Chapter 42 Adrian
ADRIAN
“You love me?” I repeat.
I’m trying to let the words sink in. To really take in everything Hudson just said to me.
I think he’s right. The big gestures have only made me more nervous, given me more reasons to believe he only wants to be with me because I’m making him chase me, that when I finally admit how much I want to be with him, he’ll feel like he’s won and no longer care.
But the little moments? The way his face lit up when he saw me in Emily’s hospital room, every time he sends me a picture excited about some tiny detail he’s discovered I added to his house that I knew he would love.
The fact that his entire body visibly relaxed when they said I could come down here with him, and the way he’s been clutching my hand like I’m the only thing giving him comfort as he waits to meet his baby.
Those things add up. They mean something.
They aren’t for show. They can’t be faked.
And he isn’t asking to just date me. He’s talking about forever. He said he loves me.
“Of course I love you, Adrian. I’ve been calling you Prince Charming for years, and I’m sorry it took me so long to realize I wanted you to be my happily ever after.”
I can’t help it; I burst out laughing. “Oh my god, that was so cheesy.”
He beams back at me. “But you’re smiling. Did it work? Have I convinced you that I’m in love with you?” His eyes are lit up, full of so much hope. That isn’t for show.
That’s for me, because he wants to be with me.
Because he loves me.
I can’t believe I’ve been pushing him away. I wasn’t protecting myself. I was hurting us both. The final bricks of my walls disappear, and my heart is his for the taking.
I bite my lip, but give up trying to fight off my own equally cheesy grin. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think it did.”
He joins in laughing with me. “Really?”
I nod. “I love you too, Hudson. I’m sorry I ever doubted you. I’ve just been so afraid to hope for that future if it could be taken away.”
He moves his other hand so he can hold both sides of my face. “It’s yours if you want it. I’m not going anywhere.”
I nod, still kind of shocked that this is happening, but I believe him. I trust Hudson, and if he says he loves me, then I think it’s okay to admit how much I love him too. If he says that I deserve to be happy, then maybe I do.
Maybe I can have everything I’ve ever dreamed about.
“Can I kiss you?”
I nod again, and his lips on mine feel like home. Kissing Hudson makes everything he’s promising feel real. Like I can really have my very own happily ever after.
“We’re ready for you. You’ll need to scrub in,” the nurse interrupts, and we jump away from each other.
We’re both smiling as our gazes meet though.
“I’ll see you soon, then?” Hudson says nervously.
I nod. “Go meet our baby.”
The C-section went perfectly according to the nurse who came out to update me. And despite her being three weeks early, our perfect little girl was born without any complications and doesn’t even need to spend any time in the NICU.
Hudson and Emily had spoken ahead of time and agreed on skin-to-skin time with Emily immediately after the delivery, so she’s cuddled on her chest when the nurses push her bed back into the post-op area.
I immediately burst into tears, and Hudson comes over, wrapping his arms around me from behind to kiss the top of my head before I approach her and wrap her little fingers around my thumb.
“Congratulations, you two,” Emily says. “I kind of feel like I get to say, ‘I told you so,’ but is that rude?”
I laugh. “Thank you. Did Hudson say something, or?”
“Oh, he announced it to the whole OR. It’s probably a good thing you had that mask on so none of them could recognize you, Mr. Professional Athlete,” she jokes.
“Oh shit, I didn’t even think about that,” Hudson admits, also laughing. “I don’t care who knows though.”
I spin to look at him. “Um, I care. If you guys lose the cup, I’m not having the fans blaming me; you know how superstitious people are!”
He shrugs. “I have everything I need now. I don’t care if we win.”
I playfully slap him. “Well, I do! You might be retiring, but I’m about to get promoted. I want to be president for a cup-winning team, not boring old conference champions.”
“I’ll do my best,” he promises with a wink.
And he does. A couple of days later, we get to bring baby Emily home. Hudson asked Emily if he could give our daughter her mother’s name so she knows how grateful he is that she brought her into the world, which she tearfully agreed to, and then the next day, he was suiting up for the finals.
He didn’t actually want to leave us at home, and if I hadn’t agreed to move in with him before we ever left the hospital, I don’t think he would have. But I insisted he finish out the season, and that I could stay with our daughter for a few hours, and he finally agreed.
Six games later, they did it. And Oliver scored the winning goal. The Werewolves officially won the cup, and Oliver celebrated by kissing his boyfriend in front of all the cameras. Apparently, the guy is a fan who Oliver hit it off with after he won a contest earlier in the season.
And baby Em got to sit in the Stanley Cup. Hudson insisted I be the one holding her so he could get a picture of “all of his favorite things.”
It’s proudly displayed in multiple rooms in our house.
And every time I see it, it’s another one of those little reminders that he loves me. That I’m one of his favorite things, and all of this—the perfect man, the dream house, the sweetest baby in the world, are mine. That I’m a part of this family.
That I deserve to be happy.