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“You made it one whole night, huh?” She gets up and tells her husband she’ll be back. “What did he do?”
Daphne knows me better than anyone in the world, and I love her for it. She was the first person I ever let in who wasn’t Brandon. I trust her with my life, and because of her, I’ve got a tribe of women who surround me and support me. But it took a long time for me to feel that level of comfort. And I don’t know if I’m capable of giving anyone else that same kind of trust.
Because I’m broken.
“He didn’t do anything, D. It’s me. You know Hudson. He’s a touchy-feely kind of guy, and—”
She cuts me off, “And you’re not a touchy kind of girl.”
“Exactly.” I hesitate, before adding, “But what if I want to be?”
Daphne sits down on her couch and wraps a blanket around her shoulders. “Do you?” My heart squeezes at the hesitancy in her voice, like I’m a deer caught in headlights she’s expecting to bolt. “I’m going to ask you something, Mads, and I don’t want you to get mad at me.”
“I won’t get mad, D.”
“Do you just want to be touched, or do you want Hudson to touch you? There’s a big difference between the two, and I want you to really think about the answer.”
I sit up in bed, bringing my knees up to my chest and wrap an arm around them, really considering her question. Thinking about the way my body warms underhishands. How it warms, just imagining what it could be like. He’s the only man who’s ever made me feel that way, and I’m not sure what to do with this realization. “I think I want Hudson... It’s not that I want anyone else to touch me. Just him.”
“You think or you know?” Daphne pushes.
“I’m torn, D. I know what I want, but I don’t know if Hudson’s capable of giving it to me. And I don’t know that it’s fair to ask him if I’m not sure what I’m doing.” I close my eyes and try to picture what that conversation would look like, but I can’t. “It’s the first time I’ve ever wanted it. Truly wanted more. All the dates I’ve gone on... All the guys we met in college... Not one of them ever made me feel the way I felt tonight with my hands on his chest.”
“It’s a nice chest,” she sighs. “And we’ll circle back to the fact that your hands were on it later.”
“It is a very nice chest,” I laugh softly, breaking the heavy weight hanging in the air. “I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?”
“Nope. This kid has been kicking hard tonight. And when she’s not practicing her soccer skills on my kidneys, the heartburn is making sure I can’t lie down anyway.” She angles the phone down so I can see her big, pregnant belly.
“I still can’t believe you’re going to be a mommy.”
“Me either.” She brings the screen back up to her face. “Mads... I can’t believe I’m about to say this about Hudson Kingston, but he’s Max’s brother, and I love him, so I’m saying it anyway.”
I wait for a long beat, wondering what words of wisdom she’s going to lay at my feet.
“Don’t hurt him, Maddie. He might seem invincible, but he’s not. He’s a really good guy, with a really big heart. Be sure of what you want before you make any decisions. Because from what I’ve seen, when the Kingstons fall, they fall hard. They love hard. And if you give him your heart, I don’t see how he could ever let it go. Because you, Mads, are incredible.”
My emotion at her words gets caught in my throat. “I doubt we have to worry about me hurting Hud, D.”
“Just keep it in mind, okay?”
“I will.” I would never want to hurt Hudson or Daphne. “Love you, D.”
“Love you too, Mads.”
A creak in the hall a few minutes later has me watching a shadow that stops on the other side of the closed door. My heart races, wondering if Hudson’s going to knock. But after a minute, the shadow is gone, and the footsteps head further down the hall to the next room. Hudson’s bedroom.
I sit there, paralyzed and debating what to do for at least ten minutes as disappointment chokes me. Until I finally get up, positive this is insane but forcing myself to move until I’m standing in front of his closed door with my hand pressed against it.
“Maddie?” he calls from inside the room.
“Yeah,” I whisper back.
He doesn’t say anything, but the door opens, and I swallow my tongue.
Steam is billowing in from the master bathroom,and wow...
This man is beautiful. Standing with one crutch under his arm, a towel wrapped around his hips, and his wet hair dripping down his face, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything sexier. I rake my eyes over all the beautiful, inked muscles on display and have to fight the sudden urge to reach out and trace every last line.
