“I’ll wait here for you.”
She heard them call Kiara’s name and glanced over to see her sister hurrying over. But before she reached them, Angela was taken to the testing terminal.
After they explained how it worked, they left her to it. Angela took a deep breath and exhaled, then said another prayer before she focused on the test.
While she was confident with most of her answers, there were a few she wasn’t sure about. She knew she could only get six wrong if she wanted to pass, so she hoped she’d done okay.
When she completed the test, she held her breath as she waited for the result. Relief flooded her when a DMV employee approached her and informed her that she’d passed.
Getting up, she hurried back to where Jude waited. His brows rose questioningly as she approached him.
Waving the paper the DMV employee had given her, she said, “I passed!”
In her excitement, and without conscious thought of her actions, Angela threw her arms around Jude. For a moment, she worried that he’d push her away. But instead, his arms came around her, gently holding her close. If only time could stand still. She wanted to bask in the moment and commit it to memory.
But even though she wanted to prolong the contact, Angela released Jude and stepped back.
He smiled down at her with a smile that reached his eyes. This wasn’t Jude, her bodyguard, smiling at her. This was Jude, her friend… the man her heart longed for.
“I knew you could do it.”
“I didn’t get a perfect mark, but at least I didn’t fail.”
“Well, that’s all that matters.”
Kiara came out then to announce to them that she had also passed. Angela hugged her tight, so glad that the test was over. Of course, an even more difficult test was still to come. But she’d deal with that later.
It took them a while longer to finalize everything that would give them permission to drive off the estate. Angela still didn’t have the excitement about driving that Kiara did, but it was probably a good skill to have.
“Will I actually have to drive anywhere?” Angela asked as they got back into the SUV once they’d finished everything at the driver’s licensing office.
“What do you mean?” Jude asked.
“Won’t I always have to have a bodyguard with me? Like Jill said?”
“Yes. I can’t imagine that Duncan would want you going off on your own.”
“So I assume the bodyguard can also drive. Right?”
“It’s true that they could drive you if you preferred that. Most of the time, Annie prefers to drive her own car, and Dawn follows in one of the estate vehicles.”
“I’m sure Kiara will want to drive, even if the bodyguard is in the car with her.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Jude said. “For now, if you want to practice driving with your bodyguard, you can. Or, you can let them drive if you’re more comfortable with that.”
“When will we know who our bodyguards are?”
“I think Lucy will become Kiara’s full-time guard,” Jude said. “We’re still working on yours. But for now, it’s me.”
The joy that information caused her brought a smile to her face. “And I’m fine with that.”
After a beat, Jude said, “So am I.”
With the stress of the test gone, Angela was able to relax in her seat next to Jude.
The quiet hum of the SUV and the warmth radiating from Jude's presence beside her made Angela's eyelids droop momentarily. The adrenaline from passing her test had faded, revealing the effects of the fractured sleep she’d had the night before.
In her relaxed state, Angela studied Jude’s profile as he gazed out the front window—the strong line of his jaw, the scruff on his cheeks, dark lashes that might make a woman jealous.
