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“Darling, I want you to meet Felicity Marchand. She’s a client of mine.”
I can practically feel my lip curling in a snarl as I look at the supermodel every man on the planet wants to bang. “Felicity, it’s very nice to meet you.”
I hold out my hand to be polite and she takes it with a genuine smile that I wasn’t expecting.
“Lovely to meet you, too.” She turns to Hudson as I drop her hand and lifts her brows. “She’s out of your weight class, Hudson.”
I still at her words but Hudson squeezes my hand gently as he throws his head back and laughs and it’s beautiful. He’s always been beautiful, and that’s what makes him so dangerous to me.
“She’s out of my league in every way you can imagine, Felicity, and, believe me, I know it.”
Something about those words makes me frown. Reminding me of the times when we were young and he’d vow to make himself worthy of me. My stomach tightens in a knot and I cock my head to see him watching me. “He’s not out of anyone’s league. He never has been.”
A small smile ghosts his lips before he turns away and I hate that I miss his eyes on me. He bends to kiss my cheek and I fight the urge to turn into his kiss as his lips press against my skin.
“I’ll let you get back to your friends. I’ll see you later.”
I nod and spin. As I make my way back to our table, my friends are on my heels. Deliberately, I sit with my back to Hudson and Felicity, not wanting to see how good they look together or let him think I care.
Amelia wiggles her eyebrows as she sucks her Mojito through a straw. “So, fess up. What happened between you two? Because whatever it is, it didn’t kill the insane chemistry you have. And I should know. I am a scientist, after all.”
Eden throws a napkin at Amelia. “Alright nerd, no need to make the rest of us feel stupid.”
“Ha, speak for yourself. I got my son sleeping through the night. I feel like a damn genius.” Norrie fist bumps the air as Lottie lifts her hand for a high-five.
This is why I love these women, we’re all so different and we celebrate each other for that.
“Fine, whatever. You don’t need a degree to see that Audrey and her handsome husband have some serious heat.”
“I thought I might need a minute alone with my bullet after that kiss.” Eden sips her drink with a smile.
“Right, it was hot. So come on, out with it. Give us something.”
“Fine. Hudson and I were together in college. I thought it was perfect, he was perfect, but then he ghosted me.”
Four pairs of eyes are staring at me.
“And?” Amelia asks, rolling her hand for more.
I throw my hands up. “And what? That’s it.”
Norrie leans back and shakes her head. “Bullshit. You don’t hold a grudge like you have because you got ghosted.”
My skin prickles as I feel his gaze on me, and I refuse to turn around and give him the satisfaction of thinking I care.
“Maybe Hudson will tell us what happened.”
Norrie pushes her chair back and I panic, standing to stop her. She may be small but she’s mighty and, surviving what she has, I’m glad for it. But right now, I want to lock her in a box and dump her in the ocean.
“Okay, fine. Stop. I’ll tell you.”
“No more holding out on us. We’re your friends and we love you.”
A lump lodges in my throat and I nod. “I know and I love you guys, too. I just don’t find this kind of thing easy.”
Lottie reaches over and grips my hand.
“I met Hudson in my first lecture. We were both doing business, but for me, it was my main degree and for him, it was a module of his law degree. He was…” I look up as memories flood me of the boy who stole my heart with his crooked smile. “He was everything. You’ve seen him, so you know how gorgeous he is. Back then, it was tempered with a cute shyness. He rode this death trap of a motorbike and, unlike the others, I knew his focus wasn’t on getting drunk. It was on his education.”
