“What are you going to do about it all, then? I mean, we all thought you would be here for a few weeks, and so far, it’s been months. You’re building a property here, but I thought that would just be for a yearly holiday visit. Are you, what? Planning on moving here permanently?”
Clearing my throat, I bypass his question with a simpler one of my own. “I gotta get to the diner. Want to join me?” I stand, looking at the clock, not wanting to be late.
He rolls his eyes at my distraction but relents. “Yeah, why the hell not. I need a break.”
We walk out of his office, straight to my truck, settling in for the five-minute drive to the diner. Taking a breath, I decide to be honest with Hudson. I don’t need to hide my intentions from him.
“I’ve been pushing Griffin to finish the house in record time. I want to be in it. I want her to be in it with me,” I tell my friend, keeping my eyes on the road, but I can feel him looking at me in complete fascination.
“That’s serious, Sutton.”
“I know it is. I think she’s it. I think she’s the one.” I feel vulnerable, but I know it deep in my core, and I have since the moment I first laid eyes on her. People talk about love at first sight. I always thought it was bullshit. But now, I know differently.
“This is Whispers, not Vegas. You can’t just meet a girl and get married in a matter of months.”
“I didn’t say marriage…” Although, now that thought is in my brain, it’s starting to grow legs.
“Yeah, alright, just be careful. Harvey is starting to become good friends with James at school, and the kid doesn’t need some high-profile celebrity coming in and out of his life like a yo-yo.”
I smile, my chest warming at the fact that Preston’s friends group is growing. He’s a kid, and running about with his friends is what kids do. Ever since he slept over, Harvey, Kevin, and Preston are a formidable trio. It’s good to see.
As what he says sinks in, though, I get a bit irritated. “Why does everyone think I’m just going to pack up and go back to LA?” Pulling up outside the back door of the diner, I turn off the truck, moving in my seat to look at my best friend.
“Well, that’s where you live. That’s the lifestyle you lead. That’s where your work is…” Hudson makes his point.
Sure, I’ve always been known as a bit of a joker. Led the playboy lifestyle for years, traveled with no ties and no responsibilities. But I’m different now. This life I’ve started to cultivate here in Whispers, it feels like it’s where I’m meant to be.
“Not anymore,” I tell him seriously, and his eyes narrow.
“What do you mean, not anymore?”
“I think that part of life is closing for me.”
His shock is palpable as his head rears back. “What? No more movies?”
“Never say never. If the right one came along, I would consider it. But I don’t want the media, the nightclubs, the models, the travel. I’m older. I’ve reached all my goals. I want something new. I want to settle here. I can still work periodically if I want to, but I like the lifestyle here. I like that people leave me alone, and I’m even starting to enjoy the peace of the forest.”
Hudson laughs. “Sutton Silvers in nature… you really have done a complete turn.”
“So what, Sawyer can move here and love it, but I can’t?” With a huff, I jump out of the truck, and Hudson follows me.
“That’s not what I’m saying—”
“What are you saying?” I cut him off as I push through the back door, feeling agitated and wanting nothing more than to see my girl. Looking up and around, I smile when I spot her. But then my vision turns red.
“What the fuck.”
A man has his hand on her, and the complete terror in her eyes is noticeable from across the diner.
“What? Oh, shit.” Hudson tries to grab me, but I’m already on the move. I don’t stop as I stride over, Charlotte stepping away just as I reach her. I have tunnel vision as I grab the guy's collar and yank him up off his feet. He’s tall like me, but overweight, and by the smell of him, he drinks too much. But I don't care as I pull back my fist, launching it into his face as his three friends jump up to his defense. I haven’t been in a fistfight in years. But Hudson knows I’m quick to anger in these kinds of circumstances, and as kids, Sawyer and I were always fighting with kids at school or from the neighborhood. I grew up tough and that toughness hasn’t left me.
“You’re going to regret fucking touching her,” I spit out, knowing exactly who these guys are.
“Who the fuck are you?” he sneers through a bloody lip.
“I’m her boyfriend, asshole.” I throw another punch, straight into his jaw.
“That's for breaking her bee clip,” I tell him with a growl.
