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“So, he says. “I have news about the trip.”
“Oh no,” I say. “Captain Jack found out about what my mom did, and he’s rescinding his offer. God, I’m so sorry, honey.”
Hudson laughs and clasps both my hands in his.
“No, Frenchie. That’s not it. I talked to the captain, and you’re coming with me to the Keys.”
I stare at him and roll his words around in my head for a bit. “I can’t come with you.”
“Too bad, because you are coming with me. Captain Jack said it wouldn’t be a problem at all if my girlfriend wanted to join me. As long as we’re not going to break up and cause any drama in the charter boat business.”
“But the Ferris wheel,” I say.
“Can be run by Amethyst. I’m sure your mom and dad can check in on it and oversee the routine maintenance.”
“But the cats. I can’t bring the cats.”
“Yeah, that’s one problem. But you said yourself you were letting your parents keep the RV, so…”
“I was joking!” Frenchie says, laughing and punching me in the arm.
“But maybe not. Maybe you let your mom and dad get reacquainted, now that they’re both recovering. They can have the RV for the summer, as their little love nest, and they can take care of the cats and walk the neighbors’ dogs.”
I burst into tears because I can’t honestly come up with any other reasons not to. “Tony and Tiny!” I say, sobbing. I’m in total blathering breakdown mode now. Hudson, startled at my outburst, tries to calm me down and wraps me up in his strong arms. “Hey. Who’s Tony and Tiny?”
Through heaving sobs, I tell him all about my favorite customers and that I’ll miss their seventieth wedding anniversary if I leave for the summer.
He laughs. “So you’ll be here for their seventy-first.”
I nod, and I wipe my eyes on my sleeve. Hudson hands me another clump of toilet paper from his pocket so I can wipe my eyes and blow my nose.
“I can’t believe you talked to the captain about taking me. You really have a way of springing things on a girl, Hudson Green.”
I admit it, I really do. She’s right. I’m far too impulsive for my own good. “You’re not wrong.”
“What do we do if we fight and break up while we’re in the middle of the Keys?”
“Then you throw me overboard and tell Captain Jack it was a shark attack.”
“Hudson.”
“Or wait. No. Maybe I should throw you overboard and say you demanded that I come ashore so you could book a ticket back home.”
“Hudson.”
“What?”
I slide myself into his lap, circle my arms around his shoulders. I shush him with a soft kiss. Hudson groans sexily and tries to deepen the kiss with a swipe of his devilish tongue.
“I can’t think of a better place to make a baby than at sea with you.”
Hudson’s eyes light up with joy. “Adalee.” He kisses me hard, pinning me to his body. “And if you want to fly to the Keys and hang out beachside while I do the charter trips, so you don’t get seasick, we can do it that way.”
My heart pounds knowing how much he’s thought about this, how much thought he’s put into making me comfortable.
I shake my head and kiss him again. “I want to give it a try. And I’m sorry, but I’m not taking my eyes off you. There’s no telling what other people on vacation down in the Keys are like with a handsome man alone on a boat all day. We’re a team, am I right?”
Hudson’s eyes flash. “Frenchie. Are you jealous? Do you have a streak of possessiveness that I never knew about before?”
