Winter's Spell, page 2
“I’m so sorry I startled you,” said the stranger. “Hi, I’m Tessa.” She held out a hand, and Roxy shook it, still somewhat in a daze.
“Hi, I’m…”
“You’re Roxy, I know.” Tessa looked her up and down carefully. “I’m guessing you don’t recognize me?”
“What?” Roxy was confused. Was she supposed to know her? She was fairly certain she would one hundred percent remember if she’d ever seen such a striking person before. Although Tessa was only of average height and build, she was truly a commanding presence. Her sense of style, her confidence, even her posture made her someone Roxy would not soon forget.
Tessa looked a bit sheepish, self-consciously scratching the back of her neck with one hand before catching Roxy’s eye again.
“I don’t suppose you remember your college roommate? Freshman year? Kinda pimply brunette, super awkward, always in sweatpants?”
Roxy racked her brain for her college memories. By and large, she tried not to think about her brief stint at university since she’d never finished. But yes, now it was coming back to her. Of course, she knew she’d had a roommate, but she could hardly square the person standing in front of her with the awkward, shy, glasses-wearing girl with a long ponytail. She didn’t remember the zits, but she definitely remembered the sweatpants.
Suddenly it all fell into place, and she saw the resemblance.
“Teri!?”
The woman in front of her smiled sheepishly and nodded. “Yep. But I go by Tessa now.”
“Holy shit, it’s been a million years.” Roxy was still reeling from the glow up right in front of her. “You look amazing.”
“Aww, thanks. Yeah, I may have changed a few things since freshman year of college.”
“You can say that again. You look…” Roxy struggled for a moment for a word that was more appropriate than “smoking,” “hot,” or “smoking hot.” She settled on, “really good.” Tessa blushed and looked away.
“Thanks,” said Tessa finally. “You look really good, too. I love that velvet jacket.”
Roxy was about to invite Tessa to sit down at her table when the final song of the night came on: The Beatles’ “All You Need is Love.”
“Shit, I’m sorry. It’s the last song of the night. I have to go to Hazel.”
“Oh my gosh, yes, of course. Go. Go.” Tessa smiled encouragingly. “It was nice to see you.”
Roxy wanted to say, “it was nice to see you, too,” but already Hazel was pulling her onto the dance floor. Pulling both of them in fact.
Soon everyone still at the reception was on the dance floor, screaming “all you need is love,” laughing, hugging, dancing, and Roxy was delighted to find herself next to Tessa in the final circle of dancers on the dance floor. When it was Tessa’s turn to take to the center of the circle, Roxy felt herself salivating at the sight of Tessa twirling and lip-syncing the words to the song. Everyone was laughing and cheering even as the song faded out.
Roxy, who was doubling as emcee, remembered to grab the mic and turn off the playlist before making the final announcements about transportation back to hotels, breakfast the next day, and thanking all the guests for coming.
Just like that, the wedding day was over. She found herself hugging Hazel, then Elizabeth, then Hazel again, then Hazel’s mom, and then Elizabeth’s parents as well, as they seemed to have an inexplicable instant connection with Roxy. Soon she found herself in the swirl of end-of-the-night tasks as they gathered the remaining centerpieces, purses, bags, and coats, in addition to grabbing several bottles of champagne from the bar for the after-party.
Only as they were all about to head to the wedding party’s hotel suites did Roxy think to look for Tessa. Somehow in the midst of the hubbub, she’d made her exit, and Roxy felt disappointed she hadn’t thought to invite her. It would have been fun to catch up with an old roommate. She was eager to know how she’d gone from awkward college freshman to the chic, sexy, sophisticated woman at the wedding.
Stop it, she chided herself. There was no use in thinking things like that. You’d just want to get into her pants, and we’re not doing that anymore. Besides, tonight was Hazel’s night. There was no way she was getting sloshed and making the moves on another wedding guest. Best not to be tempted.
Chapter Two—Tessa
Tessa Flowers couldn’t stop thinking about Roxy.
To be fair, she’d kind of always had a crush on her—even in college when she wasn’t out yet. She could smile at it all now, to an extent. Their first year of college was nine years ago. She’d dated and had girlfriends since then, including a serious relationship that had very nearly turned into an engagement. She was single now, but she didn’t mind it so much. She had a job she loved, wonderful friends, and she’d gotten the opportunity to pursue one of her lifelong dreams.
And yet.
As soon as she’d seen Roxy at the wedding, her heart started pounding as if those nine years were nothing. Roxy was even sexier than she’d remembered—the suit with the velvet jacket and bowtie alone were enough to make Tessa hot under the collar. Now, her dark corkscrew curls styled short, cropped at the back and sides, but with longer tendrils at the front that framed her elfish features, Roxy was a total babe magnet.
To be honest, Tessa had been avoiding her all night. As soon as she’d seen her, up at the front of the room during the wedding ceremony, she’d felt her heartbeat speed up. Her mouth had gone dry, her mind a jumble of feelings. She’d been glad she’d decided to sit toward the back of the room along with some of Elizabeth’s other work colleagues.
She’d met Elizabeth a year and a half ago when Elizabeth had started teaching history at the same prep school in Boston where Tessa taught acting and theater arts. They’d immediately hit it off, and Tessa had been excited to introduce Elizabeth to all her favorite colleagues: Britt in media studies, Calvin in sociology, and Elsa, the women’s volleyball coach. All of them had subsequently been invited to the wedding and had accepted. After all, who didn’t want to go to a beautiful lesbian wedding in Provincetown—even if it was in the middle of frigid New England winter?
Tessa spent most of the wedding at her table with Britt, Calvin, and Elsa, along with Elizabeth’s friends from the UK who’d made the effort to come to the US—a friend from undergrad and her husband, two friends from their doctoral program who’d stayed in close contact with Elizabeth, and a former colleague from the job she’d had right before coming to teach in the US. They were a fun and friendly group; Tessa had always found British people to be hilarious in their creative swear words and, in general, to be rather jolly at events like weddings, and Elizabeth’s friends were no exception. It was easy to keep her distance from Roxy and focus on the people at her own table.
By the end of the night, she finally got the courage to speak to Roxy. It was both damning and kind of exciting to realize Roxy didn’t recognize her. She was conscious of how much she’d changed since college—and a lot of those changes went more than skin deep. She was a much more confident and successful person now, though apparently her confidence did not extend to talking to a former crush.
It was disappointing, then, that they’d barely had time to exchange pleasantries before the last song of the night played, and they were both pulled into the last dance of the night—a joyful, emotional group dance to “All You Need is Love.”
Afterward, she watched the wedding party laughing and hugging but kept her distance. Elsa had already started the drive back to Boston, as she had a young family at home. Britt and Calvin, like her, had elected to spend the night in Provincetown; the two of them were putting their coats and hats on to trudge over to the apartment the three of them had rented together for the occasion. The plan was to do some wine tastings the next day and have a leisurely day out.
They’d just left the wedding hotel when Tessa realized one of her gloves must have fallen out of her coat pocket. She told her friends she’d catch up with them before running back inside the venue.
She nearly bumped into Elizabeth’s father, Jim, who’d clearly been heading out the door for a cigarette break.
“Sorry,” said Tessa.
He smiled cheerfully. “No problem, love. Say, aren’t you Liz’s work colleague? Tess, is it?”
“Tessa,” she corrected him gently. “Yes, Elizabeth and I are work colleagues at the school.”
“The Shakespeare fanatic, is that right?”
“Indeed, that’s me.” Tessa was impressed. In her experience, few people at a wedding took the time to remember the details of the guests’ connections to the happy couple.
“Were you about to head out?” asked Jim. He was a tall, portly man with a jolly demeanor. He was playing with his cigarette lighter. If Tessa had to cast him, she’d say he’d make a perfect Sir Toby in Twelfth Night.
“Oh, yes. I came back in to find one of my gloves.”
“You should stay! Stay for the after-party,” said Jim. “Elizabeth speaks very highly of you. And any friend of hers is a friend of ours, especially one so talented and beautiful.”
“You’re laying it on awfully thick,” said Tessa. “But I wouldn’t want to interrupt a family affair.”
“Pish tush,” said Jim. He waved away her concerns. “You’d be most welcome. All her friends from home will be joining us, too.”
“Well, if that’s the case…” Tessa’s heart started pounding in her chest again at the thought of spending some time with Roxy in close quarters. Maybe they could chat a bit more? Maybe this was their chance to finally connect and make good on Tessa’s crush—either crush it finally and completely, or see if there really could be something between them? She’d tried to forget about Roxy for years and years, but there was still a tiny flame of desire within her that was waiting to be explored.
Jim was effusive in his encouragement to join the after-party, and Tessa let herself be convinced. She found her missing glove on the floor of the event space cloak room and rejoined Jim to keep him company while he puffed on his cigarette. Together, they walked down the hallway into the hotel lounge and past it down another hallway and up the stairs to where the honeymoon suite was doubling as the scene of the after-party.
Even though it was well past ten in the evening, everyone was in high spirits. Hazel and Elizabeth had already changed out of their wedding gowns and were now wearing matching Christmas pajamas. Hazel was setting up what looked to be a karaoke machine for everyone to use while Elizabeth busied herself pouring champagne into clear plastic cups. Roxy was smiling and chatting with her while setting out snacks for everyone. It was a real honest-to-goodness after-party.
Nearly all the folks from England who’d been at her table were there too, as Jim had said. The couple from London had already gone to bed, apparently, but Jeff and Lisa, her friends from the doctoral program, and Alexis, the colleague from her last job, were all yucking it up in a corner. They responded with enthusiasm when they spied Tessa and waved her over. It was impossible to feel like an outsider in this group.
“Ahem!” came a voice from the sitting area of the suite. It was Elizabeth’s mother, trying to get everyone’s attention. She looked like an older version of Elizabeth, but still elegant and neat as a pin without a hair out of place. Her hair was a mix of blond and gray, pulled back into a sleek chignon, and she still wore her stylish mother-of-the-bride-style navy dress and bolero jacket, though she’d evidently traded in her heels for fuzzy slippers that made Tessa smile. Helen Cowrie could be intimidating, even cold, upon first meeting, but the slippers suggested there was a warmth to her, too. Tessa could tell even from observing the wedding party from a distance, that Elizabeth’s mother was extremely proud of her daughter and enjoyed the role of mother of the bride immensely.
She was quite different from Hazel’s mother, Rose, who, like Hazel, was on the shorter side, hair still dark brown without a sign of gray to be seen. Her style was softer, more approachable. She wore a deep emerald green chiffon dress with a long flowy skirt and sleeves, with a bodice embroidered in silver and gold lace that mimicked the flowers on Hazel’s wedding gown, but in a much more toned down manner. Tessa couldn’t imagine how much it must have cost to get custom embroidery done on a wedding gown, much less matching embroidery on a second dress. The effect, in any case, was spectacular.
The two mothers of the brides stood together now and were handing out cups of champagne to everyone. Tessa and the others each took one and stood by quietly, as it was evident some speeches were coming. Hazel and Elizabeth stood side by side next to their mothers, with Elizabeth’s father, Jim, nearby as well. The brides looked a little tired but very happy, and soon tears gathered in their eyes as Helen and Rose took turns thanking everyone who played a role in planning the wedding and toasting their daughters’ happiness yet again. Tessa felt a little woozy herself—and it wasn’t because of the bubbly.
She scanned the room for Roxy until she saw her, way at the back of the suite, next to the sliding doors to the balcony. Once the toasts were over and people began drifting toward the snack table, Tessa followed Roxy to the balcony where she’d stepped out into the night.
The hotel overlooked the bay, with the lights of Boston a mere glimmer in the distance. It was cold, of course, but not dreadful; they’d been lucky that the day of the wedding had been a rather balmy forty degrees, and the temperature now was still in the thirties with little to no wind.
“I hope you don’t mind my ambushing you here.” Tessa tried to balance apology with playfulness. The cool winter air felt delicious on her hot face; she was mere steps away from Roxy out on the small balcony.
Roxy’s face was in shadow as the moonlight backlit her features. It made it hard to read her expression. If Tessa had to guess, she’d say it was an expression of thoughtfulness mixed with concern and maybe something else. Something darker.
“Oh,” said Roxy. After a moment, she relaxed into a smile. Even though the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, it still lit up her face and made Tessa feel warm all over. “Glad to see you made it to the after-party. I should have mentioned it earlier.”
“No worries. Jim caught me and practically twisted my arm.”
That comment made Roxy genuinely laugh, and it was a beautiful sound. Tessa had gotten the impression that Roxy had been rather sad a moment ago. Now, she looked happy again.
“That’s Jim. One hundred percent. I’d call him a bully except he’s so damn nice.”
“He seems pretty different from his wife.”
“True. Helen takes a while to warm up. No idea why she loves me so much.” Roxy winked roguishly and Tessa felt her heart flutter. She wanted to reply with some flirtatious banter, but it seemed a bit soon for that.
“That’s great to hear you get along.”
“Definitely. They told me they’d put me up over in England if I ever came to visit.”
Tessa racked her brains with what to say next. She had so many questions crowding her head. She wanted to know if Roxy was dating anyone? Where was she living these days? With whom? What was she up to? Was there any chance they would run into each other again soon?
“Will that be anytime soon?” She settled on the most innocuous question possible, and Roxy rewarded her with more information.
“I don’t think so,” said Roxy. She sighed, leaning on the balcony railing and looking out into the distance. “I don’t even have a passport.”
“You could get one.”
“That would presume I have enough money to go anywhere with it.” Roxy’s voice turned bitter unexpectedly. She was still looking out into the distance, but Tessa had the impression she was looking more inwardly than out at the water.
“I’m sorry.”
Roxy continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I’m twenty-seven. I work seasonally. Sure, I like giving ghost tours and kayak tours and whatnot. I’m good at it. But I don’t exactly have savings. I can’t travel. No sugar mama to pay my way.” She gave Tessa a rueful smile.
“Looks like you’ve got an amazing friend in Hazel,” said Tessa.
Roxy huffed in frustration. “Feels like I’m losing a friend right now,” she murmured, and suddenly Tessa understood. Roxy was sad because Hazel was getting married. Moving on. And Roxy felt left behind.
They stood a moment, together, sharing the peace of the evening, even as Tessa was finally starting to feel the chill of the night air starting to penetrate her suit jacket.
“I know I’m being dramatic,” said Roxy, “but it feels like the end of an era, you know?”
Tessa nodded. She wanted very much to put her arms around Roxy and give her a big hug and tell her it would all be all right, but she felt that would not be a good idea right then. Clearly, Roxy was laying her heart out to her because she was in the right place at the right time, not necessarily because they had a connection—yet. But it gave Tessa hope. Maybe they could develop a connection. After all, Tessa knew a lot about heartbreak and starting over.
Back in the hotel suite after-party, she could hear people singing karaoke and laughing, but they felt a million miles away from that. At any moment, though, they would be missed and pulled back inside to the noise and celebration.
Now was the time to be bold, make a move.
“What are you doing after the wedding?”
“Hmm?” Roxy was still off in the world of her own thoughts.
“Do you have any plans or place to be? It’s just that I’ll be staying on here in Provincetown for the winter to put on a play at the theater. I can always use extra help if you’re interested. It would be great having a friend here in town to hang out with after work, too.” She smiled at Roxy.
“It’s funny you should say that. I’m staying in Ptown over the winter, too. Normally, I do ski lessons in Vermont, but I did something to my knee in October and decided to skip it. A friend of a friend knows the owners of the brewery in town, and they agreed to let me work part-time over the winter. I’ve always thought it would be cool to learn how to brew beer.”
