“You. I don’t pay Larry much mind—other than last week.”
She widened her eyes for a second before she burst out laughing.
“Peyton said you were jealous and that’s why you seemed so mad. Yes, it bothered me enough to mention it to her.”
I lifted a shoulder. “I was. Feels good to be honest, doesn’t it?”
“It does,” she said, slipping her hand from mine and skimming her fingers up my arm. I stilled as a shiver rolled down my spine from the soft scrape of her nails. “And you would look good in any shirt. Even when I thought you were about to give me a ticket, the way you filled out your uniform was pretty damn distracting.”
I dropped my chin to my chest as a chuckle fell from my lips.
“But I won’t talk about that. We’re just us, whoever that is, as I don’t even recognize myself these days. And since we aren’t doing the whole fake-dating thing anymore, I won’t hang all over you like I did the last time we were in Halman’s.”
“You can if you want. I never said or acted like I minded, did I?”
“No, but I figured that was for the show.” Her smile shrank enough to make me feel like shit for asking her to fake being with me in the first place.
“Trust me.” I tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and let my thumb graze along her jaw. “Maybe I asked you to play along and pretend to be with me, but enjoying it? That wasn’t an act.” I drifted my thumb across her chin and dropped my hand, already itching to touch her again. “Not for one damn second.”
16
CLAUDIA
“Why areyou looking at me like that?” Jude asked after the hostess led us to a table at Salma’s.
“I guess it’s because I’m not sure who you are tonight,” I teased, but I was only half kidding.
Since the moment he’d extended his hand to me on Jake and Peyton’s lawn, all I’d kept wondering was who was this swoony bastard, and what the hell did he do with Jude?
First, it was the hand-holding, then the confessions, followed by the longing looks I caught from him on the drive here. I knew there had been a shift between us after I’d had them over for dinner last week—or at least my pathetic heart was hoping so—but I hadn’t expected him to be this open, and I wasn’t prepared for it.
In all our interactions so far, he’d be open for a little while and then close right back up. I was gun-shy and skeptical this Jude would stay, but I’d enjoy him while he was here.
“Not sure who I am?” His forehead creased as he handed me the long, laminated card that Salma’s used as a menu. “I can show you my badge and license if you want.”
“I’ve already seen your badge, remember? What I mean is that you’ve smiled almost four times since you picked me up, and it was a short ride. You’re almost happy-go-lucky tonight.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Jude scoffed, grinning at me over the top of the menu. “Happy-go-lucky was never me. You can ask my father. Even when I was a kid, he’d always tell me to stop being so intense or else I’d break a blood vessel.”
“I love your dad.” I chuckled. “I could totally see him saying that to you.”
“He’s very fond of you too. It’s why he rushed me out tonight. Well, that and his usual get out of the house so I can have some peace push.”
I cracked up around the rim of my water glass.
“It’s kind of fun watching you two bicker like an old married couple. Well, it was until I opened my big mouth at dinner and made it tense.”
Jude opened his mouth to say something, when the waitress stopped by our table.
“Hi, Sergeant Davis,” she chirped with a big smile. Her blond hair was piled into a bun on the top of her head, accentuating her young features. I guessed she was eighteen at the most. She reminded me of myself when I’d worked at the Palace during my summers and long breaks from school.
“Hi, Laura. This is Claudia. Claudia, Laura’s father is on the KLPD. But I’m not sure when she became old enough to work.” Jude’s warm and easy smile liquefied my knees. Whether he was broody or whatever he was tonight, the man was always beautiful.
“I’ll be a freshman in college this September,” she said with a giggle. “Nice to meet you, Claudia.”
“Very nice to meet you too, Laura.” I returned her grin as she dug into her apron for a pad and pencil.
“What can I get you guys?”
