you have to let me keep her. I don't have anyone to give her to."

"What about your mom? Didn't you tell me she lives alone? Maybe she could use some company."

"My mom?" Tessa leaned back and barked out a laugh. "No, my mom does not need a cat. I mean, yes, she lives alone, but no, she doesn't need a companion. She doesn't get along with roommates very well. Other than my dad, that is, and he . . . he passed away."

"Maybe she's lonely. You can't assume she wouldn't want a roommate, can you?"

"Oh, I think I can. My mom likes things just so. I couldn't get out of her house fast enough when I went to college, and I never went back home. Mom’s never had any kind of a pet or roommate or anything else like that since I left. If it was something she wanted, she could've gotten it for herself a long time ago."

He held up his hands, palms out. "Okay, okay. I'll pretend like I didn't see her here tonight. But you have to keep her away from the windows."

Tessa pulled the cat, who had left Silas and come to rub on her shins, into her lap. "I will." She rubbed her face on Pepper’s. "You'll stay away from the windows, won't you, girl?"

"Does she understand English?"

"She understands it well enough to do the exact opposite of everything I ask her to do," Tessa said. She tossed the cat gently onto the floor. "So, what do you have planned for tomorrow?"

"I have a ton to do to get this place ready for winter. There's some caulking, some nailing, some siding replacement, some painting, and lots of getting the pool ready to winterize. You know, all the fun stuff. How about you?"

She shrugged. "Same old, same old. Just another day at work."

“Riiiight. Work.”

“Work,” she repeated. “Selling life insurance.”

"You're still sticking to that story, huh?”

The flash of irritation in her gut surprised Tessa. But she couldn’t push it down. How many times were they going to have to revisit this topic? She’d thought the conversation they’d had earlier would be the end of it, at least for a while.

But here he was, trying to poke holes in her story again.

Without taking a moment to think better of it, she snapped, “Can we give that a rest, please?”

Silas’s jaw dropped a fraction before he snapped it shut. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t quite right about that job of yours. It just . . . feels like there’s something more to it than selling life insurance.” He twirled the wine glass between his fingers. “I keep thinking about that girl on the pier. The one who almost fell in.”

“Dani.” The name came out before Tessa could stop it.

A line appeared on Silas’s forehead. “Yeah. Dani. Funny that you remember her name. That whole thing seemed so strange. I swear it was like you knew it was going to happen ahead of time and rushed straight to that spot to save her.” He leaned forward and spoke in a low voice, as though Pepper may overhear and spread gossip about it. “Are you . . . are you, like, a superhero or something?”

The bit of irritation had flared into something brighter as Silas spoke. “No, I’m not. I’m just a life insurance agent.”

“Right. Just a life insurance agent. But for real, if you are a superhero, I’m happy to be your Mary Jane. Or Lois Lane—I’d make a great reporter. You know, there really isn’t a guy version of those two. What a crock.”

“Silas, I’m not a hero.”

“Something is up though. I can see you want to tell me. You should just do it.”

“Nothing is up! If you can’t accept what I tell you, then maybe this whole thing is a bad idea.”

She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.

But it was too late. Silas’s jaw clenched. He pushed back from the table. “You know, I think I’m going to head home. Long day tomorrow. Do you need help with dishes or anything?”

A lump formed in her throat. She wanted to apologize for being so mean. But the words wouldn’t come. She just shook her head.

“Okay. Well, thanks again for dinner. It really was just like my mom’s. I’ll see you later, Tessa.”

And, just like that, he was gone, and Tessa was staring at the closed door, hating the sudden silence.

She felt terrible.

Chapter 3

IT TOOK TESSA'S