Page 23 of A Pen Pal for Christmas

“You know what I mean,” she said with a short laugh.

“I’ll be right across the hall.”

“So you’ve said.”

The sight of Sofia’s wry smile had my heart rate kicking up as I headed for the door without another word. Ida always said everything happened for a reason. Maybe the reason I ended up here—across the hall from Sofia Sullivan instead of in my childhood bedroom—wasn’t just coincidence.

I’d spent years watching for threats, always ready to act before danger struck. Maybe it was muscle memory, but after seeing Sofia all guarded and vulnerable, the same kind of fire swirled in my gut. The same instinct to protect. Only this time, no orders were driving me—just her.

As I opened the door and stepped into the hall, I paused. For a moment, I thought I heard something—faint, like the shuffle of footsteps. But when I looked down the hallway, it was empty.

The air felt heavier than it should have, the kind of quiet that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I took another step forward, scanning the shadows near the stairwell. Nothing moved, but the feeling didn’t go away.

“Lock this,” I told Sofia, pointing at the door before I closed it quietly behind me, my ears straining for any other sound.

It was probably nothing… but still. I was more convinced than ever that I’d need to keep an eye on the woman across the hall.

CHAPTER 9

Sofia

The bar was packed tonight,the kind of night where I barely had a moment to breathe between orders. As I moved through the rush, handing out drinks and greeting familiar faces, my mind wandered to the conversation Hudson and I had the night before. Telling him about Dane had been… surprisingly easy. Easier than it should’ve been. I hadn’t planned on opening up, but Hudson had this way of listening that made it feel safe, like I wouldn’t regret it later.

And I didn’t. Not yet, anyway.

A burst of laughter rang out from the corner booth where a group of regulars sat, their Santa hats slightly askew. People-watching was one of my favorite parts about being a bartender.

Which was probably why I couldn’t stop stealing glances at Hudson. He was perched at the bar, his elbows resting on the counter, his hands loosely clasped. He’d been there for a while now, and despite the chaos swirling around us, he seemed more relaxed than anyone else in the room.

Or maybe that was just the effect he had on me—calm in the chaos.

Sliding a glass of wine to a tourist with a practiced motion, I grabbed the towel tucked into my waistband and wiped my hands. The worn fabric was a lifeline on nights like this. Not because I enjoyed the feel of scratchy, heavily bleached towels… but more because fidgeting with it was a small ritual that grounded me when my thoughts were a blur.

I moved back toward Hudson, who was watching me with a small, knowing smile that made my heart skip a beat.

“Anyway, what was it like?” I asked, stopping in front of him and leaning against the bar to resume our earlier conversation. “Serving overseas, I mean. I’ve never been out of the country.”

He tilted his head, his hazel eyes narrowing slightly as he considered the question. “Some parts were rough. Some were… really cool. I had a good time in Italy when we stopped there once on the way back from a deployment.”

“Tell me something. Story time.” I straightened, folding the towel and tossing it onto the counter before leaning in slightly.

“What kind of story?”

I tapped my chin. “Hmm… something funny.”

His lips quirked. It was a dangerous, heart-stopping smirk that seemed to undo me a little. “Okay… I fell off my bike at Kunsan Air Force Base in Korea. Totally wiped out in front of all of my friends.”

I raised an eyebrow, already intrigued. “What were Marines doing on an Air Force base?”

“There was this big multinational exercise going on.”

“And… we’re talking about South Korea, right?”

He blinked, a touch of humor behind his blank look. “Yes.”

“Got it,” I said with a laugh, shaking my head at myself.

I pulled a pint glass from beneath the bar and began filling it for one of the waitstaff who’d just held up a ticket. Multitasking was second nature on nights like this, but it wasn’t hard to keep most of my attention on Hudson. In fact, it was hard not to.

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