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Not for a long, long time.
Chapter 12
Chase
Ileanonthecar, nervously twisting the bouquet of flowers between my hands.
This is a risk. In my day-to-day life, I’m always trying to reduce risk. For my clients, for my practice, hell, even for myself. But with Jude, I’m suddenly willing to take risks.
I’m not totally sure where we stand after the wedding shower. Sure, we cuddled and kissed. But after that, we went our separate ways. We’ve been in contact more often than usual, but that’s because our wedding is just weeks away.
And, after seeing what kind of pain her condition puts her in, I insisted I get her in to see a doctor as soon as possible to get the necessary treatments and prescriptions. We went back and forth on the phone until I told her I wasn’t taking no for an answer.
“You’re such an ass sometimes, Chase,” she said.
But it didn’t hurt, mostly because I could hear the smile on her face. “You should have known marrying me was going to come with drawbacks, Jude.”
“Well, if the drawbacks are making me go to the doctor even though you’re paying out of pocket, I guess I could say that’s a pretty swell deal on my end.”
In the weeks since we buried the bourbon, I’ve felt compelled to offer more of myself to Jude. She’s doing so much for me. Hell, she’s even offered her body to have my baby. Whether or not that’s going to be realistically possible remains to be seen. But the least I can do is do everything in my power to help her take care of that body.
However, that doesn’t mean I should be waiting outside her doctor’s office with flowers and a picnic packed in the backseat of my convertible for an impromptu date.
Still, though. I couldn’t resist.
I check my watch for the umpteenth time. Her appointment started an hour ago. Although I guess it’s safe to assume the doctor was probably running late. But hopefully, things are going to plan and there isn’t anything causing her more stress or pain than already –
Reel it in, Chase.
I’ll be patient.
Lucky for me, it only takes about ten more minutes of patience before Jude emerges from the doctor’s office. Her green eyes immediately grow two sizes when she sees me. “Chase, what are you doing here?”
“I’m… picking you up from your doctor’s appointment.” I take a few steps toward her like a nervous animal wondering if a human’s hand is safe. “Is that alright?”
Jude’s mouth drops when she spots the flowers and points. “Are those for me?”
“Yes. They are. Here.”
She accepts them gently into her arms. “Wow, what’s the occasion?”
“No occasion. Other than I’d like to take you on a date if that’s alright. To… practice.”
“To practice,” she repeats with a frown.
I was worried she might reject an outright date, so I came up with this excuse that maybe it’d be good for us to pretend to date in order to have a better handle on how to act out our romantic connection. Now that I’m saying it aloud, it seems rude. “Or a real date. Whatever you want.”
Jude laughs and looks away. “Um. Well, I’m not really dressed for a date. I’m in my doctor’s appointment clothes.”
Jude’s “doctor’s appointment clothes” consist of a loose skirt and a t-shirt tied in a knot to expose just a sliver of her midriff. She looks amazing, no doubt about it. I’d like to tell her as much, but I can’t seem to decide between telling her she looks “nice” or “beautiful”.
“Um, what did you have in mind, though?” she says with a sprightly cock of her head.
“I…” I gesture to the backseat of the car. “Picnic. Beach. Sorry, words, um –”
Jude laughs. “Cat got your tongue?”
“In a sense, I guess, um –”Roll it back, dude.“You look great. Like perfect.”
