Robert.
In years, this was the first time I woke up peacefully.
For a long, quiet moment I didn't even move, just lay there, letting my senses catch up with the reality my mind was still struggling to accept. A faint warmth pulsed against my side, soft and steady. A slow breath tickled my bare arm. And that scent, the subtle sweetness of her, a mix of lavender soap and something uniquely Tessa, seeped into my lungs and settled all the tension that usually lived in my bones.
I opened my eyes.
There she was. Tessa.
Curled in my arms like she belonged there, like she had always belonged there. Her lashes fluttered against her cheeks every time she exhaled, lips slightly parted, hair messy from sleep as strands spilled over her face and pillow. Something inside my chest loosened, a knot I didn't realize I'd been carrying for years.
She had a way of calming my nerves without even knowing it.
