Twenty-Seven

This is the first practice that Joel has been at in over three weeks. No one but Archer and us know that, of course, since he and Jude were at least semi-successful in their swap. It still blows my mind that they mostly pulled it off. Now that I'm well acquainted with Jude, there's no way I could mistake him for Joel.

At least, I don't think I could.

He claims that someday they'll swap places to mess with me like they used to do with their parents when they were younger and that I won't be able to tell the difference. I guess we'll have to wait and see if I'm right or not. But I told Jude to bring it on. Daring him to do stuff is my new favorite pastime.

Joel cuts across the ice, stick in hand, like he never even had an injury at all. I sigh in relief, glad that things are mostly back to normal. Gwen said he still has a bit of pain from the sprain, which is why he"s still wearing the brace, but that as long as he keeps up with his physical therapy, he should be fully healed in about a week or so.

I was surprised when he chose to tell Dad about his injury. For now, they"re taking it practice by practice, day by day, and seeing how he feels. To everyone"s relief, Dad doesn"t want to bench him unless he has to.

"Ready?" Jude's deep voice sounds beside me. I turn toward him with a smile.

"When you are."

He takes my hand, leading me through the stands toward the rink's exit. "Kenz is excited to meet you."

I force a confident smile and try not to freak out at the fact that I will be entering Jude's world of professional ice skating as his girlfriend. Not only will I meet his coach, but I'll meet Kenzie, his long-time skating partner and best friend.

"I'm excited to meet her too," I say, even though my thoughts are going haywire. What will she think of me? What if she sees through my confident exterior to the mental mess I am underneath and convinces him I'm not worth his time?

"Hey." Jude's arm comes around my shoulders, enveloping me in warmth. "I mean it. She really is excited to meet you, and I already know she'll love you."

"We'll see," I say, tilting my face toward his. "You know I'm not the most likeable person right off the bat. Pretty sure you called me a bunch of unflattering names when I accused you of being…well, you."

He laughs, the vibration rattling through me. "Listen, peanut." He tucks me even closer into his side and lowers his voice to a deep rumble. "I was…conflicted. You were about to take a hammer to my house of cards, and I couldn't have that. And I definitely didn't expect such a sassy little thing like you to be so hot when you got riled up."

I poke him in his ribs, and he jerks away with a high-pitched giggle. "And are you still conflicted?" I ask with a bat of my lashes.

"No, ma'am." We've barely made it to the doors, and he's gripping the front of my jacket with his fist and pulling me close. "The only conflict between us now is whether or not I'll be able to wait an appropriate amount of time before I confess that I…" He stops, then licks his lips with a laugh. "Never mind."

"What?" I jab him again. "You can't say never mind right as you're about to confess something. That's like cruel and unusual punishment to an obsessive overthinker. Right now, my mind is filling with questions like, are you confessing to a murder? Or simply confessing that your feelings aren't as strong for me as mine are for you?"

He opens his mouth to speak, but I charge ahead. "Maybe you were about to confess that you actually hate brunettes and wish I'd dye my hair. Or maybe it was something insignificant, like that you forgot to eat lunch."

This time, he takes both sides of my jacket in his fists and tugs until I'm right up against him. "It wasn't any of those things. It was a good confession. One that I should probably wait a lot longer to tell you, but every bone in my body is begging me to spill it."

I lift an appraising eyebrow. "Which is?"

His smirk curves ever so slightly. "Which is that I am wildly, crazily, and stupidly in love with you, Chantelle Pratt." His smile deepens, and I rest my palms against his back. "Like now that there's you, there's no going back to being just me. It's us from here on out."

He was right. That confession was good. More than that, it exactly described all the things I've been feeling toward him too. Part of my brain wants to question whether this is the right time for us to be saying things like this, but the more me part says to be honest back.

"I'm stupidly in love with you too." Reaching up on my tiptoes, I kiss him, taking the lead and not wondering about if I'm doing it right or rushing this. "So sorry, Forshtay," I whisper. "But you're stuck with me and my crazy."

We lose ourselves in a kiss that's so delicious I almost forget what I wanted to tease him for. I angle myself back and clear my throat. "There is something I wanted to ask you."

His eyes rove over my features, desire still pulsing between us. "Anything."

A wicked smile spreads across my face. "Were you or were you not listening to my audiobook on the way to the Seaville game?"

A rosy blush instantly fills his cheeks as he looks away and tries to step back.

"Oh, no," I say, jerking him back toward me. "You're not getting away that easy."

He reluctantly meets my eyes. "So what if I was? It's a good book."

"So I've heard." It's impossible to keep the sheer delight from my voice. "Aiden couldn't wait to tell me about Joel's affinity for romance novels and how he's listening to them to study up for—"

"Don't even say it," he growls, putting a hand over my mouth. "We both know that's not true."

I giggle as he lowers his hand and wraps his arms around me. "Seriously, it means a lot that you not only read but listened to my book. You're like…top-notch boyfriend material."

He doesn't verbally respond, but his eyes darken with desire again just before he leans in for a kiss. Except someone's throat clears to our left.

We break apart instantly, only to see Dad standing there with his arms crossed. "Is this how you were planning to introduce your new boyfriend?"

I roll my lips together and gesture nervously to Jude. "Uh, no. Dad, this is Jude Forshtay. Joel's brother."

"I know," Dad deadpans. "We've met."

Jude immediately steps forward and holds out his hand. "It's nice to see you again, sir."

Dad accepts the handshake with a wary look directed at me. "And? I take it this is him?"

My enamored smile breaks free, but I don't even try to hide it. I don't have to anymore. "Yes. Jude is the guy I've been seeing."

Dad gives Jude a slow, appraising nod. "I'm glad to see Chantelle has chosen more wisely than the last time. How about you not doing anything to make me think otherwise, all right?"

"Yes, sir," Jude says without an ounce of hesitation. "I'm actually taking Chantelle to practice with me today. I'd like her to meet my coach and my skating partner."

"Sounds like fun," Dad says, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Why don't you come over for dinner afterward? My wife and I would like a chance to get to know you better." He looks to me, then. "If that's okay with you. Did you have other plans?"

"No, that's fine," I say with a timid smile. "We were just planning on grabbing a bite out somewhere, but we could join you and Mom instead."

"Great." Dad backs away. "I'll get back to practice, then. See you two later."

"Nice seeing you again, sir," Jude repeats. Nervousness rolls off him in waves, and I can't help but giggle as Dad rounds the corner, heading back to the rink.

"You all right there, blondie?"

A puff of breath leaves him in a rush. "That man is extremely intimidating once you're officially dating his daughter."

"Come on," I say, pushing open the doors that lead out to the parking lot. "You were under his direction for three weeks. You never once acted like you were intimidated."

"How could I? I had to be Joel, remember? Now I'm just me. A guy who's in love with his daughter—a guy who's been kissing his daughter—without his blessing."

"Um, excuse me, sir, I am an adult. I may currently live with my parents, but I don't need their blessing to date you. Also, I kissed you first."

Slinging his arm around me again, he sighs. "That you did, peanut. That you did."

Walking back into the practice rink where Jude took me on our first date brings back one of my favorite memories. We had so much fun skating together and learning about each other. This is the first time we've been back since that night.

And now I'll be meeting the uber talented, effortlessly elegant Kenzie.

We walk through the doors hand-in-hand, but as soon as we reach the ice, Jude puts a comforting hand on the small of my back and whispers close to my ear, "I'm so glad you're here."

Somehow, that was exactly what I needed to hear as Kenzie, in all her slender, stunning glory, rotates on the ice with precision and grace.

She comes to a stop and poses before catching sight of us. A wide smile blooms between her reddened cheeks as she skates over.

"There you are! Thought maybe you weren't coming in today." Kenzie comes around the wall, and when I think she might offer her hand to me, she wraps me in a hug instead. "It is so good to finally meet you. All Jude does is talk about how awesome his girlfriend is."

I pull away with a nervous laugh and glance back at Jude, expecting him to seem embarrassed, but he looks more proud than anything. "Kenzie, this is Chantelle," he says. "Chantelle, my partner, Kenzie."

"It's great to meet you," I say with a smile. "I've watched yours and Jude's videos for so long, it feels surreal to finally see you in person."

"Uh, you're telling me." Kenzie laughs and crosses her arms. "It's a miracle I haven't fainted yet, considering I'm talking to the one and only Evie Chandler right now. Your book is my favorite romcom ever. Like, not even kidding. I had it pre-ordered way before I ever knew you were Jude's girlfriend. But once I found out…" She trails off, tilting her head toward Jude.

"She kind of went a little crazy and fangirled for a week straight."

A surprised laugh bubbles out of me as I snuggle into his side. "That's incredible. I was so nervous to meet you."

"Oh, girl, stop," Kenzie says with a wave of her hand. "We're going to be great friends, I have no doubt. And I can't wait to pick your brain about how you wrote those characters. Also, I need to know if Callie and Michael will be in the second book." Her expectant smile warms my heart, but I can't give away any secrets, not even to Jude's best friend.

"Let's just say they'll make a cameo."

She squeals and clasps her hands together. "Hey, would you be interested in going on a double date with me and Luca sometime?" Jude groans, but she slaps his arm. "Oh, come on. It would be so fun!"

"Yeah, I'd love that," I tell her. "Let's plan something soon."

"All right, all right," Jude cuts in. "Fun time is over. We've gotta practice, and Chantelle is going to sit and write while she watches."

Kenzie's entire face lights up. "Really? Like you're going to be writing book two while we practice? That is so cool!"

It never ceases to amaze me when people get this excited over my characters and stories. "Yep. I mean, I'm going to try and write, but I have a feeling watching this guy will be distracting."

Oh. My. Am I flirting with my boyfriend in front of his long-time friend right now? It's completely unlike me to act this flirty without constantly questioning myself, but I can hardly care when Jude responds with a sexy smirk.

"Maybe I can give you some material for your next MMC."

"You guys are adorable," Kenzie says with a dreamy sigh when an older, stern-looking woman approaches. I'm then introduced to Coach Zellers. Overall, she seems pretty no-nonsense but with a good sense of humor and friendliness that make her more approachable than she first appears. When she tells them it's time to get started, I find a spot on the bleachers with a good view and settle in.

I've got all the things I normally have with me at Big Hair Books, minus the coffee, pastries, and Sam's warm personality, but I still find it hard to focus. Jude is magnificent when he's in his element. Seeing him skate in person is so much more mesmerizing than it is online. And Kenzie moves with the kind of grace I can only dream of.

Every once in a while, Jude sends a wink or a nod my way just to let me know he sees me. Maybe I'm too much of a distraction for him too. I smile at the thought.

Since we've been official, Jude's helped calm my thoughts, so I no longer overthink the small stuff. As badly as I need to get this second book done, I'd rather be distracted by my hot ice skater—not hockey—boyfriend all day long. And maybe if I distract him back with enough flirty looks that promise more later, he'll let me watch him like this more often.