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Otherwise known as Jude Winslow.
I haven’t told anyone but Dr. Winters—vaguely—about how I’ve been filling my time lately, but there’s a huge part of me that feels like I need to tell someone. Maybe if I could confide in Julie, then I wouldn’t appear so fucking out of it when we’re working.
If anything, I probably should tell her…right?
When I realize Julie is still standing there, waiting for me to answer, I bite the bullet and dish some of the dirty details of my ongoing, top-secret…whatever it is Jude and I are doing.
“Okay…so…I’ve kind of…sort of…been seeing someone,” I confess, and Julie’s eyes expand in surprise, and her mouth quirks up in a giant, happy smile.
“What?” she nearly shouts, and thankfully the music coming from the DJ at the front of the venue prevents her outburst from drawing attention. “You’re seeing someone?”
I nod, but also cringe. “It’s actually who I was on a trip with. When I told you I went to Miami to see my parents, I lied. Which I’m really sorry about. I know it was a shitty thing to do. Please don’t hate me.”
“Okayyy…definitely shitty and I wish I could hate you because I was stuck dealing with the bride from hell’s meltdown for nearly three days, but I can’t. At least, not until I find out if the reason for your absence is something I want to hear about. I mean, I’ve been waiting for the Ding-Dong Dish from you for years.” She offers a small, forgiving smile. “So, tell me, what in the hell were you doing? Where did you go if not to Miami?”
“We went to Vegas.”
“Vegas?!” Her jaw damn near hits the tops of her nude pumps, and this time, her voice rises over the DJ’s music enough to grab a few wedding guests’ attention. “Holy balls, Soph! Did you, like, run off and get married?!”
“Shh,” I say and lift my index finger to my lips. “And oh my God, no,” I quickly answer and shake my head maniacally. “No. I did not get married. It was just for fun. That’s it.”
“Phew. Okay.” She puts a hand to her chest and lets out a relieved breath. “Because I was going to say if you went off and got hitched and I didn’t get to be a part of planning your big day, I’d straight up murder you.”
“It wasn’t like that. I promise,” I add. “He’s just a guy I’ve been spending a lot of time with. A guy I’ve been having a lot of fun with. A guy I haven’t told anyone but you about.”
“You haven’t even told Belle? Or Katelynn?”
I shake my head.
“Man ohhh man…” She lets out a low whistle as another stupid smile covers her face. “This is seriously the best news I’ve heard all week.”
“What?” A barking laugh pops from my throat. “Why?”
“Because you never let yourself do anything like this, and I’m just happy you’re finally having some damn fun.”
She’s not wrong. I mean, it’s a point my therapist has been trying to get through my head.
“So…” She scrutinizes my face like she’s trying to solve a crime. “I know you’re having fun with him…but do you think it’s going to go anywhere?”
“Uh…” I pause, completely unsure of what to say. Frankly, the whole prospect of that question makes me feel like I’ve come down with a sudden bout of vertigo.
Jude Winslow isn’t the kind of guy who settles down, but when I think about the time we’ve spent together, how close we’ve been getting lately, it definitely doesn’t feel like we’re just a random hookup.
I mean, he took me on a work trip with him. Told me about his family. Heck, he even remembers when I tell him things like I always wanted to be a Girl Scout, and then, takes it a step further by trying to make that dream come true in a sexy, dirty, but super-sweet way.
“I don’t know.”
It’s all I can answer. Because I really, truly don’t know what it is that we’re doing. Still, though, I kind of wish I’d have just said no. Because it feels like hope is already creeping in.
“Gotcha.” Julie just nods. “Well, I’m hoping it turns into something and I can meet this guy, whoever he is. Because a man who can get Sophie Sage to take a last-minute trip to Vegas must be pretty damn spectacular.”
I open my mouth to respond, but when no words come out, I quickly shut it and busy myself with a double-check of the cake table.
And by the time the DJ announces for everyone to gather around the rear of the room to watch the happy couple cut the cake, I head back toward the kitchen area to make sure waitstaff is ready to start serving the extra dessert add-ons the bride wanted for her guests.
