Page 37 of Hudson

“Ahh, I need to go, something is going on.” I end the call quickly and stand up, on alert for an emergency. But before I can take a step, she’s in my open doorway.

“Lacy?” I say, surprised to see her, the grin on my face instant as I look her over. She looks pale, her eyes wild, her breathing rapid. “Everything okay?” I ask, starting to panic slightly, wondering what’s going on.

“You got me butterflies?” she says, panting like she has run a marathon. Her hair is disheveled, like she rushed here, and a slight pink tints her cheeks as her hands grip on to each side of the open doorway for support.

“I did.” I nod, biting my inner cheek to stop my smile from widening. Pocketing my hands, I force myself to stand still, letting her lead because I’m not exactly sure where her head is at.

“Real butterflies. Two of them,” she says again, almost to herself, like she can’t wrap her mind around it.

“I did.” I nod again with my heart in my throat, waiting.

“That’s insane. You’re insane. What are you doing to me?” she asks breathily, looking like she’s feeling amixture of shock, disbelief, panic, and confusion as to why anyone would do that for her, and my chest vibrates as I start to let go of my facade.

“Doing to you? Hell, Lacy baby, what are you doing to me?” I choke out, not able to stand still any longer. I stride toward her, and she meets me halfway before I grab her hand and pull her to me, sealing her against my chest.

“Hudson.” She whispers my name, as she does each time we are together, before I seal my lips against hers and kiss the ever-loving hell out of her.

As I wrap my hands around her waist tight, her body melts into mine. I feel her soften immediately into my hold as my lips tackle hers thoroughly. I’m not holding back. We’ve been dancing around each other for a few weeks now. Visions of her with the cherry stem, looking after her mom, stargazing, the movies. All of it is now coming together and nothing feels better than having her in my arms.

Seeing her in my office, with a look that is full of both hope and fear, sets my chest on fire in a way it has never been before. She grabs me just as firmly as her hands run up my arms and loop around my neck, pulling me closer as I kiss her more passionately, feverishly, and she holds me to her. One of my hands moves to the back of her head, digging my fingers in her hair, tilting her head where I want her, ensuring she knows exactly how I feel as we both release matching moans into each other’s mouths. Her hair is smooth and silky in my hand, her lips soft and plump against my own, her fingers playing with my hairline at the back of my neck, and her femininesoftness is in complete contrast to how we’re kissing. I slow my feverish kiss, wanting to take it all in. Her little sounds hit my lips like torture, and there’s no way I can stay away from her anymore. This is just another moment to solidify that fact.

No more going slow. No more dancing around each other. She is my girl, and now I want the world to know.

19

LACY

My body is humming and it’s startling. I’ve never felt like this before. Never felt so out of control, giving myself completely over to someone else like this. It’s scary, exhilarating, and almost relieving, knowing that someone has me and I can just let go. As Hudson kisses me like I have never been kissed before, my body turns to mush in his hold, and I don’t want to let him go.

“I’ve missed you…” Hudson murmurs against my lips, pulling back slightly, his eyes doing a quick search of my face. I swallow, barely able to form words. I’m glad he’s holding my head because I’m not sure I can even stand up on my own. I finally understand what people mean when they say they go weak at the knees; I can’t even feel mine, and I’m pretty sure my legs are quivering.

“It’s only been a few days,” I say, biting my bottom lip, trying to stop the grin overtaking my face.

“I feel like I’ve been waiting a while for you. For this,” he says honestly, and I look into his eyes.

“You have only been in town for just over a month,” I whisper, my head slowly coming back into activation, my body tingling all over as his large, warm hands hold me with ease.

“I have wanted you for longer than a month, Lacy. Baby, I have wanted you since the moment I saw you working that bar for Tanner all those months ago. Making drinks with a smile that lit up the whole damn place.” A grin comes to his face, and I’m glad he’s still holding on to me. This man continues to surprise me.

“Oh, I thought… I mean, you just left?” I ask him the question that has been loitering on my mind for what feels like an eternity. My insecurities heighten. We didn’t talk much when he was home before the incident, but after what happened at Marie’s Place, and him rescuing me and holding my hand all night when I got injured, he left soon after. “That night… you left without even saying goodbye.”

If what I’m feeling is reciprocated, which I believe it is, then we need to get on the same page. I have too much at stake if I give him my time to be left wondering if he will up and leave again. This is all so far out of my usual comfort zone, it feels equal parts exciting and downright frightening. But we have a connection. I knew it the moment I saw him run into that shed at Marie’s Place, and I felt it the moment he got back to town.

“Lacy, my feelings for you started the moment I saw you and they have only grown since.” He huffs, the memory making him smile. “But I have a lot of baggage. There’s an age difference. You’re younger than me, justfinished college, plus I have Harvey and a hell of a history.”

My heart skips a beat as he raises very valid reasons why we shouldn’t be standing here in each other’s embrace. Frowning, I think about the weight of my own responsibilities feeling heavy, yet being here with him suddenly makes them all a little lighter than they have ever been. It feels right, even though on paper it shouldn’t.

“But when I saw you in that shed at Marie’s Place…” he trails off, not displaying any of the previous hesitations. “There was nothing on this earth that could’ve stopped me from getting to you. Getting you down from those ropes that held you so tight, getting you out of there as the fire lapped at my legs, helping you heal… and it fucking scared me,” he says, and I hold my breath.

“I needed to go back to LA. I had to consider Harvey. He had school, his friends. I needed to get back to the hospital and work. I thought after everything that happened that a bit of distance might have been good. You didn’t respond to any of my messages, so I felt it just wasn’t the right time to declare my feelings. You needed to look after you. I needed to look after my son.” Taking a big breath, his hands move to hold me tighter, almost like he is scared I’m going to run away from him.

“But when I made the decision to return to Whispers, I made it knowing that it was the right thing for Harvey and a good choice for me. What I didn’t expect was the feelings that rushed back the minute I saw you.” Smiling, his thumb brushes back and forth against my waist. I waitsilently and let him finish, even though my heart is thudding.

“I should’ve stayed away from you. But I couldn’t. I should’ve remained professional, consulted your mom and that is it. Nothing has changed. I’m still too old. I still have Harvey and a whole lot of baggage. But call me fucking selfish because, Lacy baby, there’s no way I can’t give us a go. I want to date you. I want to get to know you. I want to spoil you, spend quiet country nights with you. I want to stargaze with you and you to teach me all the galaxies that we can see,” he says, his voice soothing, his hand running up and down my back, eyes looking at me in hope.

I swallow, my throat dry. I’m not sure I can even speak. He has put everything out in the open for me so I know I need to do the same.

“I have a lot on my shoulders. A lot to manage…” I start, and he nods. “I’m younger, as you said. I would guess a little less experienced in life too.” He was probably having sex before I was even in school. “There are probably a million other things I should be doing rather than being here right now with you. And I’m sorry I didn’t text you back, but…” I say, taking in a breath as his palm rubs up and down my back. The movement is soothing and exactly what I need to keep me calm. He always does that. Always seems to know exactly what I need.

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