Tessa Ever After
PRAISE FOR
Caged in Winter
“The slow build of Winter and Cade’s relationship is satisfying and real. Walsh’s debut raises the bar for NA books and will leave readers hungry for more.”
—
Booklist
(starred review)
“This is why I love New Adult! Everything about
Caged in Winter
felt real. And Cade? Perfect book boyfriend.”
—Jennifer L. Armentrout, #1
New York Times
and
USA Today
bestselling author
“Delicious! Captivating, sexy, and empowering, Walsh has created the perfect recipe for an unforgettable romance. Cade Maxwell is the best kind of hero—strong yet gentle, ambitious yet selfless. And Winter is a heroine to cheer for. A fabulous debut!”
—Rachel Harris, bestselling author
“With characters so real I feel like I’ve known them all my life,
Caged in Winter
is pure, sweet, hot romance. It’s a must-read!”
—M. Leighton,
New York Times
bestselling author
Berkley titles by Brighton Walsh
CAGED IN WINTER
TESSA EVER AFTER
THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) LLC
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
USA • Canada • UK • Ireland • Australia • New Zealand • India • South Africa • China
A Penguin Random House Company
This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
Copyright © 2015 by Brighton Walsh.
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The “B” design is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.
eBook ISBN: 978-0-698-17021-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Walsh, Brighton.
Tessa ever after / Brighton Walsh.—Berkley trade paperback edition.
pages ; cm
ISBN 978-0-425-27649-5 (paperback)
I. Title.
PS3623.A4454T47 2015
813'.6—dc23
2014046278
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Berkley trade paperback edition / May 2015
Cover photo:
Woman Portrait
by Sheftsoff/Shutterstock.
Cover design by Rita Frangie.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Version_1
To my husband, because even though you lucked out by getting to play Jedis instead of tea parties, I know you would totally don a bright yellow hat and pink feather boa, because that’s the kind of dad you are.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’m so lucky to have a wonderful team of people on my side to help me along the way when I’m sure I can’t do this on my own. Thank you goes out to all the usual suspects for their help in making
Tessa Ever After
what it is today:
To Mandy for suggesting snippets of scenes to include and for a breakneck brainstorming session that set me at ease and let me breathe a little easier.
To Leis for digging deep, asking the tough questions, and coaxing the very best for these characters from my brain.
To Christina for being my sounding board and my Plot Whisperer and my ever-present, always-willing cheerleader. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: You are a sanity saver.
To my BFF, Jaime, for being the first to set eyes on this baby in its entirety, for brainstorming with me when I had no idea what to do, and for loving Jason as much as I do.
To Amanda for giving me the idea of a non-cheesy-but-still-swoony non-grand grand gesture. I think it was a success.
To the readers who enjoyed Cade and Winter’s story and were clamoring for Jason and Tessa’s book while I was still working on it. It still amazes me people besides my friends read my books.
To my 4EvNo peeps who sprinted with me while I wrote this baby in a blur of shower-free days and evenings of takeout. Thank you for not judging my lack of hygiene/housekeeping.
To all the girls in Brighton’s Brigade over on Facebook for being excited to get Jason and Tessa’s story, and for giving me rec after rec for heroes that meet my, ahem, discerning tastes.
And, finally, to my guys. My little ones, who gave me the inspiration for blipstick, pamcakes, and zoomeums. So much of Haley’s mannerisms, ideas, and speech patterns came from remembered times from when you were her age. And my big one, who teaches the important things to our kids . . . like how to do a flawless maniacal laugh. You all make my world bright, just being in it.
CONTENTS
Berkley titles by Brighton Walsh
ONE
tessa
Some days I feel like I’m running forever on a treadmill that won’t get me anywhere. Constantly behind, yet always moving.
I glance at my phone, noting the time, and try to rush my client out the door without being obvious about the fact that I’m doing it. It’s not that I don’t love her, because I do. She’s a regular, someone who took a chance on a girl barely out of cosmetology school, and has stuck with me for the last three years, referring dozens upon dozens of friends my way while she was at it. But tonight, when I’m already running late getting Haley from day care, I just want her to stop talking and
leave.
I stayed late as a favor to her, and I’m paying for it now. I should’ve known I could never squeeze her in, not when she likes to stick around to chat after her appointment.
Once I’ve finally ushered her out the door and I’ve cleaned up my station, I wave good-bye to the other girls working tonight and
head out into the bitter fall air. I stuff my hands in my pockets and rush to the car, not waiting for it to warm up before I’m speeding down the streets, hoping to get to Haley before her day care officially closes for the day. But as the clock creeps toward six and then slowly ticks past, I know that hope is futile.
I pull in the driveway at quarter after and jog up the front walk, opening the handle to the door and pushing through the threshold.
“Mama!” Haley runs at me full force, her smile as bright as the sun, and I squat to catch her in my arms.
