His gaze holds mine for a beat, then he looks away. “Yeah,” he says quietly. “Wonder if I’ll be here long enough for that to happen.”
“What does that mean? Are you sick of us already?”
“Nah.” Jude smiles. “But maybe I won’t fit in. You all seem to be a very social group.”
“Oh, be quiet,” I grumble. “You already fit in just fine.”
He frowns. “Do I? Even though I’m threatening to bail the minute your girlfriend and her pals arrive?”
“You just started a new job.” I shrug. “It’s reasonable you’d be tired at the end of the day. Eventually, you’ll grow to love hanging out with us. You won’t be able to get enough of us.”
He laughs. “I don’t know aboutthat.”
The door to the bar opens and Kara walks in, boisterously laughing with her friends. Jude’s face doesn’t change but his body tenses as they approach. However, he doesn’t retreat into his shell like I expect. He greets Kara and her friends and even helps get Jim’s attention so they can order drinks.
“Hey, babe,” she says, coming over to kiss me hello. When the kiss ends, she tugs off the scarf around her neck, and smiles at Jude. “How are you, Jude?”
“I’m doing great,” he says.
“Gosh, you look absolutely exhausted.”
“Do I?” He frowns at his reflection in the mirror over the bar. “I don’t feel exhausted.”
Her expression is empathetic. “It must be so hard starting a new jobandmoving to a new state at the same time.”
“It’s been okay so far.” He glances at me. “Liam’s a great partner. He’s made the transition easier.”
She sighs. “Liam has such a soft heart. He’s the absolute best at making outsiders feel welcome.”
Jude’s cheek twitches, but he says nothing.
I frown. “Jude might be new in town, but I wouldn’t call him anoutsider. He’s already fitting in wonderfully. He’s a great, experienced cop and GPPD is lucky to have him.”
Kara widens her eyes. “Oh, I didn’t mean anything by that comment. Sorry if I misspoke, Jude.”
He lifts one shoulder. “No worries. I am an outsider.”
“No, you’re not,” I say firmly. “An outsider implies you don’t belong here. You do belong here.”
He smiles at me. “Okay, if you say so.”
“I do say so.”
Kara watches out interaction with a strange expression, but then Jim serves her a martini and she’s all smiles again. “Boy do I need this.”
“Did you sell any real estate today?” I ask, pulling a stool over for her.
Kara nods as she takes her seat. “I did indeed. Remember that old two story monstrosity up on Jacob’s Road?”
“I sure do.”
She grins and says excitedly, “Well yours truly signed a contract on it today.”
“That’s great, honey.”
“I know, right? It was a challenge, let me tell you.” She launches into an animated story about what a grump the buyer was and how hard she had to work to make the sale. When she finishes that story, she jumps into another one.
Kara has a vivacious, cheerful energy, similar to my own. Maybe that’s why we hit it off when we first met. But tonight, the way she breezes in and takes over the conversation irks me a bit. The chill vibe Jude and I had before she arrived is completely changed.
