Page 37 of Accidentally Falling
“Is thatJude?”Bea singsongs, a blush creeping up my cheeks.
“Yes, he’s badgering me about eating.”
“I think that’s called caring.”
“Whose side are you on?” I huff, one hand dropping to rest on my hip, and she laughs.
“Right now, his.”
“Traitor.”
Stomping over to the fridge, I pull open the door to find…nothing. Crap. Closing it, I try the freezer and find one meatloaf dinner because I managed to make myself some plain pasta yesterday for dinner.
“I love that he cooks for you,” Bea says dreamily.
“Does Archer cook for you?” I ask over my shoulder.
“He does but he’s better at writing me little poems.”
“That’s still the sweetest story.”
“Yeah,” she concedes, “it’s definitely a good one.”
Bea met Archer not long after she moved to Blackstone Falls, and he’d been too nervous to talk to her. Instead, he got her number from a mutual friend and sent her little poems asking her out. He’s still nervous most of the time, and the poor guy blushes like mad when he’s caught off guard, but I love their love.
Honestly, I’m surrounded by some pretty great love stories—Montana and Ellison, Lana and Mason, Bodhi and Ella, Jensen and Nessa. Strangers that turned to friends that becamefamily.
The flicker of hope that ignites inside me is a sweet seduction, tempting me to believe that I could have that too. That I could have a love so passionate and consuming that you never want to know life without it.
A love just for me.
Jude could be that.
Shaking the words from my mind, I focus on my friend because the fact that Jude and I have amazing sex and he wants to help and support me through this pregnancy doesn’t mean it’s love.
It means he’s a good man who cares about me and our baby. That’s it.
And that’s okay.
It has to be.
20
JUDE
UNKNOWN: Welcome to the group chat! This is Montana by the way
Iblink at the screen, my eyes narrowing as another message pops up.
UNKNOWN: This is Archer
UNKNOWN: Jensen
UNKNOWN: Mason
UNKNOWN: Bodhi
I assumedArden would tell her friends but this seems like a bit much. Also,group chat?I honestly don’t like enough people to have one of those.
