Hey Jude (Lennox Valley Chronicles #1)

She perches her glasses on the end of her nose, peering through them at one of my sketches.

“Let’s see, now…” She pauses to take in the details. “Oh, my goodness, is this the cliff-side view here?” She turns to look at me and I nod. “Oh, what a great idea to have a seating area right there. Don’t you think that will be beautiful, Charles?” She passes the sketch over to him.

“I think it’s perfect. The view will be great, looking out over the river.” He smiles at me.

Carol looks at Jude over the rim of her glasses, leaning in. “Don’t you think it would be romantic? Looking out over that stunning view while you share a glass of wine with your sweetie?”

Jude rubs the back of his neck, smiling awkwardly. “I uh—”

Cutting him off before he can answer, Carol swivels to look at me with a conspiratorial expression. “Oh, I’ll bet he’s got himself a girlfriend, a handsome devil like him.” She pats my knee with a wink and reaches for another sketch to inspect.

My eyes snap over to meet Jude’s gaze across the table, but I can’t bear the eye contact; I look away immediately, my cheeks burning with sudden self-consciousness. I’m doing everything in my power not to let my face show that I’m both desperate to know if he’s single and determined not to care.

We are coworkers, I remind myself for the thousandth time. Focus, Olena.

“No, I don’t, actually.” Jude’s words pull my eyes back to his against my will. His unflinching gaze is intense, and for a moment, I can’t breathe.

“Oh, my goodness, I almost forgot about the coffee!” Carol pushes up from the table and heads to the kitchen.

I swallow and force myself to return my eyes to the sketches in front of me, glancing up and smiling politely at Charles. Carol returns with four steaming mugs on a tray, little ceramic containers of sugar and cream alongside them.

“Oh, Charles, look at this one!” Carol croons as she sets down the tray next to the sketches. “A bench swing at the bottom of the chestnut tree, with a little platform to climb up to it!” She reaches over my shoulder and passes the sketch to Charles.

Taking a careful breath, I point out, “It’s hard to see in the sketch, but the swing will be surrounded by little fairy lights, so it will be a beautiful place to sit at night.” I’m surprised at how eloquent I manage to sound.

Effusive praise keeps coming from both Carol and Charles, and with the designs roundly approved, we finish our coffee and head back outside.

Standing outside the front door, I zip up my jacket.

“Jude, darling, aren’t you freezing in just a t-shirt?” Carol intones, leaning on the doorframe and rubbing her arms.

My traitorous eyes rake over his chest, his arms.

He glances at me, catching me staring. “Not at all; I run hot,” he says to Carol with a barely suppressed smirk.

Um, tell me about it, I think to myself, biting the inside of my cheek and fixing my eyes on the ground.

When the Faulkners finally close the door, Jude and I stand there looking at each other in stunned silence for a moment. I’m dying to know what he’s thinking about Carol’s unexpected hugs—nevermind what she said. We both break into grins at the same time before cracking up into hushed laughter, the tension of keeping it together in front of the Faulkners finally snapping. We turn from the house, still laughing.

As we make our way along the path, Jude lets out a long sigh. “Well, that was… interesting.” He raises an eyebrow and smoothes a hand over his beard.

“Right? Oh my God.” I look up at the sky and try to settle my nervous laughter, inhaling a steadying breath with my hand on my stomach.

“Tell me something…” Jude’s low voice stirs electricity in me again and goosebumps prickle over my arms, my demeanor suddenly more serious—on alert. “Why haven’t I worked with you before?”

His question takes me by surprise.

Watching my expression, he continues. “This is a pretty small town and we work in the same industry. So, where have you been hiding?” We reach the driveway and he hops onto the open tailgate of his truck, those intense green eyes locked on me.

I let out a breath and look out across the river at the mountains, as if a palatable answer will reveal itself there. “Well, I grew up here,” I begin, weighing how to explain, glancing back at him. “I went to college in Seattle and then ended up staying for a few years. Got my business started there. It seemed like the thing to do.” I smile at him, shrugging. “I just moved back home recently.” I stop there, hoping that’s enough detail.

He furrows his brow slightly. “What brought you back here?”

My smile falters, not wanting to go into what really pushed me to move home.

When I don’t respond right away, he continues. “I mean, it must’ve been hard to leave after getting your business up and running in a big city.”

The universe sends me a lifeline when Jude’s phone rings. He gives me a regretful look and answers. I gather from his side of the conversation that Teddy’s not coming into work today, after all.