by KB Winters
“The way my dad was acting, I guess. He still wants me to...” I trailed off.
“He wants you to what, Mia?” he asked gently.
I sighed. “He wants me to move home.”
“Is that what you want?” I was surprised he even asked. Or he cared what I wanted. Nobody else seemed to.
“No. God, no. I love Portland, I love my life there. I imagine you feel the same way about it.”
His expression turned fierce. “I do,” he replied, the muscles in his arms rippled as he rolled onto his back. I averted my eyes. No good could possibly come from staring at him.
“What do you say we swap tonight?” he asked. “Couch for bed?”
“I fit on the couch better.” I doubted his six-feet-two frame would fit on the couch that my five-feet-three frame barely fit comfortably.
“Even so, I’ve heard marriage is all about compromise. Let me take the couch tonight, please?”
“Wait, the word please is actually in your vocabulary? I’ve often wondered about it.”
He grinned. “Occasionally.”
“Fine, then.” We switched spots. I stretched my arms out luxuriously and then eyed Hudson, feeling more than a little guilty. “You sure?”
“I’m sure.” he curled into the couch, trying to get comfortable. “So, since we’ll be married in forty-eight hours, tell me something I don’t know about you.”
The stark reality of the situation hit me. There were so many things I didn’t know about him. Big and small. I needed to fix that before I could walk down an aisle to him. I asked the first question that sprung to mind. “Who’s your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle?”
He thought for a moment. “Master Splinter. My question was for you to tell me something about you, though.”
“You know so much more about me than I know about you. It doesn’t seem fair.”
“Okay, what’s not fair? What do you want to know?”
“Let’s start with the basics. Master Splinter isn’t a turtle. Which of the turtles would you be?”
“I honestly don’t know. I’ve never thought about it. Raphael, maybe.” He hooked an arm around the back of the couch in an honest to god model pose. It was seriously hot.
No, Mia. Focus. “Why?”
“If I remember correctly, he was the bad boy of the team.” The corners of his mouth turned upward. The whole picture was ridiculously sexy.
I rolled onto my back. If I kept staring at him, I couldn’t be held responsible for my actions. “You think you’re a bad boy, huh?”
“Aren’t I?” His voice sounded more serious than it had before. “Okay, what else do you want to know?”
“I don’t know. It just feels like we should get to know each other. How about, Marvel or D.C?”
“I didn’t realize you were this into pop-culture. So, your getting to know each other thing seems to be working. Marvel, hands down. You?”
The tips of my ears burned. Maybe I was a bit of nerd sometimes, but I didn’t want him to know it. “Same. And I’m not that into it. I enjoy it as much as the next person. They just seem like safe topics.”
“Fair point. Why do you want to stick to safe topics?”
“The day has been long enough. There’s been more than enough heavy stuff for one day.”
“Another good point. Okay, safe topics for tonight it is. How about this one, if you could have one superpower, what would it be?”
“I feel like I should have an answer ready for that one, but I don’t. The power to clone myself, maybe? That way, I would be able to keep up with everything my boss expects from me.” I couldn’t hold back a laugh.
“He sounds like an asshole. You should tell your husband to beat him up for you.” A wicked grin spread across his face.
“Maybe I will. Should be quite an interesting show to watch.”
We talked about everything and nothing, until the early hours of the next morning, until my eyes were falling closed between questions, and Hudson agreed it was time to call it a night.
The last thought I had as I drifted off to sleep was how strange it was that we were becoming so comfortable around each other.
Chapter 12
Hudson
Mia linked her arm with mine, leading me to the back of the property. Her mother had banged on our bedroom door less than five hours after we’d finally gone to sleep, insisting there wasn’t a second to waste.
It was understandable, given the circumstances, but Mia looked like she was about thirty seconds away from throwing something at someone when I suggested we take a break. I didn’t know how much sleep she needed to function normally, but it was clearly more than she’d gotten.
Aside from the stress of having to plan a wedding in a day and a half, there was something going on between Mia and her father.
All I knew for sure was, he wanted her to move back to California, but there was something else. The tension between them that morning was so thick you could cut it with an ice-cold butter knife.
It seemed to really matter to Mia and Alice, for reasons I didn’t understand. I’d tried to question it earlier, but Mia’s grandfather had pulled me aside and imparted what he called his “wedding wisdom.” He told me the key to seamless nuptials was that all anybody wanted or expected from the groom was to show up.
As a result, I’d spent the morning playing chess with him instead of planning the wedding. I figured both of us were relieved.
Mia was quiet as we stepped into the blazing sun, her shoulders tense and jaw clenched. I needed to know what was going on with her, and that she wasn’t thinking about backing out of the wedding.
“So, it’s happening,” I told her, following her to a copse of trees hidden in the corner of the property.
“Yeah, thank you Captain Obvious,” she snapped at me, a deep frown etched on her face. Then she took a deep breath and collected herself. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t take this out on you.”
We reached the edge of the property. A log lay facing a small fish pond that had been previously hidden from my sight by the dense trees. I stopped at it, took a seat, and pulled her down with me. Reaching up, I rubbed her shoulders. She relaxed into my chest.
Nestled against me as she was, I was aware of every inch of her. The feminine scent of her shampoo drifted to my nose, mixing with the smell of damp earth in a way that was heady, intoxicating.
Her shoulders were soft but firm under my fingertips. Her sundress had ridden up to mid-thigh, exposing creamy flesh that radiated heat into mine, even through my jeans.
Despite the fact I’d taken the edge off in the shower earlier, my cock started to form a noticeable bulge in my jeans. Mercifully, Mia had angled her back slightly to me to give me better access to her shoulders. It was not the time to get hard.
I focused my thoughts on what she was saying rather than what she felt like. “You said you didn’t want to talk about anything serious last night. I’m assuming that whatever it is you shouldn’t be taking out on me is serious. I was simply pointing out it wasn’t last night anymore, so if you want to talk about it, I’m here.”
“I guess you have a right to know. It kind of involves you now, too.” She sighed, massaging her temples with her index fingers.
A gull squawked in the distance, reminding me how close to the beach we were. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“Remember I told you my dad wanted me to move home?” She shifted to look me in the eye.
“Yeah, you said you didn’t want to.” Shit, how was I going to convince her to stay in Portland until the divorce if her father was putting this much pressure on her? When she could live in a mansion by the ocean?
“I don’t,” she insisted. “When I graduated college, he wanted me to start working in the family business. He wanted to groom me to take it over when he retired.”
“And now he’s retiring.” The pieces clicked into place. “So, he wants you to resign at BC to move back and take over the company.”
“Bingo. I t
hink he was planning on using this week to convince me to do it. Then I showed up with you, and now we’re getting married. He doesn’t like that the fact that the chance of me moving home just became slim to none.” She leaned her head against my shoulder, her breath warming my neck.
To my surprise, I didn’t move away from her. “If it wasn’t for me and this marriage, would you have done it? Moved back and taken over?”
“No,” she answered firmly, then exhaled a deep breath. “I mean, I didn’t want to, but I don’t know if I would’ve caved under pressure if I didn’t have you to lean on.”
Relief washed over me, quickly followed by guilt that I was keeping her from something she might want to do. “Do you want to take over the family business someday?”
“No. I’ve always wanted to work in music. The only family’s business I want to take over is yours.” She shrugged. “I mean, we are going to be family for a little while, you know? Legally, at least.”
I tugged gently at her ponytail so she faced me, and I grinned down at her. “I don’t plan on letting anyone take my business over for a long time, so you’d have to kill me if you want me to retire.”
That earned me a small smile. “Damn. Any chance I could convince you to take early retirement and start golfing or fishing instead?”
My grin grew wider. I shook my head. “No chance whatsoever. Golfing is a necessary evil I endure every once in a while, and I can buy fish if I want it.”
“I thought that might be your answer.” She smiled, then sighed. “You know, I admire your drive. Nothing seems to slow you down. No amount of work is too much.”
“It’s nothing to admire, I don’t slow down because I refuse to go back to where I came from,” I replied darkly.
“You mean Santo Via Island?” She looked at me, eyes full of questions. Her fingers started tracing the outline of the rough bark on the log we were sitting on as she waited for my answer.
“Not so much the country as who I was when I was there.” I surprised myself with my honest answer. I’d never talked to anyone about where I’d come from. Not even Henry knew everything.
“Who were you when you were there?” Her eyes searched mine, her voice soft. Like she knew how hard it was for me to talk about it. Her hand slowly reached for mine, as if it was a subconscious movement to support me. She caught herself and pulled back.
“I was nobody. That was the problem.” It seemed that once I’d opened the honesty tap, it didn’t want to close again. I wanted her to know, even if I had no idea why.
She scoffed. “You could never be a nobody. Not even if you were exiled to North Siberia. You’d probably find a sleuth of bears to control or something.”
Mia’s confidence in her statement made me smile. “I happen to like bears. That actually sounds kind of fun. I always liked Baloo.”
“From the Jungle Book? I didn’t see that one coming.”
“When I was twelve, I found a copy of the book abandoned at a bus stop. I must have read it a thousand times over the years that followed.” What the fuck? Why the hell was I telling her about that? The honesty tap might be open, but it was soul-baring and getting too personal.
“Seriously?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“Yup. It was the only book I had. I mean, I visited the public library and read everything I could get my hands on, but the Jungle Book was mine.” I’d opened the door to a line of questioning, and all she was doing was walking through it.
“Right, because you were a nobody?” She shook her head in disbelief.
“Exactly. Whatever money I managed to save from odd jobs as a teenager went to food and essentials. I could never waste a cent on myself. No matter how badly I wanted more things of my own.” I toyed with the ends of her hair, trying to push away the bad memories that were rapidly surfacing.
There was a reason I preferred not to even think about my past—never mind talk about it. Yet, I didn’t stop there.
“I came from nothing, Mia. I grew up in poverty so bad that Mom would leave water boiling on the gas stove sometimes until my brother and I fell asleep waiting for food that wasn’t cooking.”
Mia’s eyes welled up with tears. Fuck. The last thing I wanted was her pity.
When I looked down at her though, it wasn’t pity in her eyes. It was pride. My brow furrowed. I wasn’t expecting that.
“You have a brother?” she asked softly.
I laughed humorlessly and dragged a hand through my hair. “Biologically, yes. We haven’t spoken for so long, I don’t think we consider ourselves related anymore. Not really.”
“He’s your blood, Hudson. He’ll always be your brother.” She stated it like it was a matter of fact thing. He may be related to me by blood, but it didn’t make him my brother. At least not in the way Ryan was hers.
It struck me her first question hadn’t been about poverty or the food thing, but about my brother. “From everything I’ve told you, that’s your question?”
“Oh no, I have a ton of questions, I just couldn’t imagine ever being estranged from Ryan. I think it would kill me. Overbearing and protective as he is, he’s still my brother.”
“You’re lucky to be so close to your family,” I said, lowering my head so my lips brushed her hair when I spoke. She shivered.
“Yeah, I guess I am. Tell me about your brother. You’ve seen more than enough of mine.” She intertwined her fingers with mine and rose from the log.
I followed her. “His name is Dakota. He’s about Ryan’s age, he’s thirty-one, right?”
“Yup, twenty-one with ten years’ experience, as he puts it.” A fond smile played on her lips.
“Right, I’m not sure about that, but he and Kota are the same age then.” Since when did I even think about Dakota as Kota anymore?
“Is he still in Santo Via Island?” Her grasp on my hand was firm, even though we were way beyond the tree line. No one could be watching us. I didn’t pull away.
“As far as I know, yeah. Last I heard, he was working some construction job in Pepper Cove.” Even that had to have been at least a year ago.
“Is that where you’re from?” she asked.
Not quite. “I guess you could say I’m from the outskirts of Pepper Cove.”
“When you say last you heard, you mean you haven’t spoken to him yourself?” There was no judgment in her voice.
“Not for a long time.” I wasn’t the one with the grudge. If he wanted to call, he had my number. At least I thought he did, I remembered sending it to him at some point.
A mix of emotions crossed her face. “Why?”
“It’s a long story. The short answer is because I left.” I’d never admitted that out loud. That seemed to be the theme of the day, though, so why the hell stop now?
“He’s angry because you came to America?” She seemed puzzled. “Why would he be so angry at you that he won’t speak to you?”
“I think he’s pissed because I left the family, because I left him behind. Because I refuse to go back.” I massaged the back of my neck.
“Why do you refuse to go back? Don’t you miss them?” There was still no judgment in her voice, only curiosity.
“I have no time to miss them. I promised myself once I got here I’d never be poor again, but making money takes up a lot of time. Getting a label off the ground takes up even more time.”
“Tell me about it,” she muttered, shoving my hip lightly with hers. “And I don’t make anywhere near what you do, I’m sure. And I’ve obviously never even tried getting my own label off the ground.”
I scoffed but answered honestly. “You will. Not open your own label, hopefully. But the money will come. You’re already doing really well for yourself. You’re good at your job, Mia. You have to know that. It just doesn’t happen overnight.”
“It did for you,” she argued, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder.
I laughed. “Is that what you think?”
“Didn’t it?” She tilted her head at me, challenge
in her eyes.
I met it, answering her without hesitation. “Absolutely not.”
“How did you get started then?” She tugged at my hand, rising from our log.
We continued talking as we walked along the back edge of the Doyles’ property. The size of the damn thing was ludicrous. I’d bought a pretty nice place in Portland, but it didn’t come close to this.
“The usual way. Blood, sweat, tears, and more sleepless nights than I care to count.” I shrugged.
She arched a brow and stopped to turn towards me. “Tears?”
“Okay, maybe there weren’t tears.” She had me there.
A gust of wind whipped a few strands of hair that had come loose from her ponytail around her face. I reached to tuck them behind her ear. Her cheek warmed under my touch.
The same pride I noticed earlier shone in her eyes as they met mine. My hand still cupped her cheek. No one had ever been proud of me, except for myself. It was a strangely gratifying feeling. “And just look where you are now, tears or not.”
“Yeah, look where I am now.” My arm swept out in a gesture at our surroundings.
“I didn’t mean it that way. I meant look at all you’ve achieved. It’s no wonder you’re fighting so hard to keep it.” She turned, breaking the physical contact between us. My hand was still warm from her cheek. I found myself wanting to return it there.
“I’ll do whatever it takes.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets to keep them to myself. “And you didn’t answer my question?”
She rolled her eyes, a small smile playing on her full lips. “Clearly, including marrying a complete stranger with a crazy family. And the family business is property development.”
“You’re hardly a complete stranger. I’ve known you for three years. Also, they’re not crazy. Not completely. They just love you.” She held a hand out to me, and I placed my palm in hers without thinking about it. “Maybe I should have considered property development, then.”
Mia laughed, shaking her head at me. “You’d hate it. Besides, why would you? You’re doing great.”
She said things so easily, so honestly. It was refreshing in a world where everyone had an angle.
