Page 28 of Tough Love

My door opens and Hudson offers his hand again. I take it, and this time he leads me to the tip of the rise. He drops my hand before skipping up the stairs to the impressive porch that skirtsthe home. With no side rails, he plops on to the edge and swings his legs over. “Come here, Howard.”

I walk up the stairs. The wind billows under my dress, and I hold it down. I sit beside him, fixing my skirt around my legs before scanning the magnificent view from the spot. “What is this place, Hudson?”

He grips the edge of the veranda on either side of him. “My house.”

“This is yours?” I spin back, trying to see more of the inside.

“Yup.”

“When will the builders finish it? I was wondering why you still live with your parents.” I nudge his shoulder with mine. His gaze drops to my lips before sinking further. Heat flushes my neck and face. And I want nothing more than his hands on my face, my neck. As my breaths shallow out, I clear my throat and return to admiring the vista. “It’s an amazing spot here. You must be keen for them to finish.”

“There is no them, Howard. I’m the carpenter.”

Now,thatI was not expecting. I spin back again, and this time I rise to my feet and walk to the space where I imagine huge double doors will hang one day. I run a hand over the wood. “You built this?”

“Yup.”

“Hudson, that’s?—”

“I did a carpentry apprenticeship before I was ranching full time. Ma’s idea. Paid off. But after?—”

The words die in his throat. Hurt and pain flood his eyes.After what?I return to the edge of the veranda, but this time I sit with my legs tucked under and to one side, closer to him than before. “After what?”

“After a rough breakup, I needed something to occupy my head and my hands. I’d designed this house years ago, so whenI had no reason to be anywhere else, I got started on this place. That was over five years ago now.”

“You have been working on this for five years?”

“Ah, yeah. It’s kind of slow with only one person.”

“Yeah, I bet.” I lose my train of thought and stare out at the vista. Such a stunning place, still heartache lives here, as it does anywhere. Hudson glances at me but returns his gaze to the pristine mountains in front of us. After a while, he jumps up and wanders inside the house.

I take in the crisp, cool mountain air and close my eyes and lay my head back. Gosh, it is magnificent here. And I let my mind start to wander, imagining what it would be like to wake up here. To watch the sunset on this porch. To sit in front of the fireplace and huddle up next to?—

“Howard.”

I snap my eyes open and straighten, turning back. Hudson stands with his hands gripping the top of the doorframe. His shirt is pulled up a little, exposing his hard stomach and the V of his muscles, his biceps bulging. His eyebrow raises, and I shake my head and school my face and my thoughts. I scramble to my feet. “Yep, coming.”

The breeze tugs at the skirt of my dress as I walk across the porch to where he stands. He drops his hands to his sides. “Grand tour?”

“Sure,” I say, smiling.

He swings an arm through the door in a dramatic, grand gesture, and I chuckle, walking over the threshold. The inside is even more impressive than the outside. “Oh wow.”

“So, living room.” He opens both arms and spins back, walking through the bare space. “Kitchen will be here. Something like Ma’s, possibly; not sure on the design of that yet.” He turns back and walks to where I am. “Do you want to see the rest?”

“Yes,” I say, the word all but a whisper.

His eyes burn into mine for a moment, and my heart stammers. I chew my bottom lip before pulling it through my teeth. He shifts on his feet, his jaw feathering. But he crooks his arm, and a smile kicks up on one side of his mouth. “Milady?”

I giggle and slide my arm through his. We wander down the hall in the center and he points out the study, a few spare bedrooms. Then we get to the last door.

“What’s this one?”

He turns but hesitates. “Master.”

The word is gravel. My pulse kicks up, sending thunder through my head. Of course it is. Heat pools in my belly, and I stutter through a shallow breath. I slide my arm out of his and wrap my arms around myself. “It’s nice.”

This close, it’s too easy to feel something that may or may not be there. Too easy to let myself want something I can never have. I force a smile and walk back toward the front of the house. An enormous fireplace claims the external front wall. I missed it before, too busy looking in to notice it.

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