Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 110454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110454 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Surprisingly, Sophie isn’t far behind me, and in another ten minutes, I spot her gorgeous face walking through the main doors.
I lift my hand to grab her attention, and the second her gaze meets mine, she smiles.
Fuck. I love this woman.
The instant she’s within reach of my arms, I stand up and pull her into a hug. “Missed you so much.”
“You just saw me this morning,” she says through a cute laugh.
“Exactly.” I groan and breathe in the sweet, flowery scent of her hair. “Twelve hours is too long.”
“It’s like you’re obsessed with me or something,” Sophie teases, and I press a kiss to her lips before pulling out her chair and helping her sit down.
“Oh, baby, you have no idea.”
But soon, you’re about to find out.
Sophie
Right after our friendly server drops our meals at our table, I excuse myself to go to the restroom. But the instant I’m safely locked inside the one-stall bathroom, I grab my phone from my purse and call Julie.
It takes her three rings before she answers.
“Everything all set?”
“Uh…almost. How much time do I have left?”
“What do you mean, almost?” I question. “We already have our meals, Julie!”
“Well, Frankie was whining in his crate, and I couldn’t ignore him!” she retorts back, and I sigh. But also, I understand. My little buddy, the one Jude gave to me the last time he proposed, is irresistibly cute. I wouldn’t have been able to ignore him either.
“But don’t worry,” she continues. “He’s officially been fed, watered, and taken out, and I’m just finishing up in your bedroom.”
“Okay. Good. That’s good.” I breathe out a sigh of relief. “What’s your ETA on leaving?”
“If you stop asking me damn questions? Ten minutes, tops.”
“Okay, I get it.” I grin. “I’m officially leaving you alone.”
“Good,” she says, and it sounds like she’s breathing so heavy I’m wondering if she’s actually running around our apartment. “I’ll text when I’m out.”
“Perfect.”
“Okay, seeyabye!”
The line clicks off, and I meet my reflection in the bathroom mirror. It’s almost go time, Soph.
Once I do a quick check of my hair and makeup, I head back out to the table and sit down across from Jude. But when I look at him, expecting him to simply be enjoying his meal, that’s not what I find.
He’s looking at me in a way I’ve seen before. Sparkling, blue eyes and a soft smile, I’ve seen this look exactly three times before now.
Oh no. No-no-no!
“Sophie.” He reaches across the table and takes my hand in his. “I love you, baby.”
Ah, shit. He’s going to do it.
“I love you too,” I say and quickly try to change the subject. “How’s your…uh…” I glance down at his plate, where the fettuccine Alfredo he ordered sits untouched. “Pasta? Good?”
“Who cares about the food, babe?” His smile reaches his eyes, turning them warm like blue-colored honey. “I want to tell you something.”
“Uh…how about you hold that thought while we eat?” I blurt out. “You know, otherwise, the food will get cold.”
He just shakes his head and scoots his chair closer to mine, and I know that if I don’t think of something quick, everything that I’ve planned is about to be ruined.
“Baby, I—”
“I’m not feeling well!” I shout at the top of my lungs, so loud that even a couple on the other side of the restaurant hears me.
“Huh?”
“I’m…uh…not feeling well?” I respond, but when I realize it sounds more like I’m asking him, I shake my head and rephrase. “I feel sick, Jude. I think we need to go home.”
“You’re sick?”
“Yep. Not good. We should go.” I nod manically as I stand up from my chair with such force the damn thing topples over and onto the ground.
“Shit. Babe, do you need a doctor?”
Oh God. This web of lies is starting to get way bigger than you want…
“No, no.” I brush it off. “It’s fine. Just…I should probably take a hot shower and lie in bed. That’s it. Sick enough to need to leave, but not so sick that we should be worried. Like, half sick. Can’t-be-out-in-public sick.”
Jude just looks at me in bewilderment, surely because the shit coming out of my mouth doesn’t make sense, but I somehow manage to get him to follow my lead.
Once he tosses some money onto the table, he wraps his arm around my shoulders, tucking me close to his side, and guides us out of the restaurant.
And as we head toward our apartment, only a few blocks away, all I can think is, Holy moly. I really hope Julie is gone by the time we get there.
Jude
I have no idea what’s wrong with my girl, but I sure as shit am doing everything in my power to get her back home so I can try to figure it out.
Looks like the proposal plan isn’t happening tonight.
Hell, it almost happened. I was about two minutes away from getting down on one knee for the fourth time, but all of a sudden, Sophie said she wasn’t feeling well and started knocking shit over and acting a bit crazy with her need to leave the restaurant.