After he’d pulled into one of the spots, he turned the engine off but didn’t make a move to exit the car. Instead, he turned to face her, his eyes filled with an emotion she hadn’t seen from him before.
Her guess—her hope—was that it was affection. Maybe something more.
“I’ve gotta get back to the office,” he said, reaching out to take her hand. “But I’ll give you a call later.”
Angela smiled at him as anticipation filled her. “I’ll be waiting.”
He lifted her hand and kissed the back of it. “I enjoyed our time together, and I can’t wait until we can do it again.”
“Me too.”
As they got out of the car, Angelica wondered if he’d hug or kiss her, but he didn’t. She wasn’t sure whether she was relieved or disappointed.
Probably relieved, because she didn’t want their first kiss to be in a garage with cameras focused on them. She suspected that Jude felt the same way, especially because it was still technically business hours.
After taking the empty cups from the car, she said goodbye to Jude, then headed into the house. She tossed the cups into the trash before heading upstairs to find Kiara. She really needed to talk to her sister.
At Kiara’s door, she knocked, then opened it. She found Kiara curled up on the loveseat, her phone in her hand. That was usually how she read, so Angela figured that was what she was doing.
Kiara looked up at her as she approached. “Where have you been?”
She grinned as she dropped down onto the armchair. Pulling her legs up to the seat, she wrapped her arms around them. She rested her chin on her knees. “On a date.”
“Say what?” Kiara set her phone aside and turned her full attention on Angela. “Withwho?”
“Jude.” A smile came to her face as she said his name.
“I’m so confused. I thought Jude said that relationships were a distraction.”
He had definitely said that, but evidently he’d changed his mind. Or maybe he still believed that, but he also wanted to be with her.
“He talked to Duncan about it,” Angela said. “And he told Jude that he didn’t have a problem with it and would stay out of it, leaving it up to the two of us to figure this out.”
“And you think this is a good idea?” Kiara asked.
It was the first time Angela had heard skepticism in her sister’s voice. When she’d told Kiara how she felt about Jude, she’d seemed supportive of her feelings. But maybe that had been because Kiara had figured that the possibility of arelationship between the two of them was unlikely. That Jude would never be interested in her.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Angela said. “Jude is an honorable man. He is strong and protective.”
“He’s boring,” Kiara said.
“He is not,” Angela protested.
“So where did you go on your date?”
Angela hesitated, knowing that that information wouldn’t change Kiara’s mind about Jude being boring.
“We got coffee and went for a drive.”
Kiara laughed. “Like I said… boring.”
“It wasn’t boring,” Angela told her, lowering her legs to the floor. She slipped her hands under her thighs and leaned forward. “It was perfect for us.”
“It wouldn’t be for me,” Kiara said.
“Yes, I know. We’ve always had different ideas of what a perfect date would be.”
“And apparently different ideas of who the perfect man is too.”
