Valentine’s Day Special
I walked back from the pack school, where I’d been teaching the pack children, with a bright smile on my face. Jude had told earlier this morning before he left that he was dropping by with the coach to talk about his transition from being a college player to whatever he decided to do now with his future. Although he still hasn’t actually talked to about that decision yet.
The pack school hosted extracurricular activities today that all the parents were invited to attend, and watching the little pups interact with their mothers and fathers had made my heart swell. But what had made want to roll my eyes for the umpteenth ti was how the parents kept fawning over constantly.
"Young Luna, be careful!"
"Young Luna, don’t strain yourself!"
"Young Luna, let get that for you!"
"Young Luna, please sit down; you shouldn’t be on your feet!"
I’d thought I’d escaped Jude’s overprotective clutches by going to work, but apparently the entire pack had adopted his paranoid energy when it ca to their pregnant young Luna.
But it was kind of nice having people fawn over you.
I finally reached the Winter mansion after my walk, and the mont I opened the front door, I was imdiately greeted by silence.
Elena had ntioned earlier this week that she and Marcus were going out today to do whatever mysterious "Marcus and Elena things," and Maya would obviously be at the café tending to all the couples who flooded in on Valentine’s Day testing the new recipe. I missed working at the café sotis.
The walk from the pack school to the Winter mansion was only about fifteen minutes, but I’d had to literally stand my ground and argue with Jude for him to finally let walk it once in a while as exercise. Otherwise, I was convinced I’d just turn into a complete sloth who did nothing but lie around eating and sleeping all day.
As soon as I reached the entrance to Jude’s and my private wing, I paused mid-step because there was a trail of small candles lining the hallway leading to our door, their flas flickering gently and casting dancing shadows on the walls. I felt a smile tugging at my lips as I gently walked past them.
When I finally pushed open the door to our wing and stepped inside, I actually gasped out loud because the entire space had been completely transford into sothing straight out of a fancy five-star restaurant.
The lights had been dimd low, and there were candles everywhere, creating this warm golden glow that made everything look soft and romantic. Rose petals were scattered across the floor in an artful pattern. Our dining table had been covered with an elegant tablecloth and set with designer plates and glasses. There was a bottle of sparkling cider chilling in an ice bucket, since I obviously couldn’t drink wine right now. And in the center of the table sat a gorgeous arrangent of red roses.
Soft romantic music started playing, and it made the whole atmosphere feel even more intimate and romantic.
Jude erged from the kitchen area carrying two covered plates, and when he saw standing there frozen in the doorway with my mouth hanging open, he smiled.
"Happy Valentine’s Day, sweetheart," he said, and his voice was warm and loving.
Before I could even respond or process what was happening, he’d set down the plates and crossed over to , gently guiding to the already prepared chair and pulling it out for . I sat down, still completely agape, unable to form coherent words about what he’d done, about how much effort he must have put into all of this.
He sat down across from and removed the covers from our plates with a flourish to reveal prepared steak with roasted vegetables and so kind of fancy potato dish.
"Did you make all of this?" I finally managed to ask.
"Of course," he said with a slight smile. "I wanted tonight to be special.”
I laughed and felt tears prick at my eyes because this man, this wonderful, incredible man, had gone to all this trouble just to make tonight special.
We started eating, and the food was actually delicious, and we fell into easy, comfortable conversation. Jude asked how my day at school had been, and I couldn’t help but smile as I started telling him everything that had happened.
"One of the little ones, Tobi, ssed up his art project and started crying," I said, gesturing with my fork. "And I had to spend like twenty minutes calming him down and helping him fix it. Oh! And one of my pupils, this sweet little girl nad Jade, drew a picture of —"
I started to stand up excitedly to go get the drawing to show him, but Jude reached across the table and gently caught my hand.
"You should definitely show later, sweetheart," he said. "But right now this mont is just for us. Just you and ."
I felt heat creep up my neck and spread across my cheeks as I sat back down. "Sorry," I muttered under my breath, embarrassed that I’d gotten so carried away rambling.
But Jude just rubbed his thumb across my knuckles where he still held my hand across the table. "I didn’t an it like that," he retorted quickly. "I love your voice. I love listening to you talk. I could literally listen to you talk from morning till night on repeat, and I’d never get bored of it."
He paused and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "But... I’m jealous," he mumbled.
He looked so adorable sitting there admitting sothing so ridiculous that I couldn’t help but laugh. "Jude!" I said in a mock scolding tone. "You cannot be jealous of a child."
He pursed his lips. "Yes, I can and I am. I wasn’t there with you today. So kid got to make you smile and laugh and pay attention to him all day while I was stuck dealing with Coach.”
My heart lted at how bothered he seed. I stood up and walked around the table to him, leaning down to peck his lips softly. When I pulled back, his entire face had transford, a beautiful bloom of a smile radiating from his lips.
After we’d both cleaned our plates, Jude stood and started gathering the dishes. "I should pack this all up and clean—"
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