“Wow,” I said, mesmerized. “Thank you so much.”
I leaned over and gave him the most tender kiss I could muster until I had to go back and stare at my beautiful bracelet some more.
“Dinner,” Flor said as she came out from the slider. “Here you go.”
She sat two plates in front of us. Some sort of chicken and vegetable dish with some interesting colored sauce. I didn’t know what it was. I just knew I was starving and it smelled amazing and I was going to eat it no matter what.
“Thank you, Flor,” I said to her. I couldn’t help but notice her eyes locked on the yellow diamonds that hung around my wrist.
“Yes, another delicious meal. Thank you, Flor,” Hudson echoed.
She said nothing as she turned to go back inside.
The diamonds on my wrist couldn’t help but remind me of Ava’s comment about the ring. It was killing me that she knew about something so private and personal between Hudson and me.
“You’re awfully quiet,” Hudson said a few minutes later.
I was determined to keep my mouth shut. I didn’t want to ruin dinner. I didn’t want to ruin the special night Hudson had set up for us. I didn’t want to bring up Ava after Hudson had just gifted me with a beautiful token of his love and affection for me. She didn’t get to have the privilege of ruining our romantic little evening together.
I smiled as I chewed my food. “Just eating.”
He stared at me, not buying it.
“Did you have a nice afternoon?” he asked.
I nodded as I continued to eat my dinner.
A few, long minutes of silence filled the space between us.
“You’re really being quiet tonight,” he said. He wasn’t going to let it go. “What’s on your mind? I can’t get a read on you.”
“I don’t want to talk about it right here,” I said, giving in. He wasn’t going to stop asking until he knew what it was.
“Ah, so there is something,” he said as he sat his fork down and sat back in his seat.
“It’s not worth bringing up right now,” I assured him.
I waited for him to return to his food, but he never did. He just sat up with his gorgeous, chocolate eyes fixated on me.
“Stop staring,” I said with a half-laugh. “You’re making me nervous.”
“Brynn, whatever it is,” he said. “Just say it.”
I forced myself to make eye contact, and part of me wondered if he thought something had happened back home. He looked at me like he was about to lose me. Like I was going to leave him and never look back.
“I-I,” I stammered. “I just want to know how Ava knew about my ring.”
Hudson clenched his jaw and began to rub his temple.
“I don’t know why you can’t let the Ava thing go,” he said, nearly seething. “I told you I’m handling it. All you have to do is focus on me and you. That’s all that matters. Not Ava. Not any of the bullshit back in Iowa.”
“Who said anything about Iowa?” I said with a scrunched face.
“I just assumed,” he said. “We didn’t really talk that much about what happened. I thought maybe you were still preoccupied with the Luke and Piper thing.”
“They can have each other,” I said with furrowed brows. It wasn’t that it didn’t hurt anymore, it just wasn’t relevant in that moment. Ava was my number one issue, and I wasn’t going to rest until she was out of our life for good.
“I don’t know how Ava found out about the ring,” he said. “She has her ways. I told you she’s a little nutty.”
“A little?” I snorted.
“Did you tell Alec about it?” he asked. “Alec tends to have a big mouth.”
I instantly felt sick about spilling my guts to Alec earlier that day. I didn’t realize he had such a big mouth and knew so many people, but it only made sense given his line of work and his social aptitude. He had more people in his phone contacts than I’d ever met in my entire life. Alec knew everyone, and if he didn’t know someone, chances were he knew someone that did know them.
“I did tell Alec,” I said.
“Then maybe Alec told someone and it got back to Ava?” Hudson proposed. “There you go. There’s your answer.”
I thought about my conversation with Alec earlier. I figured he would’ve told me if he’d spilled the beans to someone about the ring, but then again, maybe not. Like he said, people lied to get whatever they wanted, and it was in his best interest professionally not to screw things up with Hudson.
“Why does it matter anyway?” Hudson asked, his eyes squinting as he tried to understand where I was coming from. “Does it change the meaning of the ring for you?”
I didn’t want to tell him that I’d feared the worst. I was worried he was the one who had told Ava. I lowered my eyes, unable to meet his stare, as I imagined them lying in his hotel bed together and him laughing at how he’d given me a ring with some sort of cheesy symbol attached to it so I wouldn’t suspect a thing. I’d clearly been watching too many Lifetime movies lately.
“I don’t know,” I said.
“Okay, Brynn,” he said as he threw his napkin over his plate. He’d barely touched his food.
He stood up to walk back inside.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“Inside,” he said, annoyed at me. Though was probably more angry than anything else.
I stood up and ran after him, catching him halfway down the hall towards his bedroom. He turned to face me, his face twisted into a disgusted glare. I’d never forget the look he gave me in a million years, and I never wanted to see that look ever again.
“Hudson,” I said as I placed my hand over his beating heart. “I’m sorry.”
He breathed hard through his nostrils as he stared down at me, his expression still hard and unforgiving.
“Why do you fixate on these things?” he asked. “You take these little, stupid things and you obsess over them and nitpick and you don’t let them go until we have a fight about them.”
“I know, I know,” I said as I continued trying to calm him down. He was right, but it still didn’t change the way I felt. I couldn’t ignore my feelings. “I’m sorry.”
“I feel like you’re looking for an out,” he said. “You’re looking for a reason that this won’t work out. You’re dooming us from the start, Brynn.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He was right. I was so fixated on him cheating on me or us not working out, that I was already hurting our chances.
“You’re right,” I said as I locked eyes with him. “You’re absolutely right. I just want this to work.”
“Me too,” he said. “And it will work. But you have to stop this. Stop assuming the worst all the time.”
“I know,” I said. I couldn’t promise not to get worked up anymore, but I knew I’d have to be better at putting on a happy face when things were bothering me. I didn’t want to fight with him anymore. He always won.
I reached down and interlaced my fingers in his, and his face began to soften. His anger began to dissipate right before me and his eyes became familiar again.
“Let’s make things right again,” I cooed as I nuzzled into the crook of his neck and laid three delicate kisses onto his scruffy skin.
He tossed his head back as he savored the tiny sensations before ushering me back to his bedroom. We took our time disrobing, leaving a trail of clothing and undergarments down the hallway. By the time we arrived in his master suite, we were naked as the day we came and unable to keep our hands off each other. In the midst of all the chaos, it felt good knowing our passion was still as crazy as ever.
His warm, ripped body against my soft delicate skin was the best remedy for my busy mind. When we touched, the world around us stopped.
Hudson hoisted me up, and I wrapped my legs around his hips. He pressed me up against the wall as a hungry look overcame his face. It wasn’t going to be a tender little romp in the sack. He wanted to fuck me hard, and I wanted
him to fuck me hard. I needed him inside me, deep inside me.
With one hand wrapped around my lower back and the other massaging my right breast, I clenched my legs around his hips and kissed his amazing mouth. I loved the way he tasted, and I loved the way he looked at me. When he touched me like that, I had no idea how I could ever doubt his intentions. There was no way anyone else could have what we had. I refused to believe it.
After a few seconds, he reached his hand down and positioned his throbbing cock at my entrance, pressing himself inside me with reckless abandon.
“Ah,” I sighed as it went in. It was just what I needed.
With my back pressed firmly against the wall and his hands at my hips, Hudson began thrusting his powerful hips back and forth. It wasn’t too fast or too slow, but it was just right.
Occasionally he’d trace the outline of my jaw with his finger before slipping a finger tip inside my mouth. I’d suck his finger tip for a bit before leaning forward and nibbling on his ear and digging my finger nails into the smooth skin of his back. He loved the mix of pleasure and pain. Every scratch and every nibble would always manage to elicit some kind of moan or groan from his gorgeous mouth.
The pressure of his pulsing cock against my swollen clit told me only one thing was just around the corner. I didn’t want to fight it. I wanted it to take over my entire being. I needed to ride the waves of pleasure. I needed the release.
He whispered into my ear. “Just let go.”
I never understood how he always seemed to read my mind, but I wasn’t about to try to figure it out. We were so in tune. That was all that mattered. And just as he instructed, I let go. I let the pulsing and the writhing and the pleasure wash over me as I clung for dear life onto his sweaty shoulders.
By the time we were both done, we were stuck together, melded into one. My hair was stuck to my face, and I pushed it back so I could get a good look at him. His lips twisted into an accomplished smile, and I knew we were headed back on track.
“Shower?” I offered.
He nodded, breathless, and followed me towards the bathroom.
***
“Okay, I’m leaving,” Hudson said Wednesday morning as he kissed me and then jetted out the door for a meeting. “Can’t wait to see you tonight.”
Hudson had spent most of the week out and about, leaving me at home to come up with creative ways to fill my time. It was Wednesday. It was too soon to ask Alec to hang out again. I didn’t want him thinking was too lonely and pathetic.
Hudson was on another media blitz tour; something about reviving his career and doing some early promotional work for Heavenly Love 2. He’d mentioned a few local interviews for some entertainment shows, and I’d heard his radio interview that morning, but that was about all I knew. Again, I hated prying even though I was secretly his number one fan.
In a fit of mid-morning boredom, I switched on the TV and tuned it to a local entertainment channel. I wanted to see him in action. It admittedly turned me on to see this movie God on TV, the one who was crazy about me, the one I’d never thought I’d be with in a million years, do his thing. I could remember fantasizing about what it would be like to be with him, and somehow the stars aligned and my insanely unrealistic fantasy became a reality.
By some stroke of luck on my end, Hudson’s interview was just starting. He was sitting across from a teeny, tiny, tan and blonde anchor who seemed overly flirty and a little too excited to be in his presence. I immediately felt a small twinge of jealousy and then stuffed it deep down where I’d never find it again.
He’s with me, he’s with me, I chanted to myself. Calm down.
“So, Hudson,” the anchor said. “Everyone has been talking about the upcoming release of Heavenly Love 2, the sequel to the hit romantic comedy, Heavenly Love, which started you alongside the beautiful Miss Ava Fox.”
“Yes,” Hudson said as he clasped his hands in his lap and flashed his megawatt smile.
“So tell me what it was like filming this sequel,” she said. “I mean, people thought it was going to happen and then it was called off and then it was called back on.”
“We certainly had a lot of hoops to jump through. A lot of red tape,” he answered. “Sometimes these projects just have so many people involved and they don’t all see eye to eye. It takes a little time for them to come together, but we made it happen and the movie is coming out at the end of next month. We can’t wait.”
“Now, everyone knows that for a few years there, you and Ava Fox were the big ticket Hollywood couple,” the anchor said. “And then you broke up last year. We were all so sad.”
The anchor seemed so fake. I wanted to punch her, but I knew she was just doing her job.
“It seems like every move you’ve made the last few years was chronicled in the tabloids,” she continued. “Including your breakup with Ava.”
“Yeah,” Hudson said, maintaining that smile of his.
He’s just being professional, I reminded myself.
“Tell me what it was like working on set with her,” the anchor asked. “Was it awkward? Were there any lingering feelings? Any chance of a reconciliation?”
I could see in Hudson’s eyes that he hated the question, but he had to answer it. She’d put him on the spot. That bitch. And an ounce of research would’ve told her he had moved on with someone else. Lazy journalism, that’s what I called it.
“You know, Ava and I are still in touch,” he said. “We ended the relationship last year and we’re still very good friends. She was a big part of my life, and it was fun working with her, so yeah, we’re still friends. That’s that.”
I couldn’t watch another minute of his interview. He had just lied. I knew he had to be all political and professional, but it still stung to hear him say they were still a part of each other’s lives and he had fun working with her. A tiny part of me wondered who was being lied to…the anchor or me.
Don’t go there, I reminded myself. Don’t go to that place. You’re just going to get all worked up over nothing and he’s going to pick up on it and you’ll have another fight. Don’t do it.
“Brynn?” It was Hudson. He hadn’t been gone but five or ten minutes and he was already home. I didn’t even hear him come in.
“What are you doing back so soon?” I asked as I spun around, startled. “Shit, you scared me.”
“I left my phone…” he said. I could see by the look on his face that he knew I’d watched his interview. “I saw what you were watching.”
He sighed. He was so annoyed at me, I could tell.
“I like watching you in action,” I said as I tried to plaster a fake smile across my face. I didn’t want to start another fight, even if I was secretly ticked.
Hudson shook his head. He knew me too well. He knew exactly what I was doing.
“I don’t have time for this right now,” he said. “I’m running late.”
With that, he turned and left through the garage door.
CHAPTER 21
I hated that Hudson walked out like that. I hated that he caught me watching his interview red-handed. I just wanted things to go back the way they were. I wanted to rewind to just before he left when he kissed me goodbye and said he couldn’t wait to see me later that night.
I never would’ve flipped on the T.V. Well, I probably would have but I would have skipped right past his interview. Okay, maybe I wouldn’t have done that, but I would’ve kept more of an open mind. I should’ve been proud of him for just doing his job and staying professional. Had he told the interviewer the truth about things between he and Ava and how tense they were, it would’ve thrust him back into the spotlight. It would’ve thrust all of us back into the spotlight.
I’d been a little less pursued lately by the paparazzi. Ever since they found out who I was, posted a few salacious and embarrassing photographs, then realized I was a boring girl from the Midwest, things died down a bit. I didn’t want to go back to that, and Hudson was probably just protecting us by downplaying
Ava’s psychotic antics and saying they were still friends.
I decided then and there that I wasn’t going to bring it up to him. He was a good man. A kind man. He had a huge heart. He didn’t owe me an explanation. He didn’t owe me anything. He’d already taken me under his wing and showed me a world beyond anything I’d ever imagined. He put my mother in treatment for crying out loud. Hudson was a good, good man. I needed to do nothing except love him.
With that revelation, I decided to do something special for him that evening. He was always doing special things for me. I never returned the favor. What do you do for a man who has the entire world on speed dial? He could have anything he wanted with the click of a button.
“Flor,” I called out from the sofa.
“Yes, Miss Brynn,” she said as she came from a hall bath, rubber gloves still covering her small but sturdy hands.
“I think I’m going to make dinner tonight for me and Hudson,” I said. “You can leave early today if you want.”
She studied me for a while before flashing a reserved smile and thanking me in Spanish. I could never tell what she was thinking, and I still wasn’t sure she even liked me.
The morning faded into afternoon, and as the sun began to set in the sky, I had still not heard from Hudson. I knew he was going to be in meetings all day, but I never asked when he’d be back. I just assumed he wouldn’t be gone all day.
I prepped the roast chicken in the kitchen, squeezing fresh lemon juice on it and covering it with sprigs of rosemary and thyme. I peeled potatoes and whipped them up with a little bit of sour cream, salt and pepper. I steamed some carrots with honey and salt. And lastly, I baked a frozen apple pie. I couldn’t do everything from scratch. I was only human.
The table was set and the candles were glowing soft and luminous. Six o’clock turned into seven and then eventually eight. I sent him a text message asking if he’d be home soon, but it went unanswered.
By nine thirty, I’d grown tired of waiting. I wrapped up the food, blew out the candles, and went to bed. It was so unlike Hudson to ignore me. In the month’s we’d been together, he’d never been out this late before with no explanation. I laid in bed, but I couldn’t sleep. I did nothing but toss and turn.
Smitten Page 22
