Strangely Normal - By Tess Oliver Page 0,66

off his jeans, and this time the whimper was more of a gasp. He lowered himself over me and kissed my mouth lightly. “Now, where were we, my incredibly beautiful garden of Eden?”

CHAPTER 19

Nicky King has left the building. That phrase kept bouncing through my head the day after Finley’s father left for the rest of his tour. His leaving reminded me of the updraft that followed a jet as it took off. It was as if a giant vacuum had sucked up the energy and frenzy that came with his arrival, and now the house was relatively quiet. Jude and Cole had gone to work on separate construction sites, and the staff was busy putting the house back in order. The sharp difference in the house’s atmosphere reminded me a lot of Finley’s abrupt mood swings. And frankly, after a few days with her father in the house, it was not hard to see why she had so many problems. My nerves had been on edge the whole time, and had it not been for Jude, I would have stayed hidden in my room for the duration of Nicky King’s stay.

Now that he was gone, Finley’s full attention was on me again. Her mood had been bright and energetic for the last few days. I found her downstairs in the kitchen standing behind a wall of baking supplies. “It’s cookie baking day. Max is coming tonight after Cole gets home from work. Cole has invited this girl, Teresa, he hangs with sometimes. She’s kind of sleazy, which, of course, is why Cole likes her. She lives in Westwood with her father. He has some connection with the porn industry, but I don’t ask too many questions. I thought we could have a cookie slash movie party. I’m sure Jude wants to hang with you. It’ll be like triple date.”

Jude and I hadn’t had much time to be alone, the one pitfall that came with his dad’s absence. But he still managed to yank me into dark corners and empty hallways for stolen kisses. And I’d grown remarkably fond of those secret kisses. Finley knew well enough that Jude and I had become closely attached, but she had no idea of the scope of our relationship. I planned to keep it that way. It just seemed less complicated.

“Cookies and a movie sounds fun. What should I do?”

“First, help me decide,” she lifted three bags up, “chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, or toffee bits?”

I contemplated the choices but the decision was obvious. “I suggest that you use all three.”

She pointed at me and winked. “I like your way of thinking, my friend.”

It had felt as if we’d separated and grown apart some with her dad’s arrival. She was completely nuts about the man, and just like Jude had warned me, she’d only had time for her dad while he was home. Now everything had returned to normal, and we were completely in sync with each other.

Finley pulled out a mixing bowl. I measured the sugar as she softened the butter. She whipped the two ingredients together and stared into the bowl. “Are there two finer ingredients than butter and sugar?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Grab me two eggs from the fridge while I search for the vanilla.” She opened and shut several cupboards. “So, you never told me, how was the visit to your parent’s house?”

I picked up an egg to crack on the side of the bowl.

“Did Jude make a good impression?” she asked.

The egg shell smashed and some pieces fell into the butter mixture.

“No problem.” She fished the pieces out with a spoon.

“How did you know he went with me?”

She shrugged. “Just a hunch. He was gone for the day, and the two of you surfaced at about the same time.” We’d moved stealthily over a wall and across the yard unnoticed and then stupidly walked into the house together thinking no one would see. Obviously Finley had.

“It’s all right, Eden. I don’t mind. To be honest, I’ve never seen Jude in such a good mood. He really likes you.”

I knew she was fishing for my confession of how much I liked him, but I skirted around the topic. “My dad nearly fell on his face. He recognized your brother instantly. Everyone really liked him, even my sister, Sophie, and she’s not easily won over.”

“Jude has that way about him. He can turn his charm on and off like a faucet, and people become enamored with him instantly.”

I could usually