Rusty was clearly good with kids. Kayla had been so shy yesterday, but here she was, beaming at Rusty like he was already her favorite person.
“I’m Rusty,” he said. “Is Jude your dad?”
Kayla nodded eagerly. “Gottwo,” she said, holding up two fingers.
Blake glanced at Jude, who had tears in his eyes. He opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, but Jude waved away his concern with his free hand.
“I tear up every time she calls me dad. I’m not over it yet. I love her so much.”
Blake felt everything in him soften, a warm, happy wave washing over him at Jude’s obvious, overwhelming joy at having Kayla.
“So you should,” Rusty said, offering his hand to Kayla. She shook it without hesitation, still clinging tightly to Jude with the other one. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sweetheart. I like your jumper.”
Kayla blushed, almost the same shade as the bright red sweater Rusty was complimenting.
She probably had no idea what he was talking about, but Rusty seemed to have that effect on literally everyone.
When Rusty stood, he took Blake’s hand. The surprise made Blake’s heart pound in his chest, Rusty’s warm skin and callused fingers both strange and familiar against his own.
Blake realized a moment later that whileheknew that Jude knew what was going on, Rusty didn’t.
He wasn’t inclined to tell him right away.
“Oh,” Jude said. “I was hoping to see you again, because I realize now that I forgot to tell youwhyI’d been thinking about you while we were busy catching up. I wanted to offer you a job.”
Blood rushed in Blake’s ears as he blinked at Jude, unsure how to respond to that.
“I have a relatively successful graphic design company now,” Jude said. “It’s just me, but… I couldreallyuse a second pair of hands, especially one with painting experience, which is kind of my weak point.”
Blake raised an eyebrow.
“I can slap paint on a canvas to fill in the shapes I’ve already drawn there,” Jude said. “But you canpaint. You know it’s a different skill.”
Blake swallowed. He didn’t know what to say, here, but a part of him wasthrilledthat Jude was saying this in front of Rusty.
“I… wow. This is a huge offer.”
“You really don’t have to make a decision now,” Jude said. “But it is a serious offer. I probably can’t pay you quite what you make now, but I could definitely pay you enough to live comfortably here. That would be my one condition. We don’t have an office, but I’d want to meet most mornings for coffee and planning purposes. And you’re definitely welcome to a desk at my place, if you need somewhere to work.”
“You’ve thought this through, huh?” Blake asked. He could tell that Jude was serious by the amount of detail he was giving.
“I have. I’ve been thinking about bringing someone else in for a while, and my first thought was you. I didn’t expect to see you back here, but now that you are… just, think about it, maybe?”
“I’ll think about it,” Blake promised.
He doubted he had the courage to go through with a big life change like that, but he liked the idea all the same. Getting to do what he wanted to do—and with someone he knew he could trust—was a dream come true.
Blake just wasn’t entirely sure he had the kind of life where he could afford to dream.
“I’ll let you two go,” Jude said. “And see you tomorrow, at the wedding.”
“Absolutely,” Blake promised. “I hope Kayla’s coming too?”
Jude chuckled. “She picked out a dress a while back and I don’t think anything would stop her. You’ll see.”
“Can’t wait.” Blake beamed, moving out of the way so Jude and Kayla could get past him.
He watched them go, Jude’s offer bouncing around in his brain.
