Page 7 of Best Kept Secret

Kelsey had been anxious to tell her, but she’d patiently waited her turn. “I met Annie.”

Stacy furrowed her brow. “Who’s Annie?”

“Remember when I told you Hudson mentioned her name and I was worried he had a girlfriend?”

“Oh, right. So, who is she, then? A puppy?”

Kelsey shook her head. “The next best thing—a baby!”

Stacy’s eyes went wide, and Kelsey laughed, knowing her friend was thinking the same thing she had.

“His sister’s baby.”

Stacy looked relieved. “Oh. Did you even know he had a sister?”

“Yes, but I didn’t know she had a baby until last Saturday.” Kelsey told her all about seeing Hudson with his niece. “Is that just the sweetest thing, or what?”

“She sounds adorable.”

“She is, and she has Hudson’s mole.”

Stacy smiled over the rim of her wine glass. “What mole?”

“The one on his left cheek. Haven’t you noticed it?”

“No.”

“Well, you must not have looked as closely as I have.”

“Obviously.”

“When I first saw the mole, I thought Annie might be his baby. Isn’t that ridiculous?”

Stacy eyed Kelsey intently until she squirmed. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No reason.”

“She’s not his baby, Stace.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you were thinking it.”

“When did you hear him mention her name?”

“That night at his and Jared’s party.” Kelsey failed to add that he and Jared had been whispering in the kitchen and had quickly changed the subject when she’d walked in.

“Jared knows how much you love babies, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“I’m just curious why he didn’t tell you about Annie.”

Kelsey picked at the wilted lettuce at the bottom of her salad bowl. “You know how men are. It probably slipped his mind. Either that or he didn’t want me to become even more enamored with Hudson than I already am.”

Stacy nodded. “Good point.”

Kelsey shook her head to rid herself of the doubts Stacy had inadvertently planted there. Then she flagged down the waiter and handed him her credit card. Stacy reached into her purse for her wallet, but Kelsey waved the waiter away.