Chapter 35 #2
There was a group in the corner by the dartboards, and by the look of them—the height, the flannel, and the beards—it was his family.
Finn, who had his sandy brown hair pulled into a man bun, was gesturing with his pint glass as he turned to greet us.
And he was wearing a baby.
“Are you wearing a suit to a bar?” Finn guffawed.
“Did you bring your baby to a bar?” Cole countered.
“This is a family dining establishment,” Finn corrected. “And Adele is at girls’ night with her friends, so Thor and I decided to come out and see Uncle Jude. Plus, I packed protection.”
He pointed to the mini noise-canceling headphones that Thor was sporting.
For eight months old, the little guy was massive. Unable to help myself, I stepped up close and squeezed one of his chunky denim-clad thighs. He looked exactly like Finn, except toothless, and he couldn’t quite rock the man bun yet. I had a feeling he’d be a lot of trouble when he grew up.
“Ah, Dr. Willa is here,” Gus added, leaning forward to kiss me on the cheek. “Which is good, because Chloe keeps dancing in her heels, even though I told her not to.”
“She’s off the clock,” Cole gritted out, pulling me into his side.
I smiled down at the chubby baby. Gah, he was damn cute. He gave me a toothy grin, happy to look around at all the goings-on around him.
Finn, a big Viking with a baby on his chest, was getting a lot of attention. Every uterus in a five-mile radius was staring at him. But I was far more enamored with my husband.
And the vest.
Shit, would he leave it on later? Would it be weird of me to ask?
“It’s fine,” I said, patting Cole’s arm. “Gus, you can’t dictate your wife’s footwear choices.”
With a huff, he lowered his head and nodded.
“You know Adele has been working hard to sleep train,” I said to Finn, giving him my best serious doctor face. “So leave at a reasonable hour.”
“Yes, Doc,” he said, also hanging his head.
Before I could get caught up in more doctorly lectures, Cole steered me toward the stage, giving them both the finger.
“Your suit is ridiculous,” Gus shouted as we walked past.
“It’s a vest,” Cole shouted back. “And I don’t give a shit what you think. I like to get dressed up for my wife.” That admission made a few heads turn.
My face heated at the attention. My brain wasn’t quite making the connection that I was the wife being publicly discussed. In fact, my brain had not been functioning optimally at all tonight. I blamed the vest and lots of hormones. I was a doctor, after all. I had earned the right to blame science.
The band was good. I’d known several of these folks for most of my life, but in an environment like this, when the music brought them to life, it was like seeing them through a new lens.
Jude Hebert was quiet and withdrawn, the kind of guy who nodded when you said hello. Whether that was a product of his childhood, when Noah—his more boisterous twin, usually spoke for him—or what necessitated Noah’s input in the first place, I wasn’t sure.
So watching Jude play guitar and sing backup while keeping time was like watching him transform into a totally different person.
He moved as he played, swaying, his fingers gracefully sliding over the fretboard of his guitar.
“Your brother is talented.”
Cole hummed, the sound rumbling through me. “Debbie begged him to think about music school, but he went to work for the timber company instead.”
“It’s incredible to watch him on stage.”
Cole laughed. “Just wait until they take a break. He’ll flip the switch and be back to his normal self. Mostly silent, and when he does speak, it’s in sarcasm only. He loves writing and playing music. The guitar changes him.”
He wrapped his arms around me from behind as we gently swayed to the music.
It felt so good to be enveloped like this, wrapped up in the safety of his arms in public.
To feel his hot breath when he leaned down to whisper in my ear.
Even though we stood out in our fancy clothes, being here with him was like a dream.
It was only the Moose, a place where people came for waffle fries and draft beers after a long week at work. A place I’d been hundreds of times throughout my life.
But being here with Cole made the experience almost magical. Listening to a great band while a hot guy pawed at me easily topped the list of my top teenage fantasies.
When the band took a break, we headed to the bar for another round of waters. Cole kept me close, always touching my body.
“Have you ever thought that maybe when you’re doing the thing you love the most, the thing you were made for, that you do become different?
A better version of yourself?” he asked, those dark eyes focused only on my face while we waited for Jim, the bartender and owner of the Moose, to bring our bottles of water.
My heart pounded out a rhythm at the intensity with which he watched me. I wanted to grab him by the hair and maul him. I’d never been this girl. I kept my expectations low. I never pushed or acted clingy, and I was grateful for any scraps thrown in my direction.
But standing here with him made me want so much more. He made me feel like I deserved it.