Page 111 of Her Goal
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LEAH
Hudson gets outof his chair at the dining room table and crouches down next to me. In a gentle voice, he asks, “Leah, what’s up?”
My sister Dani never cries, Valentina is an ugly crier, and I’m a quiet one. Tears fall silently down my cheeks.
I whisper, “You asked me to marry you.”
“I did.” I don’t hear regret in his voice. Mostly concern. Maybe a little hurt.
“Why?”
“Because I like you, Leah.”
I shake my head. “But you’reyou.” He’s a hockey stud and the guy who inadvertently caused me heartbreak in high school. It’s not that I haven’t let it go because that was a long time ago, but what changed? How’d he go from warning his brother to stay away from me to wanting to marry me?
I am one hundred percent certain it’s not because he secretly had a crush on me.
Hudson’s hand finds mine and pries it from my lap. He takes it and draws me to my feet, then wraps his arms around me.
I melt into him even though I’m getting his shirt wet. Even though I’m embarrassing myself. The last time someone wasbigger and taller than me, able to comfort me by wrapping themselves around me in what feels like a protective cocoon was when I was a little kid. It feels good. Safe. Promising.
Since leaving my mother and father’s house earlier, the reality of what’s coming hasn’t stopped surging toward me. It’s everything I ever wanted, all within arm’s reach, yet I’m a mental mess.
I scrunch up Hudson’s shirt in my hands and grip tightly. He holds me, supports me, doesn’t waver.
“I feel so foolish crying after you planned such a nice dinner for us,” I blubber into his chest.
“Do you want to talk about it? Listen, if I came on too strong …”
I shake my head. “I don’t understand why you haven’t filed a restraining order on the Smith-Torres family.”
Laughter rolls through Hudson.
“I wanted a hockey guy.”
“You have me if you want me.”
“I should be elated, but?—”
He still hugs me close and the steady patter of his heartbeat has been comforting, but it seems to skip. I don’t want to give him the wrong idea, so I try again. “I should be elated, but I’m overwhelmed.”
“I get that. ReadingPride and Prejudicehelped.”
She leans back, looking up at me. “You read it?”
“Yeah, so I understand big family dynamics and arranged marriages a little better now.”
“We don’t live in the Regency era.”
“I don’t suppose we do. But did they have it so wrong?”
“Through a modern lens, yes, there were some problematic aspects, but—” I cut myself off again as I get the full picture of what Hudson is telling me. “You read the entire book?”
“Sure did.”
My jaw slowly lowers. “Front to back?”
