She blinked and turned her gaze away from him.
When had she started memorizing these details about him? It was as if she wanted to capture every moment they were together to ponder when they weren’t.
"Thank you," she said quietly, not wanting to disturb Kiara, who had fallen asleep in the back seat.
Jude turned to look at her, his blue eyes questioning. "For what?"
"For helping me study. For believing I could do it when I didn't believe in myself." She twisted her hands in her lap. "For everything, really."
Something shifted in his expression, a softness that made her breath catch. "You don't need to thank me for that."
"I do, though." The words tumbled out before she could stop them. "I don't know what I would have done without you these past few weeks. You've made everything feel less overwhelming."
Jude's gaze held hers for a moment that stretched longer than it should have. Heat rose up her neck as Angela realized how much she'd revealed. She looked down at her hands, suddenly fascinated by the way her fingers tangled together in her lap.
The silence stretched between them, filled with unspoken words that Angela didn't know how to voice. She could feel Jude's attention on her, could sense the tension radiating from his still form beside her.
A sideways glance revealed his gaze was still fixed on her face with an intensity that made her forget how to breathe. The space between them seemed to shrink, though neither of them had moved. Angela's heart hammered against her ribs as she watched something shift in his expression—a crack in the professional mask he always wore.
The SUV hit a rough patch in the road, jolting them both back to reality.
Jude cleared his throat and looked away, his jaw tightening as he stared out the window with renewed focus.
Angela pressed her back against the seat, trying to create a distance that felt impossible within the confines of the vehicle.
Embarrassment filled her as she realized how close she'd come to… what? Leaning toward him? Closing that gap between them? The thought terrified and thrilled her in equal measure.
She’d been so caught up in the moment that she’d completely forgotten that Jude was on the job. Kiara might be asleep in theback seat, but Lucy and the driver certainly weren’t. They could hear everything they said.
"We should be back at the estate in about twenty minutes," Jude said, his voice carefully neutral again.
Angela nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She turned toward her own window, watching the snow-covered landscape blur past as she tried to sort through the tangle of emotions in her chest.
The moment had passed, but the feelings lingered, brightening in her heart. The muted feelings she’d had for Jude had just had their intensity turned way up.
They were no longer something she could easily ignore. But even if she couldn’t ignore them, she couldn’t do anything about them either.
Jude would keep her even more at arm’s length if she had more moments like what they’d just shared. At least she thought they’d shared it. Or had it all been in her mind?
For the rest of the drive back to the estate, Angela kept her gaze fixed on the passing scenery, acutely aware of every shift in Jude's position beside her. The air between them felt charged, like the moments before a thunderstorm when the atmosphere grew heavy with anticipation.
When they finally pulled through the estate gates, Angela felt both relief and disappointment.
Relief that she could escape the confines of the SUV and the intensity of whatever had passed between them. Disappointment that their time together was ending for the time being.
Kiara stirred in the back seat as they came to a stop, blinking sleepily. "Are we home?"
Home. The word still felt foreign on Angela's tongue when it came to the estate, but less so than it had weeks ago.
"We're back," Angela confirmed, already reaching for the door handle before Jude could get out to open it for her.
She welcomed the sharp bite of the air against her heated cheeks as she stepped out of the SUV. She needed something to clear her head, to remind her of the boundaries that existed between her and Jude, no matter what her heart might be telling her.
Duncan was waiting for them in the mud room, his face lighting up when he saw them.
"How did it go?" he asked, his eyes moving between Angela and Kiara.
"We both passed!" Kiara announced, grinning proudly.
