He’s older than I am, by quite a bit, but it’s not for the financial or emotional security that I’m with him. I’m honestly, completely, and ridiculously in love with him, and I hope you’ll be happy for me. I told him everything - about my mom, the whole mess I was in when you married me, and about us. He’s not only been good to me but good for me as well, and I’m hoping he’ll be the one to slay the rest of the dragons, the few that you didn’t already kill for me.

I hope you know how much I still love you, Peter, and how much I always will. You were there for me in my darkest times, and I will never, ever forget that. I hope we can continue to be the best of friends, and that you will keep in close touch. And, most of all, I hope that someday you can finally find the peace that you need so badly - that you’ll meet someone who will slay all of your dragons.

With much love,

Tess

Wiping away her tears, she dragged herself into the bathroom and got ready for bed, hoping that between her emotional state and her physical condition that she would sleep soundly tonight. As she started to shut down her laptop, she was astounded to see a new message had popped up, and even more surprised to note that it was from Peter. He never replied to her emails so quickly, and she surmised he must have been online when her message had been delivered to him.

Hey, Tess,

What you are doing up so late? I’m the insomniac, remember? But in all seriousness - yes, I knew the divorce was going to be final today and was thinking of you the whole time. Guess I was just too much of a coward to email you first.

I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’ve found someone, Tess. You deserve to have a normal, healthy relationship, and to be loved and adored more than anyone else in the world. I’m just sorry I couldn’t be the man to give you that kind of love, because I know I’ll never meet anyone half as wonderful as you.

Would I be wrong in guessing that this new, older man in your life is your boss? I might be going out on a limb here, but I remember that Christmas party you dragged me to a couple of years back. I never told you this, didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable, but I saw the way he kept watching you all night and giving me the evil eye (just kidding!) If it is him, I think you’ve made a very wise choice. He’ll take good care of you, Tess, give you all the things I never could. Oh, I’m not talking about stuff like cars or houses or clothes. I know you don’t give a shit about any of that. The things I’m talking about are romance and normal sex and maybe having a baby one day. I always wanted those things for you, and I’m glad you’re finally going to have them.

One last thing, because I’m starting to lose it here myself. I’ve begun therapy, Tess. Once a week I Skype with someone in the States, someone who specializes in my sort of issues. And while I’ve got a long, long way to go, I’m hopeful that one day I’ll be able to slay my own damned dragons.

I love you, too, Tess, and we will always be best friends. Take care and be happy, and please do keep in touch.

Love,

Peter

She was crying again as she finished reading his message, but this time they were tears of happiness.

Chapter Fourteen

London

It took every ounce of Ian’s self-control to disguise his impatience as the evening seemed to drag on intolerably. He loved his family deeply, and under normal circumstances would be relishing this opportunity to spend as much time as possible with them. But these were far from what he considered normal circumstances - being several thousand miles away from the woman he adored, the one he longed to be with every minute of each day, and whose touch he craved like an addict did a fix.

He checked his watch again, discreetly, of course, and had to hold back a sigh when he realized how late it was getting. It was already early afternoon back in California, and he only hoped Tessa wasn’t ready to give up on him calling today. The eight hour time difference between London and San Francisco hadn’t been especially easy to manage these past few days, given that he couldn’t very well call her while she was at the office.

And of course he’d had to wait until he was alone at this end before calling her, not wanting to take the chance he’d be overheard by one of his family. Ian had very intentionally not told any of them about Tessa, especially Colin, who’d be pumping him for very intimate details were he to know about the new woman in his life. Until Tessa resigned from the Gregson Group, Ian had no intention of mentioning her to any of the family. When he’d told Tessa there would be unpleasant repercussions for both of them should their relationship become known, he’d been deadly serious. Regardless of the fact that he reported directly to his father and uncle, the other board members could very well vote to demote or censure him in some way if they learned about his love affair with one of his employees.

As for Tessa, the demand would certainly be made for her immediate transfer, if not her termination. And even though she’d be resigning soon enough, he knew she would want that to be on her terms and not because it had been forced on her.

There would be time enough to tell his family about Tessa, he reassured himself, but for now he intended to keep it a secret. It was just too damned bad, he thought impatiently, that this dragged out dinner at the home of his elder brother Hugh was interfering with his daily phone call to her.

To make matters worse, his sister-in-law Victoria had invited a recently divorced female friend of hers to join them for dinner, and the woman’s interest in Ian was rather obvious. Victoria had seated them next to each other, and the woman - Sondra - had been not so subtly flirting with him all evening. Even if he hadn’t been obsessed with Tessa, he knew he wouldn’t have found Sondra attractive. As a rule, he had a general dislike of overly aggressive women, especially ones who practically drowned themselves in perfume. He’d been polite to Sondra, feigning an interest in what she had to say that he certainly didn’t feel, but making it a point to keep his distance and not give her even the tiniest bit of encouragement.

Sondra got the hint eventually, especially when he gently declined her offer to meet up for a drink or a coffee sometime during his visit, but he still felt uncomfortable in her presence. Thankfully, his mother seemed to sense his discomfort, and tactfully suggested that they all call an end to the evening.

Once back at his parents’ house, he made his excuses as quickly as possible, though he didn’t miss the odd look his mother gave him as he practically jogged to his rooms.