Page 3 of Best Kept Secret

While she was buckling up, she glanced over and saw him tuck Annie back into her stroller and put up the hood again. Then he took off down the sidewalk, looking every bit like a proud father taking his daughter out for a stroll.

“Good thing she’s his niece,” she said to herself. For a minute there, she’d wondered if Annie belonged to him, especially when she’d seen the flat round mole in the center of her pudgy cheek. Hudson had the same mole in the same spot, which she found sexy, just like everything else about him.

She pulled out of the parking lot and watched him stroll down the sidewalk in the opposite direction. He seemed to have everything going for him. He had a good job at a software company, where he and Jared both worked. He was smart, funny, friendly, and outgoing. He was exactly the type of guy she found attractive, yet Jared had insisted that he wasn’t the guy for her.

Why? Did Hudson have some giant skeleton in his closet that Jared didn’t want her exposed to? He’d been protective of her since they were kids, but as a grown woman, she no longer needed his protection, especially when it came to her love life, which was pretty much nonexistent at this point.

Whenever she’d been around Hudson, he’d been polite and friendly. Nothing about him had set off warning bells. He had set off other emotions in her, but they’d been the good kind, the kind that made her stomach flutter, her skin tingly, and her lady parts stand up and take notice. She’d often found excuses to swing by their apartment in hopes of seeing him, but Jared always kept a watchful eye on them.

Today marked the first time she’d been alone with Hudson, although Annie had been there too. Funny that Jared hadn’t mentioned her before. It sounded like Hudson spent time with her on a regular basis, and Jared knew how much she loved babies. On the other hand, that was probably why he hadn’t mentioned it. He was doing his darnedest to keep her away from Hudson, despite her best attempts.

Why does Jared think he’s wrong for me? What is he hiding? One way or another, she was determined to find out.

Two

When Kelsey drove away, Hudson let out a sigh of relief. Ordinarily, he liked seeing her, but he hadn’t wanted her to see him like he was today, in dad mode. Nobody knew about his situation outside of his family and Jared, and he intended to keep it that way, at least for now.

The stroll around his apartment complex did him good, and Annie too. She was sound asleep by the time he carried the stroller upstairs and wheeled it into the apartment.

Then he went into the kitchen with the intention of helping himself to the donuts Kelsey had brought over. He smiled at the note she’d scribbled on the lid, and then he flipped it open to peruse the choices. He’d just lifted a glazed blueberry donut out of the box when the front door opened and Jared strolled in.

Jared glanced at Annie, who was sleeping with her mouth hanging open, and then joined Hudson in the kitchen. “You got donuts?”

Hudson shook his head and flipped down the lid.

Jared’s eyes went wide as he read his sister’s note. “Kelsey was here?”

“Yep.”

“Shit.”

“Yep.”

“Did you tell her?”

Hudson shook his head again.

“You told the niece story.”

“Bingo.”

“Did she buy it?”

“Seemed to, although she looked at me funny a few times.”

“Kelsey always gives funny looks.”

“She pointed out Annie’s mole.”

Jared zoned in on Hudson’s mole. “Uh-oh.”

“I told her it was a family trait.”

“Is it?” Jared plucked a chocolate-covered donut out of the box and took a big bite out of it.

“No, but it was the first thing that came to mind.” After a brief pause, Hudson added, “I didn’t like lying to her.”

“Then why did you?”