Page 57 of Meet Again

“Someone needs to be the fun one in the family,” he elbows Hudson and laughs.

“I’m fun, just don’t have a need to pick up and leave every few weeks or months.”

“You do have other things holding you in place.” Tristan winks at me. Heat creeps up my cheeks, and I look down, clearing my throat.

“I do.” Hudson’s voice is serious.

I look up at him and find him staring intently at me. The heat in his gaze makes me freeze. The seriousness with which he looks at me penetrates my soul.

Thankfully, the waitress interrupts the intense moment to bring our food, and the mood shifts to something lighter. I tell them about the studio, my students, and my favorite classes to teach.

“Do you want my pickles?” I look at Hudson and then freeze.

His smile is wide and meaningful. That was a blast from the past. I used to always give him my pickles, and it just came out.

“You know I do.”

“This is weird.” Tristan looks at us, his eyebrows pulled together.

Hudson ignores him and pinches the round slices with his fork. I guess some things are engraved in our memories and difficult to break.

“Oh, is the rumor true?” Tristan’s smile curves with mischief. He isn’t as affected by our past quirks.

“What rumor?” I ask slowly, heart picking up pace at what it is he’s going to bring up.

“That you’re teaching at a huge conference next month?”

I glance at Hudson, then back at Tristan. “Yeah.”

“Wow, that’s fantastic.” He smirks. “How long will you be in New York?”

I knew it was coming. Leave it to him to stir things up. Hudson sits up straighter and looks at me.

“New York?” His eyebrows lift.

I was hoping to see how things went between us before I brought it up—not that I expect anything to happen just because we’re in the same city. Honestly, I’ve been a mess thinking about it.

“Yeah,” I nod awkwardly. “I got a call from a friend last week, and she invited me to teach a workshop, so I said yes. It’ll be a great opportunity for the studio and hopefully my girls.”

“When is it?” Hudson shifts in his seat, his attention captive.

“In a month.” I glance at Tristan, who is smiling triumphantly. I glare at him, but he shrugs and continues to eat his burger.

“We’ll talk more about it later,” Hudson says with confidence.

“I’m so glad I got to witness this moment,” Tristan chuckles, and I kick him under the table.

“Hey, now.” He lifts his hands. “No need for aggression.”

“That was hardly aggression,” I roll my eyes.

“He was going to find out eventually. Who better than me to tell him?” He smiles, keeping his eyes on mine and ignoring Hudson.

“Me.” I lift my brows.

“Ohhh…maybe, but it wouldn’t have been this fun.” Pride fills his face.

I shake my head at his meddling and risk a look at Hudson. He’s still staring at me with an expression I can’t quite pinpoint, but it makes my skin prickle.

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