Chasing Serenity (River Rain 1)

“I am in search of a woman of a certain age who is either divorced, or widowed, smart, stylish, has an excellent sense of humor, and most importantly, is adjusted. In other words, no psychos, no stalkers, no drama queens, unless they’re the benign yet fabulous kind, like me, of course, and no vultures,” Chloe decreed.

“Chloe,” Judge warned under his breath.

She turned his way and tipped her head to the side.

“Why?” Genny asked suspiciously.

Yep.

Totally knew her daughter was up to something.

His woman looked back to her mother and bald-faced lied, “No reason.”

“You do absolutely nothing for no reason,” Genny returned.

Judge grunted with the effort to hold back his laugh and that was when he caught Duncan looking at him and silently doing the same.

Judge finally took a sip of his beer.

“I just have a friend there who not-so-recently became a widower and needs a slight… prod to start socializing,” Chloe lied again.

“She’s talking about my father and she hasn’t even met him yet,” Judge supplied, regaining Chloe’s attention and her sharp, “Judge!”

“Chloe,” Genny said slowly. Her uttering her daughter’s name was also openly beleaguered.

“Motherrrr, have you seen Jameson Oakley?” Chloe asked.

“I met him once briefly a long time ago when I was with your father. So, yes, I’ve seen him,” Genny answered.

“Then you know he’s rich and hot and very single. It’s a total waste,” Chloe returned.

“How about you let Judge’s father decide when it’s time for him to start dating again?” Genny suggested.

With zero shame, Chloe immediately turned to Duncan and demanded, “How would you feel right now if I let Mother decide when it was time for her to start to open her heart again?”

Judge had learned that Chloe had interfered rather significantly in Duncan and Genny’s reunion.

He wasn’t God. He had no idea, if she had kept her nose out of it, if they’d all be sitting together right then.

But since they were, the happy couple across from them, and Chloe being at his side, he’d never tell her this, but he was glad as fuck she did.

“Love you, sweetheart, but leave me out of it,” Duncan ordered.

This was translated as he felt the same as Judge, but he wasn’t going to side with his woman’s daughter for a variety of reasons.

Chloe clicked her teeth in such annoyance, she also tossed her hair with it.

Judge didn’t swallow back the chuckle that caused.

Which meant Chloe glared at him. “I’m not being amusing.”

“Yes, you are,” he refuted.

“How about this?” Duncan intervened. “Maybe you meet the man before you start running his life. And I suggest that because, from experience, I’ve learned that meeting you makes a man powerless to do anything but give you whatever you want.”

At that, Chloe verbally huffed, but it wasn’t annoyed even a little bit.

“Gotta admit, he’s right,” Judge muttered.

And that earned him a look from his woman that was so far from a glare, it wasn’t funny.

At that juncture, Genny announced, “Your grandmother has a lot to answer for.” When Judge looked at her, she explained to him, “Chloe is a creature of my mother’s making. I’m officially declaring it right now that I take absolutely no responsibility for it.”

“And my beloved grandmother would be wild with delight at this acknowledgement because she put a good deal of work into it,” Chloe added.

“Then I’m sorry she’s gone so I can’t thank her,” Judge put in.

Now that…

That got him a look that was so warm and tender, seeing it felt like she’d pressed her hand hard against his heart.

“You were right,” Genny said, which meant Judge had to tear his eyes away from Chloe’s glowing, happy, gorgeous face.

But Genny was talking to Duncan.

“Yeah, I was,” he agreed.

“Rude,” Chloe chimed into their private conversation that wasn’t exactly private.

And when she did, Genny turned directly to her daughter and laid it out.

“Duncan told me the man who won you would have to be some kind of man, because you were going to turn his world upside down,” her gaze slid to Judge, “and he was going to love it.”

Judge didn’t move.

Because Duncan was right in what he said.

But it wasn’t only Judge who loved it.

It was Genny too.

Approval from Imogen Swan.

From Genny.

From Chloe’s mom.

Christ.

That hand in his chest didn’t leave.

And it felt fucking fantastic.

“Ma mère chérie,” Chloe said quietly.

She loved it too.

Duncan cleared his throat.

Judge reached for Chloe’s hand.

They linked fingers, but it was Chloe that took it under the table and rested their hands on his thigh.

“Now, stay out of Jameson Oakley’s love life,” Genny demanded.

Chloe’s gorgeous, happy face turned into a gorgeous, pouty face.

Judge chuckled again, which bought him another glare.

It didn’t deter him from leaning in and kissing it.

And when he was done, the server was there with their food.

* * *

Judge had Chloe’s wrists in his hand at the small of her back, his thighs splayed wide because he was astride hers, and he was pumping inside her, hard.