CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Jude used his phone to open the garage door at the main house. He’d made arrangements to take Angela out for some driving lessons on the roads off the estate that afternoon.
Kiara had begged to go earlier that day, so Lucy had finally taken her out. Angela hadn’t been as excited to go, so Jude had told her they’d go out later, figuring she’d be more likely to go with him than with Lucy.
He figured it would also be a good time for them to have a conversation. It had been a couple of days since he’d talked with Duncan, and he still wasn’t sure how to proceed.
He wanted to be with her. His heart told him that his life would be so much better with her by his side.
The thought stopped him in his tracks for a moment.
He'd been thinking about Angela so much lately that he'd barely had time to consider the bigger implications of his feelings.
But there it was—a simple truth that had been building for weeks.
His life would be better with her by his side.
Not just as someone to protect, but as someone to share his life with.
As Jude stepped inside the garage, he spotted Angela waiting near one of the less expensive vehicles—a silver sedan that they’d used previously.
She wore a thick blue sweater under a black coat, and her hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail. The sight of her made his heart beat a little faster.
"Ready for your driving lesson?" he asked, keeping his voice casual despite the energy thrumming through him.
Angela nodded, though he noticed her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her sweater. "I guess so. Though I'm still not sure why I need to learn when I'll always have someone with me who can drive."
"Independence," Jude said, moving toward the driver's side. "Even with a bodyguard, there might be times when you want to be the one behind the wheel."
He opened the driver’s door and waited for Angela to get behind the wheel. Once she was settled, he shut the door and rounded the hood to get in the passenger side.
The interior of the car felt intimate with just the two of them, her subtle scent of vanilla mingling with the leather seats.
When she reached out to start the engine, he stopped her with a touch of his fingers. She looked over at him, her eyes wide.
“Do you really not want the independence that comes with driving?”
“Honestly, driving has always been more Kiara’s dream than mine. I always figured she’d get hers first, and then once we were settled elsewhere, I’d get mine.”
“And now you’re being pressured to get yours sooner than you’re ready,” Jude said.
Angela shrugged. “I guess I just don’t see the sense when there will always be someone around to drive me.”
“That’s not necessarily true,” Jude said.
She frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
“If you were out and something happened to your bodyguard, you would need to be able to escape on your own. And if that escape is a car, you need to have the ability to drive it.”
Angela’s brows were arched high as she stared at him. “What might happen to my bodyguard?”
“Anyone who’s trying to get to you will take out the bodyguard first,” Jude said. He hated the worry that was growing in her expression, but he needed her to be prepared. “That’s why we’re teaching you self-defense and how to handle a gun. And that’s why you need to learn to drive.”
“I don’t want to think about anything happening to you,” Angela said.
“And I don’t want anything to happen to you.
” Jude reached out and took her hand. “You need to promise me that you will do what I say if we’re ever faced with that situation.
Or if I’m not with you, you listen to whoever is guarding you.
We can’t do our job if you’re trying to keep us from getting hurt. ”
Angela nodded, then her gaze lowered to their hands, his large and tanned against her smaller, fair one.
The simple contact sent warmth up his arm, and he had to resist the urge to intertwine their fingers. He was supposed to be teaching her to drive, not getting lost in her closeness.
"Angela." He had to clear his throat before he could continue. "We need to talk."
She looked up at him, those blue-green eyes searching his face with an intensity that made his chest tighten. "About what?"
The words he'd been rehearsing for days suddenly felt inadequate. How did he explain that she'd become the center of his world? How did he tell her that he thought about her constantly? That somehow she’d undone his carefully controlled life and made him long for things he’d never seriously wanted before?
"About us," he said finally, his thumb brushing across her knuckles before he could stop himself. A flush crept into Angela’s cheeks. The knowledge that he affected her the same way she affected him made him press on. “I think it’s time to have a discussion about what’s happening between us.”
Jude forced himself to release her hand, immediately missing the contact. “But first, let’s get out of here. I don’t feel like having a conversation in the garage where there are cameras.”
“There are cameras in here?” Angela asked, leaning forward to peer out the front windshield.
“There are cameras in all the public areas on the estate.”
“It’s hard to comprehend.”
“Actually, it’s not that unusual,” Jude said. “Most places out in the world have cameras, so you’re being filmed no matter where you go.”
“Oh, I suppose that’s true.”
“For now, why don’t you drive us off the estate, and after a little bit, I’ll take over.”
“Okay.” Angela reached out and pressed the button to start the engine, then she put it into gear.
Gripping the wheel with both hands, she slowly accelerated. The car had been backed in the last time it was used, so she could pull straight out of the garage.
Now having a better understanding of why Angela wasn’t as gung-ho to get her license as Kiara, Jude decided to just focus on teaching her to drive. The license could wait forever if need be. As long as she became comfortable behind the wheel, he wouldn’t press her to get her full license.
He didn’t say anything as she carefully guided the car toward the front gate. It opened as they approached, and Jude lifted a hand at the guard who was on duty.
After they’d pulled through the gate, Angela looked at him. “Which way?”
He considered it for a moment, then said, “Turn left.”
There wouldn’t be a lot of traffic on the portion he was going to have her drive, and since this was her first time driving off the estate, that would be a good thing.
As she drove, he considered yet again what to say to her. He wondered whether Duncan had spoken to her at all about the conversation they’d had.
She drove slowly, her knuckles white from gripping the steering wheel too tightly. Jude resisted the urge to tell her to relax her grip. She needed to find her own comfort level.
"You're doing fine," he said instead, keeping his voice low and calm. "Just keep your speed steady."
The car rounded a gentle curve in the road, tall pines lining both sides. Jude glanced at Angela's profile, noting the slight furrow between her brows as she concentrated.
"There's a turnout about a mile ahead," he said. "We can pull over there."
Angela nodded without taking her eyes off the road. "Is it on the left or right?"
"Right side. You'll see it."
Jude's heart pounded against his ribs as he considered what he was about to do. Nerves weren’t foreign to him. Whenever he went into a high-risk situation with Duncan, there had always been nerves.
However, these types of nerves were new to him. It felt like so much was at stake.
He'd spent years maintaining professional boundaries, keeping his feelings carefully controlled. Now he was about to risk everything.
When the turnout came into view, Angela slowed the car carefully and eased into the space. She put the car in park but left the engine running for the heater.
"How did I do?" she asked, finally turning to look at him.
"Perfect." The word came out rougher than he'd intended. He cleared his throat. "You're a natural."
"I wouldn't go that far." A small smile played on her lips, but it quickly faded.
The silence stretched between them, filled with all the things they'd both been avoiding saying. Angela tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, then clasped her hands in her lap.
"So," she said, her voice soft. "You wanted to talk?"
Jude shifted in his seat to face her more fully. The winter sunlight filtering through the trees cast dappled shadows across Angela’s face, highlighting the uncertainty in her eyes. The car's heater hummed softly between them, creating a cocoon of warmth against the chill outside.
"Yes." He took a deep breath, steadying himself. "I think we both know there's something happening between us."
Angela's cheeks flushed pink, but she held his gaze. "I wasn't sure if it was just me."
"It's not just you," Jude said, the admission sending equal measures of relief and anxiety coursing through him. "I've been trying to maintain a professional distance, but I've done a poor job of it."
"Why?" she asked. "Why try to keep that distance?"
"Because it's my job to protect you. Because you're Duncan's daughter. Because I’m older than you." He ran a hand through his hair. "Because I didn't want to take advantage of your situation."
Angela's brow furrowed. "My situation?"
"You've been through so much change in such a short time. New family, new home, new life. I didn't want to be one more complication."
A small smile touched her lips. "What if I want that particular complication?”
Angela's words hung in the air between them, vulnerable yet brave. Jude's chest tightened as he searched her face, seeing hope and something deeper in her eyes.
"Are you sure about that?" he asked, his voice rough with emotion. “Are you sure there isn’t someone closer to your age and less complicated than me that you’d rather be with?”