AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What’s Tristan up to, by the way?” I look at him before taking another bite.
“He’s around. He wants to give us time alone, so he’s doing his own thing. We’ll catch him soon. I’m being selfish for now,” he winks, and butterflies go wild in my stomach.
When it’s time for dessert, Hudson orders a tiramisu for the two of us with the promise that I won’t be too full to indulge in it.
The way he’s looked at me throughout dinner has made me giddy, like a teen girl who just received tickets to her favorite boy band concert. His gaze is deep and intense. His laugh is rich and warm. Could our lives have been this way all this time had we not taken different paths?
I shake that idea away. There’s no point in focusing on the past. It’s already done, and we can’t change it.
Hudson reaches for my hand, linking his fingers with mine. I shiver at the contact and smile up at him.
“I can’t tell you enough how happy I am that you’re here. Stay through the weekend,” his demand comes with a hint of pleading.
Hearing the emotions in his voice, the yearning, makes me nod my head slowly.
“Okay.”
“Really?” His eyebrows shoot up, and his eyes widen.
“Yeah. I want to spend time with you. It’s not that I don’t.” I turn our hands over so I can trace the lines on his palm.
“I just get nervous that we’ll get stuck in this back and forth limbo,” I confess, turning my gaze down to where our hands are.
“We’ll figure it out, I promise.” His words are full of determination and honesty. I simply nod, hoping he’s right.
“You’re my number one. Now and always.”
My eyes lift to his and find fire blazing in them. I tremble, captured by his gaze. There’s no denying the sincerity and fierceness coming from him.
“You’re mine, too.” I lace my fingers with his and lift our joined hands, kissing the inside of his wrist.
His fingers tighten around mine, and he clears his throat.
“I’m going to pay.”
The tension between us is palpable. Emotions run high, desire to make things work mixed with fear that they won’t. It feels a bit reckless, but I know Hudson won’t give up without a fight. Not this time. And I plan to do the same. Four years was enough time to miss him. Now that I have him in my life again, I won’t let anyone take him away. Not when we both want this.
“Ready?” His voice is gruff when he speaks after paying the bill.
“Yeah.” I stand.
“Let’s grab a cab,” Hudson suggests when we walk out into the rain.
He hails a cab, and after unsuccessfully trying, the third cab stops for us. We sit side by side, our thighs pressed against each other. I’m hyperaware of him, of the way his fingers mindlessly brush against mine, how his chest rises and falls with deep breaths, the heat that moves through us. I wish I could kiss him right now, but I don’t want an audience.
Hudson lifts our hands and observes them, maybe seeing the way they fit together. I’ve done that plenty of times.
“I love you so much.” His words are quiet.
“I love you, too.” I turn my head to look at him. His expression is serious. Gone is the funny guy. In his place is a man pouring out love and…longing.
“We’re going to work out. Trust me.” His lips softly brush the top of my hand, causing a shiver to run down my spine.
“I do.”
His other hand cradles my face and brings his forehead to mine. We both close our eyes and take deep breaths. The only sound is the commercial on the radio.
Hudson tips his head up without inching back so that his lips barely brush against mine. “You’re mine.”
