Jude laughs easily, unbothered by my brother’s overzealous compliment or the way he’s clearly gawking, his blue eyes rolling slowly from Jude’s shoes to his head, blatantly pausing on the front of his pants. “You turned out okay too, Morgan.”
Marti is watching the whole scene with wide, curious eyes, and I’m watching in horror. I reach out and put my hand on Morgan’s arm and squeeze, hoping he’ll get that it’s a signal to shut up. I look at Jude, who is looking at me with his trademark contradictory lively smile and penetrating eyes. Being his sole focus makes me tingle, as usual. I’m beginning to get addicted to that feeling.
“I brought you a coffee,” he says and hands me one of the cups in his hands.
“Oh. Thanks.” I take it with an apologetic smile. “I don’t usually drink coffee. Only tea and chai lattes.”
Morgan takes it out of my hand and raises it to Jude. “Thanks.”
Jude smiles at him, but his eyes stay on me. I want to look away, but I can’t. It’s like he’s got his own gravitational pull that controls the muscles in my eyes. Not that I’m complaining. I just hope our little audience doesn’t notice how obsessed I am.
“Morgan, the business cards are on my desk,” I say, still staring at Jude. “And if you don’t go soon, you’ll get towed. You’re in a loading zone, remember?”
“Yeah, well, it’s time for a new car anyway,” Morgan quips, and Jude grins at that, finally pulling his eyes off me to glance at my brother.
No longer having eyeball sex with Jude, unfortunately, I manage to turn and grab the cards off my desk and hand them to Morgan. He takes them, sips the coffee he stole from me and holds up the cards. “Going to hand these out for her. She needs the business.”
Wow. That makes me sound pathetic.
“Actually, that’s why I’m here,” Jude says, and those gorgeous baby blues slide back to me. “I want to sell my place and get a new one. And I want you to do it for me.”
“You do?” Is he doing this on purpose? Because he knows I need the business? Or because it’s an excuse for us to spend time together? Do I care either way? No. I honestly can’t say that I do. All I know is that I do need the business, and I do want to hang out with him, so this is pretty much the best thing that could happen, regardless of his motivation.
“Yeah. I’m kind of sick of my condominium, and my sisters visit all the time, so I want something with more space.” He shrugs and tilts his head a little. “A master that’s away from everything so I don’t hear them when they’re up late giggling over wine or up early yammering over coffee.”
“Zoey would be more than happy to help you out,” Morgan volunteers for me, and I nod.
“I’ll help out too. I probably have a lot of listings you’d be interested in,” Marti pipes up and almost startles me. I forgot she was even in the room. “I know all the neighborhoods in the city like the back of my hand too.”
“I’m sure Zoey can handle Jude all on her own,” Morgan interjects and wiggles his bleepin’ eyebrows. I am going to murder him.
Instead of bludgeoning him with the stapler on my desk, I put my hands on his back and push him toward the front door. “Thanks for the lift! Have a great day! Bye, Morgy!”
Morgan starts to wander in the general direction of the door, but he’s still eyeing Jude as he does it. “Nice seeing you again. We should get together for drinks and catch up.”
“That’d be great. Zoey mentioned you’re married now. We could make it a double date,” Jude suggests and drops an arm over my shoulder.
“Yeah, I guess that works,” Morgan says, and I laugh.
“He’s straight, jackass,” I remind him in a loud whisper.
He feigns shock at my swear word, and Jude laughs, arm still draped over my shoulder like a warm, comforting blanket. “I am. But if that changes, you’ll be my first call.”
“Ha!” I squeak and cover my mouth, because that came out way too loud.
Morgan laughs too. “Day made!”
He waves at me and gives me the thumbs-up before finally leaving the building. Finally!
Jude looks at his watch. “Shit. I have to go. Training with the guys. Walk me out?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
We’re both silent as we make our way through the open area, weaving between desks to the front door. Anastasia gives Jude her best alluring smile as he passes, but he doesn’t seem to notice. As soon as we’re outside, he points down the street. “I’m parked over there.”
And then he takes my hand as we start down the sidewalk. I let him but, honestly, it’s confusing. Because every time he does it, it feels intimate, like we’re more than just old friends reconnecting. But we aren’t and we can’t be right now. Still, I don’t pull my hand away, because I like it, whether I’m supposed to or not.
“Are you serious about moving?”
