I make a show of wiggling before grinning back at Jude. “He’s comfy.”
“I bet,” Wy snickers under his breath.
“We’re sittin’ right here,” Ash grinds out.
I slowly arch my brow at him. “Like we haven’t all witnessed you tryin’ it on at the Lair on a Friday night.”
EJ and BJ chuckle. “Saturday’s too,” BJ muses. Even Dare cracks a smirk. And I swear Ash’s cheeks turn a slight shade of pink.
“What he’s tryin’ to find out is where doesthis,” Dare points a finger between us, “go from here?”
They’re the whys and the hows that Jude and I still have to talk about. The ‘where to from here’ conundrum that we’ll have to face sooner rather than later given the fact we obviously can’t be away from one another.
Jude squeezes his arms around my waist and slots his chin over my shoulder. “Whatever happens from here on out is somethin’wehave to decide on. But we have time.”
My heart flips and I feel all warm and gooey inside. That’s not to say there’s not a little voice deep inside me wondering how this is all going to work.
Myjobis here. Myhouseis here. Jude’s life is in Timber Falls. Hisranch. Hisbrothers. It’s back on the mountain.
How long will it be until staying away from home becomes too hard for him.
“You’re overthinkin’ somethin’,” Jude says under his breath. “I’m guessin’ you’re wonderin’ how long I can stay here and not miss home, yeah?”
I turn my head, my wide eyes meeting his all-knowing ones. He presses his forehead to mine, not once looking away. When he does that, the conversation around us morphs into inconsequential white noise.
“I’m here for as long as it takes,” he says. “I’ll have to visit back home occasionally, but I’ll work around you because you and our marriage are what’s most important to me now. My brothers understand and Wy’s already offered to step up and act as me in my absence.”
“But–”
“Hey. It’s OK. You and me,that’swhat matters. The where, how, and when? That’s also up to us to decide on when we’re ready. Yeah?”
There’s nothing but absolute truth in his gaze.
It hits me then that it’s notifI’ll return home that’s the question, it’swhen. It’s something I’m determined to figure out though, for meandfor Jude.
“I love you,” I whisper against his lips.
“Love you too.”
Gagging sounds from the twins successfully cut through our loved-up haze. Narrowing my eyes, I snap my head their way. “You’re just jealous.”
BJ rolls his eyes. “Oh, yeah. Totally jealous of you gettin’ all kissy-kissy and bein’ all lovey-dovey with your Cooper husband.”
EJ smirks. “Never thought I’d see our sister bein’ sogirly. Oh, look atmeee,I’ve got aboyfriend.”
“Husband,” Jude and I say at the same time.
I smack a kiss on Jude’s lips before turning back to the table and finding Ash and Dare both leaning back in their chairs looking contemplative.
“Jude, do you want to give Wyatt a tour of the house so we can catch up with our sister?” Dare says.
I stiffen immediately, shaking my head before he finishes speaking. “No, no, no. Y’all don’t get to try and scare him away now. We’remarried. It’s a done,legaldeal now, remember?”
“And the Call has been completed,” Wyatt mutters, earning a growl from Jude.
Ash chuckles. “There’s our feisty sister. We just want to talk without you bein’ caught up in your newfound love and all that. It’s nothin’ personal, Jude.”
“Hey, my brothers and I did the same with our sister when she first brought her husband home. Lucky for you, I’ve got aproject out front I want to run by Wy anyway. So two stones, one house or whatever the sayin’ is.”