When I sat down alone in my partially assembled office two hours later, having seen Harv and his men off with many thanks, I actually set a timer so I wouldn’t get so absorbed in the work that I’d forget to finish my preparations for dinner. I gave myself enough time for a shower, too, because a girl wants to be at her best for a man like Jude.
In spite of how eager I was to see him, I got completely drawn into the challenge of setting up my new space, just like I’d known I would. I was concentrating so hard I jumped about three feet when the timer went off.
I took another ten minutes to get to a good stopping point, then hurried to get in the shower, dry my hair, and put on a little makeup. I kept things casual with a pair of frayed denim shorts, a mint green peasant-style top, and flip-flops. I coaxed my hair into a loose side braid, mostly because I didn’t have time to do anything more interesting with it.
Back down in the kitchen, I measured rice into my rice cooker and got that going, then added a can of black beans to the chicken mixture and let it all continue to heat while I waited for Jude. I’d add cheese and sour cream just before we ate.
I kept checking the clock—the round, retro one with an avocado-green plastic frame and a different vegetable in place of each number. It had been hanging above the sink in Grandma’s kitchen ever since I could remember, and it wouldn’t be coming down anytime soon.
At seven o’clock I started getting nervous, knowing Jude could arrive at any minute. I set the table, keeping it simple. No candles or flowers, because this wasn’t a romantic dinner, it was just him being a good friend. He’d watch the video and give me his input, and I’d feed him for his trouble.
At least, that’s how I was trying to look at it. That way maybe I wouldn’t be disappointed if the evening didn’t end like last night had.
With Jude kissing me senseless.
The doorbell rang a few minutes later and I hurried to get it, my heart pounding with anticipation. I put my hand on the knob and blew out a short quick breath as I admonished myself to be calm, casual, and in control. Then I opened the door.
How? How did he get more compelling every time I saw him?
“Hey,” I said, hoping he didn’t notice I’d lost most of that whole calm and in control thing as soon as our eyes met. “Um, how was your day?”
“Good. Even better now.” He watched me for a moment, then raised a dark brow. “Can I come in?”
“Oh. Yes. Of course. Sorry.” I quickly backed up and motioned him in. He was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt that fit him oh so well. I suddenly had a vision of him walking through the office building project with the owner, hardhat in place, carrying a set of plans as he gestured and pointed out details with those powerful, sculpted arms, answering every question with expertise, full of quiet pride in what he and his crew had accomplished.
The image affected me deeply. Everything about him did. I felt connected to him in a way I’d never imagined.
As he walked past me I felt many emotions, and I couldn’t deny that a sense of terror was one of them. I’d never truly fallen for a guy before. I’d liked a couple, but compared to how Jude made me feel, those feelings had barely surpassed platonic.
What was I going to do if it wasn’t happening for Jude like it was for me? He seemed to be on the same page, but I had no idea whether this was new and different for him, or if he was used to relationships developing quickly.
I was well aware I might be on my way to experiencing a broken heart in all its painful glory. The kind of heartbreak people sang sad songs about. Wrote movies about. Never completely got over.
Jude stopped and turned around, and I realized he’d gone about five steps toward the kitchen and I hadn’t followed.
“You okay?”
I nodded and forced my feet to move. “I’m fine. Just glad to see you.”
He stood still, waiting for me to approach. “How glad?” he asked softly.
I cleared my throat. “Glad enough to cook for you,” I told him, managing a teasing smile. “Even though I had a very busy day.”
He raised his chin. “Which we need to talk about. But not quite yet.”
I stopped in front of him and he raised a hand, running his knuckles slowly down my cheek. “How glad, Ava?” he asked again, his eyes crinkling at the corners when he smiled. “It would be a relief to know I wasn’t the only one counting the minutes.”
I loved hearing that, but decided to tease him a little. “Well, in the interest of full disclosure, I was counting the minutes. At least, I was up until the moving guys left. Then I started getting all my stuff set up, and the world outside that room ceased to exist.”
He put a hand to his chest as if mortally wounded and I held up a finger.
“But,” I continued, “as soon as my alarm went off, I started counting the minutes again. Immediately.”
“Immediately?” he asked, giving me the smile I loved. “You sure? Because I won’t settle for anything less than immediately.”
“Very sure. And then I started to get kind of nervous.” I hadn’t exactly planned on admitting that, but it was the truth and he might as well know it.
His expression turned curious. “Why would you be nervous?”
I shrugged self-consciously. “You’re kind of…..all that, Jude.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked, sounding confused.
I looked down for a moment, then squinted up at him, ready to share. “You’re the kind of man who makes every girl’s heart skip a beat, you know? The kind who has a lot of choices when it comes to who you want to spend time with. If I come up short, you’ll stop coming around. And since I kinda like you, that would make me a little sad.”
He cocked his head. “That’s why you’re nervous? You think I’m the kind of guy who jumps from girl to girl?”
I folded my arms and hunched my shoulders a little. “We haven’t even known each other a week. It wouldn’t take much of a jump.”
“But it would still make you a little sad?” he asked, sounding hopeful.
I nodded. “Maybe more than a little.”
“Because I’m all that?” he teased, his blue eyes glinting.
I gave a huff and started toward the kitchen, elbowing him lightly in the stomach as I passed him. “Enough. Are you hungry?”
“You have no idea,” he said fervently. “I didn’t have time for lunch. Knowing you were cooking for me was all that kept me going.” He inhaled deeply as we walked into the kitchen. “It smells fantastic.”
“I hope you won’t be disappointed.”
“Considering how good it smells, I think the only way I’ll be disappointed is if there’s not enough of it.”
I took cheese and sour cream from the fridge and pointed to the big spoon lying on a dish by the Crock-Pot. “Stir those two things into the pot. They’re already measured out. I’ll get the rice and salad dished up, then we can eat.”
“Music to my ears.” He took the lid off the crock. “What’s in this? It looks incredible.”
I told him the ingredients, emphasizing how easy it was so he didn’t think I was Julia Child or something. I was a pretty good cook, but I didn’t want to set his expectations too high.
We sat down at the table and I looked at him a little shyly. “I always pray before I eat. We can just do it silently, though.”
“I’ll say a prayer,” he said, completely unfazed. He reached across the table for my hand, and it seemed like such a natural thing I was positive he’d grown up in a family who joined hands and prayed before their meals. He said a simple but lovely prayer, thanking God for the beautiful weather, our productive day, and for me and my willingness to prepare the meal and share it with him.
When he said amen I felt a little choked up, and I quickly told him to help himself to the food. He dug in, and apparently he wasn’t disappointed in the least. He had three helpings of chicken and rice and two of salad. I offered him ice cream again for dessert, but he declined, saying he couldn’t fit anything else in.
We’d just started clearing off the table when a scratching noise came from the back door. I whirled around and stared at it.
“Don’t tell me,” Jude said, sounding exasperated. He walked right up to the door and swung it open, revealing a familiar black wiener dog gazing up at him with forlorn, adoring eyes.
“Lulu!” I said, delighted to see her. I walked over to her and crouched down. “Awww, she misses you, Jude. Look at those eyes! She got tired of waiting for you to come home and came to find you.”
“I don’t know how she knew I was here,” he said, bending down to scoop her up. She tried to lick his face but he jerked back in time. “What’s the deal, Lu? Chase not giving you enough attention over there?”
“Let her stay,” I said. “I bought a box of doggie treats the other day, just in case she snuck through the fence again. They’re peanut butter flavored.”
“If she likes them, she’s gonna be sneaking over a lot more often,” Jude warned.
“I don’t mind.” I went to a cupboard and took out the box of treats. Jude set Lulu back down on the floor and she trotted over when I shook the box, giving me a hopeful look.
“Here you go, little gal,” I said, holding a treat out to her.
She gave it a sniff, then delicately took it from my fingers. After walking two steps away she abandoned her manners, crunched loudly, swallowed it in one huge gulp, and returned to beg for more.
“I’d say they’re a hit,” Jude observed as he loaded plates and silverware into the dishwasher. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“I’ll text Hannah and let her know she’s over here,” I said, giving the dog one more treat.
Lulu wolfed it down, waited to see if she was going to get another one, then left us to finish the dishes while she sniffed and snorted her way around the kitchen.
“Time to show me that camera video,” Jude said as I folded the dishcloth and hung it on the side of the sink. “We need to figure out what they were after, if not your work.”
“Well, the video isn’t going to tell us that, I’m afraid. There’s nothing interesting on it.”
“Let’s look,” Jude insisted.
I took him and Lulu upstairs, watching his face as he walked into my office. There were still some boxes sitting around, but most of my equipment was in place. There were three large monitors on my worktable, various smaller gadgets scattered around, an impressive array of blinking lights on my modems and switches, and the ever-present quiet hum of the servers.
He stood just inside the doorway and looked around, his expression not giving anything away. I filled the silence by explaining that there wouldn’t normally be so many cables lying across the floor, but I hadn’t gotten around to putting the cable channel across the ceiling. That would get everything up off the floor, making for a much neater, safer workspace.
“I don’t have to work late tomorrow. I can come over and put that up for you if you want,” he said, his eyes still moving over the room, taking everything in.
Wow, a chance to see Jude again and have him do a job I wasn’t looking forward to? I wasn’t going to turn that down. I leaned down to pet a snuffling Lulu.
“That’d be great, if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t. And your door should be delivered on Wednesday. Is Saturday soon enough to get it installed? Chase said he can help me then, if that works for you.”
I straightened back up and gave him an apologetic look. “I feel like I’m monopolizing your time. You’re going above and beyond the requirement for being a good neighbor.”
“I’m happy to do it,” he said as he walked into the room. He turned and gave me a quick smile. “And I hope I’m a little more than a neighbor by now.”
His remark brought back vivid memories of last night in my kitchen, and I quickly bent down to move a cable that didn’t need it, hiding my face.
“Saturday’s fine. But whether it’s as neighbor, friend, or both, I am going to pay you. For the door and the labor. That’s not negotiable.”
“Did I tell you Chase and I only charge five bucks an hour?”
“Each? Or is that a package deal?” I quipped.
“Each. But we can set up a payment plan,” he teased. “Now how about showing me the video?”
I took a seat in front of the middle monitor, found the file and clicked it.
“Here, you sit,” I said, standing and swiveling the chair toward him.
Jude sat, his eyes steady on the screen. I started to move away but he wrapped an arm around my waist and held me there beside him. When the camera view switched from the back of my head to my face and then zoomed in, I felt his arm tense.
“I don’t like it,” he said after a minute, his voice low. “It feels personal. I was afraid of that.”
“But all I ever do in that room is work. If it was personal, why not mount the cameras in my bedroom?”
“I don’t know. Do you always work alone?”
“Yeah, my day-to-day work is all alone. Ian does come over sometimes to get some help on bids. Government contracts are really competitive, and I’m a better writer than he is, so he puts together the numbers, and I write the sales pitches.”
“You’re sure he doesn’t know your security codes? Could he have seen you punch them in when he came over?”
“No. I was always at home waiting for him, so I never had to enter the codes in front of him.”
“You never went out for a lunch break and then back to the house?”
“Not since the whole dating fiasco. And like I said, I changed the codes every week. There’s no way Ian could know them.”
Jude clicked the mouse to pause the video and turned the chair to face me, which meant his arm dropped away from my waist. I wished it hadn’t.
“He’s still at the top of my suspect list, because in his mind, he has a reason to hold a grudge, and out of everyone, he’s the one who had the most access to your house.”
I’d already given this a lot of thought. I understood why Jude would suspect Ian, but I still couldn’t see it.
“I agree with the part about him holding a grudge,” I said. “He does still gets weird on me sometimes. But I honestly don’t think there’s any way he could’ve gotten into my house. And Ian putting cameras in my office makes no sense.”
“That’s the problem,” he said, shaking his head slowly. “None of this makes sense.”
He turned back to the screen and started the video back up again.
“You can fast forward a little bit,” I told him when I got tired of looking at myself. “About a half a minute from the end it switches to the third camera view for a little bit.”
He sped through a section, then put it back to normal speed. He watched the third camera view, then the last part, where I stood up and stretched, with the camera zooming in on my face.
“That’s pretty much it,” I said, reaching across him for the mouse.
“Wait,” he said, catching my hand in his and holding it. “Wait a second, Ava.”
He rewound the video and watched me get up again. I shifted, embarrassed. “That’s the end of the tape, Jude. There’s nothing else after this.”
“Ah,” he murmured softly, gazing at the screen intently. “You might be right after all. I don’t think it’s Ian.”
“Huh?” I asked, wondering why the sudden change of mind.
He reversed the video yet again and pointed at the screen. “When you get up to stretch, the camera zooms in on your face.”
“Yeah, so?”
He shot me a smile. “You have an amazing face, Ava. Really amazing. I could happily stare at it for hours. Days, even. But that stretch—”
Jude’s smile turned a little sheepish and I put my hands on my hips, totally confused. “What, Jude?”
“The way you were stretching there, with your shoulders thrown back—” He shook his head and squinted up at me. “Don’t take this wrong, but it emphasized more than your face. And I don’t think there’s a man alive who would’ve zoomed in past that view instead of watching. Especially a man who already has a thing for you.”
It took me a moment to understand, and when I did I felt heat crawling up over my neck and face.
“Oh.” That’s all I could think to say.
Jude gave me a somewhat apologetic smile and stood, sliding his hands into his back pockets. “Do you have any female adversaries?” he asked.
To cover my embarrassment, I scowled up at him. “I’m a little old to get caught up in a ‘mean girls’ group, Jude.”
“I’m serious, Ava. I think there’s a good chance your stalker is a female.”
“And I think there’s a good chance you’re grasping at straws.”
“Humor me,” he said, giving me a mock-stern look. “Can you think of anyone?”
I cocked my head. “A girl who wants to stare at me while I’m sitting at a computer? No. I can’t think of anyone.”
“Someone who would have a motive to study you,” he corrected. “Who wants to find out what makes you tick.” His eyes narrowed suddenly, zeroing in on mine. “The girlfriend. Ian’s girlfriend. You said she was already in the picture while Ian was pursuing you, right?”
“Abigail? Yeah. She joined the team a month or so before that. Maybe two months.”
“And even then, it was clear she was into Ian?”
“To me it was. She lived in Pennsylvania when she was hired, but moved to DC right after that. She was always finding a reason to be wherever Ian was.”
“So, you saw her—Abigail—interacting with Ian? That’s how you knew she liked him?”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “It was obvious from the beginning.”
“But he was into you when she got there.”
I saw where Jude was going now. I paced over to the window to get away from his knowing gaze. “I suppose. Like I said, I didn’t agree to go out with him until later, but he was trying to talk me into it then. I remember I felt uncomfortable about it when Abigail was around because I could tell it bothered her. And then when we started dating—if you can even call it that—she gave us both the cold shoulder.”
“Did she ever come to your house?”
“She came with Ian a few times after they got together. Not recently, though.”
“Can you think of any possible way she could’ve gotten in and installed the cameras? Would she even know how?”
“Sure, she’d know how. It’s not hard. But I can’t think of any way she could get into my house. I’ve already told you there’s no way anyone could get my codes. Unless—” I broke off as something occurred to me.
“What?” Jude asked. “What are you thinking?”
“Unless she did like you said the other day—talked my mom into letting her in when I was gone.” I turned to face him as I remembered something else. “You know, Mom actually met her once when she came into a café where the three of us were having lunch. It was soon after Abigail moved to the area. Ian brought her along when he was dropping off some equipment for me, and I took them to lunch. I introduced them to Mom when she came in.”
Jude studied me thoughtfully. “Would she have known your mom took care of your plants when you went out of town?”
“Ian knew.”
“Okay, so what’s your relationship with Abigail like now that she has Ian? Any chance she’s still jealous of you, even though she finally got her man?”
“She shouldn’t be,” I declared. “I’ve done my best to make it clear I don’t like Ian that way.”
“But you said he still acts weird with you sometimes. Is it possible he’s still pining for you and Abigail knows it?”
I opened my mouth to assure him that wasn’t the case, but I couldn’t say the words. Because me not wanting to believe something didn’t mean it wasn’t true. Deep down I knew the friction that surfaced periodically between Ian and me had a lot to do with unresolved feelings on his part. I’d always thought it was mostly a pride thing, but it could be more.
Jude waited patiently while I thought things through. I finally gave a frustrated sigh and looked up at him. “I can’t say for sure. But there might still be something there on his part.”
“Something Abigail wouldn’t like?”
“Yeah. Possibly. Probably. She does get catty with me sometimes.” I looked up at him sadly. “You really think it’s her?”
“It makes sense, don’t you think? I doubt the cameras had anything to do with your work. She was using them to study you, so she can emulate you or something.”
I didn’t want to believe it. “That would be ridiculous,” I declared. “Abigail and I are as different as night and day. And she’s as perfect for Ian as I was wrong for him.”
“Ian might not see it that way.”
I folded my arms and scuffed my foot along the floor, not wanting to believe Ian was still that hung up on me. Then another thought crossed my mind.
“The third camera,” I said slowly, speaking my thoughts as they formed. “It’s right over the table where Ian and I work when we’re bidding a job. Abigail knows that, because she came along a few times. Ian told me once that she was always begging to come, but he usually didn’t let her. He said her time was better spent working.”
I looked up at Jude, becoming more resigned to his theory. “Maybe….maybe she wanted to be able to watch Ian and I when he came over for bid work. Maybe she didn’t trust him. Or me.”
“He didn’t let her come because he wanted to be alone with you,” Jude stated. “Abigail would’ve been able to figure that out pretty easily. Which means you’re probably right about that camera.”
“I still can’t imagine she’d go to that extreme. Plus, Ian never acted inappropriately. He knew I’d quit the team if he gave me any reason to think we couldn’t work together.”
“But if Abigail didn’t know that—if she didn’t trust him with you—then the placement of that camera makes perfect sense.”
Lulu snuffled at my feet and I knelt down to pet her. “I don’t know, Jude. It’s really hard for me to believe one of my co-workers would resort to that. I hate thinking about it.” The dog looked at me with sad brown eyes and I gave her an equally sad smile. “It’s awful, huh, Lulu? The thought of someone you know and trust spying on you?”
I heard Jude’s low chuckle above me. “You know something else that’s kind of awful? That sweet little innocent face is the face of a dog who just pooped in the doorway.”
The smell registered at the same time as his words. I whipped my head toward the door and sure enough, there was a sizable pile of Lulu droppings just inside.
“Lulu!” I scolded gently. Her brown eyes became even more morose than before and she dipped her head in shame. And, I mean really, how could I be mad? “Aww, poor doggie. Did you want to go outside and no one was there to take you?”
Jude gave a disbelieving snort. “Seriously, Ava? You’re going to let her off that easily? Lulu does this on a semi-regular basis. It’s the reason I know Hannah’s pregnant, remember?”
I ignored him. “It’s okay, sweetie. Uncle Jude doesn’t mind cleaning it up.”
“You’re the one who wanted her to stay,” he complained, but he went to the door nonetheless. “Is the bathroom down the hall?”
“Next door down,” I said cheerfully. I took Lulu’s head in my hands and scratched her ears. “Thank you, Lulu. I needed something humorous right about now. No more thinking about cameras and mean girls tonight, okay?”
Jude returned with toilet paper and a container of cleaning wipes from under the sink. He efficiently cleaned up the mess and flushed the evidence. I heard him washing his hands and then Lulu and I met him out in the hall.
“Hungry for ice cream yet?” I asked.
“Sure. We can eat it while I beat you at Battleship again. It’s time to put that feud to bed.”
“You’re not going to win,” I warned.
“We’ll see about that,” he replied, too confident for my liking. “However, I’d like to make one final suggestion before we drop the camera issue, at least for the time being.”
“And what would that be?” I asked, standing up with Lulu cradled in my arms.
“Talk to your mom,” he said softly. “Find out if Abigail ever asked her for the codes when you were gone.”
I winced. “That means I have to tell her about the cameras.”
“Or you can come up with some other reason for asking. Something that sounds legit.”
I nuzzled Lulu’s neck. “I’ll figure something out.” I sighed and started walking down the stairs. “I guess if she did give Abigail the codes, our mystery is solved.”
“Yeah, I’d say so,” Jude agreed. “Then there’s the matter of what you want to do about it.”
I grunted. “You mean, like try to forget the whole thing ever happened and move on?”
I got to the bottom of the stairs and put Lulu down. Jude joined me, hands on his hips. “I can understand you not wanting to pursue things to the point where you press charges, but don’t you think you should at least tell her you know what she did? Get her to explain herself?”
I tried to imagine how that would work, and I couldn’t. I’m not a confrontational person. Abigail is. It wouldn’t be pretty.
I gave Jude a rueful smile. “Honestly, even though she’s the one who committed the crime, she’d eat me for lunch if I called her out on it.”
His brows rose and a corner of his mouth curled up slightly. “Is she scary?”
“A little,” I admitted. “She’s real touchy. Good at what she does, but she has a short fuse. I avoid her like the plague when she gets in one of her moods.” I gave a little shudder. “She even looks scary. She’s tiny, but she dyes her hair bright red, wears black lipstick and big, clunky combat boots, and she has more tattoos than bare skin. She’s cute, in her own way, but yeah. Scary.”
Jude put his hands on my shoulders. “Any chance it’s just a façade? That she might not be as tough as she looks?”
“I don’t think so,” I said, shaking my head emphatically. “I think she looks that way because she is that way. Tough, defiant, and in your face. Which isn’t always bad. I mean, if she wasn’t totally obsessive about Ian, I think she and I would’ve gotten along fine. I kind of admire the toughness.”
“Obsessive can be dangerous, and putting cameras in someone’s house isn’t normal jealousy. I don’t know if you should let that go just because you don’t want to face her.”
“I know,” I said miserably, “but we don’t know anything for sure. Not yet.”
“But you’re gonna check with your mom, right?”
I started walking to the kitchen. “I’ll try to. I have to think of a way to bring it up that won’t freak her out.”
“Good.” He followed me to the kitchen. “I’ll stop bugging you about it now. No more talk about the cameras tonight.”
“That sounds good to me,” I said fervently. “Let’s end this evening on a high note.” I looked over my shoulder at him when I got to the fridge. “That means ice cream and me sinking all your ships. Then we’ll be even and I won’t have to worry about you gloating anymore.”
“Bring it, babe.”
***
He beat me again, and the game went back to the closet from whence it came.
“Our Battleship days are over,” I announced, more peeved by my loss than I cared to admit.
“It was fun while it lasted,” he drawled, giving a weary stretch. “I need to get going, though. Another early one tomorrow.”
I closed the closet and walked with him to the front door.
“Thanks for coming over. And for maybe solving my mystery. I hope you’re wrong about Abigail, but I’m not counting on it.”
“I hope I’m wrong, too. Although that would mean we’re back to square one.”
“I’ll let you know when I talk to Mom.” I nudged his arm with my shoulder. “Also….thanks in advance for coming back tomorrow to put up the channel for my cables.” I grinned up at him. “I wanted to mention that just in case you’ve forgotten about your offer.”
He stopped and turned to face me. “I haven’t forgotten,” he said, his eyes twinkling. “And thank you in advance for the good night kiss.”
“I didn’t—”
I’d intended to say I hadn’t made that offer, but I didn’t get a chance to finish. Jude’s hands gripped my waist and tugged me against his body, and any hope I’d had of uttering a coherent sentence went poof.
I was back in my happy place. Since his kisses the night before, I’d almost convinced myself that I’d embellished the experience—that there was no way kissing him could be as good as I remembered.
But it was. When his lips landed on mine, everything else went away. My world shrank to just Jude. The feelings. The rush of sensation. His big, warm hands on my back. His hard chest pressed against me. His lips claiming mine.
I slipped my hands up along his arms to his shoulders, then into his hair. I wanted more. He did too, and pretty soon I was once again up on my toes, my hands molding his head, holding him there, our tongues sliding and tasting, making me feel all kinds of wrecked for him. I never wanted another mouth on mine. Only his.
It was Lulu’s soft whining that finally broke us a part.
“I know that whine,” Jude murmured against my lips. “She has to go out.”
I slumped against him for a moment, waiting for rational thought to return. Lulu whined a little louder, so I reached up for one more kiss, quick and light, before reluctantly leaving the safe, warm circle of his arms.
He looked down at me, his denim-blue eyes glittering in the soft light. “Just so you know, Ava, I think you’re all that, too. And there’s pretty much no chance of me losing interest. So you can put that out of your pretty head.”
I smiled at him, still a little dazed. “Okay then. Tomorrow when I’m counting the minutes, all I’ll feel is anticipation. No nerves.”
He nodded his approval and scooped up the dog. Lulu immediately snuggled up against him and gave me a smug sideways look that said I have him now, sister.
I chuckled and rubbed her neck. “Good night, Lulu. Come again, but do your business first.”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” Jude said with a grin. “Night, Ava.”
“Night. See you tomorrow.”
I watched them go out the back door, my heart full.
Was it too early to count minutes?