Jude (Beautiful Mine #2) (11 page)

I climbed off her. “It’s late.”

Her eyes wrinkled, her lips swollen from kissing me. “Oh. Okay.”

“I’ll take the couch tonight,” I said, “if that’s okay with you.”

EVIE

I pounced on Jude the next morning, barely containing my excitement to wake up knowing he was there. Something about acknowledging my feelings felt sort of freeing.

“Morning,” he said, his dark hair a disheveled mess upon his head. His strong arms reached out, pulling me on top of him as he buried his head in my hair and kissed the flesh of my neck.

“How long are you in town?” I asked.

“I have an open-ended ticket home,” he replied, brushing my long hair out of my face.

I slid off him, allowing him to sit up. “I’m glad you said what you said last night. I was really confused about a lot of things. Still am. But your words solidified some of the feelings I was trying to ignore.”

“Ignoring your feelings is the worst thing you can do,” he huffed. “Believe me. They’ll come out in the worst way.”

I stood up, pulling back the thick, velvet curtains that covered the living room windows. I was okay with letting the light in that day. In fact, for the first time in weeks, I welcomed it. I jerked my body, covering myself with the curtain the second I saw a black Range Rover creeping past my house.

“Shit,” I whispered.

“What’s wrong?” Jude asked, getting up and peering out the window. The heat of his body radiated off of his tattooed physique as he damn near towered over me. His eyes traveled to the Range Rover driving down the street, the only thing that looked out of place in my quaint little neighborhood.

“I think I have a secret admirer,” I quipped.

“That ex of yours,” Jude huffed. “If he bothers you, you tell me.”

I smiled. It felt good to be protected, even if I didn’t always admit it. “What’s the plan today?”

“Hadn’t really thought that far,” he said. “I was half expecting you to slam the door in my face and half expecting you to be with that douchebag ex of yours.”

Jude tugged my arm and led me to the leather armchair by the fireplace, pulling me into his lap.

“I have no interest in reuniting with him,” I assured him.

“Smart girl,” Jude said with an arrogant grin. “Hometown hero who also happens to be a giant douche, or big city guy who happens to be really, really ridiculously good-looking and crazy about you?”

I playfully slapped his chest, appreciating his humor as we forged into the awkwardness of whatever the hell was going on between us. Jude made me laugh, something Julian rarely did. Julian loved me with a serious, unfaltering passion, and he lived his life in black and white. Jude lived his life in pure Technicolor.

“I’m going to hop in the shower, if that’s okay,” Jude announced, gently nudging me off his lap.

“Fireworks tonight?” I called out to him as he trekked down the hall.

“Oh, yeah,” he said. “It’s July fourth, isn’t it?”

***

Nestled along the side of Odemeyer road between car after car full of Halverford locals, we found a sweet little spot in the grass and spread out our blanket. The sun dipped down behind the horizon, and it was only a matter of time before the show began. The instant the sky darkened and filled with a billion tiny stars, fireworks shot up into the night. One after another, bright bursts of gorgeous colors splayed across the sky in various patterns, creating a splendid sight. Pops and crackles ripped through the night air, tickling our ears.

“What would you be doing tonight, if you were back home?” I asked, lying curled up under his arm.

“There’s a little restaurant by the ocean that my buddy owns,” he said. “He usually reserves a table on the roof for a bunch of us. We watch the fireworks from there. It’s sort of tucked away. A special little place.”

“I’m sorry you’re missing that right now,” I said. “It sounds beautiful.”

He turned toward me. “I’d rather be here with you than there.”

“Really?”

“Move to California, Evie.” He propped himself up, sliding his arm out from underneath me as the show continued above us. “I’m completely serious.”

I laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s one thing to talk about it, but it’s another thing to actually do it.”

“If I figure everything out for you and all you have to do is pack your bag and hop on a flight and be there tomorrow, would you?” His hazel eyes were completely serious. This wasn’t just pillow talk.

The fear of the unknown froze my words.

“What’s stopping you?” he demanded to know, his mouth pursed.

“My house, for one,” I said, between pops and crackles. “I don’t know how long it would take to sell it. I don’t know if I even
want
to sell it.”

“I’ll take care of that,” he said. “I’ll buy it from you. You can buy it back at any time.”

“That’s insane,” I laughed. “Also, I need a job.”

“I’ll take care of you until you find one,” he insisted, as if it was simply a drop in the bucket for him.

“Then I’ll feel like I owe you,” I whined. “I don’t want to feel that way. And I certainly don’t want to feel like a mooch.”

“You’re not a mooch,” he said. “And you won’t owe me anything. I want to do this. I want to be with you. I just can’t do the long distance thing. This is the only way it’s going to work, Evie.”

“But can’t you work from anywhere?” I asked. “Your company is online, right?”

“Yeah, but my headquarters is in L.A. I have investors and partners there.”

“Veronica,” I huffed.

Jude’s full mouth parted into a wide smile. “Yes, Veronica. But she has nothing to do with anything. Believe me, that ship sailed years ago.”

“We’re missing the show. Can we talk about this later?” I changed the subject, rolling onto my back and focusing on the bursts of pink and purple and yellow searing through the night sky.

Jude leaned back, dropping the subject until we were back in his car an hour later.

“Evie, we really need to figure something out,” he said as he pulled into the traffic caravan leading out of Odemeyer road.

I played dumb. “What are you talking about?”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about,” he said, his words pressing in with a sense of urgency. “Are you moving west, or not?”

“The thought of picking up and leaving and moving to be with someone I’ve only known a short time is terrifying,” I said, growing defensive. “You have to understand that.”

“Trying to have a relationship with someone halfway across the country is not doable for me.” His hands gripped the steering wheel. “Long distance relationships never work out. I want to give this a fair chance.”

“Where would I live?” I asked.

“You could stay with me until you get a job, and then I’d help you find a place,” he said, as if it were a no-brainer. “And I’m completely serious about buying your house. If you don’t want to sell it, you could rent it out. That would give you some extra income so you don’t feel so dependent on me for things. Not that I wouldn’t help you out.”

I bit my nails, my mind flooded with a nervous excitement. The idea of packing my bags and hopping on a one-way flight terrified me, but on the other hand, it was completely liberating and exhilarating.

“I’d rather not sell my house,” I said. “Just in case this doesn’t work, I need somewhere to come home to.”

“Understandable. I’ll help you find a renter, Evie.”

I glanced out the window at the passing farmland that lined the highway just outside of town. Would I ever miss this?

“Are you sure Jax will be okay with me staying with you guys for a bit?” I asked.

“Jax doesn’t know what day it is half the time,” Jude said with a smirk. “And if he’s not okay with it, well, I own the condo. I’ll just tell him to take a hike.”

I rolled the window down, allowing the muggy July air to seep in and mix with the cool air conditioning that blew on my face, chilling my cheeks. As we entered town, red, yellow, and green lights from the stoplights on Main Street painted our faces and the chirping of crickets filled our ears.

These were the streets I’d driven down my entire life. These were the streets I’d cruised with Carys in high school. The streets I’d driven down on my way to Spencer’s. The curbs I’d sat upon during parades. The ice cream shop I’d frequented as a child. The dress shop I’d purchased my wedding gown from and the jewelry shop that sold Julian my ring.

Jude reached his hand over, taking my hand and giving me a reassuring squeeze. We pulled into my driveway a minute later, silence still surrounding us. I appreciated Jude giving me time to think.

I fanned my face as I stood outside his car, leaning against the door. The sweltering July heat and humidity made my hair cling to the back of my neck.

“You coming?” he asked, his face covered in a light sheen which reflected the moonlight. “I’m swimming in a thick haze out here.”

Though I’d lived there all my life, I’d never gotten used to the muggy summer nights. We headed inside, and I prayed the AC was still cranked and going strong. The second I set foot inside the door, I impatiently yanked off my t-shirt, revealing a thin, lace camisole that barely covered the waist band of my shorts.

Jude flashed a half smile as he looked me up and down. “You’re so fucking sexy, Evie.”

My cheeks burned hot, only from embarrassment that time. Julian had always told me how sexy I was, but I never fully believed him. I’d always thought he was just being nice. Jude’s words were validating.

“Stop,” I batted my hand toward him and then covered my face before trotting off to the kitchen to grab us bottled waters.

I stopped dead in my tracks over the spot where I’d found Julian lying unconscious the day he died. I forced myself to think of something else. I had to replace the bad memories with good ones, or I’d never move on. I’d be trapped, reliving that moment over and over again the rest of my days.

“What’s wrong?” Jude asked when I returned, studying my face.

I shook my head “Nothing.”

“I had fun with you tonight,” he said, taking the bottled water from me, making it look small in his strong hand.

“Me too,” I said. “I’m getting tired. Mind if I go to bed?”

Jude didn’t hide the disappointment on his face. “Nah, go ahead. I’ve got work to do, anyway. Not tired yet. Still on west coast time.”

I hesitated, wondering if I should give him a goodnight kiss.

One step at a time,
I reminded myself.
Baby steps.

“Goodnight, Jude,” I said with a smile before turning on my heel and walking away. I felt his eyes on me as I vanished into the dark hallway.

JUDE

“What would you be doing if you were back home right now?” Evie asked, sitting perched at the kitchen table, her hands cupping a gas station coffee I’d ran out to get that morning while she slept. A box of jelly-filled, sprinkle-covered donuts sat between us.

“I’d probably sleep in until eight or nine,” I said, sipping my own coffee. “Then I’d get up. Take a walk. Grab a coffee. Maybe meet up with friends. Get caught up on some reading.”

“Sounds like a peaceful Sunday morning,” she mused, staring out the window toward the tree-lined street.

“What would you be doing if I wasn’t here?” I asked.

She shrugged, lowering her eyes and pursing her lips. “Probably nothing.”

I flipped the pages of the newspaper in front of me, asking no questions. She didn’t need to explain anything.

“We come from such different worlds, you and I,” Evie said, reaching for a jelly donut. “Are you sure this is going to work?”

“No,” I said, setting the paper down and staring squarely into her eyes. “I’m not sure of anything. But I do know that if I don’t try, I’ll always wonder.”

She cocked her head to the side, nodding as she nibbled her breakfast. Reaching for her phone, she said, “I guess I should put an ad on Craigslist or something to rent this place out.”

Her voice cracked as she tried to hide how difficult it was for her. I knew her home was her sanctuary. I wanted her to feel like she still had a safe place to go, not like some strangers were living there while she was halfway across the country.

She deserved to know about the trust fund. She didn’t have to rent out her house. She didn’t need to give up her sacred space, the place Julian had purchased so that she always had a home.

“Evie,” I said, placing my hand across the table onto hers.

“Yes?” Her big blue eyes looked into mine, searching. For what, I wasn’t sure.

My mother’s threats echoed in my mind. If I told Evie about the trust fund and my mother caught wind of that, she’d sell her share of the company and I’d go under. If Evie found out why I’d kept that information from her, she’d kick me to the curb and I’d never see her again. Telling her at that moment, and so casually over breakfast, didn’t feel right.

“Nothing,” I said, mentally kicking myself for not having the fucking balls to do the right thing. I released her hand, dragging mine back across the table and picking up the paper to bury my nose as she compiled a Craigslist ad on her phone.

“All right. This is happening,” Evie said ten minutes later, placing her phone back on the table and stepping away to throw away her coffee cup. Nothing about the way she spoke told me she was excited.

“You sure you want to do this?” I asked.

“I’m sure,” she replied, though I didn’t believe her.

“I know this is scary for you, Evie, but I’m going to be with you every step,” I said. “I’m your parachute.”

Her sweet lips curled into a smile as tension escaped her face. “That’s cute, Jude. I like that.”

I shrugged. I wasn’t trying to be cute, but whatever.

“I’ll fly you home anytime you want,” I offered. “Your friends and family will always be a plane ride away.”

“I wonder if Carys will move with me?” Evie mused aloud. “She and I could get an apartment together.” She moved around the kitchen, cleaning and wiping things down, a ball of nervous energy. “You know, if you’re going to whisk me away like this, you’re going to have to meet my parents. They need to know who you are and that I’m not being kidnapped or coerced by some psychopath.”

“Fair enough.”

“And you should probably meet Carys, too. I’ve sort of told her a lot about you.”

“Not a problem.”

***

I followed Evie into her parents’ house that afternoon, my stomach twisting with an unexpected tingle of nerves.

“Mom? Dad?” Evie called out from the front door. “You home?”

A middle-aged man missing poked his balding head out from around the corner, and a pleasantly plump woman with gray-streaked brown hair followed him.

“This is Julian’s brother, Jude,” Evie said. “Jude, these are my parents, George and Maureen.”

I extended my hand to her father first, followed by her mother. “Very nice meeting you. I’ve heard so much about you.”

They stared at me as if I were some sort of ghost, and I remembered how much I looked like my brother.

“I’m so sorry about Julian,” Maureen said with sympathetic eyes. “We really loved him. He was gone too soon, that’s for sure.”

“So what brings you to Halverford?” George asked, arms crossed and brows furrowed. He was going to be a hard man to please, I could tell that already. “Weren’t you just here last month?”

Maureen nudged George as if he’d spilled some top secret of hers, and Evie threw them both a knowing glare as if she’d mentioned me to them once before.

“I was just checking on Miss Evie here,” I said casually. “We’ve become quite good friends these past few weeks.”

George’s eyes widened as he drank me in, and Maureen smiled as if she admired me. That, or she couldn’t get past how much I looked like Julian.

“Oh, yeah? Where you been staying?” George asked.

I cleared my throat, searching for the right words.

“At my house,” Evie interjected before I had a chance to respond. “On my couch. I couldn’t have him stay at some flea-infested motel.”

“I’m very grateful for that,” I said with a chuckle.

“Anyway, I just came here to tell you I’m leaving in two days,” Evie said, cutting to the chase.

“Leaving for …?” Her mother’s eyes searched our faces. “Vacation?”

“I’m moving to Los Angeles,” Evie announced. “Just to try something new. I need a change of pace. A change of scenery.”

“What?!” Judging by her mother’s reaction and the hand that clutched the cross around her neck, she wasn’t too excited for Evie to leave. “That’s crazy talk.”

“My mind’s made up,” Evie said with a shrug and a gentle assertion in her voice. “I know you don’t understand any of this, Mom. But it’s just something I have to do, and I just need you to trust me. I’m renting out my house. I leave on Tuesday.”

I watched from the sidelines as Maureen and George scoffed at Evie’s plans, countering with several valid arguments which Evie carefully rebuffed. They shot down her plans left, right and center, but Evie had a response for everything. She’d apparently thought about it more than I realized.

“We should go,” Evie said, turning to me. “I’ll be staying with Jude until I find a place of my own. I’ll call you when I get there.”

She tugged on my arm, and I flashed her parents a friendly smile before turning to leave. I could practically feel George burning holes in the back of my head as he stood there, breathing fire. God, they probably fucking hated me.

“I was worried you were going to change your mind there for a bit,” I said as we climbed back into my car.

“Never,” she said with a smile, her eyes sparkling in the afternoon sun that trickled in the passenger window.

I pulled her hand up to my mouth, gently kissing her soft skin.

The next forty-eight hours were a whirlwind of complete and utter chaos. Evie packed her bags, found a nice young man to rent her place for a year, met up with Carys to explain everything, and kept her best game face on the entire time. If she was having reservations, she sure as hell fooled me.

***

I gave Evie the window seat and sprung for first class tickets, anything to make her more at ease and replace any lingering nerves with excitement. The distinctive, stale scent of airplane oxygen filled my nostrils as we watched throngs of travelers shuffle on board, bags in tow, and find their seats behind us in coach class.

Evie nervously sipped the champagne that’d been given to us the second we boarded ahead of all the other passengers. The first class cabin was sparsely filled, with all the action happening behind us.

The plane taxied to the runway, coming to a stop before furiously taking off like a bat out of hell moments later. My stomach tickled the second we became airborne and Evie reached over to clutch my arm. We were headed to L.A., and there was no going back. At least, not yet.

Evie rested her pretty little head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. I flagged down a flight attended for a warm blanket and covered her up as she rested. I’d given Evie my word. I was going to take care of her, and she trusted me. She trusted me enough to hop on that plane and fly far away from the only home she’d ever known.

We touched down a little after noon, and as we walked hand-in-hand down the terminal and toward baggage claim, Evie said not one word. She didn’t have to. Her face said it all.

“You okay?” I asked, sensing apprehension on her end. She’d been quiet the last four hours. The reality of the situation was probably beginning to sink in for her.

“Yeah,” she said, forcing a smile.

I squeezed her hand and tugged her close as we waded through the sea of people at LAX. Half an hour later, we were locked and loaded, cruising down the freeway to my place.

“You should invite Carys out sometime soon,” I said. I’d been racking my brain for hours, trying to figure out how to make the transition less difficult on her.

“Really?” she asked, perking up a bit.

“Yeah, I’ll fly her out. Name the dates.”

“Oh, you don’t have to pay for her,” Evie insisted. “I’ll use money from my rental.”

I shook my head. There was no sense in fighting a lost cause. This girl refused monetary assistance every time it was offered. No fucking way my mother was right about her. A gold digger Evie was not.

Evie rolled the windows down, the mild California breeze kissing her face and rustling her long, dark hair. She smiled for the first time all day as she soaked in her surroundings, fixated on swaying palm trees lining every street.

I wheeled her bags to my closet the second we got home, sliding a bunch of my clothes out of the way.

“I’ll have to find more room for your stuff,” I said, scratching my face. For a man, I knew I had more clothes than the average guy.

“It’s okay,” Evie said quietly. “I don’t have a lot of stuff, anyway.”

She stared down at her two suitcases and hoisted her carry-on over her shoulder. Her entire life was in those three bags.

“I’m exhausted,” I said, stumbling out of the closet and heaving myself across my fluffy bed.

“Me too.” Evie followed, climbing onto the bed and curling up next to me. I closed my eyes, but I could feel her gaze on my face. I’d have killed to know what she was thinking in that moment, but then again, maybe I didn’t want to know.