Both Cedric and Vincent looked exactly as Jude had anticipated based on the photos he'd viewed and the copious biographical information he'd studied. Nonetheless, it always took him a few minutes to adjust to the realities of a subject when face-to-face.
Cedric had on a collared white shirt, the top few buttons open. His tweed blazer, black pants, and leather loafers communicated wealth. He had brown hair and deep-set eyes beneath straight brows. His prominent nose curved out slightly from top to bottom.
Cedric's focus strayed to the other diners, as if to assure himself that he was the best-looking and most important person in the room. It was Cedric's sidekick who kept a close eye on Jude, clearly sizing him up.
Vincent, wearing all black, looked tough and shifty—with a shaved head, beard, and small, hard eyes. Lines permanently grooved the skin between his brows and veins were visible at his temples.
“So,” Cedric said to Gemma in accented English, “this is your mysterious boyfriend.”
“This is him.” Gemma placed her hand on Jude's forearm.
“Gemma is so secretive about her love life,” Cedric complained to Jude.
“With good reason,” Gemma shot back. “My family has run off a few of my past boyfriends.”
“I think it wasyouwho ran them off,” Cedric teased. “It was easiest for the boyfriends to blame your family.”
“Never! My family is the only difficult thing about me. I’m an angel.”
Jude made a scoffing sound.
She swung toward him, round-eyed. “Jude! You traitor.”
“That sound I made? That was just me clearing my throat. Something got stuck in my windpipe.”
“Was it disdain for my claim that I'm an angel? Is that what stuck in your windpipe?”
Vincent remained straight-faced, but Cedric seemed to appreciate the verbal exchange. “Does it bother you that Gemma hasn't introduced you to her family yet?” he asked Jude.
“No, but only because she's convinced me it's not because she's ashamed of me.”
“I have three nosy brothers, parents, and several grandparents who are all very much involved in my life. I’m trying to protect Jude from them for as long as possible.”
“How did you two meet?” Cedric asked.
Jude could feel his face reddening as she recounted how she'd fallen into the canal at The Venetian hotel in Las Vegas.Yet the outrageous story made her glow from the inside out. Her enthusiasm for it was believable.
“You seem embarrassed by this,” Cedric said to him when she finished.
Jude gave a small shrug. “Because I am. She embellished it. But thatishow it went down.”
“What is this wordembellished?”
“It means,” Gemma answered, “that I added to the tale of our meet-cute to make it sound more dramatic than it was. But it felt plenty dramatic to me. It was infatuation at first sight, and Jude here has been devoted to me ever since.”
Why did he have to be the lovesick one in this fake romance?
“Devoted?” Cedric asked. “Give me some examples of how he is devoted. Maybe I need to take notes.”
“You do not have any difficulty with the ladies, Cedric.”
He spread his hands. “But I do not have a girlfriend. So I can improve. Give me some examples of how Jude is devoted.”
Cedric was putting Gemma on the spot, and she was going to have to come up with quick answers.
“Well”—Gemma squeezed the hand that remained on his forearm—“as you can see, Jude's adorably introverted, polite, old-fashioned, noble. He often sends me notes in the mail. Imagine, in this digital age. His notes are swoony.”
“What do you write in these notes?” Cedric asked Jude.
