She needed a few hours to figure it out.
Chapter Five
Beside Vince, at the door to Ryder Greystone’s house, Tessa wondered if she’d made a mistake by accepting his invitation. Vince had the rough appeal of a tough guy, always in control of himself in any situation. Yet the seductive appeal for her had always been his gentle hands and his tender heart. He only let that show, however, when he knew it was safe to do so. He was showing that side of himself with Sean and that’s what made him so hard to resist.
Ryder’s door suddenly flew open and the tall, good-looking cop stood there grinning at them both. “Well, well! Like old times. I told Vince to bring a guest but I never guessed it would be you.”
She and Vince had been awkward with each other in the car because this felt too much like a date. It didn’t help that he looked incredibly sexy in a black V-neck T-shirt and chinos. She didn’t need Ryder’s words to remind her what they’d been. “Not old times,” Tessa replied agreeably. “Just two friends running into each other and catching up.”
Vince tossed a quick glance her way at her explanation and took off his Stetson. “We both need some R & R and thought we could get it here.”
As if Ryder was suddenly aware of the tension between the two of them, he stepped back and motioned them inside. “There’s plenty to eat and lots of folks to mingle with.”
Vince offered his friend the box of imported chocolates he was carrying. “You can add this to the buffet.”
“Great. There aren’t any more classmates here, but, Tessa, you probably know a few of these people because they bring their kids to you.” He addressed Vince. “Some of the guys are here from the station, so you’ll have plenty to talk about. There’s music on the patio in case anybody wants to dance.”
Tessa was surprised by how many people were crowded into the small house.
Vince must have been thinking the same thing because he said, “You could get lost in here.”
A bit of the tension seemed to ebb between them.
“I haven’t stepped into a room where I didn’t know anybody for a long time,” she admitted.
“Not a partygoer?”
“Hardly. You know me, Vince. I focus on what’s in my life and don’t see much around it.”
“Do I know you, Tessa?” His gaze was penetrating, trying to see into corners where she didn’t want him to see.
The phrase had just slipped from her mouth and she chastised herself for not monitoring her words more carefully. “Some things about me haven’t changed,” she said honestly. “How about you?”
“The party scene was never my gig, but as far as walking into a room where I don’t know anybody, that happens a lot.”
“Investigating homicides?”
“Yeah.”
His brief answer told her that he didn’t want to talk about his years as a detective.
Then he looked thoughtful for a moment. “You have to deal with strangers all the time, don’t you?”
“You mean dealing with new patients? The funny thing is, they never seem like strangers. Focusing on their child gives us a bond.”
“You were always all about bonds.”
His voice was neutral and she couldn’t tell what he meant by that. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No. I was never like that until I met you.”
They’d both grown up without mothers but under different circumstances. Tessa had always missed her mother, even though she’d never known her. Her mom was like a piece that had been lost from her heart, and Tessa could never find it. That’s why she and her dad had stayed so close. But when Vince had lost his mother, apparently he and his dad had emotionally gone separate ways. She didn’t know if Vince had ever connected with anyone and held on for dear life. When they were teenagers, she’d thought they were holding on to each other.
But he’d let go.
A woman waved at Tessa from across the crowded room and she was grateful for the distraction.
“You know her?” Vince asked.
“She’s a medical secretary for one of the internists at Family Tree. Do you mind if I head on over?”
“Of course not. I’m going to rub elbows with some of the guys in the Lubbock P.D.”
As Tessa headed for the secretary, Vince went in the opposite direction. She breathed a sigh of relief. Being close to Vince put her on guard, kept her on her toes, urged her to protect her heart. Making small talk would be a wonderful break from that.
For the next two hours, as one conversation led to another, Tessa didn’t see Vince much, though she was aware of him at the far corner of the room talking with three men, then in a serious conversation with Ryder in the kitchen, and later loading his plate with a burrito and enchiladas. It was as if she had “Vince-radar” and couldn’t turn it off even if she wanted to.
The living room grew warmer in spite of the open windows and the screened sliding doors leading outside. Her wrap-around, silky, blue blouse felt almost molded to her back. She smoothed her hands over the thighs of her new jeans and excused herself from the conversation on the sofa. She needed fresh air. The colored lights drew her to the patio where the music had wandered from oldies to a salsa beat to everything in between.
As soon as she stepped onto the patio, she spotted Vince seated casually in a lawn chair, a tall bottle of water in one hand. Where most of the guys were drinking beer, he wasn’t. She wondered if he ever did and if not, was it because of his job? Or because of his father?
She was enjoying herself at the party, but coming with Vince? It was like she was with him, yet she wasn’t.
Purposely heading in the opposite direction from him, she stopped at the ice chest and was trying to decide if she wanted a soda or water when a hand clasped her shoulder. It was Vince’s. Years had gone by but not so many that she couldn’t remember what the touch of his hand felt like.
She turned, not knowing what to expect.
“Care to dance?” Vince asked in that casual way he had of making the important seem unimportant. There were couples all over the patio, some dancing, some sitting quietly in lawn chairs talking. The music had turned slow and dreamy and although the patio was covered with an awning, the black sky beyond was studded with stars.
“We’re at a party, Tessa. Dancing’s just part of it. No big deal.”
Right, it was no big deal to be held in Vince’s arms.
She walked into his hold and, for a few moments, silence pulsed with attraction they couldn’t deny was there. Unnerved by it, she said, “I guess you have a lot in common with the men here tonight.”
“Yes, I do.”
“You said you and Sean’s dad were friends as well as partners?”
“We were. We had each other’s backs. He was like a brother and when he married Carol, she was like family, too. She was family. I spent more time at their place than my own. And when Sean was born—I’d just come off a shift and was waiting at the hospital with Scott. I got to see Sean shortly after Scott did. He came out and got me.”
Tessa could hear the huskiness of emotion in Vince’s voice, and she realized how deeply he’d cared about his friends and about the baby who’d become his son.
“So Sean has no other