“’Cause he’s dating you,” he says like it answers all.
He’s so frustrating! I want to strangle him!
“I love
her,” Jude says just as I’m about to say something. I look at him and Phillip does the same as Jude walks up beside me, lacing his fingers with mine. “And I know that means nothing to you. I know you see me as some punk kid off the street, but I am actually a good guy, and I love her so much. I don’t ever want anything bad to happen to her. I would like nothing more than to have the opportunity to prove that to you.”
I squeeze his hand, and he looks down at me as I smile. When I glance at Phillip, he’s looking at us, shaking his head. I think he’s going to say something amazing, like “Yes, Jude, I accept you,” but instead he says, “Dinner is ready.”
As he heads to the kitchen, I shake my head and say, “What an ass!”
Jude kisses my jaw and then whispers, “It’s going to work out.”
Pulling back, I meet his gaze. “I hope you’re right.”
“Aren’t I always?”
He gives me a goofy grin and I laugh. “Sure,” I say offhandedly and then pull him to the living room where we discard our jackets before heading to the dining room. Phillip is sitting at the head of the table, his phone out, as Reese brings out the food.
“Do you need help?” I ask and she shakes her head, sending me a grin.
“No, babe, I’m done. Y’all have a seat,” she says.
Jude pulls out my seat for me, and I look to see if Phillip saw that, but whatever is on his phone must be very important. “Thank you,” I say, giving him a wide grin as I sit down.
He squeezes my shoulder and then sits in the seat beside me which is also across from Phillip. When Reese is finally seated, Phillip says grace and then we dig in. Nothing is said as we all prepare our plates, but then Jude says, “I love breakfast for dinner. It’s great, Reese.”
She smiles proudly. “It’s Claire’s favorite meal.”
Jude smiles back at her. “Yeah, we eat a lot of Waffle House.”
I grin as I pour syrup all over my waffle before taking a huge bite. Looking up, I see that Phillip hasn’t touched his food; he’s staring across the table at Jude. I look at Jude, but he doesn’t seem to notice. He’s eating, not paying any attention. I kick Phillip under the table, and I glare when his gaze meets mine.
“What?”
“Stop staring,” I mouth and his scowl deepens.
Leaving my gaze, he looks back at Jude and says, “So the draft?”
Jude looks up from his plate and nods. “Yes, I have four teams looking at me now.”
“Must be pretty good then,” Phillip says, cutting his waffle and sausage up before mixing them together and drenching them in syrup.
“I think so,” Jude says.
“He’s really good,” I say. “Reminds me of you – he has a good game. You should come Friday, watch him play. I’m dancing too.”
“Oh, that sounds like fun. Doesn’t it, Phillip?” Reese says brightly.
He gives her a look and then shrugs. “I guess.”
“We will be there,” Reese says with a grin. “Remember we have the wedding rehearsal that morning, though.” Both Phillip and I groan, and she says, “Oh, shut up, I told you it won’t be bad. Take ten minutes, tops.”
“I’ll be there,” I say, and Reese smiles at me before taking a bite of sausage.
“So what are you going to school for?” Phillip asks, looking straight at Jude.
He takes a swig of his orange juice and then says, “Sports medicine.”