Page 71 of Burning for Alexander
He reached over and took my hand. “Baby, you’re about as good a liar as Pinocchio. Besides, poor Tavo’s eyes about popped out of his head when you claimed him.”
The endearment hit me right in the chest. This moment was everything I’d always wanted. Normal. Steady. Almost domestic.
“He’s hiding from a possessive lover. Amarried, possessive lover who doesn’t like the word no and has the power to make Tavo’s life difficult.”
“A judge.” He nodded like he was remembering what the guy at the farmer’s market said. “In San Francisco.”
“Yeah. So you can imagine the kind of resources the man has. If Tavo’s name turns up on any tax form or banking transaction?—”
“Or fire investigation report,” he muttered, finally understanding.
“Yeah,” I sighed. “The judge might find him.”
Judd parked the truck in his driveway and turned off the ignition. “What’s the plan, though? Because he’s been in Legacy for months.”
“I have an uncle in the security business,” I explained. “He’s trying to dig up dirt on the judge or find someone else he’s done this to. Otherwise, the plan is to wait him out. Uncle Joel says there are still people asking around about Tavo, which means the judge has definitely not given up yet. But eventually, he’s going to have to move on. Hopefully, Joel will get evidence of a new love interest, and Tavo will be off the hook. I don’t think he’ll go back to San Francisco at this point, but he could at least get a real job. Right now, he’s too afraid of pinging something in a government database.”
We hopped out of the truck and made our way into his house. I loved his place. It was homey and snug, unlike my drafty rabbit warren above Timber.
“Come in. I made cookies,” Judd said, shocking the hell out of me.
“You?Youmade cookies?”
His eyebrows dipped together. “Why do you sound so shocked? Yes, I made cookies. Sugar cookies, actually.”
“I would have been less surprised if you’d said you changed the oil on your truck.”
“My truck doesn’t need an oil change for another three thousand miles,” he said, still obviously confused. “Why would I change the oil on my truck when it doesn’t need it?”
“You know how to change the oil on your truck?”
He let out a breath. “Is this like theCostco runthing? Is making cookies a euphemism? Or changing the oil?”
I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, leaning in for a kiss. Judd immediately stopped talking and kissed me as if it had been months since we’d last seen each other instead of hours.
When I finally pulled away to catch my breath, he was smiling. “I’d like to feed you my cookies.”
“Now you’re the one making it dirty,” I said with a laugh.
We teased and flirted as he pulled out the cookies, still warm from the oven. “What were you doing out in your truck if you just made these tonight?” I asked. When he’d pulled into the Timber lot, I’d assumed he’d been on a call or running errands.
“It was nine thirty, and you still weren’t here. I came looking for you.”
My stomach flipped. “Really?”
He nodded. “I missed you. And I wanted to see you in person so I could make it official. I’d like to take you out on a date. A real one.”
I stared at him. Judd Kincaid was seriously asking me out? And calling it a real date?
“I would invite you to my sister’s wedding in Napa the weekend after next, but I would imagine a Marian family wedding weekend as a first date would kill any chance at a second date.”
He laughed as he propped himself on the edge of the kitchen counter. “I think you’re right. Baby steps. I was thinking maybe we could head up to Billings and check out the deals at a big-box store I know.”
I moved between his legs and put my hands on his chest. “You could always take me to the Palomino. Make all those other boys jealous.”
He leaned in and kissed me. “They’d be jealous, alright. I’d be there with the most beautiful man in Montana on my arm.”
All of this was a dream. One I didn’t want to wake from.
