Page 33 of You Had Me at Chocolate

She sipped on her coffee. “Fair enough.”

“You’re heading to Bozeman after this?”

“Yeah. I need to go and check on a few things at the house for Dad first but then I’ll hit the road.”

“You’re staying there the night?”

Clem tried hard not to think about tonight as it only led to thoughts of last night. But, given their deliciousness, they were bound to stick around. Which might well be a very good nightly distraction if her mother’s recovery was slow or did not go according to plan. “I will, yes. I’ll probably spend most nights there until Mom comes back to Marietta for rehab.”

“I’m sure your dad will appreciate the support.”

“Yeah… it was fortuitous the stroke happened when it did. I mean, not that I wanted it to happen at all,” she assured hastily. Clem would give anything for this not to have happened to her mom. “But it did. And if I’d been living in New York…”

She shuddered at the logistics. Having to quit her job and move back home for a while. Which she would have done—absolutely. But there was no denying this timing was better.

He nodded slowly. “So, they said it could be a few weeks for your mom? Before she’s well enough for rehab?”

“Uh-huh.” It was strangely gratifying to know that Jude had actually listened to her last night as she’d unloaded. So many of her friends complained that their male partners never listened. “If all goes well. But, everyone is different blah-blah-blah.” She sighed. “It’s not even been a week since the stroke so the medical team is kinda guarded in their outlook.”

“I guess they don’t want to get ahead of themselves or give false hope.”

“No.” Clem shook her head. “In my brief experience with them, stroke doctors seem to be very cautious when talking to their patients and families.”

“That’s their job, I suppose. But it doesn’t mean you can’t be positive right? Be heartened by every forward step. Your mom will need people like that around her, too.”

“That’s very true.” Clem had got so caught up in her stroke research and worrying about all the what-ifs that she hadn’t thought perhaps what her mom needed most was a cheerleader.

“You up for it?”

“Absolutely.”

Clem was thankful again for the timing. Being free to be at her mother’s bedside and be there for her dad—who also needed her right now—was a gift. Sure, the outpouring of support from the Marietta community had been immense but it would be her and her dad at the front line every day so a positive attitude was a must.

“Good.” He nodded. “And I’ll feed you so well you can’t help but be positive.”

Clementine laughed. “I will hold you to that, buddy.”

Their gazes clashed briefly as the knowledge of how they’d stepped over that buddy line hovered between them but then Jude chuckled and the moment passed.

“I’ll talk to the Realtor this afternoon about speeding up the process for finding me a rental so I’m not under your feet when you get back to Marietta. I might even see what’s around to buy, could be easier in this tight rental market.”

“No.” Clem shook her head adamantly. “It’s fine. Please don’t feel you have to go anywhere. Not until you’ve found what you really want. You won’t be under my feet and I have a spare room.”

The thought of him leaving had put a sudden itch up her spine. Especially if it was because of what happened last night. She couldn’t blame him if it was so but she really hoped not.

“Of course, if you feel that you need to,” she added, “after last night then—”

“I don’t,” he interrupted. “I’d like to. Stay. If you’re okay with that?”

Clem nodded vigorously, the itch evaporating on a rush of relief. “I am.”

“Good. Makes it a hell of a lot easier to cook for you.”

He grinned then, big and sexy and rendering Clem a little breathless. Thankfully Jude’s cell phone chose that moment to ring. Pulling it out of his back pocket, he glanced at the screen. “It’s the Realtor. Sorry, I should take this.”

“Of course.” Clem waved him away as he hit the answer button and strode out of the kitchen with a swagger that stilled the breath in her lungs.

It was hard to believe less than a week ago, the last person on her mind had been Jude, her old childhood friend from summer camp. She thought about how their lives had diverged all those years ago only to end back together again with him being firmly square and center.

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