by Abby Brooks
“I love you, Iz,” Alex replied as he released me and turned to Jude. “You too, man. I hope you have a great weekend that’s just the intro on a wonderful life together. Now, let’s get out there because everyone is waiting and it’s cold as shit today.”
When we stepped outside, the rest of our friends were arranged on the stairs, bundled into coats, hands shoved in pockets. Jude and I clasped hands as they cheered, their breath puffing in front of them in the brisk January air. They blew bubbles as we descended, some of them freezing as they floated around us. Snow gently tumbled to the ground, dusting the sidewalks and roads in shimmering white. We raced down the stairs, laughing on our way to the parking lot, then pulled up short to find Jude’s truck decorated with streamers, the words “Just Married” written on the rear window. A colorful sign dangled from the tailgate, asking people to honk for the newlyweds.
Amelia giggled as she unlocked her Beetle. “Don’t look so grumpy, Mr. Malone. It’ll come right off.”
“It better.” Jude shook his head then opened the passenger door with a ridiculous grin. “After you, Mrs. Malone.”
His words shivered their way down my spine. My God. This was literally my lovesick, teenage dream come true.
“Why thank you, husband.” I replied, returning the grin.
As we followed the directions to the cabin in the woods, the snow started falling in earnest. Long diagonal slashes shot through our headlights, reducing visibility to just a few feet in front of the truck. Jude drove slowly, carefully navigating the treacherous roads, and we arrived at our destination safely. Frazzled, but safe.
From the cab of the truck, I stared balefully at the four inches of snow on the sidewalk leading to the cabin. “There go my shoes.”
“As if I’d let you walk through that. What kind of husband do you think I am?” He tromped through the snow to open the passenger door and held out his arms. “Climb on.”
I hugged his shoulders and he scooped an arm under my legs, carefully crunching his way up to the front door. We laughed as I bent awkwardly to enter the passcode on the lock, and then he carried me over the threshold. Warm oaken floors mirrored crossbeams reaching across vaulted ceilings. Plush furniture cozied around a massive fireplace. The entire back wall was made of windows, with a sliding glass door leading to a deck that butted up against a cliff overlooking the sea.
Jude made several more trips to the truck to get the bags and coolers our friends had stowed in the back, then finally shut the door, stomping his feet on the mat. Snow caked in his shoes, melting around his ankles and drenching the bottom four inches of his pants.
“Look at your poor clothes!”
Jude glanced down and sighed, then his eyes caught mine with a wicked smile. “I guess I’ll just have to take them off.”
Gripping my hand, he led me through the living room, past the kitchen, and straight to the bedroom, where he dropped our bag on the floor and pulled me close. “I was going to take it slow. Spend some time in the hot tub, maybe have some dinner, but there’s only one thing I really want.”
“And what could that be?”
“You.” He worked the buttons at his wrist, his eyes devouring me. “Undress.”
“Bossy.” I unfastened the first several buttons on my blouse. “I like it.”
Jude removed his shirt, his gaze dark and hungry, filled with an intensity I hadn’t experienced with him before. I stepped out of my heels, slipping my shirt off my shoulders to reveal a white lace bra.
“Fuck, Iz,” he growled.
“Yes, please,” I replied with a sexy smirk. “Fuck me, Jude.”
And then he was on me, his fingers yanking at the buttons on my pants, hungry. Insistent. “I can’t believe you’re mine. I can’t believe you’re my wife.”
I’d waited a lifetime to hear him say something like that and it set me on fire. “Do you want me?”
“I don’t just want you. I need you.” His hands were on my face as he backed me towards the bed.
“Good,” I replied, letting myself collapse onto the comforter, grinning up at him as he lowered himself on top of me.
The next morning, I woke before Jude and padded into the living room to pull open the curtains. The morning gleamed with a fresh coat of snow, and I pulled a blanket off the back of the couch to wrap around my shoulders. At least six inches had fallen overnight and the waves brushed the frozen beach below the deck.
“What a view,” I murmured, wrapping the blanket even tighter.
After our little side trip to the bedroom last night, we’d unpacked the food Alex had stored in the cooler. He’d gone so overboard, I’d joked about his neurotic tendencies, but this morning I was hungry enough to appreciate the options.
I brewed a pot of coffee before grabbing a carton of eggs and the bacon from the fridge, then went in search of a pan and put it on the heat. As the eggs were frying and the toast was toasting, Jude emerged from the bedroom, squinting in the bright light. When his eyes found mine, he smiled, crossing the kitchen to stand behind me, his warm body pressed against mine as he nibbled at my ear. “Good morning, Mrs. Malone.”
“Good morning to you too,” I said, relaxing into his warmth.
His hands slid down to cover my belly, his thumb caressing my stomach. “And good morning to you, Baby Malone,” he whispered.
The gesture was so tender, so familiar, I found myself swallowing past a lump in my throat. “There’s coffee, if you want.”
“Bless you, woman.” He leaned around to kiss me on the cheek, then disengaged to hunt down a mug.
I finished cooking and made two plates that we ate while standing in the kitchen. “I don’t know that we’ll be going anywhere today,” I said. “There’s a lot of snow out there.”
“That’s fine. I have plenty of ideas as to what to do to keep us occupied.” He gave me the smile I’d never been able to resist, then took a sip of coffee.
“Are you thinking poker?” I asked with a playful quirk of my eyebrow. “Blackjack? I think I saw a puzzle and some books on the shelves in the living room.”
“Think less clothing.” Jude leaned his back against the counter, dragging his heated gaze across my body.
I pretended to be scandalized. “Strip poker?”
“If that’s what you want to call it.” He finished eating, then put our plates in the sink. “Which room do you want to play in?”
I made a show of spinning in place, finger to lips as I analyzed the open floorplan. When I found myself facing Jude again, I slipped my finger between my teeth and smiled. “All of them?”
“I always knew there was something special about you,” he said as he closed the distance between us, his lips claiming mine once again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Jude
“Four days of heaven. That’s what that was.” I leaned on the bar at Cheers ‘n Beers as Austin picked at the label on his lager. “Thankfully, the people who owned the cabin didn’t charge Alex for the extra two days we were snowed in. I mean, I would have offered to pay for it of course, but at least they were decent enough to know there’s no accounting for weather.”
Austin often stopped in for a drink and a chat after he closed WRL Autobody & Repairs, but he’d been quiet tonight, a little grumpier than usual. I hoped to lift his mood with my own because shit, after the weekend with Izzy, I was a fucking hot air balloon of happiness.
“What did you guys do, stuck in a cabin that whole time?” Realizing the only natural response to that question, Austin cringed. “Wait. Don’t answer that. At least not in detail. Izzy’s like a sister to me.”
I leaned on the counter, shaking my head as I smiled. What happened between me and Izzy would stay between me and Izzy—even if it was the kind of stuff most guys would brag about, or hell, even make up. But I wasn’t most guys and the weekend’s adventures were mine and mine alone.
“It should’ve been a recipe for disaster,” I said with a sigh. “I normally can’t stand being coope
d up like that, especially considering there was nothing to do. The TV didn’t get any channels. There were some old books with torn covers, a few puzzles, and an incomplete deck of cards. That was it. It was just me and Izzy with nothing to distract us and it was…it was great. We drank hot chocolate and sat by the fire and just talked.” I shrugged. “It was good. Real good.”
Austin bobbed his head, his brow furrowed. “So, forgive me, but I’m confused.” He sipped his beer and I knew I was in for an uncomfortable conversation. He never said, ‘forgive me’ if he wasn’t about to get real honest, real fast.
“What’s got you confused?” I folded my arms as I straightened, leaning a hip on the bar.
He took another long drink of beer, then put the bottle down and sighed. “I thought this whole wedding thing was fake. You want to get custody of your little brother. Your lawyer said it’d be better if you were married, though I still don’t quite get that.”
Ahh. He was confused about the whole Brennen thing. That I could explain. “Think about it. I own a bar. There’s a lot of time I’m not home, and often late at night. If I had a partner that would—”
Austin held up a hand. “That’s not what I’m confused about.”
“Okay.” I lifted my brows. “Then what’s so confusing because from where I’m sitting, everything is working out perfectly.”
I couldn’t stop the smile that lifted my lips as I thought of Izzy arching her back while I kissed down her body. So fucking perfect.
“This whole thing was supposed to be fake.” Austin shrugged. “And from where I’m sitting, things are looking pretty fucking real.”
They were feeling pretty fucking real, but I wasn’t about to just out and out admit that. “We’re just enjoying the perks,” I said, running a hand across my mouth to erase a smile.
“Maybe you’re just enjoying the perks,” he countered, angling the neck of his beer my way, “but damn it Jude, Izzy has loved you forever.”
I rolled my eyes. “Are you gonna hit me with the whole, ‘if you hurt her…’ spiel? Because let me stop you right there. You’re not the first to have this conversation and it’s getting a little old. I’m not gonna hurt her. This is Izzy we’re talking about.”
“If people keep bringing it up, maybe it’s because you need to hear it.”
I scoffed. “Or maybe people need to get out of my business. Everyone’s so concerned about her, but has anyone stopped to think about me? My feelings.” I leaned on the bar, chewing my lip, then suddenly found myself admitting something I had no intention of telling anyone. “I’m falling in love with her, man. I might have been in love for a long ass time.”
I waited for Austin’s sage nod and wise advice. All I got was an unimpressed stare. “And she knows this?”
I shook my head and shifted my weight. We promised each other to keep feelings out of this arrangement and telling her I went ahead and caught them anyway would complicate things. Everyone said she felt the same, but damn, what if she flat out rejected me? Things were good. Really good.
“How am I supposed to tell her that?”
“Have you tried just opening your mouth and letting the words come out?”
“It’s not that easy.”
“It really is, though. You guys have been so happy the last couple weeks and if all this works out perfectly then good on ya. But, man, a strong relationship needs communication—”
“Says the man who’s been single since Mackenzie left town. Are you really the guy to give relationship advice?”
“Okay, then.” Austin sat back, his jaw pulsing. “You don’t like what I’m saying so you bring her into this to shut me down. It’s a cheap trick and you should just stop.” His dark eyes hit mine with a ferocity I wasn’t used to seeing in my friend. “What you’re doing, this whole grand plan of yours, it doesn’t just affect you, and it doesn’t just affect Izzy. There’s a fifteen-year-old boy who needs your help, and there’s a baby coming that didn’t ask for any of this.”
“And your point is…?”
“If you and Izzy don’t sit down and talk things out now, it’s all going to rattle and bump until it falls to pieces. Communication is the motor oil of a healthy marriage. If you keep ignoring this, well, you don’t get very far with an engine that has no oil. Things can only stay out of balance for so long before they break. I don’t want to watch that happen to two of my favorite people.”
I bobbed my head and sucked in my lips, trying not to let myself get angry. Austin might look terrifying with his tatts and perpetual scowl, but he had a heart of gold. If he was bringing this up, he had his reasons, even if I did think he was completely off his rocker.
“I’m listening,” I said. “I don’t know what I’ll do about it, but I’m hearing what you’re saying.”
“That’s all I can ask,” Austin replied. “And since you’re listening, and I have your attention, do not bring up Mackenzie again. She’s gone. I can’t bring her back. It sucks, but I’m over it…as long as you keep your mouth shut on the topic.”
Mackenzie Marshall had stolen Austin’s heart in high school. They’d dated through her college years and we all swore they’d be married by the time she graduated. But she got a job offer in Boston and broke up with him to pursue her career. It took forever for him to put himself back together, and if you ask me, there was still a piece missing. He’d dated casually, but never for long. The moment things got serious, he moved on. He swore he was happy, but I remembered how he was with her, and this wasn’t that.
“You’re right,” I said, bobbing my head. “It’s a dick move to bring her up. I’m genuinely sorry.”
“Just, be done with it.” He sat back and took a swig of beer while I digested what he’d said about Izzy.
By the time I got home that evening, I’d come to a conclusion. I needed to tell her how I felt. Austin was right. It was ridiculous for both of us to be falling in love and pretending nothing was happening. Hopefully, I could catch her in the morning before she left to open the store. To my surprise, the lights were on in the living room, which meant Izzy was awake and I had the perfect opportunity to talk to her about my feelings.
“Honey! I’m home!” I called as I stepped in through the garage door.
“In here.” Izzy’s voice came from the living room, where I found her stretched out on the couch with her feet up.
“I’m so glad you’re still awake,” I said as I crossed the room, lifting her feet so I could sit, then resting them in my lap.
“That makes one of us. It was a long day, my feet are super swollen, and I don’t feel very good. To make matters worse, I had a bad dream and can’t get back to sleep.” She sounded exhausted and dark circles stood out under her eyes as she gave me a sad smile.
“You’re in for a treat then, because I give the best foot rubs in ten counties. I’ll have you nodding off in no time.” I rubbed her arch with my thumb and her eyes slipped closed.
“That feels amazing,” she said with a groan that had my dick twitching, remembering the way she moaned my name in bed.
I worked first on one foot, then the other, my gaze tracing her features as she slowly drifted to sleep. What would our baby look like? Would it have her dark hair, or my blond? Light eyes or dark? Would he have her sweetness? Her good sense of humor? Her loyalty?
Izzy’s lips parted as her breathing deepened and she creeped ever closer to sleep.
“Come on,” I said, patting her ankle. “Let’s get to bed so you can rest.”
Her eyes blinked open and she nodded, then bit her lip. “Do you think I could sleep with you tonight?”
It had never crossed my mind that we wouldn’t share a bed. “You know you don’t have to ask that question.”
“I just, I don’t feel like I could do anything, you know, sexually and…” She shrugged, her gaze locked on mine. “But I really don’t feel like being alone.”
“Baby…” I brushed her hair off her forehead. “That’s our room. That’s where yo
u belong. We don’t have to have sex for me to want you there.”
Her smile was tired but warm. “I know it’s kind of blurring the lines of our agreement, but I just need to be with you.”
“Don’t worry about that. Not now.” I caressed a stray hair off her face and brushed her lips with a kiss. Tonight wasn’t the night to talk to her about my conversation with Austin, but tomorrow I would tell Izzy I loved her over dinner. The thought made me smile.
“Wanna meet me at Overton’s tomorrow after Sweet Stuff closes? I have something I want to talk about.”
She flinched, then stifled a yawn. “That sounds ominous.”
“There’s nothing to worry about except getting a tired girl to bed. Come on, baby. Let’s go.”
Tomorrow.
I’d talk to her tomorrow.
And after that, we’d prove Austin and everyone else wrong. Izzy and I were gonna be fine. Totally, completely, one hundred percent fine.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Izzy
Would I ever get used to waking up in Jude’s bed? Would I ever take his mussed hair for granted? Would I stop smiling every time I breathed in the scent of his cologne? We had an entire future for his cocksure charm to wear on me, but our past said it wouldn’t. Time would only make me love him more.
Carefully, I slipped out from under the sheets and crossed the hall to get ready for work in my room, since my clothes still lived in there. I spent almost as much time in Jude’s bed as I did mine, and while splitting myself between two rooms was a little weird, everything else in our relationship was two degrees off normal. What did one more thing matter? After my shower, I did my hair with a date at Overton’s in mind, then packed some makeup into my purse in case I needed to touch up after work. As I slipped from the house and into the chilly garage, I found myself so happy a giggle bubbled up from inside me, echoing against the walls.
An actual giggle. For no reason other than life felt good.
