Page 48 of Jude

‘I will and -.’

He gave me a look, and I bit my lip, stopping myself.

‘Good night.’

With a nod, I left him to it and retreated upstairs to my private washroom. I turned on the brass fixtures to let the steaming water fill the glass shower stall.

I cleaned up, scrubbed off the grime of travel, then brushed my teeth with the new toiletries in the bathroom.

I put on the soft cotton lounge suit from my shopping trip with Maggie.

Back in the kitchen, I explored his fridge.

I pulled a package of chicken breasts and fresh vegetables from the double-door Sub-Zero refrigerator, dicing the ingredients to prepare a simple stir-fry.

Once the food was simmering in the pan, I walked toward the hallway and called out into the quiet house, inviting him to the table.

‘I’ll eat later, Sofia,’ his bass reverberated from behind the closed studio door. ‘Go ahead without me.’

I left him to it and sat alone at the marble island, finished my portion, and washed up, leaving his plate wrapped in the stainless-steel warming drawer.

I retired to my suite for the night, slipping beneath the lush duvets as the Tennessee wind brushed over the windowpanes.

Sighing as I nestled into the warm bed, I lay in the dark, touching the cool diamond of the wedding band on my finger.

Still uncertain about my future, yet more at peace than I’d ever been in days.

Chapter 12

SOFIA

‘The Sanctuary serves as a lifeline for people living on the streets. Most of them have hit rock bottom and lost their families and savings to addiction.’

Jude made the rasped statement as he pushed open a set of double doors.

‘After you.’

We walked into a converted brick warehouse in East Nashville three days after we arrived in the city.

Those first seventy-two hours in his home passed in fleeting conversations and short, polite exchanges.

That said, Jude never let me feel like an intruder. He always nodded when he saw me and urged me to enjoy his home.

‘Eat, there’s too much food for one person, and please use the pool, TV, media room.’

I’d no right to demand more from him.

We’d established the terms of this arrangement, and I had to stick to them.

He spent most of his time out of the house, leaving me to tiptoe through his luxury rooms alone.

I passed the hours figuring out how his television worked, cooking solo dinners, and texting my friends to maintain my sanity.

I soon discovered his library and read a few books, but boredom hit hard for someone used to being occupied.

So when he confirmed the gig at The Sanctuary, I was hit with massive relief.

Now, I shivered as his hand brushed the small of my back, leading me further into the bright, well-lit space.