Page 52 of Jude

Babe.

I loved hearing him call me that.

I understood it came to him without thinking, but I held onto it with pathetic hope that maybe one day it’d mean something more to him.

When our eyes locked across the dinner table, my soul jolted with such yearning.

I had to look down at my plate to keep him from seeing the longing growing in me.

JUDE

The mid-afternoon text from Levi appeared on my lock screen while I was sitting on the piano bench in the den, with my guitars close by.

I was working from home today, after dropping Sofia off at work, needing some alone time to resolve a difficult chord progression for our new album.

Lifting the pencil from my sheet music and tucking it in my mouth, I reached for my phone and tapped through to check the message.

Misty called the studio looking for you because she couldn’t get hold of you. She wanted to say your wife’s volunteer application form needs her signature. The hell? Are you freakin’ hitched? Justify yourself, rock star. We’re all coming over for a major ‘Please Explain.’

‘Fuck,’ I sighed.

The cat was out of the bag.

I braced, my mind churning as I pulled the story together in my head.

There was no option but to state the facts as they were.

Resigned to my fate, I left the front door ajar and waited in the kitchen, popping open a beer.

Twenty minutes later, Levi, Bishop, Deacon, Angel, and Reign pushed through my front door and swaggered into my dining area, crowding me.

They all gave me baleful glances.

Deacon even sliced a finger over his throat.

‘How could you man? You left us in the dark,’ he growled.

Dropping their bags and jackets onto the table, they surrounded me like a pack of wolves.

‘You’ve got some nerve, Judah,’ Bishop grunted, leaning against the marble island. ‘We’ve been sharing our shit for years, and you get hitched without so much as a whisper? Who’s the wife?’

‘There’s a reason I kept it on the low; it’s a matter of her protection,’ I gritted, handing beers all around to cool their heat. ‘She’s a federal witness in a human trafficking case out of Vermont.’

I gave them a lowdown of how Sofia and I crashed into each other at the airport and the cartel’s threats.

‘The marriage certificate provides her with a legal shield so that my attorneys can keep her out of a detention facility. It’s pure charity; I’m helping a woman in need.’

‘Oh, pull the other leg, mate, it plays jingle bells,’ Angel scoffed, throwing his hands up in the air. ‘Charity? You bought an epic diamond ring, according to Misty, and brought her to Belle Meade for altruism? You’re so full of shit.’

‘We aren’t buying the soldier-boy routine this time, Jude,’ Levi added, cracking a grin. ‘Misty went on about how amazing this woman is and her volunteer work being ace, which means she’s exceptional. We want to meet her.’

‘Titans game is on tonight anyway,’ Reign grunted, gesturing toward the flat-screen on the den wall. ‘Call your girl. We’re ordering food. Tell her we’re staying for dinner to vet her.’

I dragged a palm down my face, cornered.

I pulled my phone out, dialing Sofia’s number.

She picked up on the second ring.