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“No. I’m here for a few days.”
“Why don’t you join us for pizza tonight?” Janessa asked. “Unless you have other plans.”
“Janessa,” Kayleigh cautioned. “I’m sure Hudson has better things to do than hang out with us.”
“Actually, I don’t,” Hudson said, clearly surprising Kayleigh as much as himself.
He’d planned to spend the evening reading reports, but he could do that at any point during the weekend. It had been quite a while since he’d last socialized in a non-business setting.
“Well, if you do want to come, get the address from Kayleigh,” Janessa said. “We’d love to have you join us.”
“Just like that?” Hudson asked. “You don’t have to ask the others?”
“Nope. It’s at my home too, so I can invite whoever I want.”
Hudson glanced at Kayleigh, who shrugged. “She’s not wrong.”
“Well, thank you for the invite,” Hudson said. “Perhaps I’ll see you later.”
“I hope so,” Janessa said with a smile, then turned and headed for the counter.
Once it was just the two of them, Hudson said, “I didn’t expect that invitation.”
“Don’t feel like you have to come,” Kayleigh told him. “But if you don’t mind a simple meal with some curious people, you’re welcome to join us. Wilder will most likely be there, so you’ll know two of us, at least.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind if I show up? I know I’ve kind of just burst into your life on a professional level. I don’t want to do that in your personal life too.”
“It’s fine. Just tell me what kind of pizza you’d like.”
Hudson took a moment to decide if he really wanted to accept the invitation. His curiosity about Kayleigh and her large family eventually pushed him into deciding to go.
“I’m partial to pepperoni,” he said.
“Then you’ll be in good company,” Kayleigh said. “If you’d have gone for Hawaiian, you’d have to share with Will. He’s Janessa’s boyfriend.”
“Not a fan of cooked pineapple, to be honest.”
“None of us are. Will is an anomaly.”
“Maybe you should give me a rundown on who I might run into tonight.”
“Well, Will and Janessa will both be there. Janessa lives with Charli—Charlotte—and Charli’s daughter, Layla, so they’ll both be there. Jay and his girlfriend, Misha, will probably be there with Jay’s son Peyton and Misha’s daughter, Ciara. Gareth might be back from the conference, and if so, it’s possible he and Aria, his wife, will be there.”
“It’s probably good I’ve met a couple of you ahead of time.”
Kayleigh laughed. “Yeah. It can be hard to remember names if you meet us all at once.”
“Do your parents usually show up?”
“Not on Friday nights, normally. They hang out with their friends or go on a date.”
“Go on a date?”
“Yep. Even all these years later, they still like to go on dates.”
“How long have they been married?”
Kayleigh lifted her cup to take a sip, squinting one eye shut as if doing some math. “I think it’s thirty-five years.”
