“I don’t have any experience with boyfriends,” Angela admitted, her gaze on her hands.
“You think I’ve had a lot of experience?” Annie asked. “Cole was my first. My dad is very overprotective, so I knew any guy I wanted to date would have to pass his test.”
“Do you think Jude would?”
“Probably more easily than Cole did. Dad knows Jude and trusts him. Those are huge positives.”
Angela appreciated all the insights Annie had offered, and she just hoped that they weren’t for nothing. If Jude wasn’t interested, or refused to act on his interest, it wouldn’t matter how much she knew about him.
She just prayed that it was God’s will. Her feelings for Jude were already so deep that she knew there would be hurt to heal from if he wasn’t romantically interested in her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Jude used his phone to open the garage door at the main house. He’d made arrangements to take Angela out for some driving lessons on the roads off the estate that afternoon.
Kiara had begged to go earlier that day, so Lucy had finally taken her out. Angela hadn’t been as excited to go, so Jude had told her they’d go out later, figuring she’d be more likely to go with him than with Lucy.
He figured it would also be a good time for them to have a conversation. It had been a couple of days since he’d talked with Duncan, and he still wasn’t sure how to proceed.
He wanted to be with her. His heart told him that his life would be so much better with her by his side.
The thought stopped him in his tracks for a moment. He'd been thinking about Angela so much lately that he'd barely had time to consider the bigger implications of his feelings. But there it was—a simple truth that had been building for weeks. His life would be better with her by his side. Not just as someone to protect, but as someone to share his life with.
As Jude stepped inside the garage, he spotted Angela waiting near one of the less expensive vehicles—a silver sedan that they’d used previously.
She wore a thick blue sweater under a black coat, and her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail. The sight of her made his heart beat a little faster.
"Ready for your driving lesson?" he asked, keeping his voice casual despite the energy thrumming through him.
Angela nodded, though he noticed her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her sweater. "I guess so. Though I'm still not sure why I need to learn when I'll always have someone with me who can drive."
"Independence," Jude said, moving toward the driver's side. "Even with a bodyguard, there might be times when you want to be the one behind the wheel."
He opened the driver’s door and waited for Angela to get behind the wheel. Once she was settled, he shut the door and rounded the hood to get in the passenger side.
The interior of the car felt intimate with just the two of them, her subtle scent of vanilla mingling with the leather seats.
When she reached out to start the engine, he stopped her with a touch of his fingers. She looked over at him, her eyes wide.
“Do you really not want the independence that comes with driving?”
“Honestly, driving has always been more Kiara’s dream than mine. I always figured she’d get hers first, and then once we were settled elsewhere, I’d get mine.”
“And now you’re being pressured to get yours sooner than you’re ready,” Jude said.
Angela shrugged. “I guess I just don’t see the sense when there will always be someone around to drive me.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Jude said.
She frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
“If you were out and something happened to your bodyguard, you would need to be able to escape on your own. And if that escape is a car, you need to have the ability to drive it.”
Angela’s brows were arched high as she stared at him. “What might happen to my bodyguard?”
“Anyone who’s trying to get to you will take out the bodyguard first,” Jude said. He hated the worry that was growing in her expression, but he needed her to be prepared. “That’s why we’re teaching you self-defense and how to handle a gun. And that’s why you need to learn to drive.”
“I don’t want to think about anything happening to you,” Angela said.
