Dylan’s hope was high after experiencing the best twenty-four hours of his life as he answered Roxie’s call. Tessa had been right. The woman was rabid when she wanted to be and was unlikely to stop calling until she said whatever it was she had to say. He could be patient with her.

“Good morning, handsome. How’s country life treating you? You just about bored to death and ready to join the living?” Roxie asked, her tone flirty and playful, very different from the last time they’d talked, when accusations and bitter resentment were all that was between them.

He rubbed his forehead. “Hey, Roxie. Life’s treating me pretty good. How are things going with you?”

“It could be better. You could stop toying with me about playing at my concert next Saturday and just accept what we both know you want to do. What your agent is dying for you to do.”

“Wish I could, but I’m pretty busy out here. Have a lot on my plate. Besides, you know as well as I do that you don’t need me performing with you for that concert to be great.”

“Of course it will be great. With you it will be unforgettable. When we’re up there on that stage together, just like that night in Seattle, it’s magic.” She sighed. “But that’s not the only reason I’m calling.”

That he figured. Her agent could have made the call if it was just his participation at the concert that Roxie wanted. He waited.

“The truth is…I miss you. I miss us.”

He didn’t say anything at first, trying to decide how to respond without sounding like a jerk. Because the truth was that, despite nearly two years together, he had found it remarkably easy to go on without her in his life. If he was honest with himself, it had always felt like they were just killing time with each other, not really moving toward anything real. That wasn’t to say he hadn’t enjoyed her company, and she had been a good friend. So it wasn’t too much of a stretch for him to offer her some gesture. “I miss you, too, Rox. We had some good times together.”

“I’m so happy to hear you say that, baby. I think we could still make this work.”

“What happened to Kevin?” he asked, referring to the bass player she’d been canoodling with the past few months—both before and after their breakup.

“Kevin and I are over. You know the only reason I started seeing him was because I felt you were taking me for granted. I wanted to make you see me again.”

“Well, I definitely saw you. You know you could have just told me that without using Kevin.”

“I know and I’m trying to work on that. If you could come back to LA, I would have a better chance of showing you just how sorry I am. What do you say? Can you forgive me, give us one more chance?”

“Forgiveness isn’t even a question. I was as much to blame as you for how things went down. But, Rox…I’m sorry. Nothing has changed since we last talked. You and me? We were never a good fit.”

There was silence on the other end, and he was certain his response was the last one she’d expected. He glanced over to find Tessa studying him, undoubtedly hearing bits and pieces of the conversation. She was what was important right now, and now that he had reaffirmed for Roxie what they both already knew, it was time to move on.

“Hey, Roxie. I’ve got to go. You take care of yourself, okay?” He waited for her reply but was met instead with the call being disconnected.

He headed over to Tessa, offering her a reassuring smile. “Looks like you’ve added a few more things to our bounty,” he said, referring to the Mason jars in her arms. “What do we have here?”

“Marmalade. I thought that Quinn and Anna might appreciate some when I get back home.” Her eyes were uncertain as she studied him. “Everything okay?”

“Everything is great. Nothing for you to worry about.” He held one of the bags open. “Go ahead. Put it in. I’ll carry it.”

She carefully placed them in the bags, not immediately saying anything.

“You want to know what Roxie called about?”

She met his gaze again. “No. If you say it’s over with her, then I’m okay with things.”

“Of that you should have no doubt.” He held his arms open, beckoning her to step into his embrace. She smiled a little shyly up at him but did so. “The only woman I want in my arms, Tessa Montenegro, is you.”

He felt the tension that she denied having melt away.

See?

They could do this. They could get through the detours that would likely arise, as long as they communicated and trusted in each other.

Tessa hopped out of the truck a couple hours later and ran over to the driver side to say good-bye.

“You sure you don’t want to come over and say hello? I’m sure Aunt Daphne would love to have you,” Dylan said, leaning out through the open window.

“I should probably stick around here. Get dinner for my dad. But you go and enjoy yourself. Tell her I said hi.”

“I will. I guess I’ll see you later tonight,” he said and kissed her.

“That’s pretty risky of you, sir,” she teased. “If Finn or Dad or any one of my other brothers saw that, you would have a lot of explaining to do.”

“You’re worth the risk,” he said and winked.

With a wave, she saw him off, standing in the driveway a few more minutes.

Silly. But she already was missing him.

For kicks, she pulled her phone out, ready to text him something overly sappy.

Having placed the phone on its quiet mode when they went to the restaurant for lunch earlier, she was surprised to see the page of alerts and notifications flashing.

What on earth?

Curious, she scrolled through them. Her Instagram account that usually never saw any action was flooded with the most alerts. Her texts had also blown up, and she saw she’d missed some calls from her roommates. No missed calls from her dad or brother, so that was a relief.

Guess she would start with the voicemail that it looked like Anna had left first.

You are in big trouble. You and Dylan Charles? When the heck did that happen? And why are Quinn and I the last people on earth to hear about this? You had better call us STAT so we can get all the dirty details. And I mean all the details.

Tessa laughed at the implication in Anna’s tone.

How on earth had they heard the news? Well, since it was her Instagram account that was still actively notifying her of updates and messages, she might as well start there. She opened it up and scrolled through, trying to make sense of all the messages and mentions she was seeing. Particularly why people she didn’t even know were calling her such horrible, mean things. It took her a few more seconds to reach the original post that, the moment she saw it, she knew was the cause.

Someone had caught her and Dylan earlier today in the square kissing. It wasn’t actually a bad picture. Seeing it made her remember all the feelings of love and happiness she’d had in that moment.

What had started to stir up trouble, however, was when Roxie Mann reposted the same picture to her account barely an hour before with a singular caption.

I guess space apart was code for moving on. Thanks for nothing. Xoxo, Roxie

She’d already had over forty thousand likes to her post.

Another text flashed across her screen, this one from Quinn.

Whatever you do, do NOT open your Instagram account. It isn’t worth it. Call us when you can. Love you.

Too late.

The joy she’d been experiencing just a minute before was gone, and she fought against the sickening feeling growing in her stomach. As if sensing her emotional upheaval, her phone rang. It was Anna again.

Without hesitating, she brought the phone to her ear. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself. Quinn and I have been going crazy for the past hour trying to reach you. You and Dylan? How could you hold out on us like that?”

Tessa paused. “It’s kind of a long story. Can it wait until I get back home?”

“What’s going on, Tessa? Are you okay? Don’t tell me you went on to Instagram.” She heard some shuffling, and a moment later, Quinn got on the phone. “Oh, Tessa. I told you not to read that. It’s just sick rabid fans who don’t have any life of their own. It will pass. Give it some time. Will you still be coming home on Tuesday? We miss you out here.”

“I expect so. Dad’s definitely doing better,” she said. With all the developments with Dylan in the past day, the thought of leaving here and returning home didn’t fill her with the same relief as it usually did.

“That’s good news, right?” Anna asked, probably sensing her feelings.

“Yeah. Of course,” she said, trying to sound happier than she felt at the prospect.

They chatted for a few more minutes as Anna and Quinn took turns telling her stories about their own hectic lives in the past few days while Tessa had been gone, successfully helping her find something to laugh about.

When it came time to say good-bye, she listened as they each warned her not to go on Instagram and to remove the app entirely from her phone until things died down, something she assured them she’d do straightaway.

Hanging up, though, the temptation was there to see if the hate-mongering continued. She opened it again.

Yep. All still the same.

Fat cow.

Nobody.

Slut.

There was more, but this time sanity took hold, and she closed it and pressed down on the app until she deleted it.

With a little relief but a heavy heart, she climbed the porch steps and slipped quietly into the sanctuary of the house.

Dylan shifted the weight of the box of things his aunt had sent home with him until he could reach the door at the farm and push it open. He had no idea of the box’s contents, not really feeling up for the task while his aunt was looking on, particularly when a call from Finn came in telling him about Roxie’s Instagram post and demanding he get back to the farm immediately.

It looked like the cat was out of the bag as to his and Tessa’s relationship, and it was time for him to have the conversation with his best friend that he should have had ten years before. But first, he needed to see Tessa and make sure she was doing okay in light of this turn of events.

Despite it only being eight on a Sunday night, the kitchen was still and quiet, the dinner dishes put away and a solitary light on above the stove. Dylan set the box down and went in search of Tessa. She was sitting on the couch with her dad in the family room, a tub of rocky road ice cream between them and Dirty Dancing playing on the television.

Tessa looked up when she saw him, a tentative smile crossing her face. “Hey, stranger.”

“Hey yourself. I hear that you’ve had a rough time. Why didn’t you call me? I could have been here for you.”

“It’s okay. A gallon of ice cream, a viewing of my favorite movie, and time with my dad were the perfect medicine.”

“And she means in that order,” Joe said. He started to get up, grunting as he made the effort. “I’ll leave you two alone. I’m sure you have some things to discuss.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you. Can you hang on a quick minute?”

The older man raised a brow and settled back in, nodding to him to go on.

“I wanted to assure you that my intentions where Tessa are concerned are honorable and not taken lightly. She means everything to me and has for some time. I only wish I’d been honest with her, with you, with the whole family before now.”

Joe stared at him a long moment and Dylan swallowed hard. He didn’t look happy. But just as suddenly, the man’s face broke into a smile and he chuckled. “Son, I’ve known how you feel about Tessa since you first sat out on my porch and shared your root beer popsicle with her when she was nine years old. I’ve been waiting for you to recognize the truth. If it means anything, Tessa’s mom thought as much, too.”

Tessa sat up and stared at her dad. “Mom knew?”

“Sure did. We’d have had to be blind not to see you two had a connection the moment you met. It was much like the connection your mom and I had from the start.”

Dylan’s shoulders lost some of their tension at the elder Montenegro’s acceptance, even while he knew he still had the siblings to reckon with.

Tessa leaned her head against her dad, smiling. She would be in good hands for a few more minutes. At least until he got the conversation with Finn out of the way.

He cleared his throat. “And Finn? Have you seen him?”

The older man smiled. “Sure. He’s waiting for you in the barn. They all are.”

Of course they were.

“I’ll be back soon. I hope.”

Sure enough, Dylan caught sight of three of the five Montenegro brothers as soon as the barn door creaked open. Even without Aidan and Liam, they were a terrifying force to face. They remained silent as he walked in, their faces unreadable.

“I’m guessing you all probably have questions about my intentions regarding your sister.”

“Damn right,” Rowan said, his arms crossed in front of his body. His green eyes spit with anger and fire, very much like Tessa’s.

“Why don’t you start by telling us what your intentions are,” Declan said from his seat in front of one of the vats of cider, a little calmer than his younger brother as he picked up a glass of cider and took a drink. He gestured to another chair next to Finn.

Dylan cast a wary glance to Finn, who sat in silence, his expression reserved.

“I don’t ordinarily sit down with a woman’s brothers and lay out what I’m hoping for from the relationship,” Dylan said as he slid onto the metal folding chair, trying to bring some humor to the situation.

But no one grinned.

Immediately, he changed his tone as he leveled with the guys who were more like brothers to him than anything else. “Look. I know that for you guys, this relationship seems to have sprung up from nowhere. You have no idea if this is just a fling or if it’s something more.”

“You have had a habit of making headlines with a crop of different women over the years,” Declan said. “Can you blame us for questioning your motives when you’re not exactly known for long-lasting relationships? And this is Tessa we’re talking about.”

“I can’t deny that I’ve had a lot of attention on my love life over the years. Some true, some not. But none of those women could ever hold a candle to Tessa. The truth is, I think I’ve been falling for her since the moment I first met her. Only, growing up together, I was clueless as to what those feelings meant. It took me a while to realize what Tessa meant to me. She’s…” He shook his head, trying to find the words to describe her. “She’s special. She makes me believe in things I didn’t know were possible. I love her and I promise you all now that I’ll do everything in my power to protect her. Make her feel safe and loved. Permanently.”

No one said anything at first, all mulling over his words. Finn spoke first. “How do we know you’re not going to get cold feet and run out on her again, like you did before?”

Now it was his turn to be surprised. How the hell had Finn known?

Rowan and Declan seemed just as surprised from the looks on their faces, but they held their tongues when they saw the intensity on Finn’s face as he studied Dylan.

No matter how or when Finn had found out, the question was valid. “I was stupid and immature, didn’t fully appreciate what I had. And truthfully, I thought Tessa would be better off without me. She had a future before her, and I didn’t want to go messing with that. Other than that, all I can ask is that if Tessa is willing to give me a chance, you all will, too.”

Finn rubbed his jaw. “Guess time will tell. But let me be clear. If you hurt her, I will break both your legs, partnership not withstanding. She deserves only the best man, and I guess…well, I guess I can’t think of anyone better than you.”

Dylan smiled and took the hand his friend offered. He realized the room was still silent and he turned to Rowan and Declan. The brothers glanced at each other another long moment, and Dylan waited, holding his breath. Whatever silent conversation the brothers had seemed to be over as they finally returned his gaze. And grinned.

“Tessa’s got a pretty good head on her shoulders,” Declan said. “If she thinks you’re worth taking a chance on, then we don’t see any reason to object.”

Rowan came forward with a full pint of cider and handed it to him. “But Finn’s right. We will break your legs if you do anything to hurt her.”

Dylan fought back a grin as he held up his glass to them. “Fair enough.”

Dylan stepped back into the family room half an hour later, no worse for wear after his meeting with the Montenegro brothers. Tessa was still resting on the couch, but the ice cream and her dad were both absent.

“You seem to be in one piece. Are there any internal injuries I should be aware of?” she asked when she caught sight of him.

He joined her, resting his arm around her and bringing her in closer to his side. He thought about all the times they’d sat together on this couch over the years, but never so intimately. It felt nice. It felt right. And now he didn’t have to hide his true feelings for Tessa anymore. Not just from his friends or Tessa, but himself.

“You going to tell me what happened out there, or do I need to call Finn in to explain himself?” Tessa asked.

“They gave us a toast,” he said. “Toasted our future.”

She sat up, tucking her knees under her as she turned to stare at him. “A…toast? That’s all?”

He nodded. “Apparently after they made me sweat it for a while, they all claimed to have seen it coming a long time ago. Not to say there wasn’t a moment when they gave me a warning to make sure I didn’t hurt you, but most of the time, we just…drank.”

She burst out into laughter. “You should have seen your face when you walked out of here earlier. Dad and I had a bet you’d probably pass out before you reached the barn.”

“Glad to hear my terror caused you all such glee,” he said, but he smiled and took her hand, rubbing his thumb across the skin. “Now to other events not so humorous. Tessa, I am sorry that Roxie made that post and that her fans are coming after you. It’s unfair and childish and I…I don’t have any other excuses for her. I’d call her on it but that’s probably exactly what she wants, me to call and open that door again. But I’ve talked to my agent and he’ll be reaching out to hers.”

She leaned back to rest her head on the couch and gazed at him, trying to put on a brave smile for him, but he could see in her eyes the pain it was causing. It nearly broke him.

“Come here,” he said, pulling her again into his arms. “This will blow over, I promise. And if not, we’ll just have to change the narrative. You and I are meant to be together, and with time, everyone will see that.”

“That’s not very reassuring,” she said, laughing nervously against his shoulder. “I’m not used to having my relationships up for scrutiny. I don’t even share stuff like that with my family, let alone the thousands of people who’ve already sounded off.”

“It can be challenging, I’ll admit. People thinking they know better than you about your own life, not to mention the trolls who only want to stir up trouble. But there are also some good people out there. People who love my music and care about my life, and they’ll only want the best for us both. You’ll see.”

“It will be an adjustment, but I guess you’re worth the trouble.”

“Oh? I’m worth it?” He squeezed her waist, immediately earning a squeal of laughter as she tried to get away. “You can do better than that.”

“Guess time will tell,” she said instead.

He made a lunge for her again, loving the sound of her laughter filling the room. When she’d finally cuddled back on his lap, breathless and flushed, he took joy in lacing her hand in his, her head leaning against his chest.

“This? This is what I’m going to miss the most when you leave. You’re sure we can’t talk you into staying one more week?”

“Afraid not. Not if I want to keep my job.”

“Would it be too needy of me if I stop by and take you to dinner Tuesday night? I’m meeting with a couple different architects to discuss the designs for the house and barn. We can make it for however late as you need, since I know you’re going to need to put in some long hours of catch-up. I’ll take a midnight supper as long as it’s with you.”

“I think I can make it work. But I should warn you. My roommates are going to lose their minds when they see you. We’ll be lucky to get away at all.”

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I look forward to it. Even it we end up just ordering takeout.”

She seemed to consider it, a smile playing around her mouth. “Then again, if I don’t tell them you’re coming, there’s a better chance I’ll have you all to myself.”

He moved a strand of hair from her eyes. “I can hardly argue with that.”