Page 66 of You Had Me at Chocolate

She must have looked a right mess though, Jude’s entire face creasing in concern. “Oh god, Clementine.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead, his body brushing lightly against her which only made her want to cry further. “What’s wrong?” He cupped her face. “Why are you crying?”

Her throat itched and her nose was already runny and she sniffled. She opened her mouth to tell him she was worried about her mom or how her funds were starting to run low and she might have to go back to the library in the new year but that wasn’t what she said.

“Because I don’t want you to move out.”

Which was utterly preposterous—it would take her less than five minutes to drive to his place. Ten if she walked. But the thought that she’d come home and he wouldn’t be there waiting for her like the last two months was almost unbearable. Another hot tear spilled from the corner of her eye and slid down the side of his face before his thumb wiped it away.

“Okay. Why don’t you want me to move out?”

“Because I—” Clem stalled as her brain worked through several possibilities—all of them unsubstantial. She shook her head. “I… can’t.” She dropped her gaze to his throat. “I can’t tell you.”

“Hey,” he whispered, his finger sliding under her chin and raising it until she was looking at him through her wet spiky eyelashes. He smiled gently. “I love you. You can tell me anything.”

Clementine blinked. Slowly at first then more rapidly as she tried to compute what he’d just said. He loved her? “Wh…what?”

“I said”—he leaned in close, his lips grazing close to her ear—“I’m in love with you.”

“But…”

He drew back, his mouth curving into a slow smile. “No buts.”

Her pulse fluttered madly at all her pulse points. “You… do?”

“I do.”

“Since when?”

“Well… I think being honest, it was probably eighteen years ago but I finally realized a couple of weeks ago after we… made love.” He said the words slowly as if trying it on for size and liking it very much if his smile was anything to go by. “And you were on the phone to Merridy making plans for Japan. Without me even being a consideration and it just whammied me from out of the blue.”

Oh god… she remembered that conversation, she hadn’t thought about him at all. Just herself. “Right.” Emotion overwhelmed her and her face crumpled again. “Exactly.”

“Exactly?” He frowned. “Why don’t you want me to move out, Clementine?”

“Because I love you, too, damnit,” she said on a sob as she pushed against his body. When he stepped aside she paced to the middle of the room, tears streaming.

“That’s making you miserable?” He laughed. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“No.” She turned to face him not even caring what kind of hot mess she looked like now because he loved her and she loved him and still they couldn’t be.

“Why?”

“Because we’re at different stages of our life, Jude. You’ve had all your travel and adventures and now you want to settle somewhere and put down roots. I’ve done all the staid sensible career-orientated things and now I want to live a little. I want adventures.”

He leaned casually against the door, a V between his brows. “You think I’m going to stop you doing that?”

“No. I’m worried about me stopping me from doing it because now I want this damn inn too and that”—she pointed at his hand—“damn apple and you in my damn bed in my damn house every night.”

“Really?” His mouth curved into a smile.

Clem folded her arms. “I’m being serious, Jude Barlow.”

He chuckled as he pushed off the door and walked slowly in her direction. “You used to say exactly that when we were kids. With your arms folded, too.”

“We are not kids, anymore.”

Eyes looked her slowly up and down as he approached and her jeans felt like they’d been set on fire. “Hallelujah,” he murmured as he pulled up in front of her.

“Jude.”

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