Getting married was change enough, but becoming a mom? It was so much, and Ari was so behind, and she didn’twantto be any further along, but no one everaskedwhat she wanted; they just made these huge life changes, and—
“Ar? You okay? Did someone nail you in the back of the legs with a shopping cart again?”
Ari looked into her best friend’s eyes, so full of concern, and lied her ass off. “Yeah, totally fine, sorry. Just spaced out for a second.”
She expected that to be enough, but Liana was still scrutinizing her, a sad little smile on her face. “I feel like this is the first time we’re hanging out in weeks, and I dragged you to a freaking grocery store. I’m sorry I’ve been so occupied with wedding stuff.It’s just that everything has to be booked months in advance, and there was that whole back-and-forth about the engagement party and whether to do it even though it has to be so late because of Aliza’s bed rest, and—”
“Lee.” Ari squeezed her arm. “It’s okay. I know it’s a ridiculous time for you right now.”
“Still, we should hang out. I need, like, half an hour after we get back to prep for tomorrow and then can we do a movie night?”
Now it was Ari who was feeling bad. Judah Klein was not someone for whom she should be turning down plans with Liana, and yet… A brief flash of memory from the night before—the way he’d drunk her in from her bedroom doorway as if she were the most spectacular thing he’d ever seen—burst into her brain, rendering her throat dry. “I actually have plans tonight,” she said, hoping her voice sounded casual and not as squeaky as it did to her ears. “Maybe tomorrow night?”
Liana frowned. “I have a couple of parent meetings tomorrow night, and Wednesday night is—”
“Don’t worry,” Ari said with a smile. “I know date night with Gideon is sacred. We’ll figure it out, Lee. We live together, at least until August.” She ignored the way her stomach swooped again, and whether it was from the massive upcoming change in their lives or from hiding the truth about where she was going that night from Liana, she wasn’t sure. But she knew Liana would blow things way out of proportion and make some ridiculous assumptions if she found out.
“Fine,” Liana said grumpily, “but I’m holding you to that. Now come on—my arms are about to fall off.”
Ari was only too happy to oblige.
Chapter Twelve
“Dammit!” Judah all but threw his guitar to the side as he struck the wrong chord for what must have been the twelfth time in a row. He’d started playing to calm his nerves and keep himself busy instead of watching the door, but it wasn’t working. There was an outrageously attractive woman on her way to his apartment for the explicit purpose of hooking up, and he didn’t know whether to be anxious or appalled at himself or unbearably horny, but he was easily straddling all three.
On top of everything else, Judah never had anyone over but Lev. He liked his space, his cleanliness, his order to things. For all that he’d been trying to find a wife, he couldn’t actually imagine sharing a home with somebody, and certainly not sharing a bed. And yet he hadn’t hesitated to invite Arielle when the opportunity arose, even though she had the distinct air of a bull in a china shop.
What the hell is happening to me?
He popped another breath mint and checked his texts, just in case she’d changed her mind and didn’t want to see him again after all. He’d been waiting for that all day, because this made no sense and was utterly ridiculous. Why was she even bothering with a guy who had absolutely no sexual experience? But no, the last text between them was his address and her thumbs-up, which meant—
A knock at the door obliterated the rest of his thoughts, and he sailed forward to answer it a split second before realizing how overeager it made him look. She must have realized it too, because the little smile playing on her gorgeous lips widened into something wicked when he swung it open. “Welcome,” he said, stepping aside to let her in and wincing at how dry his mouth had gone.
Her eyes widened as she took in his apartment, and he was dying to know what she was thinking. Too boring? Too stuffy? Too—
“God, it’s like an actual adult lives here. I don’t think I know another single guy with a sponge organizer by his sink.” She slipped off her coat and tossed it over one of the chairs at his small dining table. “Did you… makedinner?” She looked incredulously down at the table. “This is extremely date-y, Judah.”
He smiled sheepishly. “I’m not trying to turn this into a date; I just… I saw the steaks and thought it’d be nice.”
“You thought it’d be nice, or you hated feeling like this was a booty call?” she asked with an arched brow.
It was incredibly annoying how well she read him. “Can’t it be both?”
She pressed her lips into a thin line and didn’t say anything.
“Okay.” He huffed out a breath and walked past the dining table, dropping onto the small sofa. “I’ve clearly screwed up in some way, but as you well know, I don’t have a lot of experience with this stuff, so can you pleasetellme why this was so terrible?”
“It’s not terrible,” she said, unconvincingly. “It’s just…” She took a seat next to him, keeping a few inches’ distance between them. “I’m good with what we’re doing, Judah. More than good. I am a person who likes to fool around, and for some inexplicable reason, Ireallylike doing it with you. I don’t need to pretend it’s something it isn’t in order to feel okay about it. But I think… I think you might. And you need to know I’m not here to be your rebellious phase or the great regret of your youth or whatever.”
“You’renot,” he said so firmly it startled them both. “I mean, I know that socially I can be a human disaster, but I promise you, I am not self-flagellating. I know we’re just having fun, and I am very, very good with fun.”
“Good,” she said with a waggle of her eyebrow that sent his pulse racing. “Did you have any particular fun in mind?”
He did, in fact—hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it sinceleaving her apartment the night before. His gaze traveled over the soft thighs bared by her dress. “Actually, I, uh…” He coughed, his throat desert-dry. “I can’t stop thinking about making you come.” It came out in a rasp, and he coughed again, moistening his lips with his tongue. “Can I?”
That wicked smile returned to that infuriatingly compelling mouth. “I don’t know, Judah. Can you?”
“Arielle.”
