Yes, she was. For a lot of things. But mainly for letting down her guard. Why did all men suck?
Vivienne finally opened the door, rubbing her eyes sleepily. “Tessa!” She was wearing a T-shirt that said Joie de Vivre and sleep shorts, and her long hair was sticking up on one side. She grabbed Tessa’s suitcase and let her in, closing the door just as Mrs. O’Hannigan’s light flicked on.
Juliet walked out of the bedroom, wearing a terry robe and matching slippers, pulling her hair up into a quick bun. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?” She looked from Tessa to the suitcase to the cat carrier. “Oh no.”
Vivienne was already freeing Cosette, talking softly to her, and finding her a bowl of water. Juliet gave Tessa a questioning look, but all Tessa could do was bite down on her lip so she wouldn’t cry. “Can I stay here tonight?” She tried to ask in a level, calm tone but her voice cracked anyway.
Juliet grabbed her by the arm and steered her to the couch, which was clearly Vivienne’s bed, judging by the jumbled blankets and pillow. In one swoop, Juliet balled the bedding up and tossed it over the back.
“You and Leo had a fight? About the Max thing?” Vivienne asked. Juliet speared her with a look and shook her head in a way that clearly meant not now. “I—I’ll make us some tea.”
“We didn’t just have a fight,” Tessa whispered. “It’s over.”
“Oh, Tessa.” Juliet put a hand on her arm. “I’m so sorry.”
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Juliet approached the window and peeked behind the curtain. She called over her shoulder to Vivienne, who was in the little kitchenette filling up the teapot. “Viv! You didn’t call Mom and Gram, did you?”
Vivienne held up her hands. “Why does everyone always blame me? Not me this time.”
“I called them,” Tessa said. “I have to talk to Mom. I have to talk to all of you.” She was going to do what she hadn’t done in a very long time: confide in her family.
Juliet let in their mother and grandmother, who were both dressed in their robes and nightgowns.
“What is this about?” her mother asked, looking around at her three daughters.
“It’s three in the morning,” Gram said, tying a knot in her blue silk robe. “All of you are alive and breathing, so who’s pregnant?”
“Tessa and Leo had a giant fight,” Vivienne said.
“No one’s pregnant,” Tessa said as everyone sat down and Vivienne passed around mugs of tea. “Max Hammond came into the bakery today and let it slip that Mom was considering selling the bakery to the Castorinis.”
Someone let out a gasp. It might have been Juliet. Her mother sat bone straight, her teacup in her lap, unflinching. The woman should play poker, because she had no tell.
“When it was clear I had no idea what he was talking about,” Tessa said, “Max got embarrassed and apologized and said I’d have to ask Leo. Turns out, I found a proposal drawn up for the sale of the bakery. In Leo’s desk.”
“Oh no,” Juliet said. “Leo was planning to buy our bakery?”
“He said Mom came to him, and he didn’t tell me because he believed that with all our plans, I’d make the bakery worth too much for his dad to buy. And he said I needed to talk to you, Mom.”
“Leo would tell the truth,” Vivienne said, nodding her head.
“Leo never told me about any of this,” Tessa said. “I had to find it out for myself.” She turned to her mother and pulled the paper from her shorts pocket. “Did the Castorinis force you to sign this?”
“Oh, Tessa, no,” her mom said, looking distressed. “I’m the one who told Mark to draw up a proposal for the Castorinis. I did go to Leo with it and asked him to not say anything. More than that—I swore him to secrecy. I’m so sorry.”
“You approached Leo with this?” And asked him to keep quiet? She struggled to let that sink in. Misery and panic flowed through her, freezing every muscle.
You’ll have to ask your mother about that.
Her mom had initiated this. Leo had kept her mother’s confidence because she’d asked him. And in return, Tessa had accused him of terrible things. Of coercing. Of wanting to take over the bakery. Of using her.
She’d ruined everything. But why hadn’t he told her?
“Mom, why?” Tessa managed. “We got married to save the bakery and the restaurant.”
“You did what?” her grandmother asked.
Tessa tried to hold back her panic. She’d kept so many secrets. But she had nothing to lose now. She was going to tell her family everything.
She exchanged a glance with Juliet. “I haven’t told any of you the truth. But Juliet guessed it. Leo’s dad wasn’t giving him any control and thought he should be married, and of course Mom wasn’t budging about selling any pastries, so we…we came up with a plan to jumpstart both places. It was just a business agreement, but…but things got muddled. He was kind and fun and full of wild ideas and…” All of a sudden, she started crying.
Cosette carefully wove her way around Juliet and Viv and finally settled in Tessa’s lap, the one good thing about this crappy day.
“You did this for us?” her grandmother asked.
Her mother sat down next to her and took her hands. “Tessa, you sacrificed your dreams to help our family. I—I’ve felt terrible about that for a long time.”
Tessa shook her head. “That’s all in the past.” None of that mattered anymore. Only Leo mattered. Except he’d hidden this from her. She was so confused.
Juliet piped in. “Tessa, tell Mom the whole truth.”
Tessa blinked at her sister in confusion.
“Tell everyone about the scholarship,” Juliet prodded. “Come clean. It’s time.” Juliet, not one to wait for permission, plowed ahead. “Tessa threw the scholarship. To stay and help me. To help all of us. She did it for us.”
“Oh, Tessa,” Viv said, starting to cry, too.
“Mon Dieu,” her grandmother exclaimed. “You stayed here instead of going to New York?”
“I knew how badly you wanted to go away to school,” her mom said, squeezing her hand, “but I never imagined you’d give up something so important. I never would have kept you in town.”
“Mom, I know that. That’s why I threw a test and let Leo win. I couldn’t have left everyone. To be honest…I could never have succeeded anywhere when we were all hurting so much.” She understood that now. She could never have left, even if she would have had more of a choice.