Page 33 of Axe-ing for Trouble
With a noncommittal grunt, I sipped my tea.
“You know.” She reached for another cookie. “You never did tell me how you met him.”
I took a bigger sip to avoid having to answer, this time burning my tongue.
“I ask because I’m protective of him,” she said, her inquisitive stare making me squirm. “I’m an only child, but I grew up with the Heberts, and Jude is my brother now. He’s the quiet one, but he feels deeply.”
It would have been easier to tell her to fuck off and mind her own business if I didn’t like her so much. But Willa had gone out of her way to help me, providing medical care and emotional support. Not to mention the excellent cookies. So giving her at least a little of the truth felt like the right thing to do.
“Okay,” I sighed, closing my eyes. “I first met him at karate. I signed up for a women’s self-defense class. Figured I could use the training. He was assisting the instructor.”
She nodded behind her mug.
“I went pretty regularly for a couple of months, and each time, he was so kind and helpful.”
“Women’s self-defense?” She straightened. “I wanna take that class.”
“When this is over, we’ll do it together. I need a refresher. And you’ll feel like such a powerful badass after.”
She leaned in, resting an elbow on the granite, her green eyes growing wide. “Okay, so you fell in love with my brother-in-law while karate-chopping him. Adorable.”
My heart lurched, and I reared back enough to make my shoulder throb. “I did not fall in love.” I cringed. “I just thought he was good-looking and nice. We chatted, but I chatted with everyone there. I was making myself known as Amy, the bartender who was new in town.”
She raised her eyebrows. “But?”
Cringing, I considered whether to give her the full story.
I was leaning toward no when she tapped her nails on the counter. “I’m waiting.”
Shit. I blew out a breath and wrapped both hands around my mug. “Fine. Last year, some women I’d met at the bar mentioned that there was great live music in Lovewell. They said the band playing that weekend was amazing and went on and on about how hot the lead singer was.”
“Jasper?”
“Yes.”
She shrugged, unimpressed. I could understand the reaction. Why bother ogling a decently good-looking musician when she was married to a seven-foot-tall hockey God?
“Anyway, I was still getting my bearings here. It hadn’t been long since my brother had been attacked, and I was anxious about what I’d gotten myself into. So I went. Had a beer and a basket of fries.”
She hummed. “They do have excellent waffle fries.”
“Then the band came on stage,” I continued, spinning my mug on the countertop.
“And you made eye contact and fell in love.” Willa squealed, popping up straighter.
“No.” I huffed. “I saw him and immediately recognized him. And… I can’t explain it. He was different from the man I’d met at the dojo. The man I knew had been shy and reserved and serious. But playing guitar?”
A dreamy sensation floated through me, making me feel as if I’d been lifted off the stool.
“He came alive right in front of me.”
I barely blinked during the entire set. I was too enamored by the passion radiating from him, too caught up in the mix of pain and passion in every movement of his fingers.
“And I couldn’t take my eyes off him.”
“So this is basically a rock star romance,” she said, her tone light. “If you need recs, I have several. The knitting club is deep into smut right now. Jodie, who was my elementary school PE teacher, is all about knotting.” With a shudder, she shook her head.
I huffed a laugh, hoping she’d run with that change in topic, but no, she zeroed in on me again, her expression expectant.
