Page 77 of Break My Rules
“It’s time I let Wren go.”
Chapter19
Tessa
Once my decision is made, everything falls into place. I sit down with the administrator at Ashford, and tell them about my decision to leave, saying just that the academic pressure is too much for me, and I don’t want to waste anyone’s time.
Not surprisingly, nobody asks me to reconsider.
I don’t have much stuff, and most of my clothes are still at Saint’s place in London, so I barely have a couple of bags to pack, before Saint loads up his car, and we make our drive down to London, watching the dreaming spires of the city recede in the rearview mirror for the last time. It’s a crisp, blue-skied day when we arrive, and I take it as a good omen.
It’s the start of a brand-new chapter—one where I can hopefully leave the anger and bitterness of the past behind, forging a new future for myself.
For us.
“What do you think?” Saint asks on Saturday, showing me the space he’s made in the walk-in closet. “If it’s not enough room, you can use the bedroom down the hall as a dressing room.”
“For what?” I protest, laughing. I’m dressing for the dinner party he’s throwing tonight, I mean,we’rethrowing. Guests will be arriving soon, but Saint distracted me in the shower long enough that we’re both running late now. “I barely have enough stuff to fill a single rail.”
“Yet,” Saint says with a mischievous smirk. “I bet one more trip to Bond Street with Imogen will take care of that.”
“You’re not buying me more clothes,” I warn him, as I shimmy into a pair of jeans and a drapey cashmere sweater. “You’ve already been way too generous…”
The free rent. All my expenses. Not to mention the lawyer to deal with my British visa.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Saint tries to look innocent. He’s dressed down tonight, in dark jeans and a casual sweater, but with his tousled hair damp and his eyes sparkling with mischief, innocent is a long way off. “Besides, you’re the one with the steady job now,” he reminds me. “I’m just a former Professor, mooching off my trust fund.”
“Because future Dukes really mooch,” I tease, laughing.
“In a long tradition,” Saint assures me. “It’s what we do best.”
He draws me into a kiss, slow and heated. “I forget where we were up to,” he muses, moving to nuzzle at my neck as his hands skim lower. “The guest bathroom? The stairs?”
He insisted we christen every room in the house, to celebrate me moving in.
“We already did the stairs,” I remind him, breathless from his teasing caress. “Twice.”
“You know what they say,” Saint reaches for my zipper. “Third time’s a charm—”
We’re interrupted by the doorbell. “Later,” I promise, dancing out of reach. “Go play host, while I try and make my hair look like you weren’t just doing unspeakable things to me up against the shower wall!”
I pullmyself together and go join Saint downstairs as more people arrive. Before long, the small garden is filled with chat and laughter, lit up with twinkling tea lights and candles as we enjoy a lavish spread of food and wine.
“Catered, I hope?” Imogen teases Saint, and he groans.
“Tell them, Tessa, I’m a perfectly capable chef.”
“Capable of spending four hours assembling this lasagna?” I tease him lightly.
He grins, draping an arm around my shoulder. “OK, maybe I do have better things to do with my time...”
I smile. It’s just a small group—Imogen, Annabelle and Max, Hugh and his date, plus a few new faces besides—but I feel right at home, sitting beside Saint, stealing food from his plate. It’s a relief to look around the table, and not have to view anyone with wariness and doubt; see everyone here as friends, not suspects, now that I’ve confirmed everyone’s alibis.
“Time for a toast, for our guest of honor!” Annabelle announces, beaming. “I’m so excited for you and Saint… And for you to join my bachelorette party!”
There’s a chorus of groans. “Not everything is about the wedding,” Imogen comments, looking amused.
“I just mean, I’m excited for us to be friends,” Annabelle protests. “But Tessa, seriously, This is perfect timing, my friend from boarding school just broke her ankle, and that cast would haveruinedthe photos, but now you can take her place! We have the girls’ tea, the spa trip, then our glam squad run-through—”