He looked the same.At one point, I’d convinced myself he was handsome, with his perfectly coifed dark hair, hazel eyes, and physique he’d spent hours honing in the gym.Now, he looked something akin to Voldemort—only with less personality.
“Lucy.”He said my name like a man starved for the sight of me.
“We were never engaged.”I rolled my eyes.“What do you want, Josh?”
“I want you to come home and stop this nonsense.It’s beneath you.”He waved a dismissive hand at the bar around us.
“What’s beneath me, exactly?”I cocked my head.“Being happy?Being treated with respect?”
“Getting to live in the best goddamned town the country has to offer?”Dale, one of the regulars, lifted his beer in support.
I shot him a small smile before turning back to glare at my ex, one hand planted on my hip.
Josh’s gaze swept the room.“Are you working here?”The question dripped with disdain.
Riley crooked a finger toward Josh, eyeing him the same way he would shit he’d scraped off his boot.“This guy?Seriously, Ram?”
“I know, I know.”I winced.“I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“At least you came to your senses and traded up.”Riley gave a thoughtful nod.
“Traded up?”Josh demanded.“Who the hell is Ram?”His look of utter confusion might have been amusing had I been in another frame of mind.
When Hudson’s large frame filled the doorway, I nearly wilted in relief.
His eyes cut straight to me as he crossed the room and planted himself beside my ex at the bar, his muscular arms elbowing into his space.“Told you, we hear from you again, we’ve got a problem.”
“That was you?”Josh demanded.
Hudson’s answering smile was slow and entirely gratified.“Oh yeah, that was me.”
“Who is this guy, Lucy?”Josh demanded.
“He’s my man.”The answer came easily.
“He’s also one of the most famous country singers in the world.You aren’t too bright, are you?”Lane, another regular, said with a snort.
Josh’s eyes narrowed as he turned to Hudson, truly assessing him for the first time.
“Not the point, Lane, but thanks all the same.”Hudson’s lips twitched with amusement.
“But… you’re working at a bar,” Josh sputtered, his dazed expression fixed on me.
“Honestly, even if I cared enough to explain it to you, I wouldn’t know where I’d begin.”I shook my head.“So, let’s just go with this—I’ve moved on and I’m not coming back.Ever.Not to you.Not to DC.Not to any part of that life.Not that you ever cared, but just so we’re clear, I’m happy,” I declared.
At that, Hudson came around the bar and took me in his arms, delivering a heart-stopping kiss to my lips.“I want everything with you, baby.I have since the minute I met you.”
The rest of the world fell away, as it tended to do when I was in his arms.
“Your parents are going to hear about this,” Josh warned, reminding me he was still there.
“Jesus, dude, where the hell are your balls?”Riley chortled.
“Let’s take it outside, and I’ll show you.”Josh stood, puffing out his chest, trying to make himself look bigger than he was.
“Oh, honey, you do not want to do that,” Trina tittered from my left.
“Don’t deter him, honey.I’d pay money to see that,” her husband argued.“All two seconds of it.”
