Chapter 29
Emma
The first week back from Venice was lots of calls from Jude, and a snatched lunch date at his office.
We didn’t make it ten minutes before I was picked up and draped on his knee in his big desk chair.
Which, after an incredibly heated make out session, moved to his couch.
The fact I was stripping him before he got me on it shows the depths of lust and desire I harbour for the man.
He’d looked utterly delicious. His suit, a dark navy, the best quality.
Shirt crisp and white. Tie a beautiful silk, which picked out the blue flecks in his eyes.
I could not keep my hands off him. When I opened my dress to reveal the underwear of the day, his eyes became hazy with lust and the couch became my new friend.
But I wanted more of him, and our diaries were keeping us apart. I knew he wanted to come to the house, or for us to be able to go meet his family in Devon—he has a house on the farm he uses for himself—but my kids had not been very friendly, and he needed to sort that out, he said.
I know as soon as he comes through the doors at cricket practice tonight that he’s a man with a plan. His face is set in determined lines. The fierce look in his eyes has me shivering at his touch. Jude Greystone focused is a sight to behold.
“What are you doing here?” I smile confidently at him. He wasn’t expected, but I’m not turning him away.
“Negotiating,” he responds, with grim determination. “The stakes are very high. I’m expecting you to back me up. And be on my team.”
Ah, I see what’s happening here. “There’s teams? You know I am team Jude. But I am also team ‘sons.’”
He checks out where the kids are, and, I notice, where my dad is too. Evidently done his homework.
“I’m going to charm your boys and your dad. Then I’m taking you all out for dinner,” he states confidently. The man thinks he’s a god at negotiating. I put his chances at fifty-fifty.
“I assume I am not part of the negotiation, as they sound more like demands.” I raise my eyebrow at him.
He steps up into my space, his hand behind me so no one can see him pinch my bottom. “No, my sweet. You are not. You know our terms. You agreed to them in Venice.” With that, he grins at me, and I melt. Fair point, I know my negotiation limitations where he is concerned.
Ollie spots him and walks over. “What does he want?” He thumbs towards Jude, completely ignoring him. It’s so rude, I’m shocked. But then he turns towards Jude and addresses him directly, fully facing him down. “We haven’t got anything for you to value.”
“Really? Guess that means I just want to buy you all dinner then.” He smiles at Ollie, who has gone bright red. Definitely being rude has not sat well with him.
But Jude then spots my dad has come free. “Excuse me.” He nods politely at us both and walks over.
“Hi, Mr Lincoln. I’m Jude Greystone, nice to meet you.”
Dad looks suitably impressed with his manners. Ollie is standing beside me, gnashing his teeth together.
“Are you going to let him do this?” He’s looking at me as if I should evict Jude on the spot.
“He’s not causing any trouble. If anything, he’s being uber polite,” I reply innocently.
“It’s an act. He wants this building and our house. Probably got a hidden camera and is videoing his new purchase.” Ollie is glaring his way, and I can barely hear my dad and Jude conversing over Ollie’s grinding teeth.
“Please call me Brian,” Dad says, shaking his hand.
“Great, well it’s Jude then.” He’s smiling at Dad, his charm notching up. “I’ve come to ask Emma to come for dinner, with you and all the boys of course.” Jude looks over at me and then at my kids running lengths of the hall. Yelling their heads off.
Ollie steps towards Dad and Jude, his face a visage of barely contained rage. “We can’t go. We won’t be able to get back home. Grandad, you need to be home for the pub, it’s Friday. And I can only fit three in my car.”
Jude smiles even wider. “No problem. I can take everyone home afterwards.”
He’s made it sound as if they’ve already agreed to dinner. An assumptive close. He’s really good.
He then turns and shouts out to Noah, Nat, and Cal. “Boys, do you want to go for burgers? When you’ve finished here?” Again, asking as if it’s agreed and they’ve only got to pick the food type. Ollie is bright red and fuming.
“I’m not sure I’m allowed at McDonald’s,” Cal pipes up, looking worried. Amy has strict food requirements for him.
“Not McDonald’s. The new burger place in the next street.” Jude wafts his hands around to show where he means.
“Is that the one with the new ice cream parlour?” Noah asks.
Jude nods. “Yeah. If you can eat the burger, you can have an ice cream.” He turns to me. “Can they?” It’s the only chink in this total display of manipulation.
I nod at him. I can’t speak. I’ll laugh.
“We don’t like burgers,” Ollie states, every teenage hormone and rage on show.
“I do,” gets in Nat, looking shocked at Ollie. Ollie rolls his eyes at him, trying to shake his head without shaking his head. “And Cal loves them,” Nat continues. “Don’t you, Cal.” The boy nods solemnly.
“I like ice cream,” pipes up Noah.
Ollie throws his hands up in defeat, glaring at his brothers. Retribution is coming their way.
“Okay, I’ll take you all.” It’s almost as if they’ve asked him, and I am dying with laughter on the inside. “Burger place round the corner when you’re finished.” Jude grins at them all.
Ollie is steaming. “We’ll be stranded,” he says to me out of the corner of his mouth. “Mum, tell him,” he whines, sounding like a nine-year-old.
Before I can point out the issues with the transport, Jude beats me to it. “Well you won’t, because you have a car.” He points at Ollie.
“To be fair, Jude, I do need to get off tonight,” my dad states, looking a bit peeved. I think he wanted to come for burgers.
“It’s really no problem. I have a car. I can take you all home.” He turns to me, smiling like the cat who got the cream, sweeping his arm towards the younger boys. “Cal included.”
“You’ve got a Ferrari,” Ollie states with maximum sarcasm, as if it’s the worst car in the world. “Last time I checked, they only have two front seats and two really tiny ones in the back. You couldn’t swing a cat in there.” His eyes are spitting hellfire.
“Ah well, I’m glad you mentioned that.” He looks around now at his captive audience.
“As I’ve bought a new car. It arrived this week.
An eight-seater Land Rover Defender. Top of the range.
Fits everyone in perfectly.” He smiles around at us all, and I can see the challenge in his eye when he looks at Ollie.
If he says anything else, it will make him look like a brat.
He huffs and stomps off.
“Teenagers,” my dad says to Jude as they stare at my boy’s retreating back.
“Yep, I raised two boys. My sister’s. Was very funny at times. We all lived together and my brothers and I helped her bring them up. It wasn’t without stress, I can tell you.”
Dad pats him on the back. “Good luck. You’ll need it with this lot.” And with his advice delivered, he goes off to sit with the cricket instructors.
“We don’t have to go out. We can go home.” I stand next to him, his scent hitting me right below the belt.
“Well as tempting that would be, I need to get to know the boys.” I can see Ollie watching us.
So does Jude. “Ollie is not happy. But he will be once he knows I don’t want to diddle you out of your building or home.
” He slides a lascivious grin at me. “To be fair, I just want to diddle you, full stop. So maybe he should be worried.”
“You idiot.”
His grin makes me laugh, but it also warms my heart.
“I know for you I am.”
Leaving me staring after him and that admission, he then goes around to the whole of the cricket club and introduces himself. Ollie can’t get his narrative in quickly enough. Jude has stolen his thunder.
At dinner, the fun continues.
“Right, before we order, there are a few formalities to get out of the way.”
Everyone looks at Jude. I’m not sure what he is going to say. I can see Noah roll his eyes at Ollie. The littlest two boys just look concerned.
“I washed my hands,” states Nat, and I grin at him. It’s something we’ve been working on. “We all did,” he confirms and looks at me, unsure what’s happening.
“Not that sort of formality,” Jude advises him. “I’ve brought my payslips and your checklist for you to consider my application to come to your house to see your mother.”
All their mouths open in shock. Nobody has ever asked them for permission before. They never got the chance. Nobody else was brave enough to come back.
He pulls the fake slips out along with a blank piece of paper. “As you can see, I wasn’t lying about the two million. I just forgot to say it’s per month.”
Ollie huffs out a laugh. “Fat chance.”
“No, honestly, I have the proof.” Jude then passes the payslips to Nat.
He scrutinises the numbers, looking around at his brothers. “It does say two million.” His eyes widen as the implications of that number invade his brain. “Wow, we can go out every night for dinner. I’ll do a list.”
Jude side-eyes me, trying to contain his smirk. “What is it about your boys and lists?” He rolls his eyes playfully at me, then raises his voice. “Pass them around. All legit. I swear it.” He puts his hand in the air as if he’s in court and needs to swear on a bible.
Ollie is now rolling his eyes at the behaviour of the younger boys, all of whom are trying to work out the annual salary.
“Think you may have over-egged that one,” I tell him out of the corner of my mouth. He just waggles his eyebrows and smirks.