Chapter 6 Chapter Six: Jude

My best friend had officially lost his mind.

He had probably drunk more than he could handle. That had to be the reason he was starting to spit nonsense.

“Have you lost your mind?” I glared at him.

“No.” He looked between the two of us, completely unfazed by my glare. “You’re just not thinking straight.”

I scoffed, shaking my head.

I knew I was drunk, but I wasn’t shitfaced. At least, I didn’t think I was.

My eyes darted toward Millie. Although the bar was dark, I could still make out the faint flush on her cheeks. I wasn’t sure if it was from the alcohol or from the conversation we were having.

“You need to get back at your ex,” Niall said, pointing at Millie. “And you…”

My glare made him stop for a moment.

I wasn’t about to let him admit in front of her that she was the girl I couldn’t forget.

“You need to fix your image,” he finished, making me frown.

“What’s wrong with his image?” Millie asked.

“The guy is scary as hell!” Niall exclaimed. “He is the literal meaning of unapproachable.”

My jaw clenched. My best friend was surely testing my patience tonight. Why did he want me to punch him?

I knew exactly what he was doing. The whole image thing was nothing more than an excuse because he knew I would never tell Millie the truth.

And while I was lucky that someone out there was actually trying to help me get what I wanted, I could never do that to her.

I could never force Millie to marry me.

“If you marry Jude, your ex is going to go nuts,” Niall continued, clearly enjoying himself. “You’ll definitely make him jealous.”

“I don’t want to make him jealous.” Millie shook her head.

Something about her answer brought me a strange sense of comfort because it meant that she didn’t love him anymore.

At least, that was what I wanted to believe.

“Being with someone as successful as Jude will make him regret everything,” Niall told her.

“Why are we all talking like I’m not here?” I asked, looking between the two of them.

“Sorry.” Millie looked down with a shy smile before lifting her eyes toward Niall again. “The plan is great, but Jude isn’t the one for this plan.”

My eyes widened slightly.

Was Millie actually considering his plan?

Someone needed to knock some sense into her. And apparently, that someone was going to be me.

“Why don’t you see me fit?” I couldn’t help but ask.

The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them, but Niall’s face lit up with the most infuriating smirk.

“You don’t want to get married.” She shrugged.

I would surely want to get married if I ended up marrying her.

“I need to look for someone who doesn’t mind getting married.” She looked at Niall. “Do you have any candidates?”

She was speaking seriously.

I was going to kill Niall for putting this idea in her head.

“I think Jude is the perfect candidate,” Niall insisted.

“He doesn’t want to get married.” Millie threw her head back in frustration.

Was I being given another chance to get the girl I wanted?

After all those years, I had thought I would never see the girl I had silently liked for the last two years of high school again.

And yet, here she was, sitting at the same table as me.

I never told her. Not once. I had always been too afraid to take a step.

Somehow, despite all the years that had passed, she had only gotten more beautiful.

Her blonde hair had grown longer, falling past the middle of her back, and her face had become sharper. She had lost some of the softness she’d had in high school, but there was still something about her that hadn’t changed.

That innocence.

I had never seen it in anyone else the way I had seen it in her.

“Actually…” I straightened my back.

Both of them looked at me.

“Let’s get married, Millie.”

She stared at me with wide eyes.

“Are you for real?” she asked, sounding genuinely shocked.

I was shocked too.

I had no idea what I was doing.

But there was a voice in my head telling me that I needed to seize this opportunity, or I would regret letting it slip away for the rest of my life.

“Niall’s right.” I stood up, forcing myself to sound more confident than I felt. “I’m really unapproachable. I need to fix that.”

“And marriage will do that?” She tilted her head to the side.

“Married men give friendly vibes,” Niall answered on my behalf.

I shot him a look, but he only shrugged.

Millie looked between us, clearly trying to make sense of the ridiculous conversation.

She looked reluctant, and for a moment, I thought she was going to back out.

I wouldn’t have blamed her if she did. Niall’s idea was probably the most illogical thing I had ever heard. But somehow, I couldn’t bring myself to walk away from it.

After everything that had happened in Seattle, I needed a change. I needed to leave the past behind. I needed to start over somewhere else.

And maybe…

Just maybe…

I could finally have the one person I had wanted for years.

I watched Millie take a deep breath. Then, suddenly, her lips curled into a wide grin.

“Alright!”

My heart nearly stopped.

“Let’s get married!”

For a second, I just stared at her. She had no idea what she had just agreed to, and neither had I.

But nothing I had ever done had felt this right.