Chapter 230

Tessa’s POV

I woke up late in the morning, reaching for Joseph beside me, wanting to snuggle close to him. But when I was met with a fist full of sheets and no Joseph, I opened my eyes, confused.

He wasn’t in bed.

I was still completely naked, and my body was still warm from his touch. My body tingled from the memory of last night and my cheeks flared. I quickly looked at my hand, double-checking to make sure it wasn’t a dream.

When I saw the beautiful diamond ring taking occupancy on my hand, I let out a breath of relief and squealed to myself. This was real. I was marrying Joseph. I was going to be his wife.

I slid out of bed and grabbed my dress off the ground. I slipped it over my body, covering myself in case people were still there. I wondered how the rest of the party went; I felt bad that I missed it and left Ruby by herself last night.

I grabbed my phone and saw that I had a missed call from my father and my stomach tightened. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I ignored the missed call for right now and left Joseph’s bedroom. I’ll call him back later.

The house seemed quiet; too quiet.

Yawning, I walked into the kitchen and smiled when I saw Joseph completely shirtless, making pancakes. He noticed me right away and his lips melted into a smile.

“Good morning,” he said, turning back to the pancakes and flipping one of them.

“Morning,” I yawned as I went over to the coffee maker.

I was relieved to see that Joseph made fresh coffee. I grabbed a mug and poured myself some coffee before taking a satisfying sniff. Then I gradually sipped the hot coffee, loving how it tasted.

“Was there anybody still hear from the party?” I asked.

“I made sure they all went home last night. Those who were too drunk I called Ubers for,” he assured me. “I have cleaners coming in today, so we don’t have to worry about anything today.”

I nodded and took another sip of the coffee; I could already feel its effects.

“Thank you last night,” I said to him and when he looked at me with a grin, my entire body warmed. “I meant the party,” I clarified.

He laughed.

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s what you meant,” he teased. “You don’t have to thank me. I’m happy to help.” He paused and glanced at me again with a sly grin. “In all ways.”

I laughed and took another sip of my coffee.

“So, what’s the plan for today?” I asked.

He sighed and I saw the sheepish look on his face as he met my eyes.

“Actually, I told Bernard I’d return to the village for the next few days. Just to help him get things organized. There are a few new vampires arriving tomorrow not to mention one of our tribe members just gave birth. The farm life is in high demand as well and they are trying to import some animals. They could use all the help they could get.”

“Can’t I come with you?” I asked.

“I won’t have a lot of free time. I’m only gone for a few days and it’s going to be a hectic few days. I’m going to schedule a couple of days every week to return to the mountains and help out. In the meantime, I think you should reach out to your editors at Fable Magazine and accept that job. Also, you should start looking at places in New York for purchase. We are going to need a home.”

I nodded and winced when I thought about my budget. New York was an expensive place to live; I had a fairly healthy budget because I don’t usually spend a lot of money. Most of the money I’ve been making with Fable Magazine has been put into my savings. So, I had enough to maybe purchase a New York apartment. A small one.

Certainly not enough for two.

As if he could read my thoughts, he gave me a warm smile before handing me a plate of pancakes and bacon.

“Don’t worry about the price. I have more than enough money,” he told me, which surprised me.

“I don’t expect you to buy me a place to live,” I said, shaking my head.

I sat on the bar stool at the counter island and watched as he plated his own food.

“I’ll be living there too,” he reminded. “Let me take care of you, Tess. We are getting married after all.”

I thought about arguing with him, but then I remembered who I was dealing with. He was almost as stubborn as I was, and I knew arguing with him would be pointless; so, I kept my mouth shut.

After Joseph poured himself a cup of coffee, he joined me on the other stool, and we ate our food.

We talked for a bit longer about our ideal place. Joseph said he wanted a good-sized house with a swimming pool. I argued that it was just us and that it wasn’t necessary to have a big house. Then, he surprised me by asking, “Well, what if we have kids?”

“Is it possible to have kids?” I asked, raising my brows. “Can a vampire and a human have a baby?”

He shrugged.

“You aren’t a human,” he reminded me.

“Yeah, but I’m not a vampire.”

I knew that vampires and vampires could have kids. They would be born humans and then once they turn 18, they naturally die and then return as vampires. But I wasn’t sure how it would work with a human and a vampire. Would they be born human and then become vampires later? Or would they be fully human?

He reached over to me and touched the back of my neck gently, causing goosebumps to form on my skin.

“Don’t overthink it right now. It’s a bridge we will cross when we get to that point. But I’d like us to be prepared in case we do have a family,” he said gently. “Research some houses and then we will go this weekend to see them.”

I smiled and then I nodded.

“Sounds good,” I said softly as I leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips.

We finished our food and guzzled down the rest of the coffee. I took the dishes and washed them as he watched me with an intent look on his face.

“What?” I asked, grinning.

“I was just thinking how lucky I am,” he said fondly. “I’m so in love with you and when I get back from the mountains, I want to spend the next several days in bed showing you just how much I love you.”

Heat coursed through my body, and I nearly dropped the dish I was washing. With a racing heart, I put the dishes down in the sink and went over to him. I made myself comfortable between his legs as he remained seated on the stool, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Is that a promise?” I asked, my voice flirtatious.

His eyes darkened and he smirked as his hands cupped my butt and squeezed. I chuckled and pressed myself further into him and his lips crashed into mine, hungrily.

Unfortunately, it didn’t escalate further than that. After a little while of kissing and holding one another, Joseph sighed and stepped down from the stool.

“I should get dressed,” he said, kissing my temple. “I’m leaving this morning for the mountains so I can get there for tonight.”

By the time I finished with the dishes and cleaned the kitchen area, Joseph was done showering and fully dressed.

He wrapped me in his arms and kissed me tenderly.

“Will you call me when you get there?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Of course,” he said softly. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” I replied.

I hated watching him leave, but I remained at the window until the car was completely gone.

Now it was just me and my thoughts.

I sighed and went up the stairs and back into Joseph’s room where my cell phone remained. I grabbed it and saw that I had a text from Ruby.

Ruby: That party last night was amazing. Hopefully, the house wasn’t too messy. I volunteered to clean, but Joseph said he was hiring cleaners. I hope you had a good rest of your night! Congrats again on the engagement! We need to celebrate as soon as possible.

I smiled at the text and then held up the ring on my finger with a full heart.

I wondered what kind of wedding Joseph would want. A human wedding or a vampire wedding. What did a vampire wedding consist of? Did they even exist?

I always imagined my father would be at my wedding too and walking me down the aisle. But I was now having trouble seeing him there and my heart squeezed painfully in my chest.

He called me this morning, maybe I should call him back.

With a nervous feeling in my chest, I brought up his contact and pressed the “call” button. I pressed the phone to my cheek and listened as it rang a couple of times.

By the third ring, he answered.

“Tessa?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Hey, Dad,” I said in barely a whisper.

I wasn’t sure what to say to him, or why I was calling him. Maybe because I wanted to hear what he had to say. Or maybe because I wanted him to know that I was marrying Joseph, and I didn’t care what he thought.

“I didn’t think you were going to call me back,” he said softly. “I wouldn’t have blamed you otherwise. I was an asshole. Penny reminds me of that every second.”

“Are you going to report to the school board?” I asked, my emotions running dry as I spoke.

He was quiet for a moment.

“No, I’m not,” he answered. “I called Dean Miller this morning and apologized. He didn’t answer, so I left him a message.”

I was relieved to hear that and let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“I’m sorry, Tess,” he added, sounding a bit defeated.

“I know,” I said softly. “I appreciate that, Dad.”

“Penny and I are on our way back to the farm. I think it’s for the best,” he surprised me by saying. My heart squeezed in my chest from his words.

He was leaving? Without even seeing me?

“I’m sorry for not seeing you after the graduation ceremony. Penny is pretty upset about it, but we both think it’s good to give you some space after how I acted this week.”

“I get it,” I said, trying to keep the raw emotions out of my voice. “No worries, honestly.”

He was quiet for another moment.

“I was thinking maybe if you wanted to come to the farm this weekend, we could celebrate as a family. If not that’s fine too. I figured I’d ask though and leave the ball in your court,” my father suggested.

I stared down at my hand again, a tightness in my chest. Every fiber of my being was telling me to hang up the phone. That gut feeling returned to my stomach, and it was attacking me, but this was my father. He raised me and loved me my entire life.

I knew he didn’t want to hurt me.

As I fiddled with my ring, I thought about telling him about my engagement. But this wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have over my phone. I wish he was still in the city so I could tell him in person. But that didn’t look like it was happening any time soon. I don’t think my father would ever return to the city again.

So, I pushed down that nasty gut feeling and took a deep breath.

“Okay,” I finally said. “I’ll come for a visit this weekend. It’ll be fun.”