Page 10 of Adore Her

“I’m not asking for your permission.”

“Right,” he says, sarcasm thick in his voice. “Okay. I guess I’ll just sit back and watch you try to pursue her, then.”

“Come on, man.” I shake my head. “I’m doing the right thing and telling you upfront. Can’t you respect that?”

“She’s mylittle sister!”

“She’s a grown woman. She doesn’t belong to you.”

“I know that,” Jude snaps. “But it’s my responsibility to look out for her. I brought her with me this weekend because she needs the rest and relaxation. The last thing she needs right now is a guy messing with her heart.”

“It’s not like that, Jude.”

He lets out a dry laugh. “Okay. Whatisit like, then, Romeo?”

Does he really expect me to explain how I feel about Cora when I haven’t even fully expressed it to her yet? Fat fucking chance. She needs to hear the words first. And she will—tonight.

“I’m not going to get into it right now,” I tell him. “You’ll just have to trust me when I say it’s real.”

Jude runs his palm over his chin, back and forth, back and forth. I hate seeing him so worked up. But it’s not like I expected this to go smoothly, either. If I was in his shoes, I’d react the same way.

“Fine,” he says. “Do what you want. But if you screw it up, if you break her heart—no, fuck it, if you makeone single tearcome out of her eyes, I’m going to make you so fucking sorry you ever met her.”

* * *

The next time I see Cora, I take one look at her and know that she and Jude have had a conversation about what’s going on. Her expression is preoccupied, and she can barely look me in the eye.

It kills me, not knowing what’s going through her head right now. If it wasn’t for the five of us being in the middle of eating dinner, or Jude’s watchful eyes on me, I would pull Cora aside and find out what’s going on.

But I stay cool.

I make casual conversation.

I pass the fucking salt.

After dinner, the group migrates into the living room, and I silently start stacking logs in the fireplace. I don’t move away once I’ve gotten the fire going. I stay there, kneeling on the hard tiles, the possibility of losing Cora making me want to thrust my hand into the flames.

I don’t know what the hell I’ll do if I can’t have her. She isn’t the kind of woman I could ever get over.

The next few hours pass at a snail’s pace. As I sit in one of the leather chairs, engaging in a minimum amount of conversation and forcing myself to not look at Cora too much—she’s sitting cross-legged on the couch with a pillow hugged to her chest—I can feel my patience running low. Too much more of this, and I’m going to forcefully suggest that my buddies should think about heading to bed.

At last, around the time the fire burns out, Graham yawns and announces he’s turning in for the night.

“Yeah, me too,” says Kurt, cracking his neck as he stands up. “See you kids in the morning.”

Jude looks at me pointedly from the couch. “I think it’s time for usallto go to bed, right, Maddox?”

“I’m good,” I say.

Jude gives me a long stare, then stands up and empties his lungs. “All right. Goodnight.”

Cora stands up from the couch, still hugging the throw pillow to her body, and gives her brother a quick peck on the cheek. “Night, Jude.”

We both watch him leave. And we both stay silent as her brother’s footsteps fade and the sound of his bedroom door opens and closes.

Then Cora spins around and chucks the pillow angrily at me.

“I can’t believe you told him!” she says.

---