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“I was invited.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I mean, why are you here? Why are you still in Crystal Lake?” She turned around and faced him.
Hudson shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. It was that or put them on Rebecca and pull her close. He inhaled sharply.
“Vanilla.”
“What?” She was confused. He saw that. He got it. Because his mind was working in a way even he didn’t understand.
“You still wear vanilla.”
Her hand went to her neck, there where her pulse beat erratically. It was an unconscious gesture, but it drew his gaze to all that creamy, soft skin.
“God, you’re beautiful.” He couldn’t help himself. Hudson took that last step until he was so close, only a whisper separated them.
“You’re avoiding
the question.” Her eyes fell, those long lashes of hers sweeping the curve of her cheek. “I thought you’d be gone by now. Back to DC.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Her head shot up, and he was nailed by those incredible blue eyes.
“At least, not in the next little while. I’m not sure when I’ll head back. I’d like to get the housing development up and running. I’d like to get Harry looked after. I’d like…” Hudson sighed and shrugged. “I want to spend time with you.”
“You want to sleep with me.”
“No.” He frowned. “It’s not just about sex.”
She gripped the edge of the counter with her fingers. So tightly the knuckles whitened. “Then what is it about? What’s the point of any of this?”
Her lips parted, and damn if that tongue didn’t dart out to touch the corner of her mouth. He knew Rebecca. Knew she wasn’t a cock tease. But the sight of her tongue gliding along the edge of a mouth that drove him crazy set off all sorts of things. Hot, wild, sexual things.
And here they were in her brother’s kitchen. Hudson needed to get a grip on himself. He took a step back—physically took that step—and ran his hands over the back of his neck. He was so damn tense, he felt like at any second, it could snap in two.
“Does there have to be a point? Can’t we just acknowledge that there’s something still here? Something that never died?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“You’re saying there’s not?”
“I’m saying…” She swore and thumped him in the chest. “I’m saying that I have no idea what to think or say or do.” She threw her hands up, eyes now closed. “How did I end up here again? With you?” Her voice ended on a whisper.
He saw she was upset—knew he should probably back off—but his mind couldn’t seem to communicate that to his body. He slid his hand along her jaw, his fingers cupping her while his thumb caressed her. Hudson stared down at Rebecca for what felt like minutes, but in fact was mere seconds. She leaned into his palm, and his heart caught up to the pulse that still beat at her neck.
“When you left, that last time, I thought I would die, Hudson.” Her bottom lip quivered, and everything inside him stilled. “I wanted to die.”
“Becca.”
Her eyes flew open, and she made no effort to keep her pain from him.
“I kept thinking that it was a mistake. That you would turn around and come back to me.” She swallowed and inhaled a shaky breath before slowly disengaging herself from his touch. Rebecca walked around him and stood at the window. She shuddered, and he took a step toward her, but Rebecca held her hand up and shook her head violently. “Don’t.”
Hudson held back, hands clenched at his sides, and in that moment hated himself more than he had on that night twelve years earlier.
Time stood still and the only sound he heard was the muffled cry of Hannah Rose. Rebecca took another step and leaned her cheek against the window. He watched as her breath came alive on the cold glass. And as every wave of warm air spread across the surface, the weight on his chest got heavier.
“The first time you noticed me, I was fifteen. It was summer, the Fourth of July weekend. My father was locked up, so it was easy to sneak out of the house with him gone. There was a big party out at Pot-o-hawk Island, and all the older kids were going. Somehow I convinced Nash to let me tag along. I think he felt sorry for me.” She paused and glanced over her shoulder. “Do you remember?”
