“Way to turn the tables, Doc.” He smirked.
She nodded. “Defense mechanism. But also…a true statement. Something’s rattling your cage. I’ve sensed it since you first contacted me following a full year of radio silence. It’s not just about me though, is it? About what happened between us in your office?”
“While that is an issue I intend for us to confront tonight…” He gave her a pointed look. “There is, indeed, something else ‘rattling my cage.’ It’s just not up for discussion this evening. We’re on a date, Kate. Not in a session.”
“Jude—”
“Kate, don’t press this. Not tonight.”
She stared at him a few seconds more, no doubt debating whether to challenge him.
He said, “I want you to enjoy this party. Whatever has you questioning whether you’re going to be excessively scrutinized and fall short in someone else’s eyes…let it go. This very second. You are going to own that room, Kate. And I’m going to be right beside you when you do.”
Now, she gaped.
Jude held her gaze.
It took a second or two, but she eventually pulled herself together. Her expression turned appreciative.
“I have reservations about how this is all going to play out,” she admitted. “When you don’t fit someone’s mold or ideal, it can create an uncomfortable situation.”
“I’ve never fit a mold, Kate.” He flashed a grin. “Because my life is mine to design. I still have a ways to go in defining that destiny. Apparently, so do you. My suggestion is, we take this event at face value—it’s a party. Let’s have some fun.”
He offered his arm. Jude wore Armani for the occasion. An all-black suit, including the shirt and silk tie. He liked the devilish air it lent, especially when paired with Kate’s seductive red dress and sensuous curls.
If she was worried about making a scene tonight—she had every right to be.
But in a good way. Because Jude had no intention of letting whatever fraction of insecurity she was fighting to conquer rear its ugly head.
She’d saved his life, after all.
Returning the favor in any capacity was the least Jude could do.
Kate could barely breathe.
It was such a normal function. One a person infrequently gave thought to. One that was as natural as falling asleep when you were exhausted, eating when you were famished, taking the stairs instead of the elevator when you required exercise or needed to stretch your legs, get your heartrate up, challenge your physicality.
And yet…there was nothing normal or natural about her response to Jude this evening.
She knew things about this man. Some pretty traumatic things, to be exact. His raw, razor-sharp emotions. His personal failures.
His demons.
However, as she shut and locked her apartment door, linked an arm with his and let him escort her down the hallway, she had the peculiar revelation that she didn’t know Jude McMillan today. At this very moment.
Yes, she knew his past pains, his darkest hours. But that damaged soul she’d had exposure to years ago was evidently more multi-faceted than she’d anticipated. Because here he was, scaling back his aggression just enough to put her at ease on one of the most difficult nights of her life—without fully knowing how excruciating this was going to be for Kate, given her propensity for being a square peg in the round hole that was her family unit. Amazingly, Jude was already proving to be rock-steady.
They settled into the backseat of the limo he’d hired for the evening.
She smiled at him as he served her a glass of champagne. They touched rims and Kate said, “Here’s to someone else paying for our very expensive dinner tonight.”
He laughed in his warm timbre. “You have a quirky sense of humor, Doc.”
“And you have the uncanny ability to bring it out, Counselor.”
“I like it when you smile, Kate.”
They stared at each other for several suspended seconds. Then she sipped.