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“He did have orphaned baby raccoons he was taking to the nature center once.” Hudson climbed out of bed and I eyed the long, lean length of his back before it sloped down into a firm, round ass beneath his low-slung pajama pants.
He glanced over his shoulder at me, and I quickly averted my eyes. “Are you checking me out?”
I shook my head.
He raised an eyebrow at me, silently calling me on the lie. “It’s okay if you were, ‘cause it’s all going to be yours. Plus, I can guarantee I’ll be checking you out.”
Heat rushed into my cheeks. He smirked and turned to his dresser. “I usually run first thing. Will you be okay here by yourself? My locks are top of the line. So is my security. No one will get in.”
I nodded, though I wasn’t so sure. My lips curled into a smile, trying to convince him.
Hudson studied me, his eyes seeming to see inside me. His head gave a little shake.
“Tell you what,” he started slowly. “I have a treadmill in the garage. I’ll run there today, so I’ll be right here.”
I’m okay. I promise. You can go.
“I’m staying. I’m going to head down. Go ahead and shower. Help yourself to anything in the house. There should be coffee waiting when you get down to the kitchen.”
He was gone before I even climbed out of the bed. My fist clenched in frustration, wanting to call him back and tell him not to change because of me. But I had to admit, I liked that he’d be nearby.
“Thank you, Hudson,” I murmured, knowing he was already too far to hear me since I’d heard him go down the stairs. After making up the bed, still not believing I’d slept there in his arms last night—this morning, actually—I headed into the room where I was supposed to be staying.
I was showered and dressed, sitting at the table sipping a cup of strong coffee when Hudson cam in through a side door from the garage. Sweat glistened on his skin, a few droplets running down his tanned chest. Shirtless. He ran in shirtless.
I swallowed hard, licking my lips while I drank him in. My mug clunked on the table as I put it down with both hands. His gaze swung my way and he grinned, cocky, as he caught me staring. Again.
“I’m gonna go shower. Leave in a half hour?”
Sure. Okay. I nodded, knowing that even if I could speak easily, I wouldn’t have been able to get words past my closed throat.
Eight
Sparrow
We were late, but everyone was stilling milling around when Hudson and I arrived to Pins Bowling in downtown Rockford—downtown being more small town than city. Classic pop music blared around us, while neon and strobed flared, glinting off the disco ball spinning in the center of the ceiling.
“Every Sundays the owners do a throwback party, which is why we like to come here. They grew up in the 80s, so…it’s all 80s all the time for a few hours.”
That sounded like fun. So far, other than lanes and the sound of balled hitting the polished lanes and crashing into the pins, this was nothing like the bowling I remembered from when I’d gone with my parents over a decade ago.
I’ll probably be bad at this,I wrote in my notebook and showed Hudson.
He kissed my temple, sending glitter sparkling through my veins. “We all suck. It’s part of the fun.”
Taking my hand, he led me over to the counter where we rented shoes from a girl about our age, dressed up like old-school Madonna.
She smiled wide as we approached. “Hi, Hudson! You made it this week!”
“Hi, London. Sparrow, this is my cousin Daisy’s best friend, London. Lon, this is my girlfriend, Sparrow.”
“Girlfriend?” London exclaimed. “Oh my God! He’s fallen. Code red! Code red!”
“Jesus, London,” he muttered, rubbing his forehead while I laughed. “Can we just get our shoes?”
I wrote my size in the notebook for him, guessing this little book would be a constant accessory today. With my permission, Hudson had sent the sibling-cousin group chat a message earlier, forewarning them of my situation. His phone had immediately started pinging back. He’d glanced at it and rolled his eyes.
What?I’d asked him when he turned off the sound and shoved the device in his pocket. I couldn’t stop the worry that they were already telling him to move on from me.
