Chapter 11
Meet the Fam
Jules
Wowza. Where does one even begin to focus their thoughts when the world turns upside down?
However, it should be noted that I needed to commit every moment of that kiss to memory.
That was romance-book worthy for certain.
So inspiring that I wanted to transport myself to my computer posthaste and write a scene for Julian and Collette where they have their first kiss.
Inspiration was finally striking while my lips were still tingling, though Julian was looking a whole lot like Noah, which could be problematic.
Seemed like my hero still needed to be fleshed out.
And, at the same time, I wanted to burrow myself into the ground.
How could I have my first kiss—but please not my last—with this man and have an audience as it happened?
My face was certainly flushed, my neck likely red as well.
I pressed my hand to my lips, still feeling the electricity, and met Ivy’s happy gaze right before she sent me a wink. Ahhhh!
“Daddy!” Addie caught my attention as she was dancing with her elephant on the sidewalk. “Who is your friend, and do you like my new skirt?”
Noah cleared his throat, his face betraying his unease at the situation. My stomach dropped. My reaction to our kiss was when could it happen again. Sure, we had stuff to sort, and I had no room in my life for a relationship, but I could handle some more kisses. Sign me up.
That being said, the man had just talked about how he was making his daughter a priority, which I absolutely agreed with, and now she was front row and center to our first lip-lock?
If I’d had a Magic 8 Ball and shaken it right then, the prediction for any future mouth-on-mouth action would be “outlook not so good.” I fought the rising anxiety in my chest and worked to act like all this was normal.
“Hey, Ads, I love the skirt.” Noah’s voice was warm with clear affection even as he clearly struggled with the whole situation.
Same, man. Same.
Addie spun so that the layers of tulle floated up and you could see the multicolored polka dots that filled the skirt. Below it, she wore navy leggings with silver stars that ended at her bright pink Crocs. It was an ensemble, that was for certain.
“This is my friend, Jules.” He gestured in my direction.
“Hey, Ms. Jules, are you and my daddy one kissing friends?” Addie said, peering up at me with an innocent look.
“Like my mommy and daddy two? But now I just call them both Daddy, though sometimes that’s confusing.
” With that little bomb, she again began spinning and swaying on the sidewalk, twirling with Ellie the Elephant.
My reaction was to splutter as I fought needing a paper bag to breathe into. Did I answer her? Kissing friends? Daddy One? “Umm…”
Ivy reached over, tentatively putting a hand on my forearm. “Hey, Jules.” Her voice was warm and held a hint of amusement. “Sorry for the interruption—”
“Are you?” Noah asked.
I looked from Ivy to Noah and noted the look he was giving her. It was one of annoyance mixed with affection.
She had the decency to look a little bit, heavy on the little bit, sorry. “Not like we planned this, Noah.”
“Um.” I looked around at my neighbors’ homes, not wanting any of this to reach the ears of Lou.
Seeing that we had so far escaped any more of this nosy small town’s citizens joining us on this very public sidewalk, I made the only logical decision I could.
“This is my house.” I gestured up the path. “Do you guys want to come in?”
“Do you have a Chief?” Addie asked, a serious expression on her face as she locked her beautiful eyes on me.
“No.” Noah answered for me. “She has a cat named O’Malley.”
Note to self, Chief was likely a dog. Maybe I should follow up on that later.
Did Noah own said pup? Jake and Ivy? How was I crushing on this man when I clearly had a lot to learn beyond the odd, instant connection I felt to him?
Other known facts included that the man loved his kid, he could keep a secret, and was an excellent kisser.
And I knew the info on his taxes. I guess people had dated with less knowledge, right?
Hell, I was certainly trying to write a book with a less fleshed-out background for Julian.
Maybe I should do some more character work?
Refocus, I chastised myself. Important note, would Noah even want to date? I mean, if I referred back to his comment about waiting for Addie to hit eighteen, the answer would clearly be no. But then there was that kiss…
I looked up as Jake cleared his throat, his eyes on Noah. “Interesting that you know that tidbit about her cat,” Jake said under his breath with raised eyebrows and a shit-eating grin. Thankfully he didn’t catch Addie’s attention, but the adults heard him just fine.
Noah scratched his nose with his middle finger.
“Yeah!” Addie squealed. “O’Malley and I can be best friends.” She ran to my front door.
“Well, I guess we’re all going in,” Ivy said, patting her sleeping baby’s bottom as she swayed. “Goddess knows we won’t get her home until she sees the cat.”
I fought hyperventilating again as I walked to the front the door. “Go ahead,” I called to Addie.
She turned the doorknob and walked in.
“Babe,” Noah said as he walked by my side. “You didn’t lock your front door.”
I looked up at him in confusion as we walked in the house and I kicked off my shoes. “Isn’t that the benefit of living in a small town? Lou told me she doesn’t lock her door most of the time unless she’s sleeping or out of town.”
“It’s not safe.” Noah’s voice was growly. It was doing something to me.
Jake laughed as he and Ivy followed me into the house and kicked off their shoes too. “Noah, you know damn well your door often isn’t locked during the day.”
“I’m not Jules,” he replied in a clipped tone.
“Patriarchal nonsense,” Ivy muttered.
“Kitty,” Addie exclaimed.
I looked past the living room to the kitchen. Addie’s legs were sticking out of the entrance to the nook in my kitchen. We all headed in that direction as she pulled herself up and in.
“Momma,” Addie said, peeking back out to look at us. “This is like a clubhouse.”
Ivy stuck her head in to check it out. “It is,” she replied. Looking to the side where my pile of pillows was, she gave a soft smile. “You must be O’Malley.”
I couldn’t see my spoiled cat, but his mrow was loud enough for all of us to hear.
Ivy glanced over at me as she continued to rub Lorelai’s back in the sling. “Will O’Malley want company, or should I tell Addie to hop down?”
“I think they’ll be fine.” I stepped forward to aid in the introductions and popped my head in.
O’Malley was lounging against the jewel-colored pillows, leg up, giving his belly a good bath.
“O’Malley,” I called. When he paused and looked my way, I nodded toward Addie. “This is Addie. Addie, this is O’Malley.”
“May I pet him, Ms. Jules?” Addie was positively vibrating with excitement from holding herself back.
I smiled at her energy. I wasn’t around kids a whole lot, but I could honestly say that so far I liked this one. “You bet, Addie.”
“Gentle,” Ivy cautioned.
Addie dropped to her belly on the cushioned platform and slid over to O’Malley. “Hey, O’Malley,” she said in a hushed voice as she stretched out her hand.
O’Malley stopped his grooming routine and looked her way. He didn’t move, so her hand crept closer, and then she ran her small fingers over his side. I knew Addie had won him over when O’Malley leaned into her and his purr reverberated through the space.
Addie looked to me, her eyes alight with joy as she said in a loud whisper, “He likes me!”
I grinned back at her and stepped away, content to let them continue their new friendship on their own. I turned only to see three sets of eyes fixed on me. Noah’s gaze was wary, Ivy’s was curious, and Jake’s was amused. I guess wanting a relaxing afternoon was not in the cards.
“Um, you guys want something to drink?” I asked, unsure where to even start.
“Jules,” Noah said, stepping toward me, “please don’t feel like you have to entertain us.”
I looked down at the counter for a moment, debating how much of myself I wanted to share. However, if I wanted to be different than I was in Chicago, if I wanted my life to be different, being open and honest was part of that.
I met Noah’s gaze. “It’s okay,” I said softly. “I’d like you guys to stay.”
Noah’s eyes stayed locked on mine for a moment before he brushed my arm, gave me a quick nod, and stepped back. I looked to Jake and Ivy, who were watching us with rapt attention.
“That was electric, right, babe?” Ivy stage-whispered to Jake.
“Electric,” he murmured back, reaching around to squeeze her shoulder.
I quickly made the choice to ignore what I didn’t want to try to decipher and walked over to my fridge.
Opening the door, I took a quick mental stock of what I had available.
“Guys, I’ve got Sport tea, cold-brew coffee, soda, and water.
” Then I looked to my counter and nodded at the container by my coffeemaker.
“I can also make regular coffee, and I have some blueberry muffin bread.” I finally turned back to the three adults standing in my kitchen, wondering how this was going to go.
Ivy looked over at the spot where we could hear Addie chattering on to O’Malley, seemingly telling a story about a bird outside the window and his friends. “One, I hope you know that Addie will never want to leave here now. You might just have to let her move in.”
I relaxed, which I realized was Ivy’s intent.
“And I’d love some tea and some of that bread.” She yawned, attempting to cover her mouth. “Sorry, little miss here was up most of the night.” She patted Lorelai’s butt.
“Is she okay?” I asked, pouring her some tea and putting together the shadows under both her eyes and Jake’s.
“Think so. Likely teething.” She gave me a small smile and a quiet thanks as she took the tea and the plate holding a piece of bread.