Page 14 of Make Me Swoon

He nods even though I’m sure that he is one of the few who could afford to live there without their apartment being the same of a shoebox or having ten different roommates.

“Where are you planning on going? Or are you staying here?”

“I’m supposed to be on a cross country trip butsomebodypulled out in front of me and messed that up.”

I smile as I say that, letting him know that I’m not actually mad or blaming him for that.

“What luck! Was he handsome?” he asks and I laugh, refusing to answer that question.

“Have you been to Honey Peak before?” he asks as we pass by the town welcome sign and I shake my head.

“I haven’t left Destiny Falls,” I admit and he smiles.

“We’ll have to fix that.”

We reach Honey Peak and I lean forward, admiring the view. We’re so high and you can see all of the bridge and the lights from the towns down below.

“I didn’t know that Michigan had mountains.”

“They don’t. Well, not really. There are a few peaks or man-made ones, but no mountain ranges or anything like that.”

I nod, staring out my window as the sun starts to set. You can see most of the lake from here and even a few boats as they cruise across the water.

We pass by a few shops. There’s a trading post and market, a mechanic shop a street over and a few little boutique shops lining the streets. We head down Main Street and I smile at a cute little coffee shop. The bar where we’re meeting everyone is another block down, and I look out the window as the mountain peak comes into view.

“Honey Peak is a smaller one. That one was made for skiers and sledding. There are some more cabins and hotels up there on that mountain that I’ve heard are pretty cool,” Hudson says as he nods over to the peak in the distance.

I can just make out the ski lift and what look to be cabins dotted along the side.

“I bet the view is awesome,” I say as Hudson parks in front of the Honey Bee Bar.

“It doesn’t look like everyone else is here yet,” he says and I nod.

“Let’s go in and grab a table. This place looks packed.”

We climb out and I let Hudson lead me inside and over to the far wall where there is a big circle booth that just emptied out.

We both slide in and I grab my phone to text Sutton and Iris that we’re here, but they walk through the door and spot us before I can. I wave them over and we all try to cram into the booth. It’s probably only meant to fit five, so seven is a bit of a stretch.

I’m plastered up against Hudson and he rests his arm along the back of the booth, giving me a little more room. The heat from his body radiates to mine and I’m in danger of overheating in minutes. I have a feeling that he’s going to be glued to my side all night.

“I’ll grab drinks,” Flynn says and Madelyn goes with him to help him carry everything.

“I didn’t know that you were coming, man,” Teller says to Hudson and the two men start talking.

Sutton and Iris are both staring at me, practically giddy to see Hudson and me sitting so close. I widen my eyes at them, begging them to be cool and not do or say anything embarrassing, and they finally stop grinning at me like loons.

“Did you get everything mailed this afternoon?” I ask Iris and we start talking about the antiques that she bought today and a new flea market sale that she wants to check out next week over in Maple Bend.

Madelyn and Flynn get back with our drinks and I down half of my lemon martini. I’m overheating crammed into this booth with everyone and I look over to the dance floor. It’s only about half full and my favorite song comes on. I smile, getting ready to head that way, and it’s as if Hudson can read my mind because he nudges me.

“Want to dance?” he offers and I nod.

We scoot out of the booth and I let him take my hand and lead me into the crowd. I’m glad that I wore my hair up as we start to dance and I grin at Hudson. I’m surprised to see that he’s terrible at dancing and seeing him try to move to the beat and failing just makes him more adorable.

“I’m really bad at this,” he calls over the music and I laugh.

“I can see that! Thanks for doing it with me though.”

---