Chapter 79 What The Bill Can't Cover

• AUTHOR’S POV
• The car ride to the restaurant was unusually quiet, at least for Tessa, as she was so deeply engrossed in thoughts; a few times Camila and Jamie had tried to engage her; her responses were disconnected, surface-level. Tessa sat by the window, her gaze fixed on nothing in particular as the car glided through the early afternoon traffic. Sunlight streamed through the glass, warming her skin, but she barely noticed. Her arms were folded, her legs crossed tightly at the ankles—every part of her craved some or maybe an ounce of calmness. Her mind had been hijacked by images of Pedro’s bare butt cheeks grinding into Adrianna and Adrianna’s manicured hand pressed against his strong round butt; she wondered why such mundane pictures haunted her. She shouldn’t be concerned, so why was she? Why was she pained at the sight of two of them tangled that morning? Did he ask her to bring the coffee on purpose?
• The memory looped in her head, so cruel and clear. Her chest ached, a dull throb beneath her breastbone, but she kept her face blank. She didn’t want to talk. She didn’t want to cry even though she felt like screaming her head off. She just wanted to disappear.