I gave one curt nod. Then unable to help myself, I bent and captured her mouth in a fiery kiss. Longing and irritation mixed as I tried to make her see what could be from my kiss. At first, I thought she was giving in, but then she tore her lips away and stepped back.
“Where you’re concerned, April, you’re always going to be my business.” It was more than I wanted to reveal, but I was feeling desperate. I hated that. I hated how it felt like she could bring me to my knees.
Her eyes widened in surprise for a moment, and then returned to annoyed. “I work for you now, Jude. I’m your employee not your possession. If you hired me to be your fuck buddy, then I’ll quit.”
My jaw tensed and hurt flared that she’d think that’s all this was. “You’re the one who fucks for fun, baby. Not me.”
She flinched, and I hated how off the rails this conversation had gone. “I’ve got work to do.”
I motioned toward the door letting her know she could leave. She pivoted around and stalked out of my office, leaving me raw and ragged.
14
April
I wasn’t sure what to think of my new job. On the one hand, I liked being in charge of the office and Cyrus seemed to respect my talent. On the other hand, Jude was acting like a jealous ninny. I’d be lying if I said a part of me liked that. He walked away from me, and now had to pay the price by seeing that I had a life without him. And, if I was being completely honest with myself, the emotion and heat in his eyes, sent a little thrill through me. For years I wanted Jude to want me. And then he did for one short summer, until he left, and then he didn’t want me anymore.
I shook my head to rid it of the thought of Jude and that hard, desperate kiss he gave me that nearly had me giving in, and instead focused on having a job that paid more, helping me along the path of complete independence.
After work, I picked Maya up from summer camp, but didn’t go right home. Along with the messiness at work, there was August. What the hell had he been thinking to try and set me up? I suspect, Jude was right in that he’d selected Matt because he had money and his family was known in the area. It angered me that August truly didn’t see that I was a smart woman capable of living my own life.
Instead of going home, I brought Maya over to Petal’s where she played with her toy bakery while I had a glass of wine with my friend and recounted the day.
“I really don’t know what to do about August. I really believe he’d order me into an arranged marriage if he could,” I said after downing half my glass of wine.
Petal laughed. “I think his heart is in the right place. Especially if he knows Jude is back. Does he know?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think so, but I can’t say for sure. He truly thought I was just having a temper tantrum when I quit and would be at work. But he didn’t want to talk about how he treats me or his part in making me leave.” I let out a frustrated grow.
“Are you okay, mama?” Maya asked from where she was pretending to decorate cupcakes.
“Yes, baby. Just frustrated with Uncle Auggie.”
She shrugged and went back to her playing.
“He probably feels like he’s losing control. He feels responsible for you,” Petal said.
“I’m sure that’s right. But he’s not in control of or responsible for me. Not anymore.”
There was a knock at the door, indicating the arrival of the pizza we ordered. The conversation was halted until after we ate. Instead, during dinner we learned about all the fun activities Maya was doing at camp. After we ate, Maya went to the living room to watch TV, while I helped Petal in the kitchen.
“So, are you going to call Matt? You’ve named the dog after all,” Petal asked, setting a rinsed plate in the dishwasher.
“He seems like an okay guy, but I’m not in a place to get into a relationship and to be honest, he seems li
ke a player. Right now, I’ve got Maya and a new job.”
“A new job with your ex, and your baby daddy.” Petal arched a brow. “Are you sure that rejecting Matt doesn’t have something to do with Jude being back?”
I scoffed and put my clean wine glass away, wishing I was drinking from it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You had dinner with your ex the other night. Are you telling me that it was totally all business? There were no walks down memory lane bringing up those old feelings?”
Petal missed her calling. She would have made a good shrink. Or a psychic.
I looked toward the living room to make sure Maya was preoccupied with the TV. Then I returned my attention to Petal. I gave a reluctant nod. “We did stroll down memory lane.”
Petal’s brows rose. “And?”