She pulled back just enough to look up at him, her blue-green eyes searching his face. "Promise me you'll be careful. Don't take any unnecessary risks."
Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I promise."
The goodbye he had to say to her was the hardest he’d ever said. And as he drove back to his place, Jude was eager to get the trip underway so that he could get back to Angela. The sooner he left, the sooner he’d be back.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
The week Jude was gone dragged for Angela. She’d tried to keep busy, even going so far as to order yarn online so that she could work on a knitting project.
“I could sell that in my on-line store,” Annie said, gesturing to the wool blanket in Angela’s lap. “Or if you want, you could make knitted baby things to sell.”
Angela ran her hand over the soft wool. “I think I might like to do that. Not for the money, of course. I would just appreciate having something to do.”
“I think it would be great,” Annie said. “Plus, you could make scarves and mitts for the shelter next winter too.”
The idea appealed to Angela quite a bit. Her preference might have been to do something with her baking, but that was a bit more challenging. Knitting things to help raise money or to donate to the shelter was a good second option.
She’d always enjoyed knitting, and if it gave her something to do while supporting a worthy cause, then it was a win-win situation.
“Why don’t you do a little research and see what kind of things you might want to make for the store?”
“Sure, I can do that,” Angela said, excited also at the prospect of working alongside her sister.
They still weren’t as close as she and Kiara were, and they might never be, but they were spending more time together. They were currently commiserating over the fact that neither of their boyfriends were at the estate.
Annie was more experienced in dealing with the separation since she and Cole were apart most of the time. He came to visit periodically, and she had gone to LA to attend some games, so they’d seen each other, but it wasn’t very often.
Jude was due back the next day, and Angela could hardly wait. They’d messaged and video chatted during the time he was away, but never for very long.
Her worry about him had abated a bit as the week had progressed. When she’d told Jude that she would be happy for any amount of time they could have together, she hadn’t been lying. But that still didn’t mean she didn’t want to have years and years together. Not just a few weeks.
“So, Jude is due back with Dad this afternoon, huh?” Annie said as she scratched between her dog’s ears.
“Yes, and I can’t wait.”
“No offense, but I find it incredibly weird that you’re dating Jude. I mean, I know we talked about it, but now that it’s actually happening… weird.”
Angela laughed. “Well, it doesn’t feel weird to me.”
“Jude has always been like that annoying, bossy older brother.”
“So you have two of those?”
Annie grinned. “Yeah. Though Julian doesn’t try to boss me around as much anymore.”
“Jude doesn’t really boss me around,” Angela said. “And neither does Julian.”
“So how does Jude get you to do things?”
“Like what things?”
“The self-defense training. The weapons training. Having to wear a gun.”
“Oh. Well, he’s always taken the time to explain to me why it’s necessary. He encourages me to just do my best.”
“I guess you’re more responsive to that than I was. Early on, I did what the security people told me to do. But later, as Benji got older, the demands started to feel more restrictive.”
“I grew up with restrictions that weren’t for my own good,” Angela said. “I know that what Jude is asking me to do is for my own benefit. I know what Jim is capable of, so I’d like to have the knowledge to at least give me a fighting chance against him and Craig, should I need it.”
