Chapter 44
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Jess
I slept better than I had in months at least and probably more like years and woke feeling… well, freaking amazing .
Watching Kurt threaten Jude shifted something fundamental inside me. Or, more like, it cemented a realization I’d been slowly but surely moving toward.
Kurt hadn’t left me because I was leavable. Kurt had left me because he was a garbage human and couldn’t handle being honest. And while I believed in the innate value and dignity of every human, I also believed that when a person persists in choosing to harm others, they lose the right to the benefit of the doubt.
So when Kurt held out his weapon and pointed it at Jude, a man he used to call his best friend, it clicked. I no longer had to give him the benefit of the doubt like I’d been trying to do since seeing him again. Even though he’d pissed me off and been rude to me, some hopeful little voice in my head said I needed to admit he might’ve changed, at least to some degree, in the last few years. I certainly had, so who was I to say he was excluded from the possibility?
If he had, it was only for the worse. Because if he was now the kind of man who would stand by while young women were being harassed and assaulted, then he’d gotten worse… or he’d hidden just how awful he’d always been.
As I moved through the day with Jack, the antsy need to see Jude gave me a shot of energy. Or maybe that was the sound, delicious sleep I’d had knowing Kurt was getting what he’d chosen after all this time.
Boy, bye.
“I’m going to miss Silverton,” Jack said, straightening his jacket as we descended in the elevator on the way to the cocktail hour of the final festival event.
“I think it’ll miss you,” I said, meaning it. He seemed to fit in here, and he had so many friends already settled in our small town. “Have you ever considered living here? At least part of the year?”
“Julian’s been trying to get me to move here since he first did. I keep taking shoots at far-flung locations and I guess…” His gaze went distant, like he’d gone somewhere else entirely in his mind… “I guess when I move here, I want to feel like I can be settled for a while.”
Interesting.
Get ready, ladies of Silverton! Hollywood’s heartthrob is thinking about settling down in our beloved little town.
“Makes sense.” I held out a hand, a little sad to be saying goodbye. He was a good guy. “It’s been a pleasure.”
He grasped my hand and shook firmly, then released. “Likewise. Thanks for being low key. And best of luck with… everything. I hope you find great love and happiness.”
See? This guy. Sincere, kind, easy on the eyes… a good egg. “Thank you. I hope the same for you.”
We entered the ballroom then, the room already buzzing with conversation and energy. The festival had gotten incredible press, several of the movies that premiered receiving rave reviews, and the town had flourished. The drama from last night and Anthony Pollusk’s arrest had already been splashed across the news, but as more and more actresses came out and spoke about their experiences, the stories hadn’t been focused on it happening here in Silverton, but that it’d gone on so long and so many had been affected.
Bruce gave me a nod and ushered Jack away, officially relieving me of my duties for the night, and for the festival.
I suspected we’d have a skeleton crew at the office for the next few weeks while everyone recovered. I couldn’t wait to sleep in and have a real weekend soon… hopefully spent with Jude.
Nikki, Winnie, Dove, Jo, Elise, and Catherine approached.
“Are you off? Can we hang out now?” Dove asked, hands clasped in front of her.
I laughed. “Yes. Thank goodness. It’s been a really long week.”
“Lots has happened,” Winnie said, her eyes darting over my shoulder.
My stomach flipped as I turned to see Jude talking to Adam. Goodness, he was handsome in that severe way of his. But I’d coaxed smiles out of him. And now, I knew he loved me .
Not just a little. But like… a whole lot. I’ll die with your name on my lips.
Yeah. Not gonna lie, that had played on repeat in my mind. So had last night, after the drama had ended, and I’d finally been bold enough to tell him how I felt. Terrifying, overwhelming, and so… possible. No longer something I felt I couldn’t have access to, I reached out and took what he offered, and I trusted him. And in a way I never had before, I trusted myself.
“He looks at you like you’re the best thing he’s ever seen,” Dove sighed out.
I chuckled. “Not to be cheesy, but I think he might be the best thing I’ve ever seen.”
They all let out resounding awwwws and then we laughed until Dove nearly snorted her sip of champagne and it ended up coming out her nose.
“I kind of love this, though. I mean, you used to hate him and now you’re in love. It’s just so perfect.” Jo beamed at Jude, and Adam must’ve sensed her attention because he turned and sent her a wink.
“I don’t know that I ever actually hated him. Looking back, I mostly hate how I acted, how I made him the default target for all my frustrations and shortcomings. But I do love him, and there’s something pretty beautiful about the fact that he’s seen me at my worst in basically every sense.”
Jude followed Adam’s look and found me. He sent no wink, nor did he smile. He just looked at me, into me, and it felt like a promise.
“Whew. Yeah. You guys are fire.” Dove fanned herself with her free hand and the others giggled, clearly loving her comment and, I suspected, the reality of me and Jude.
I couldn’t blame them.
Jude and Adam joined us, and Adam’s hand slipped around Jo’s waist before he leaned in and whispered something in her ear. A blush rose to her cheek, and she shook her head but wouldn’t look at him.
Jude simply came to stand next to me, close enough that my shoulder brushed against his arm. I sent him a smile and he gave me more smoldery eyes.
My stomach did a somersault.
“So what’s next for you two?” Winnie asked.
I glanced up at Jude. “Next? Well, I guess scheduling gets easier at work.”
He huffed a reluctant laugh. “True.”
“Oh, Bruce will be happy about that,” Nikki added.
“Anything else? Big plans? Dates? Engagements? Weddings and babies?” Dove pushed.
Elise shook her head, quieter than usual but not so quiet that she didn’t say, “Way too much too soon, crazy face.”
I laughed, though my insides were dancing the conga at the mention of all those future things Jude and I hadn’t gotten anywhere near talking about. I wanted it all, but I genuinely didn’t know where he stood.
But then, he leaned down and dropped a kiss to my cheek. “Sure. Put us down for all of that, as long as it’s okay with Jess.”
His dark gaze found mine and my mouth dropped open. I laughed once, a disbelieving, overjoyed sound, and said, “Yeah. All of that.”