Page 94 of Jude

Plus eight bespoke guitars, two saxophones, an extensive drum kit, a rare violin, and a whole lot of hope that the European airspace would treat the freight with respect.

Jude sat beside me, his long legs stretched into the walkway, his fingers tapping the armrest while he studied a printed itinerary sheet.

His eyes slid to me.

‘You tracking fine, babe?’ he rasped. ‘Not too overwhelmed by the circus?’

‘I’m OK, Jude,’ I replied. ‘But y’all are più pazzo di un gregge di capre. Which means you’re all crazier than a herd of goats. In Calabria, we use the words when someone is running around with chaotic energy. If you have ever seen a pack of billies gone wild, you know exactly why the phrase fits all of you.’

He chuckled, his lush lips softening into a brief hint of a smile.

‘We land in Paris around dusk. The crowds and traffic at the terminal will be a total circus, but the hotel is worth the headache. Sleep if you need to, watch a movie, do you.’

I ended up bingeing a rom-com, eating the in-flight meal, and falling into a doze on his shoulder.

I woke to find myself tucked to his side, his arms encircling me.

He was also asleep.

I nestled closer, my cheek pressed into the cotton of his tee, my ear to the steady, rhythmic thud of his heartbeat as my mind quieted.

One thing I adored about Jude was his growing affection for me; he was a hugger, a hand-holder, and I found I appreciated his love language a hella lot.

Now lying on him, untethered from the world thirty thousand feet below, my feelings for him crystallized.

I loved him.

That was the plain and simple truth.

He was a maze of defensive walls and hyper-vigilant caution.

I could tell he had yet to resolve what we were to each other or where our agreement ended and our relationship began.

Still, in the quiet of the cabin, wrapped in his heat, the doubt didn’t sting as much.

I trusted him with my life, and my stubborn heart decided to trust him with the rest, too.

It was foolish of me; I was well aware of that.

True to his promise, he hadn’t so far addressed our lovemaking mistake.

Still, I yearned for him, and it was heaven to be in his arms, and I snuggled closer and slipped back into sleep, savoring the moment.

I woke to Jude shaking my shoulder.

‘Almost there, babe.’

I freshened up in the tiny bathroom, splashing cold water on my face.

I tamed my hair before returning to my seat just as the captain announced our final approach.

The descent into the city happened right as the sun dipped beneath the western horizon.

Paris rushed up to meet us in a sprawling grid of limestone buildings and winding avenues, all washed in a deep, violet dusk.

The sky split into layers of burnt orange and soft lavender, reflecting off the ribbon of the Seine below.

As the plane came in to the land, the streetlights flickered to life across the metropolis.