Chapter 164

God, could everyone tell his heart was breaking?

“The baby is asleep. Don’t expect her to wake for a few hours. Make yourself at home and wait to hear her. Call Trees if you need anything. Otherwise…we’ll stay in touch.”

“Yeah, okay. I don’t have a problem with that, but maybe someone else should do this. You’re upset.”

Fuck, why couldn’t he have fallen in love with Madison? She didn’t excite him…but she would never have betrayed him. Maybe the trade-off would have been worth it.

Then again, he’d always been a rebel. It stood to reason that his heart—like the rest of him—would do exactly what it wanted. And it only wanted Tessa.

“This is my job. I need to do it. Will you be okay here?”

“Yeah. Of course. If anything happens, my dad is just down the road.” She reached out hesitantly, cupping his arm so gently he almost didn’t feel it. “And whatever happened in the past, I’m your friend, too. If you ever want to talk…”

She meant well, but his i