A night with the Judge’s daughter might turn out to be a nightmare instead of a dream.
Chapter Eight
Chloe buried her head on the granite countertops of her parent’s kitchen, trying and failing to breathe slowly through her nose. “I can’t believe you invited him to dinner,” she cried, looking up at her mother tossing salad nearby. “I am a young woman - no, a young professional. You can’t just invite my coworker over for family dinner without my permission.”
Her mother smiled softly. She had the same full cheeks as her daughter and long slender fingers. A pink cable-knitted sweater hugged her frame above a pair of light-washed Levis. “I am your mother, Chloe Walker. Doesn’t matter if you’re three or seventy-three, I can invite whomever I want to our family dinners. And I want to meet this young man.”
Chloe groaned into her sleeve. She’d made the mistake of mentioning him to her sister last week and now her family was practically picking out wedding colors. It was a little premature for her taste. Besides, nothing had even happened between Jordan and her. She wasn’t sure it ever would.
He’d very nearly kissed her that night in her apartment, she was sure of it. But over a week had
gone by and…nothing. He hadn’t asked her on a date. Hadn’t mentioned their closeness in the apartment. And certainly hadn’t tried to kiss her again.
Normal Chloe would’ve marched up to him by now and demanded an explanation for his behavior, but this Chloe was too worried about scaring off one of the leads in her Christmas Eve play to confront him. Rehearsals had been going so well lately.
Everyone had their lines down. The singing didn’t make her want to pull her braids out. With only four days left until showtime, it was absolutely necessary everything went perfectly. She couldn’t scare Jordan off. Besides, he was scheduled to leave right after the play. It wasn’t like this was meant to be a relationship. All she had to do was get through tonight without total and complete embarrassment and avoid chasing Jordan off.
Easy enough - for some other family.
“He’s here,” Brianna squealed, peering out the front door. Headlights shown through the windows a second later, confirming her observation. “Oh, and he brought flowers!”
Chloe’s heart rate picked up a notch as she listened for the sound of his door closing. A moment later and he was at the front door, rapping his knuckles on the heavy wooden door.
“I’ve got it,” she announced, almost pushing her sister out of the way. With a deceptively calm smile, she opened the door to Jordan’s handsome face. “Welcome, stranger.”
“Thanks.” He stepped in and held out a small bouquet of pink and yellow lilies that gave off a divine scent that tickled her nose. “I brought these for your mom. I wasn’t sure what to get. Tell me I wasn’t a complete idiot.”
She chuckled and took them from him, warmth building in her chest at the sight of his nervousness. Maybe he did like her. He wouldn’t be so nervous if he didn’t care. “You did great. I’ll put them in some water.”
Leading him deeper into the Walker clan den, Chloe put the flowers in a vase and introduced him to her mother. She smiled warmly and shook his hand, her eyes glittering with unsaid thoughts as she glanced at her youngest daughter.
He already knew Brianna, of course. She was the one to blame for this entire family dinner fiasco. They apologized that Brianna’s fiance couldn’t make it that night. Aaron had been called back in to work. That had been happening a lot lately.
“Daddy’s getting off late from work,” Brianna announced after introductions were made. “A big custody case down at the courthouse. He’ll be here any minute.”
The news seemed to make Jordan swallow loudly. Chloe bumped him with her shoulder and gave him a quick reassuring smile. He had no reason to be nervous tonight. It wasn’t like they were dating and her father was going to meet him on the porch with a shotgun. He was simply a coworker. This was a professional relationship.
She was the one who hoped to get out of this night unscathed.
“Here comes the Judge,” Mrs. Walker announced a few minutes later, spotting the headlights flashing through the lacy curtains of the living room.
The atmosphere in the kitchen suddenly changed. Everyone busied themselves with getting the last few place settings ready and putting the food on the table. By the time the tall and regal Judge Walker strode into the house, supper was ready and everyone had lined up like an old-fashioned greeting party.
“What a welcome,” he said in a booming voice as he walked into the kitchen. He had a smooth shaved head and small wire-rimmed glasses that gave him a scholarly look. A loose tie hung from around his collar, which he pulled off as soon as he hung up his coat. “I see we have a guest.”
“Daddy, this is Jordan Davis.” Chloe cleared her suddenly tight throat. “He’s my coworker and also the lead in my musical. I’ve told you about him.”
Mr. Davis eyed Jordan, his generous lips pursing into a frown. “So, this is the boy you had over to watch movies the other night?”
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Turning to her sister, she glowered at the tattle-tale and then turned back to face him. “Yeah. We were doing research together.”
For goodness sake, she was nearing thirty. He didn’t need to scrutinize her male friends so harshly anymore. And he certainly didn’t need to know about the kiss that almost occurred at the end of that movie night.
“Nice to meet you, sir.” Jordan extended a hand. He was the essence of calm and collected, smiling and nodding his head. “I’ve never met a Judge before today.”
“That’s a good sign,” Judge Walker said, taking his hand in a firm grasp. “Means you’ve never been in trouble before.”
“No, sir.” He shrugged, glancing at Chloe. She swore she could see a bit of humor in his eyes. “I don’t have enough time to get into trouble. Your daughter’s been running us all ragged with rehearsals.”