Not for the crowd, but for me. Because I wanted to, because I wantedhim. While I couldn’t explain the crazy feelings I had for Jude, denying them was exhausting and pointless.
“If I hadn’t turned into a jealous asshole later that night at the bar, I would have pretended a little too hard right back,” he whispered, his words fanning hot against my skin and shooting tingles down my arm. His husky chuckle in my ear made the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
I swiveled my head around. Jude’s smile was wicked as he searched my gaze, his eyes dark and full of delicious intent.
“You were really that jealous? Why?” My words were shaky from the quiver running down and all over my body. Something about this man had a visceral hold on me, and I couldn’t squirm away, no matter how hard I tried.
And so far, I hadn’t tried very hard, if at all.
“Because the thought of you with Larry or anyone else drives me crazy. Which makes no sense, especially after the way I’ve acted, but…” He searched my face, a tiny smile sneaking across his mouth. “It’s the honest truth.”
“I get it, trust me.”
His grin widened, and there was sweet, open Jude again. Gorgeous, addictive, and as far as I was concerned, totally worth the wait.
“Good reset so far?” he whispered, resting his chin on my shoulder.
“So far.” I tilted my head from side to side when he lifted his chin. “It’s okay.”
He chuckled and made his way back to his seat. I caught the gaze of a couple at the table behind us and held in a smile when they quickly turned their heads.
So far, it was a fabulous reset.
17
JUDE
“Still nervous?”I asked Claudia as we made our way down the two blocks to Halman’s.
“I don’t know if I’d call it nervous,” she said, distracting me for a second when she lifted her bare shoulder in a shrug. “Jumpy, maybe. Overwhelmed. Whatever it is, it’s stupid. If I’m going to own and run the place, I can’t get anxious when I’m just looking around.”
She stopped and dropped her head into her hands, peering up at me through the cracks in her fingers.
“This is a big step,” I said as I peeled her hands away from her beautiful face. When her eyes searched mine, I spotted the golden flecks in her brown eyes under the streetlight. The vulnerability in her features was something I’d never seen from her, and it made her even more beautiful, if that was possible.
Fighting the urge to pull her into my arms and tell her it was all going to be okay—right after I crushed my lips to hers and pulled her gorgeous body flush to mine—hadmejumpy too.
“The only step I need to worry about is the one into my big-girl pants so I can do what I set out to do. Maybe you could distract me for a minute?”
“Distract you?” I chuckled. “How?”
“I don’t know. Tell me your story. I mean, a condensed version if you want.” She crossed her arms and leaned against the brick wall in front of the market storefront. “You know mine, which isn’t much. I don’t have a juicy past, which is kind of sad.”
“And you think I do?” I sputtered out a laugh.
“Well, I know your parents’ story. Mostly,” she said, her gaze softening when she met mine. “And you’re divorced, but I don’t know any details other than it was enough to make you want to pretend to date me so you didn’t have to date anyone.”
“Claudia,” I breathed out on a long sigh. “I should never have—”
“Stop,” she said, holding up her hand. “That’s not why I brought it up. I wasn’t mad or insulted that you asked me to do that, and I got to cuddle with you in public, so it wasn’t a hardship.” A gorgeous smile broke out on her face. “I’m more interested in why a man like you wanted to pretend he wasn’t single so he couldstaysingle.”
I leaned against the wall beside her and let my gaze drift toward the street. Kelly Lakes hadn’t changed much since I was a kid, and I liked that. Maggie’s cousins lived in town, and she’d always commented about how she couldn’t imagine living here.
I hadn’t wanted to move her somewhere she wouldn’t be happy, but I’d missed it when I left. Things were as they seemed here, something I’d taken for granted when I’d moved away.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t feel comfortable. The last thing I want to do is make you close off after all these weeks of trying to get you to open up.”
I smiled at the curl of her lips, drawn in enough to want to tell her but unsure where to begin.
