“No,” she answered at the exact same moment that Jeremiah said, “Yes.”
Her face turned toward Jeremiah and his turned toward her and she felt breathless all over again. What was the matter with her?
She lifted her chin to Jude. “I will not be coming with you. I need to spend some quality time with my friend Wendell.”
“Understood. I’ll get my car,” Jude said to Jeremiah, “and pick you up at the front entrance.” Then he disappeared into the hall.
“Your brother seems much more agreeable than you,” Remy remarked.
“Am I going to have to fight him for your affection?”
It was preposterous of him even to joke about a circumstance in which either of these two would be interested in her romantically, let alone both. “That question presumes I have affection for you,” she said tartly. “Which I do not.”
“Yes, you do.”
“Is this a good time to confess that Jude has already stolen my heart?”
“He was only here for five minutes.”
She winked. “When you know, you know.”
“Suddenly, I hate his guts.”
“That’ll be awkward, once Jude and I marry.”
He grunted and pushed to standing. As soon as she rose to her feet, he opened his arms in an invitation for her to hug him.
“What?” she asked, indignant. “We don’t hug.”
“Bring it in.”
“We don’t hug.”
“I want to give you a thank-you hug before you leave me for Wendell and maybe also my brother.”
“Send me a fresh supply of oatmeal to thank me.”
“Bring it in,” he said stubbornly. His fingers curled a few times.
With a huff, she stepped forward stiffly.
He gave her the first bona fide hug they’d ever shared.
The warmth of his skin radiated through the smooth texture of his athletic shirt. She could feel the contours of his muscles and torso. This was heaven, undiluted heaven.
“Once Jude gets me set up with a phone—” he started.
“You mean oncemy future husbandgets you set up with a phone—”
“I’ll text you,” he finished.
“Except you don’t have my number.”
“Here.” He grabbed a pen from beside the phone and a napkin from the lunch tray.
As she stooped to jot down the digits, he spoke with the false gravity of a knight swearing fealty. “I’ll guard this napkin with my life.”
Eleven days with him—he was still insufferable.
