Chapter 30 Charlotte
THIRTY
CHARLOTTE
“Spill,” Lucy demands, her eyes pinned on me as she bounces Ava on her leg. Cal and Jude have just walked away to grab a drink in the kitchen, and she’s wasted no time demanding news from me.
I sit back on the couch. “What do you want me to spill?”
Lucy raises her eyebrows. “How about everything? You’re living with Jude…he has a baby you’re helping him raise…you two are basically playing house. Are you dating?” She asks the question so loud that I wish I could melt into the couch from embarrassment because there’s no way Jude didn’t hear it.
My eyes go wide as my head whips in the direction of the guys. Cal and Jude are on the other side of the kitchen, doing their own catching up, and luckily, they seem to be so deep in conversation that neither one of them heard Lucy’s question.
When I look back at her, I can’t help but narrow my eyes. “You’re one of the quietest people I know, and yet, when you ask me if I’m dating Jude, you ask it so loud?”
Lucy shrugs. “I didn’t ask it loud. Look at them…neither of them heard me.”
I look over my shoulder again to find Jude and Cal still locked in conversation.
Jude has a wide smile on his face, and I try not to focus on how it makes me feel to see him happy like that.
He didn’t say it out loud, but I’m sure it was bothering him to ignore Cal.
I’m sure he’s feeling much better now that his best friend knows about Ava and that he doesn’t have to hide anything anymore.
“Charlotte, did you fall in love and not tell me?” Lucy accuses, her tone full of shock and still way too loud.
I let out a choking sound, and apparently, Ava finds the noise hilarious because she gives me the biggest smile.
“What the hell, Lucy?” I whisper, repeatedly aiming glances over at Jude to make sure he can’t hear the intrusive—and completely false—questions my best friend is asking.
“What’s up with you today? You’re never this nosy. ”
“To be fair, I’ve never seen you look at someone with actual heart eyes. This is new for me, and the only reason I can think of for you to be looking at Jude like that is if you’re in love with him.”
I scoff and shake my head. “Of course I’m not in love with Jude. We’re just friends.”
Lucy raises her eyebrows. “The way he keeps looking over here at you makes it seem like you might be more than friends.”
I groan as I scrub my hands over my face.
Lucy never interrogates me like this. She minds her own business.
Maybe all the time she’s been spending in Manhattan has made her more bold.
“We’re not more than friends. We’re just…
close. But close friends. You know we’ve spent a lot of time together in the off-season.
Everyone else was so busy, and Jude’s fun and a good time, and we hung out a lot and grew close, but that’s all there is to it. ”
Lucy tickles Ava’s stomach before giving me a look that tells me she doesn’t believe me in the slightest. “Mm-hmm. And you living with him? Helping raise his baby? There’s nothing more to that?”
I shake my head. “Besides you, he’s my closest friend. I’d do anything for him, including helping him figure things out with Ava. Plus, how could I not help when he’s giving me a free place to live? I love helping out with Ava.”
Lucy’s back to her normal self and keeps quiet.
I stare at her, waiting for my best friend to respond, but it seems like now she’s deciding to keep her thoughts to herself.
I wait some more, hoping the quiet between us will prompt her to say whatever she’s thinking.
As I do, I let my gaze travel over her. It’s been a couple of months since I’ve seen her in person.
We text daily and do the occasional call, but it’s been a long time since she and Cal have made it out here.
She’s been so busy planning a wedding and putting together her first cookbook, so she hasn’t had time to come for a visit.
I’ve missed her and am so excited she’s here and will be spending most of her time in the Hamptons this summer.
Finally, her shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath. “Can I just say one thing about this, and then I’ll mind my own business?”
I can’t help but smile. “So now you want to mind your business? There’s the Lucy I know.”
Lucy gives a quick eye roll. “Listen, I remember you asking a million questions when you found out about Cal and me. I’m just doing my job as a best friend by ask—”
“Yeah, but you and Cal were a thing. Jude and I aren’t.”
Lucy gives a slow nod, but the way she looks at me through slightly narrowed eyelids tells me she might not fully believe me. “Well, I’m going to say what I want to say anyway.”
All I do is nod, and my stomach twists in anticipation. I can tell just by the anxious way she looks at me that I might not like whatever’s about to leave her mouth. “I love Jude. He’s one of my favorite people on the planet. He’s always been an incredible friend to Cal, and he has a big heart…”
“I can tell there’s a but coming,” I mutter, anxiously tucking a piece of hair behind my ear as I wait for her to continue.
“I just worry about you. We all know Jude. He’s fun and carefree and the biggest flirt there is. He has this way of sucking you in, but he’s not the settling-down type.”
All I can do is swallow, because a few weeks ago, I would’ve said the same thing about him.
He’s never pretended to be anyone but who he is.
But something’s changed. I think he’s only shown everyone who he wants them to see.
Underneath the flirting and the charm and the ridiculous jokes is a man who can be vulnerable and does want to be taken seriously; he just doesn’t show it.
“We’re friends,” I manage to get out before she can say anything else. “I don’t care if he’s the settling-down type or not. That doesn’t matter to me.”
Lucy cocks her head to the side as her eyes scan my face. “Just be careful, okay? You’re living with him, helping him raise his baby, and you guys have always had this flirting thing going on… I just don’t want you to get so lost in playing house that you lose your heart to him.”
I blink a few times as I stare at her, dumbfounded.
I could tell by her demeanor she was going to say something I might not like, but I wasn’t expecting this.
My head spins at her words. She hasn’t even been here twenty minutes, and somehow, she can see right through my lies.
I plaster on a smile and lean forward to tickle the bottom of Ava’s feet.
“You have nothing to worry about, Lucy. Jude and I are just friends who are living together for the summer. There’s nothing more to it. ”
“You promise?”
I hate lying to my best friend. I feel guilty even before the words leave my mouth, but no matter if my feelings toward Jude have changed, I’m not going to act on them.
I know he’s got a lot on his plate, and I’m not going to add to it by asking him to try and start a relationship with me.
I know better. Plus, I have no idea what would happen between us if we did ever try being more than friends.
I know I don’t want to jeopardize the friendship we already have, so no matter what feelings I might be developing, nothing can come from them.
I give Lucy what I hope is a convincing smile.
“I promise. Now, tell me about what’s new with you.”