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Lenny came to my rescue in the form of a roll of paper towels, holding it in front of me with a disgusted expression. “What are you doing? Did you take too much of your medication?”
Cleaning up my face and counter, I stuck my tongue out at him. “The tea went up the wrong way.”
He snatched one of the cookies off my plate before I could slap his hand away. “Doesn’t it usually godownthe wrong way, not up?”
“I’m injured.” I pointed at my leg, then lifted my cast. “You have to be nice to me in my time of need.”
He snorted and stole another cookie before going back to Althea, who watched us with an amused smirk on her face. “Jude is being nice enough to you for all of us,” Lenny teased.
Jude threw a piece of my cookie at him, and I squeaked in protest, then pulled the plate as close as I could without setting it down on my lap. “Stop taking my cookies.”
After placing a kiss on my head, Jude joined his mom and my brother in the kitchen. He made sure to leave space between himself and Daisy at all times. I leaned back in my chair and enjoyed the still-warm cookies.
Another cup appeared on the table in front of me, and Jude took a seat next to me, pulling his chair as close as he could.
A wide smile spread over my face at the simple but thoughtful gesture. “My hero.”
Leaning in, he nipped my earlobe. “Always.”
Lenny made a gagging noise.
Jude reached out to grab another cookie from the plate, but his arm stilled when he realized there was nothing left to throw. “Did you eat all the cookies in the two minutes it took me to pour your coffee?”
Shrugging, I took a sip of my coffee, sighing in relief. He’d added a little creamer and no sugar, exactly how I liked it. “Have you seen how quickly food disappears around here? I had to eat them while I could.”
He chuckled, then kissed my head again. I felt eyes on me and noticed his mom watching us. Lenny had gone back to helping her cook, pointedly ignoring us.
“I’m starving.” Freya breezed into the kitchen with Quinn right behind her, followed by Liam. “Hey, Mom.” She leaned in to kiss her mom, then high-fived Lenny. “What’s up?”
Lenny grinned, and I noticed how comfortable he was around everyone. And how everyone made sure to spend time with him.
Freya came up to us next, hugging Jude, then turning to me. “How’s the leg and wrist?”
“Getting better.”
Quinn and Liam did the rounds as well before sitting down at the other side of the table. I hadn’t really talked to Quinn much but knew she was Freya’s best friend and owned a restaurant.
We spent a few hours with everyone, and by the end, I felt a lot less awkward and a lot more like part of the family.
And when Jude slid into bed beside me that night, I didn’t think twice about turning into him.
26
JUDE
“We needsomething on the mother. Otherwise, we’ll have trouble proving a child is better off with their sister instead of their mother and grandparents. They’re loaded and have the means to drag this out.”
Mick, our family lawyer, had looked into the case like I’d asked him to. He’d smoothed all the ruffled feathers when Ariel disappeared with Lenny, explaining that she’d been injured and moved in with me as a result.
Most of them shut up when our name was mentioned. And the few who didn’t, Mick took care of. But Ariel’s mom was more persistent than most. She wouldn’t go away unless we forced her hand.
“I’ll get someone on it,” I replied.
“Good. My assistant sent you the details of the court date.”
“We’ll be there.”
Hanging up, I left the study, where I’d taken the call, and went back to the living room, where Ariel and Lenny were hanging out on the couch, playing Gaia Project, a strategy board game. She and Lenny were currently battling it out, neither willing to admit defeat. They were brilliant when it came to strategy and liked to challenge each other.
