Page 101 of Love Is…?
Angel shrugged again. “I’m nosy.”
Tessa sighed. “Like I said, I don’t know. It’s only been two months and three days.”
Angel snorted. “So the three-month alarm hasn’t gone off yet.”
Tessa glared. “Fine. Yes, I could, would…” Tessa squeezed her hands into fists and tucked her elbows into her ribs in a sort of frustrated hug. “Fine. I probably have fallen in love with her, but it doesn’t matter. Back to the weddi?—”
“Why doesn’t it matter?” Angel’s eyebrows were fierce arrows pointed down to the bridge of her nose. Protective cousin mode seemed to have been activated. “This is new information.”
Suddenly the ceiling was gaze-worthy. “Oh my God. Because she doesn’t believe in love.”
“How do you know she doesn’t?”
Tessa dropped her head down, and wrinkled her brow. “Because she said so. That bet challenge thing we had. Jayde said it would be difficult to teach her how to fall in love by the time she’s finished her interviewing.”
“With you?”
“What?”
“How to fall in love with you?”
“No! Fall in love with…” Tessa flapped her hand at the room in general.
“Furnishings?”
“Angel…”
“Tessa,” Angel countered. “I’m not sure that’s true anymore. The not believing in love thing. She looks at you like someone who’s enjoying the concept of being in love. In love with you. She might not know, but she’s up to her tits in the possibility pool. You’ll need to make sure she doesn’t drown, babes. I don’t reckon she’s falling in love with love. I reckon she’s falling in love with you, and you can’t do a thing about it, because you’ve gone past loving the glittery sparkly newness of love. You’re fallingproperly for a person. So, seriously, do you think she doesn’t fall in love because she doesn’t believe in it or because she is scared of it?” Angel steepled her fingers like a professor.
Tessa thought about every time Jayde had spoken about love, relationships, and romance. The look she had been giving Tessa lately. The look that was followed by a soft shimmer of doubt.
“The second one.” Tessa’s mouth turned down. Angel stood and crossed to the couch to sit next to Tessa, then she held Tessa’s hand.
“Then make it safe, because she’s falling and needs to land gently, babes.” Then after a brief silence, Angel pushed Tessa’s hand away, and turned square on. “So, is Matt Kinnear’s hair that perfect in real life or does he use an entire ozone layer of hairspray?”
Two nights after the wedding,Jayde found herself parked in front of the television with her father watching, for the umpteenth time, the Abigail Taylor blockbuster,Discreet Liaison.
“Wait for it.” Her father leaned forward, pointing his drumstick in anticipation. “There!” He nearly threw the stick at the screen, such was his enthusiasm, and Jayde grinned. Then she softly mouthed the words as her father said Abigail’s character’s line. “If you’re going to continue to be unpleasant, I’m going to shoot both your kneecaps and utilise this very handy nail gun to attach your fingers to the arms of the chair. Lucky for you, I’m in a good mood.”
Oliver turned to Jayde and beamed. “She makes a very good spy, doesn’t she?”
Jayde raised an eyebrow. “We’ve had this discussion, Dad. That section of the film screams assassin, rather than spy.”
“Oh, psh. It doesn’t matter. Abigail is simply outstanding.Discreet Liaisonis the movie that Abigail was filming when she met Samantha,” he stated authoritatively.
Jayde leaned into his shoulder, the soft wool of his jumper rubbing against her cheek. She did know that interesting fact, because her father mentioned it every time they watched the movie. It was a combination of fan excitement and forgetfulness, and Jayde loved it every time his eyes sparkled when sharing any movie trivia about all the stars of his romcoms.
“Where’s Tessa tonight?” Her father picked up a wedge of cheese from the platter that Jayde had put together for the movie. “Have you seen her since the wedding?”
“No. Not in person. Just via text. She’s with Grace because Sam and Abby have gone up to Daylesford toOnsen, the hot springs retreat, for a couple of nights.”
Her father patted her thigh. “I hope you’re able to see Tessa soon.”
Jayde looked askance at her father, who returned the look with an innocent shrug, then smiled. “So tell me… did you dance with anyone at the reception?”
The intel gathering was not at all surreptitious. It was very sweet and very Oliver Ferguson. It was also very forgetful, because she’d already recounted much of the wedding and reception, including the dancing. She pressed harder against his shoulder, filled with such love and protectiveness that sometimes it hurt.
“I danced with Tessa, and then sort of group-danced with a few people from the MTC.” She felt her lips soften into a smile as she remembered the way Tessa had moved, her hand in Jayde’s as Jayde spun her away then back into an embrace so that Jaydeheld her from behind. Their movements fluid and gentle and indescribably sexy.