His Horizon - Con Riley Page 0,27

date you, didn’t I? That’s what I had planned before you left: a whole series of dates to convince you I wasn’t the waste of space you must have thought when you first met me. I wanted to prove that I was someone worth you spending your time with, not some entitled wanker, but I can see that can’t happen.”

“Why not.”

“Because I wouldn’t only want you behind closed doors, like this,” he said, low and honest. “If we dated, it would have to be right out in the open.”

Jude did eventually sleep after Rob’s… confession? Ultimatum? He didn’t know what to call it as he rewound and replayed Rob stating his limits. Him and Rob picking up from where they’d left off—no, going way beyond a first kiss to planning dates together, as though that was doable down here—was a lot to wade through. He drowsed while dwelling on Rob’s last sentence.

Of course, he couldn’t have dated out in the open while living under his dad’s roof. That would have been impossible. He drifted off while the thread of a brand-new thought wound around him—maybe he could now. It tangled as he slept, adding to that knot in his chest, still there when Louise let herself into the workshop and woke him.

“Sorry,” she whispered, a cardboard box in her arms. She put it on one of several stacks that hadn’t been there earlier. “Thought you’d still be dead to the world.”

“It’s okay.” Jude rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “I’m awake.” He squinted. “What time is it?”

“Nearly six.” She neatened one of the stacks, a cardboard wall between her and him. “I’m about halfway there with clearing the study.” She cast a look in his direction. “Figured it would speed up the process if I helped Rob move these boxes. Make some room up there so I can get started decorating,” she said as Rob pushed his way inside too, a larger box in his arms.

Seeing him was like poking at a burnt-out campfire only to uncover a glowing ember; Jude was suddenly all too aware that he was still in the bed where Rob had declined to kiss him, and more. He hoped Louise wouldn’t notice how residual embarrassment heated his cheeks. He covered his face as if rubbing sleep away to hide it. “You should have woken me. I could have helped you with that.”

“It’s no bother.” Lou didn’t pay any attention to Jude. Instead, she homed in on Rob. “Honestly, Rob was taking such an age for each trip, it was either carry some boxes down here myself, or we’ll still be going at midnight.”

“I didn’t take that long.”

“Oh yes, you did.”

“I didn’t.” Rob aimed for deflection. He took a few more steps inside, closer to the bunk than to the stack where Louise had placed her box. “Where do you want me to put this one?”

Louise narrowed her eyes, Jude recognising the signs that she was about to tease. It was kind of fascinating to see her aim it full-force at someone other than him. He absently pushed up his T-shirt and scratched at his belly, a smile spreading.

Louise ignored Rob’s question. “You did take forever, Rob, and when I came to find out why, there you were, standing in the same spot you are now, staring. I thought you were having some kind of seizure.”

“I was not staring,” Rob insisted, his gaze dropping to where Jude’s stomach was bare before skittering in the other direction. “Besides, it’s not like there’s anything here to stare at.”

“Apart from Jude,” Louise said, considering. “You want to be careful, Rob.” And her next sentence was all it took to douse Jude with icy water. “There’s a name for people who do that.”

Only Jude noticed the way Rob’s features tightened, and his suddenly clipped tone. “Which is?”

“Edward Cullen.” She chuckled at her own joke, oblivious to Jude’s relieved exhale and Rob’s rigid shoulders. Instead, she crossed the boatshed to remove clutter from the bunk opposite Jude’s. “Although, now that I think about it, you didn’t seem half as triggered by his snoring as me, so you two might as well bunk together.” She was breezy as she left. “Remind me to dig out some clean sheets for you after supper.” The door closed with a click, loud in the sudden silence.

Jude stood, Rob unmoving until Jude reached for him. Then he stepped away sharply. “I can’t do this,” he said.

“Share the boatshed with me?”

“No.” Rob dumped the box onto the