Page 66 of Play With Me

The truth is, I’m not sure we can do it. We have so much history.

And I love him too much to pretend that’s all I want with him.

Sasha’s uncharacteristically quiet on the other end of the line. It’s like she heard my thoughts. “Are you there?”

“Yeah, Nor, I’m here.”

“Tell me what to do.”

“That’s the thing, Nora. I don’t know. I think this is one you need to figure out on your own.”

“But you always know what to do!”

Sasha laughs softly. “I’ll tell you this much. I know Jude cares about you. A lot. Like, I know he loves you. I can see it in the way he’s with you. None of that put-on charm he has with everyone else.”

“There’s a difference between love andinlove, though.”

“Yeah. It’s true. And I don’t know him well enough to know about that second kind. But I’m pretty sure he’d never do you dirty.”

“No, he wouldn’t. But that doesn’t mean he won’t break my heart.”

“Isn’t it already broken, Nor?”

I swallow, tears pricking at my eyes. She’s not wrong.

“At least we know he’s game for fooling around, if that’s what you want.”

After I hang up with Sasha, I check the time. I still have an hour before we’re supposed to all meet downstairs for breakfast. We didn’t make a plan for the rest of the day yet, but we were going to bring our activity guides and decide together.

My stomach churns at the thought of seeing Jude after what happened last night, but I swing my legs out of bed and stand up. I can do this. Things might have changed between us, but it’s not like we can go back to where we were. I don’twantto go back to where we were.

I’m just padding out of bed to head to the bathtub—or should I say the scene of the crime—when I hear a commotion outside. Voices—specifically Cap’s and a knock on a door. First muffled—they’re knocking on Jude’s. Then loud and sharp. Mine too.

Did something happen?I rush to the door.

“Cap?” I exclaim as I open the door. “Are you okay?”

Cap and Farrah are standing there fully dressed in their winter gear—Cap in a full snowsuit, and Farrah in a big red parka and snow pants of her own.

Cap’s grinning widely. “We’re going snowshoeing!”

Cap explains excitedly that there’s an “ex…exc…”

“Excursion,” Farrah says, having a little trouble forming the word herself. “A trip, to a neighboring village. Cap saw the notice in the book—” She gestures into my room, where there’s a binder I vaguely remember Gunther showing us last night. “And that we need to be there early. Sorry we did not tell you sooner.”

“They had room for one kid and I’m the kid!” Cap says excitedly. “We already ate breakfast.”

“Wait, you want to go on your own?” comes Jude’s voice. My stomach flips at the sound. I can’t see him—he’s in his doorway. But I can picture him, sleepy, hair all mussed up. Is he wearing a shirt? I step out into the hallway, unable to stop myself.

Nope, no shirt. Jude’s got his arms folded over his bare chest, his hair as mussed and loose around his face just as I’d pictured.

When he sees me, his eyes meet mine for one long, liquid second.

“Yes, on our own. It is professional tour,” Farrah says. “We are home at three o’clock.”

Jude grills her, but after a minute, Farrah looks at her watch. “We will be fine, Jude. You think so, yes, Nora?” She’s looking to me for help.

Cap’s bouncing up and down. “We’ll be safe, Dad, promise!”

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