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“Yep. I finally told her that if she kept making those frosted gingerbread men cookies, I wasn’t going to want them at Christmas. Ever again.”
“She must really love you,” Hudson said. “To want to make you feel better in that way.”
Will nodded. “She certainly does, and I appreciate the reason for the cookies, but not the millions of them I had to eat as a result.”
“Are any of these her cookies?” Hudson asked, gesturing to the plate on the table.
“No,” Charli said. “These were made by me or Misha’s mom, Denise.”
“My favorites are these ones,” Kayleigh said as she pointed to the pecan balls.
Others volunteered which were their favorites, and Hudson ended up taking one of the pecan balls and a couple of others, along with a cup of coffee. Kayleigh settled for one pecan ball to enjoy with her coffee.
They didn’t stay too long after they’d finished their coffee and cookies. None of her siblings expressed surprised when Kayleigh said she had to leave before anyone else since they knew how early she got up most mornings.
They all gathered around the front door to say goodbye to her and Hudson, and Kayleigh was pretty sure they’d be having a conversation about the man after they were gone.
“Thanks for including me tonight,” Hudson said as they stood by his car.
“Sorry if it was a bit more than you bargained for.”
Hudson shook his head. “It wasn’t. I enjoyed the evening.”
“I’m glad. We can be a bit much for those not used to hanging around with us.”
“I just enjoyed being with people who didn’t seem to care who I was.”
Kayleigh understood why that might be, thoughshehadn’t been able to completely forget who he was and his purpose for being in Serenity. Still, she’d enjoyed the evening as well.
The cold kept them from lingering too long outside. They said goodnight, then Kayleigh headed for her car and began the drive home. Though it wasn’t her job to entertain him, she wondered what Hudson would do to keep himself busy over the weekend.
What she needed to keep in mind, however, was that they were co-workers. That line might have blurred slightly that evening, but come Monday, it would be firmly back in focus.
Hopefully.
The unfortunate thing was that spending time with Hudson—both at work and socially—was revealing things about him that Kayleigh really liked. It had been a while since she’d felt that way about a man.
The way Hudson dealt with her and with the situation at the resort was different than she’d expected when she’d first realized he was there on business. And because of that, he’d garnered a level of respect she hadn’t anticipated having for him.
It definitely made the man even more attractive—beyond just his looks. That wasn’t necessarily a good thing, but Kayleigh couldn’t find it within herself to wish that he was different. Because it was entirely possible that had he been a different sort of man, she’d have already lost her job.
At least he seemed to be giving her a shot.
Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.
CHAPTER NINE
With his jet lag finally under control, Hudson woke up at five-thirty on Saturday morning by choice and made his way to the gym. It wasn’t a big surprise that Kayleigh wasn’t there as he figured she only went to the resort gym on the days she was at work.
Even though they normally didn’t chat or interact at all during their workouts, Hudson found he missed having her there on the treadmill. It was an odd feeling, since he wasn’t used to having someone in his life to miss. Even Caleb, who was probably the closest thing he had to a friend, wasn’t someone he’d ever say he really missed.
As he worked out, his thoughts went once again to the night before. He had never experienced something like that as an adult.
In his early teen years, before he’d lost his mom, Hudson had occasionally been included in meals at his friends’ places. None of them had had large families, however, so the interactions with Kayleigh’s family had been interesting. It had also shown him the unique personalities present in one family.
Hudson was glad he’d accepted the invitation to join the dinner, because even more than enjoying the time away from the resort, he’d been glad for the opportunity to see Kayleigh in a more relaxed environment. What he’d learned was that Kayleigh wasn’t a completely different person when she was around her family.
Yes, she had been more relaxed, but she’d still also been the reserved and observant person he’d first met at the resort. It seemed that perhaps that was just how she always was because none of her family had seemed alarmed by her behavior.
