Hudsons Crossing

by Altonya Washington

  Thirty minutes and two glasses of champagne later, Riley didn’t fear being up in the hot-air balloon quite so much.

  She smirked when Asher caught her eye as she reached for the champagne bottle. “This is really unexpected,” she said as she wiggled the bottle.

  “Don’t forget the strawberries,” he urged.

  “Is this the way you persuade all those big names you sign?” She swirled a strawberry through the whipped cream while posing the question.

  Asher’s expression was serious as he toyed with the frayed edge of the tunic she wore. “I only break out the champagne and strawberries for the woman I’m trying to persuade.”

  “Hmph.” She savored the fruit and cream on her tongue. “Trust me, you’ve already persuaded me. Many times.”

  “Have I?”

  Before she could respond, he was kissing her deeply. “Wait,” she began to say before Asher’s tongue entered her mouth. “Asher…”

  He wasn’t ready to break their kiss just yet. The straw basket set beneath the colorful, voluminous balloon was almost as big as a small room, and offered plenty of privacy for a couple wishing to steal a sweet kiss amid paradise.

  Books by AlTonya Washington

  Kimani Romance

  A Lover’s Pretense

  A Lover’s Mask

  Pride and Consequence

  Rival’s Desire

  Hudsons Crossing

  Kimani Arabesque

  Remember Love

  Guarded Love

  Finding Love Again

  Love Scheme

  A Lover’s Dream

  ALTONYA WASHINGTON

  has been a romance novelist for six years. She writes contemporary and historical romance and has been an avid reader of both genres since age thirteen. She loves to incorporate romantic suspense in her work, and enjoys criminal fiction in novels, movies and TV. In 2008, AlTonya released her fifteenth title. In addition to writing, she works as a senior library assistant. She also teaches a romance-writing course in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she lives with her longtime love Derric and their eight-year-old son.

  HUDSONS Crossing

  ALTONYA WASHINGTON

  To My Sister Wanda,

  Welcome to the Mommy Club!

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed the dramatic, passionate and long-distance romance between Asher and Riley. The situation between this couple is one I can heartily appreciate as I’ve dealt with it during the course of my fifteen-year relationship with my longtime love Derric. Hudsons Crossing is about understanding, change, a new baby…but it’s also about compromise, which, next to communication, is an element that can make or break any union.

  Thanks for taking time to read about the Hudsons’ triumph through their changes.

  As always, I welcome your comments. Please e-mail me at altonyawashington@yahoo.com, join my Yahoo Web group, LoveAlTonya, to remain updated on all my projects and visit my Web site at www.lovealtonya.com.

  Blessings,

  Al

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  The New Chronicle buzzed with conversation and creative energy, as it often did as 5 p.m. crept closer. On the eleventh floor of the respected publication, the noise level was almost deafening. As usual, the final draft of the Stamper Column was the cause of the uproar.

  Of course, Riley Stamper would have the environment no other way. She thrived on the creative havoc that churned each day at that time. Though the column bore her name, she depended on the input from each of her staff to make it happen.

  Today however, Riley’s smoky-brown gaze was narrowing in doubt as she read the “opinion” of one of her junior reporters.

  “She’s the publisher’s niece Doreen. We put that in this particular write-up, and we better have hard proof, instead of gossip someone overheard in a club.”

  “Riley?”

  “Track down who said it. Find out where they got their info, and let’s talk more about it,” Riley finished instructing the rookie reporter.

  “Riley?”

  “Yeah, Case?” Riley finished jotting down a thought before looking up at her assistant. “What’s up?”

  Casey Royer twisted the engagement ring she’d been wearing for two months and did a poor job of hiding her unease. “You’ve got a call.”

  Riley’s attention had already strayed. “Case, take a message. You know I don’t handle calls during—”

  “It’s Asher Hudson’s office.”

  The creative havoc in the conference room simmered down to a hum.

  Riley leaned back in the chair she occupied dead center of the table. “Asher Hudson’s office? Phoenix?”

  “Mmm…” Casey’s brows rose a notch as her mouth tilted upward into a smile. “Apparently, they’re one of those ‘millions of satisfied readers’ we keep on hearing about.”

  “I’ll take it in my office.” She stood, walked down the hallway and picked up the receiver.

  “Mr. Hudson?”

  “Uh, no, Ms. Stamper. I’m Claudette Silver, Mr. Hudson’s assistant.”

  “Ah, Ms. Silver.” Riley let some of the coldness ease out of her voice. “I suppose this is about our article?”

  The smile came through the line as though it were words. “Mr. Hudson would very much like to speak with you about it.”

  Riley kicked off her pumps. “Well, he’s proven that he knows how to reach me by phone.”

  This time the smile came through in the form of a full-bodied laugh. “He prefers to speak with you in person, and he’d prefer to speak with you in Phoenix.”

  Riley waited a beat before responding. She wasn’t about to let Asher Hudson or his trusty assistant know that she was slowly yet steadily becoming unnerved.

  “I don’t think I’ll be in the area any time soon, Ms. Silver.”

  “Mr. Hudson understands what an imposition this is on your time and your job.”

  Riley smiled and nodded. She could take a month off and still meet the deadline for her daily column with ease. Her backlog of stories was enormous, and she’d swear, sometimes the articles wrote themselves.

  “Is this really necessary, Ms. Silver? Mr. Hudson can rest assured that he’d have my full attention whether we’re face-to-face or across a phone line.”

  “He doesn’t doubt your sincerity or professionalism, Ms. Stamper. He’s simply a man who prefers putting faces to names. He’s especially interested in putting a face to the name emblazoned across the column that almost put us out of business.”

  “Right…” Riley’s heart sank to her toes then.

  “He’d like to fly you out here as early as tomorrow morning. He’s already arranged for you to stay in one of Scottsdale’s finest hotels.”

  “Scottsdale?”

  “Mr. Hudson lives in the suburb right outside Phoenix.”

  Riley began to massage the dull ache at the middle of her forehead. “Of course, he does.”

  Once more, the smile came through the line in Claudette’s voice. “He won’t take very much of your time. I don’t believe you’ll be sorry you’ve spoken with him.”

  Riley acknowledged the truth in that. She’d seen enough pictures of Asher Hudson to know that a face-to-face m
eeting with him would have a fair amount of delight mixed in. Still, it was what he wanted to discuss that had the soles of her feet feeling like she was prancing on a bed of needles.

  “Ms. Stamper? May I tell Mr. Hudson that he can expect you?”

  Riley swallowed nerves and summoned a bucketload of courage. “What time did you say the plane leaves?”

  Riley sweetened her third cup of chamomile tea and figured the hot brew would send her to the toilet more quickly than it’d send her to sleep. She’d gone home shortly after her conversation with Asher Hudson’s assistant. The woman had sounded pleasant enough. Riley wondered if the same could be said of her boss. Taking a sip of the tea, she took a moment to groove to the soulful stirrings of Mary J. Blige’s voice drifting through the loft. Then, reluctantly, she shuffled toward the bedroom, where she’d been making a poor attempt at packing.

  “What the hell do people wear in Phoenix, anyway?” she grumbled and kicked a pair of espadrilles across the floor. The phone rang, and she almost jumped out of her skin.

  “This is Riley,” she answered just before another ring sounded, which would trigger the answering machine.

  “May I call you Riley, or do you prefer Ms. Stamper when speaking to strangers?”

  The voice prompted her to sit. Though she wasn’t sure the bed was the safest place. The depth of the speaker’s clear baritone rumbling through her phone line could easily stir sensations best left alone.

  “Hello?”

  Riley cleared her throat. “Well, that would depend on the stranger.”

  “Ah. Well, it’ll probably be Ms. Stamper then. This is Asher Hudson.”

  Of course, it was. Riley gave herself a pat on the back for giving a subtle come-on to the man who was luring her out to Phoenix, most likely to attack her for casting a shadow over his business.

  “Mr. Hudson, your assistant said you prefer face-to-face meetings to phone calls.”

  “She’s right, but I had hoped to contact you first myself and ask you out here.”

  “Your assistant did a fine job of extending the offer, I assure you.”

  “I don’t doubt that she did. I wanted to call and talk with you, anyway.”

  “Oh?” She sat a bit straighter, hoping he’d save her the trip and relax his decision to keep her in the dark until they met.

  “I wanted you to know that it’s not my intention to bring you here to rake you over the coals.”

  “Really?” She studied her foot, swinging it back and forth. “What is your intention, Mr. Hudson?”

  “It’s Asher. And my intentions won’t have you regretting that you got on that plane.”

  Indeed. She conceded the point. But if they were anywhere as provocative as his voice, his intentions were gonna be pretty hard to resist.

  She sighed. “You’re not gonna tell me, are you?”

  “Not until I see you.”

  “Well then.”

  “Mmm…”

  “So…I’ll see you.”

  “Looking forward to it, Ms. Stamper.”

  “It’s Riley.”

  The bass in his voice softened. “Good night, Riley.”

  At the sound of the dial tone, she drained her teacup and then trudged back to the kitchen for helping number four.

  Phoenix, Arizona

  “A woman with a popular, prize-winning column like that is no fool.”

  “I’m counting on it.”

  Claudette Silver rolled her eyes and set a tall mug of black coffee before her boss. “Do you really expect her to tell you anything?”

  “No. Though there’s a slim chance that I could be wrong.” Asher added cream to his coffee with one hand and used the other to work the TV remote. “Don’t you want to be around to see that?”

  Again, Claudette rolled her eyes. “It’s what I live for, but sadly, it has yet to happen. Toodles.”

  “What time does her flight land?”

  “Noon!”

  Asher grinned when his office door slammed behind Claudette. Then he reclined in his desk chair to enjoy his coffee and the view of the city he loved.

  Riley steeled herself against asking the flight attendant if she had any of those tiny bottles of whiskey inside the cart she wheeled down the narrow aisle. She’d already ordered herself to calm down more than once since setting foot in the taxi that had taken her to the airport.

  She reminded herself that she was a well-known and well-respected journalist in New York. Whatever the case, learned scholars and award-winning actors alike read and admired her column. She certainly wasn’t going to allow herself to become unhinged because some agent—some well-known and well-respected sports agent who was well on his way to becoming a billionaire before he was thirty—beckoned her. Right? Right.

  The captain was announcing their descent. Riley yawned to ease the pressure on her eardrums and closed her eyes until the plane was safely on the ground.

  “Ms. Stamper, Claudette Silver. Pleasure to meet you.”

  “Pleasure’s mine,” Riley said as she extended a hand toward the woman, who looked as pleasant as she had sounded on the phone.

  Claudette placed her free hand atop Riley’s when they shook. “May I show you to the restroom before we head in to see Mr. Hudson?”

  “Oh, no, I’m fine.”

  “Coffee? Tea? Something stronger?”

  Riley wanted to laugh. “Maybe later,” she said and gave a quick toss of her bouncy shoulder-length tresses and shrugged. “No offense, Ms. Silver, but I’d just like to get this over with.”

  Claudette’s laughter sent her own bouncy locks of dark blond swinging about her lovely, deeply tanned face. “Please call me Claudette,” she said and nudged Riley’s shoulder.

  Riley relaxed a thousand times and urged Claudette to use her first name as well.

  Claudette winked. “Let’s go.”

  Flexing fists about the black trousers of her suit, Riley prayed the approaching storm would be fleeting.

  “…I’m just not sure right now. I promise to make the time soon.”

  “You say that each time we talk, and then six to eight weeks go by.”

  “Ma…,” Asher moaned. All the while he wondered how he could negotiate multimillion dollar contracts day in and day out without breaking a sweat, and yet five minutes on the phone with Cassell Hudson could have him whining like he was eight again.

  Claudette walked in then with his two o’clock appointment, and Asher agreed with the very next thing his mother said.

  Cassell had been intentionally sarcastic when she demanded her son visit in two weeks. Nothing could’ve surprised her more when he agreed.

  “Don’t disappoint me, Asher.”

  “I promise, Ma.” Slowly, he stood behind his desk. “I promise I won’t.”

  “Well then…we’ll see you in two weeks.”

  “Incredible,” he said and almost sighed, replacing the phone without looking away from the beauty at his assistant’s side.

  “Asher Hudson, Riley Stamper.” Claudette made the introductions and easily observed the amazement in her employer’s eyes.

  Riley considered it a triumph that she was able to extend her hand first. She’d seen Asher Hudson only on television. She’d seen him every time he signed a new client or made a big deal, and once when he was interviewed about a convenience store robbery he’d been unfortunate enough to walk in on. The big screen simply didn’t do him justice. Her jaw had almost dropped to the ground at the sight of him. Seeing him without the glass barrier of a TV screen was nothing short of heaven.

  “I’ll just leave you two…,” Claudette called across her shoulder, knowing neither of them heard her.

  “I’m sorry.” Asher took her hand at last, managed to give it a hearty shake and then waved toward one of the armchairs before his desk. “I appreciate you coming out like this on such short notice and all.”

  Riley graced him with a wavery smile. “You were vague enough to strike my curiosity. I’m a reporter, so it doesn’t
take much.”

  Asher had reclaimed his seat and did nothing more than nod for a time. Slowly and with no regard for the intensity of his stare, he allowed his light gaze to roam over Riley. He savored the rich dark tone of her chocolate skin and her eyes, huge pools he could almost lose himself in. Even in the dark, severe pantsuit she wore, he could tell her legs were long and strong. He found himself wondering how she’d feel against his taller frame and quickly forced his attention to the reason for their meeting.

  “I guess it doesn’t take much investigating to figure that your write-up on my sports agency is what pushed me to contact you.” Silently, he acknowledged that had he seen her first, contacting her wouldn’t have had a damn thing to do with that story.

  His words, however, were just the opening Riley was waiting for. She’d come prepared to defend her work. “I never publish anything, Mr. Hudson, without thoroughly investigating it. Every comment and every source is completely researched, confirmed and reconfirmed. People may think that column writing is simply opinion, with no real journalistic basis or integrity. I promise you, I choose with the utmost care every word that winds up in my work.”

  Asher propped the side of his face against his palm and listened. He honestly believed he could have listened to her all day. That admission in itself scared the living hell out of him. Grimacing a bit, he shifted his athletic frame in the chair and struggled to focus on her words and not on the delicious-looking mouth they tripped from.

  “I’m sorry if you were expecting an apology from me, Mr. Hudson, but I put too much professionalism in my work to ever apologize for it.” After her declaration, Riley stood with as much dignity as she could muster, gave a decisive tug on the flattering blazer and turned for the door.