Eight
Hudson
I charged out of the doors after her, the only thing running through my head: catch her.
I couldn’t let her get away; I couldn't let this be our last moment. We’d shared too much, felt too much, loved too much.
If I could cut and run on the business and move up here to shack up with her tomorrow, I would. But it wasn't that simple.
I’d had the custom paint shop for almost a decade now, and business was better than ever. It’d take me at least a few months to close things out in the city, get a place rented or purchased up here, and have everything moved. Just thinking about it made my chest ache.
I caught sight of her, waves of auburn hair whipping in the wind as she sped to her car.
Fuck.
I ran full tilt after her, catching her only when she had a hand on the door and was ready to climb in.
“Fuck, you run fast in those heels.” I sucked in a breath of air.
“It’s a talent. I’m going to go home. I'm sorry, it’s just best if we let this end…”
I swallowed the baseball lodged in my throat, fingers tightening on her elbow as I pulled us together. “Don’t say that.”
“I can’t figure out how to do this. Did you see the looks my dad was giving me? I thought he was going to have a coronary, I’m sorry, but for them, we can't do this.”
“For them? For them! What about us, Sky? What about the fact that you make me feel happier than I’ve ever been, that you make me feel alive for the first time? My mom spent my whole life dragging me around from husband to husband. I don’t have much faith in relationships, and frankly, never have, but you and I are different. It didn’t take me long to see that at all.”
“I know, but, Hudson, it will crush them. My dad has spent his whole life building a business, building a reputation in this community—”
“And you think we ruin that?” He laughed, a hard edge to his words.
“No, but…I don’t know.” I finally gave in, realizing that was the whole problem with this scenario; I didn't know what the future held.
“I won’t beg you to love me, Skylar.” He shook his head, eyes holding mine as they shimmered with emotion. “You’ve got my number. I hope you use it.”
My heart thundered, my palms sweating, and tears burned trails down my cheeks as I watched him walk away.
But I stood rooted, speechless, knowing it was the best thing.
I couldn’t break my daddy's heart. I was his only daughter; he wanted to walk me down the aisle someday—and not to give me away to my stepbrother.
Hudson slung one leg over his Harley, the contrast of the handsome guy in the sharp suit on the big bike just one of the contradictions I’d come to love about him. The gauge in his ear was the only outward indication he didn’t quite fit in with these people. Hudson had edge, I never knew what would come out of his mouth, and he lived his life unapologetically. No regret, no shame, just feeling.
I sucked in a ragged breath, turning my head away when his bike roared to life.
I clutched at the door of my car, willing myself to get in, my heart begging me to take one last look. Just one final look at the man who had altered the very course of my life.
The bike paused as he waited at the exit, the slow, steady rumble vibrating through the asphalt and straight into my heart.
“Wait,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “I love you.”
As if he’d heard me, though it was impossible that he could have, he turned his head, eyes locking with mine one last time as I mouthed the words to him again, “I love you,” and I swiped at another stubborn tear.
His head angled down, then away, before I did the same, turning my back on the man who’d rocked my very foundations. The engine roared, and just when I was expecting the sound to fade, it grew stronger until it was vibrating through the soles of my feet again.
I glanced up, finding he was riding straight for me, a determined look in his eye.
He was coming for me.
“Hop on, precious. I’m not leaving this town without you on the back of my bike. I’m making an executive decision on this one.” His crooked grin stole my heart.
“Good.” Fresh tears rolled down my cheeks as I launched myself at him. He caught me in his firm embrace, lips bonding to mine as we kissed until we couldn’t breathe. Kissed like we’d never been kissed. Kissed like it was our very last moment together on earth.
But it wasn’t.
It so wasn’t.
“Told ya you’re stuck with me, Sky. Hope you're ready for that.”
“Bring it, Hudson.” I grinned up at him when he pulled me onto his lap, sandwiching me between his heavy body and the handlebars and tipping me back, my hair cascading in long waves off the side of his bike. His lips fastened to my throat, working up the column of my neck before landing at my lips and kissing me completely breathless.
“I’m finally ready,” I announced, eyes unwavering as I held his.
“Took you long enough. I’ve been ready since the second you started flirting with me at that bar.”
“Me?” I giggled, circling my hands around his neck. “You were doing the flirting.”
He shrugged, revving the engine again. “Ready for forever, precious?”
“Only if you’re in it.”
“You’d better believe it. You’re not getting rid of me, no matter how hard you try.”
“Well, I’m done trying.”
“Just feeling?”
“Just feeling,” I confirmed. “Someone once said I think too much. So I’m trying it his way for a while.”
“I like the sound of that.” His hand wrapped around my waist as we pulled out of the parking lot again, this time headed south.
I didn’t know what the next step would hold for us, but letting Hudson leave had become harder than staying alone without him. Fuck the status quo, I wanted the new, the reckless. I was all feeling, and for the first time in my life, I was listening to my heart—and I could hear what my heart was saying loud and clear.
Love Hudson with everything in you—because love like that doesn't come around very often.
There was no going back for us. We were only looking forward now.