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Jude’s door is at the very end of the hallway, directly opposite mine in the opposing west wing. There’s a piece of paper on the door. The wordsNO BOYS ALLOWEDare written on it in black Sharpie. I smirk. Caroline’s handwriting, of course.
Light spills out from under Jude’s door. She must not be asleep yet. I rap on the door and wait a moment.
Doesn’t sound like there’s any movement inside.
Leaning toward the door jamb, I call out, “Jude?” in the loudest whisper that I don’t think will be overheard. “It’s me.”
“Come in.”
I open the door, sliding past theNO BOYS ALLOWEDsign as if I’m a vampire who has been invited inside by his prey.
Jude is curled up in bed, her red hair pinned back out of her bare face. She wears a delicate lace nightgown I’m sure Gram gifted to her. Something so innocent and demure about it that makes my insides shudder. She smiles at me. “Didn’t you read the sign?”
I shut the door carefully behind me, wincing at the sound of the lock clicking back into place. “Are you going to tell on me?”
“No, of course not.” Then, she leans her cheek on her knee. “But if Caroline or Gram finds out you’re here, you’re a dead man.”
I chuckle and lean on the big dresser across from the bed. “Don’t remind me. Gram would probably have the wedding delayed if she found out.”
“So superstitious,” Jude tuts. “What have I gotten myself into?”
Though I was desperate to see her, I feel… awkward. Nervous. Unsure how to pass the threshold between us.
To want towantJude is still a relatively new concept. Negotiating it is tricky. While everyone believes we have a year of love under our belt, we barely have a month of… lust. Lust isn’t necessarily fair to say. I don’t want Jude only for our physical connection, nor do I even see what’s blooming between us that way. However, to define it any other way feels rash.
I can’t possibly fall in love with someone in a matter of weeks, can I?
“To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Mr. Gladstone?” Jude asks with a theatrical flair.
I laugh and cross to the end of the bed, gripping the baseboard with my fingers. “I’m afraid I have been plagued with a sleepless night.”
“On the eve of your wedding it seems only natural.”
“Yes, but it is not the wedding that has inundated my thoughts, rather…” I smirk. “Thoughts of the woman I am to be married to.”
Jude puts her hand to her forehead, playing at feeling faint. “Oh, you scoundrel. You will surely ruin my propriety.”
I open my mouth to respond but find myself laughing. A tired, raw laugh. “Sorry, I can’t keep up. You’re too good at this.”
Jude extends her arms in my direction, wordless. She doesn’t have to say anything for me to know that she is calling me over to her, making room for me in the cradle of her bosom. And who am I to refuse, especially when I was tossing and turning, thinking only of her?
I crawl up the foot of the bed and fall into her arms. Being a tall man has its perks, but I don’t often get to feel small. Here in Jude’s arms, I can feel as small as I need to.
And tonight, I feel awfully small.
“I can’t really sleep either,” she whispers into my hair.
I nuzzle the spot where her breast and collarbone meet. A soft place to land. “What’s been on your mind, then?”
“Oh, lots of things.” Jude kisses my hairline, stroking the back of my head.
“Tell me every single thing.”
She laughs. I can feel the laughter resound in my cheek. “You’re more romantic than I ever imagined, Chase. And I imagined a lot of things.”
“See, reality is oftentimes better than fantasy,” I murmur. With my eyes closed, lying against Jude’s breast, I think I might just fall asleep for real.
“That’s true. I never fantasized that you’d be such a fantastic lover when I was a little girl, that’s for sure.”
