Chapter 14 Em #2
He drops down again to sit on the blanket and stretches his legs out. “Legally husband, but now I’m wonderin’ if there’s someone else visitin’ you every weekend that I don’t know about.”
“Well, duh. I see you on the weekends,” I reply, getting a smile. “That’s why my other boyfriend/partner/husband/handyman/site visit assistant comes to visit me durin’ the week when you’re not here.” His grin turns to a half-hearted glare I know he’s trying hard to seem real.
I reach out and tap my foot to his, making a show of rolling my eyes. “No, hubby. You’re the only man I want visitin’ me, feedin’ me, watchin’ TV with me, pushin’ me to do home renovation projects, and helpin’ me with my nerdy earthquake job.”
A soft smile curves his lips, his eyes crinkling at the sides and making me feel warm all over. “I love doin’ all of that with you, Em. Especially the nerdy earthquake job.”
“I love it, too,” I say just as my stomach lets out a loud growl that has me turning red and grabbing my waist as if to silence it.
Jude just laughs and reaches out for the sandwiches, handing one to me along with one of the bottles of water before grabbing his own. “But yes, I’m your boyfriend/partner/husband or whatever you want to call me right now, and I plan on bein’ your only one from here on out.”
Damn that feels good to hear. “Hope you know the same goes for you too.”
He grins. “If I didn’t before, I do now.”
While we eat, we chat about how I got my job and then he asks me to nerd out and tell him about the volcano we just happen to be eating lunch on, something Jude calls a ‘perk of the job’.
“It’s one of the most active places in the state, seismically speakin’,” I say.
“You brought me on a date to an active volcano. That’s not only sexy, it’s also a little worryin’.”
“Why?” I ask, intrigued and amused.
“What happens if there’s an eruption or an earthquake or somethin’?” he asks, his jaw tensing before he can hide it.
“Don’t worry, hubby. I wouldn’t be allowed up here—let alone bring you along too—if this one had an elevated risk level right now. And, if somethin’ does happen, it just so happens that you’re married to an expert. I’ll protect you.”
He bats his lashes and makes a show of clutching his chest. “My hero.”
“Damn, right.”
The more we talk, the more it hits me how safe he makes me feel. The only times I’ve felt like that before was with my family.
Whether it’s because we know each other better now, or because I’m feeling the power of the Call and the connection we have, it makes me feel that same calm and peaceful way I experienced that day next to Dad’s bedside.
I’m yet to ask Dare about it but his pre-wedding pep talk in the barn makes a lot more sense now than it did at the time.
Especially the part about making sure Jude and I were on the same page.
Funnily enough, it seems like we were, we just didn’t talk about it, let alone realize our story was already being written.
When we’ve finished eating and we’re letting our food settle, I catch Jude studying me. Knowing him well enough by now, I realize he’s weighing something up in his mind. “What is it, hubby?”
“I’ve been wantin’ to ask you somethin’ but we’ve had such a good day so far,” he shakes his head, “actually, don’t worry about it.”
I shuffle forward so that I’m sitting beside him before resting my hand on his hard, muscular thigh. “You can ask me anythin’, Jude. I want you to, no matter how hard or easy or good or bad it might be. Yeah?
His melted chocolate eyes look deep into mine as he takes my hand in his. Another anchor, grounding me, making me feel safe, protected… loved.
“You’ve already told me why you left town the way you did. I’m just wonderin’ if you ever thought about talkin’ to me about it before leavin’.”
I take a deep breath and turn to look out over the untouched beauty spread out in front of us.
“Lookin’ back now, I know I was already gettin’ feelin’s for you, I just didn’t know it then.
Or maybe I couldn’t fathom that I had made a connection with a man I married the first day we met, and who was—”
“A Cooper?”
I shake my head. “That didn’t matter, not anymore, not after Dad chose you for me.
I think it’s because you were always there.
” His lips part and his eyes widen. “And I wanted you there. It was comfortin’ for me, but I also didn’t because it was all too much, too soon, after Dad’s passin’, you know?
” My voice catches the moment Jude wraps an arm around my back and pulls me into him so my cheek is resting on his shoulder.
“This wasn’t supposed to be real and yet there you were, lookin’ out for me, promisin’ to be there no matter what, and makin’ me feel like I had someone there just for me. ”
I feel his pulse spike right as his body jerks. Gazing up at his face, I find his brows furrowed deep before realization dawns. “The letter before the weddin’?”
“Yeah. The moment you took my back at Dad’s bedside, I’d never felt stronger and that was despite everythin’ that was goin’ on with Dad.
I never thought I’d find someone outside of my family that could make me feel safe like that.
It was like I could just let go and didn’t have to worry about holdin’ it together for once. ”
He rubs his thumb back and forth over the back of my hand and I tremble at the warm buzz that radiates over my skin from his touch. It’s no longer startling whenever I feel it now, it’s comforting.
“I meant every word, Em. I didn’t go to the ranch that day for any reason other than followin’ a gut feelin’.” A dry laugh escapes him. “Definitely didn’t expect my entire world to shift the moment I laid eyes on you. Or for Sully to do what he did.”
“That makes two of us,” I quip.
“The moment I saw just how much he wanted it to be me, I could tell it wasn’t just a dyin’ man’s wish. It was—“
“The Call,” I reply. “He knew we were meant to be in each other’s lives.”
Jude smiles down at me. “I’m guessin’ the mountain knew then too.”
“Now who’s gettin’ all deep and meaningful,” I joke, losing myself in the way he’s looking at me. Kiss me, I don’t say.
“You can be however you want when you’re with me, Em. Always.” Jude’s voice has a deep rasp to it now, his eyes dark and hooded again, just like they were earlier.
My gaze roams over his face, taking in every tiny detail. “You really mean that, don’t you.”
He leans in to touch his forehead to mine. “Every. Single. Word.”
His gaze drops to my lips before slowly dragging back to my eyes again. “I like you. Nope, it’s more than that. I’m fallin’ for you, Em. Not because of the Call or the mountain choosin’ us for each other. It’s because it’s you.”
My heart fights to jump out of my chest at his words, especially knowing we’re both feeling the same things at the same speed.
I’m gone for this man. I think I was already half-way there when I left Timber Falls.
Thankfully, the universe decided that fate could wait for a little while, but now that Jude is back in my life, I can’t imagine him ever not being in it.
“Jude…” I whisper, overwhelmed.
“I’m goin’ to kiss you, Em. Been tryin’ to wait for the perfect time but I’m kiddin’ myself thinkin’ there’ll ever be a time more perfect than right now.”
Oh my—
I’m barely able to get a nod out before he cradles my jaw in his hands like I’m the most precious thing in the world to him. Then he brushes his lip against mine once… then again… before I open my mouth and invite him in.
And I’ll tell you right now, there has not and never will be a more perfect second-first kiss with my husband than on that active volcano.
Well, maybe until the next one, anyway. Because something tells me that now that the dam has been broken, there’s nothing holding us back now.