19. Hudson
Chapter 19
Hudson
Sitting in my office chair, I gave up what I was doing and stared down at the thread of text messages from Evan. Even though the kids kept me busy, there wasn’t enough time in the day to fill the void he’d left behind.
I missed him—more than I thought possible at this stage in our relationship. I’d forgotten how a new liaison could provide excitement.
Adley had pestered me for details the moment I walked into the office on Monday. She was relentless with her questions until I finally gave in and told her about us. No one worked me over like she did.
“You really missed your calling. You would make a great prosecutor or an interrogator for the intelligence community.”
“Maybe in my next life,” she joked. “Or I could be a PR specialist.”
I looked up at her sitting on the edge of her seat across from my desk.
“You mean when my term is up?”
“Yes. Unless,” she singsonged, “you decide to run for the U.S. Congress or the presidency one day. I could see myself as the Chief of Staff. Being in charge of the executive branch and telling people what to do. And the new clothes!”
I smiled at her. “You’d be great at it. At the very least, it would be entertaining.”
Her eyes lit up. “Does that mean you’re considering moving to the federal arena?”
I chuckled. “I don’t know. Probably not. But who knows?”
“Evan would make a great First Gentleman.” She clapped her hands like a giddy schoolgirl, reminding me of her sister.
I waved my hands to stop her line of thinking. “Calm down, Ads. We’ve only been together a couple of days. Don’t read too much into it.”
“I know you, Hudson Gatlin. You’re a smitten kitten for the big guy.”
I snorted and rolled my eyes. “We’re more like close friends than anything.”
Lying was not my forte. I sucked at it. And I don’t know who I was trying to fool.
“Whatever you say,” she said, heading for the door.
Adley stopped and turned to look at me. I was almost afraid of what she was going to say.
“What?”
“Have you spoken to Thomas about your new…” She waved her hand in the air as if trying to come up with the right word. “… man candy? He really needs to know to protect your interests.”
Fucking hell. I ran my hand over my jaw, knowing she was right.
“Not yet. But you’re right. I should talk to him.”
Adley nodded. “He’s in the building if you want me to find him.”
“Yes. Let’s do that now.”
“I’m on it.”
She turned and strode out. Before I could figure out how much to say, Thomas knocked on my door.
“You needed to see me, Governor?”
I looked up at the former Marine standing straight as an arrow in my doorway.
“Yes, Thomas. Come in and close the door.”
He nodded and did as I asked, then stood in front of my desk. I motioned for him to take a seat. Thomas sat in the chair across from me.
“Thank you, sir. What can I do for you?”
I reclined in my leather chair and relaxed.
“Nothing, really. But I wanted to talk to you about something… personal in nature.”
He looked confused. “Sir?”
I raised my hand and laughed. “Let me just cut to the chase. I suddenly find myself with a new social life. I’m seeing someone. I’ll be traveling to see them and taking the kids as well. I thought you should know since you handle scheduling my security.”
“Yes, thank you, sir.”
He stared at me, completely unfazed.
“That doesn’t come as a shock to you?”
He shook his head. “It’s none of my business, Governor. But I think Mr. Ellis is a fine choice.”
My face heated even though I tried to hide it.
“How do you know it’s Evan Ellis?”
His stoic expression cracked into a hint of a smile.
“Forgive me, sir, but I have eyes, as the kids say.”
I curled my lips in as my body suddenly felt feverish. All over.
“And the kids told me. When Mr. Ellis closed the door before you came to the car. Jack and Erin informed me that you two had to…” he paused as if trying to remember. “Suck face, sir.”
I covered my face with my hands, helpless to do anything but laugh. Looking at Thomas, I could see he was respectfully enjoying my predicament.
“Yes, well. Okay then. I suppose that’s that.”
Thomas chuckled. “Forgive me for intruding, sir, but I think it’s wonderful. You haven’t really smiled since Mrs. Gatlin passed. It’s nice to see you do that again.”
I ran my fingertips over my mouth, trying not to smile. My bodyguard approved of Evan, so I guess that was something.
“Me too, Thomas. I just hope my constituents share your sentiments.”
“They will. And if they don’t, they can fuck right off. As the kids say.”
I burst out laughing, the tension immediately beginning to ease.
“I appreciate that,” I said, straightening in my chair. “I hope you like football, Thomas. We’re going to be doing a lot of traveling this season.”
He smirked. “I love it, sir. And I assumed we would. I’ll get the Storm’s schedule and be ready.”
Nodding, I stood and held out my hand to shake his.
“Thank you, Thomas. I hope all this additional coverage won’t be an inconvenience in your life. I know downtime is limited.”
“Not at all, sir. I’m a fan.”
“Excellent,” I said. “Then we have a plan.”
“We have a plan, sir. I assume we will be returning to San Diego soon?”
I nodded and took a seat, then picked up my pen. I twirled it through my fingers, already missing Evan.
“Yes, in three weeks. For the 4th.”
Thomas smiled. “I’ll be ready, sir. If you need anything, please let me know.”
“Thank you. I will.”
I stared at my phone on the desk as Thomas left my office. Chuckling, I picked it up and put it in the bottom drawer to keep myself from texting him. I had work to do.
A week later, I was a distracted, pathetic mess of a man. Not even the thrilling tax code bill I was reading could hold my attention.
“Governor,” she said in her British accent, “you have a visitor.”
I frowned. “Um, okay. Who is it?”
I turned off my screen and stood from my desk.
She shrugged from the doorway. “He said he was here about a shirt.”
My stupid face broke out into a grin as Evan came into view. I all but ran to him as I took in his dark denim jeans and a polo shirt that fit him like a glove.
Evan grinned and opened his arms as Adley closed the door. I’d get a million questions later.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to get my shirt. And I fucking missed you.”
He reached for my face as I slid my arms around him. The scent of his cologne filled my head, making me crazy until his lips found mine.
When Evan pulled back, I didn’t want to stop.
“Babe,” he whispered against my lips, “I’m not gonna be able to walk out of here if you don’t stop kissing me like that.”
I sobered and suddenly remembered where we were. Taking a step back, I wiped away the evidence of our kiss. But I refused to stop touching him. He was mine.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you. Nothing was happening in San Diego, so I decided to visit.”
My grin was stupid. “How long are you staying? I have a couple of meetings tomorrow afternoon, but my schedule is relatively light. Most of the government is on vacation,” I joked. “Adley can rearrange?—”
Evan cut off my rambling with another kiss that was way too short for my liking.
“Hudson,” he said, rubbing his thumbs over my cheeks as he looked into my eyes. “I can stay until training camp. I rented a house close to yours.”
“How long is that? I know you told me, but I can’t do math right now.”
Evan laughed, then leaned in to kiss me softly. “Three weeks, Governor. You’ve got me for three weeks.”
“Are you serious? One week apart was becoming a problem.”
“I know. That’s why I rented a house with a pool. You and the kids can come over, and we can have some privacy to enjoy one another.”
He leaned in and tipped my head to the side to drop several sensual, open-mouthed kisses on my neck.
“How much more do you have to do here?” he murmured into my ear.
“Uh…”
I couldn’t think, but Adley answered, surprising us both from the open door.
“He’s done for the day. Governor dismissed.”
I groaned at my nosey assistant.
“You really are too bossy,” I said to her, as Evan laughed.
“Hudson, do you really want to stay here? There’s a meeting on your calendar this afternoon for a planning meeting ,” she said, making air quotes, “with the San Diego representative for the school lunch program?”
Evan laughed, his amusement written all over his face.
“Damn, you’re good. You should run for governor after Hudson’s term is up.”
She grinned at him as I watched their interaction.
“Nope. I’ve got bigger plans.”
She winked and turned to leave, but stopped in the doorway. “Oh, Hudson?”
I looked at her smile, which reminded me so much of Carrie’s.
“If it’s okay with you, I’ll pick up my godchildren and take them out for pizza and a movie. They’ll be home around nine.”
I nodded, really grateful for my nosy assistant/sister-in-law. “Thanks, Ad. Tell them I’m in a meeting, please.”
I hated to lie to my kids, but my personal life was personal.
“No problem. Have fun, boys,” she said, leaving us in my office.
When she closed the door, Evan wound his arms around my waist and pulled me closer. “I hope you’re okay with this. It seemed like a waste of time to stay when all I wanted was to be here.”
“I’m glad you came. Don’t know why I didn’t suggest it a week ago.”
“It gave us both time to think.”
I grinned at him. “What conclusion did you come to?”
Evan leaned against the side of my desk and pulled me closer. He leaned in and buried his face in my neck to breathe me in. “Your scent on my sheets was fading. And I couldn’t pretend you were still there anymore.”
God, he was fucking romantic, and I was a sap. I was sure my face gave me away. “I’m not used to being romanced, Mr. Ellis. In the past, that’s been my job.”
Evan ran his hands up my back as I felt the evidence of both our erections. We weren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“I’m going to romance the hell out of you, Hudson.”
I chuckled at the suggestion but quickly sobered. I couldn’t help but think about Carrie. “That’s going to be a nice change.”
“Just wait,” he said. “I’m going to make you wish I’d never leave, Governor.”
I ran my hands through his hair and gripped his neck. “That won’t be difficult.”
Evan smiled, then kissed me again. Never did this USC nerd ever think this could happen. And when he pulled back, he pressed his forehead to mine.
“Are you ready to go to my place?”
I nodded. “Definitely. But you’ve got to stop touching and kissing me, or we’re never getting out of here. Give me a minute to deflate while I close up what I was working on.”
Evan released me to close my computer and log out. As I waited for everything to power down, Evan stood watching me with a smile I’d missed more than I thought possible.
“Text me the address. And I’ll meet you there.”
“Yes, sir,” he replied, pulling his phone from his pocket. “My rental is close to your house, so if you need to go there first and pack a bag, it’s not a big deal.”
My phone pinged with his message as I stood from my chair. Picking up my phone, I opened the messages app and clicked on the link. The map opened up and showed me exactly where he was. Three blocks away.
“Wow, you really did get close.”
He grinned. “I had some help.”
My eyes met his. “Adley.”
He nodded. “Yep. She deserves a raise. Got me all situated and even placed a grocery order for me, so everything was there when I arrived. No wasted time.”
I liked the sound of that.
Evan reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked to be a garage door opener. “Take this. Use it when you get to the house. You can park in the garage so no one can see your car.”
I looked down as thoughts surfaced in my head. Evan noticed immediately.
“What are you thinking about?”
I glanced around my office, then back up at him. “I don’t want to hide who you are to me.”
“Then we won’t.”
“You’re okay with being an out player?”
He shrugged. “I’ve never hidden my sexuality, Hudson. But I’ve also never been with anyone that made me want to reveal my personal life. Not since Nick. And certainly not until you.”
His words made me feel a little better. “Okay. Then we need to figure out a plan with Anna, my communications director and press secretary. I’ve never hidden anything about myself from my constituents, and I don’t plan to start now.”
Evan pulled me in for a hug. “I love how fearless you are. And I’m good with whatever you decide. But maybe we can talk about all that with a glass of wine in the pool.”
I smiled at him. “That actually sounds really good. I’ll drop by the house and grab a bathing suit.”
“Clothing is optional, Governor. It’s just you and me tonight.”
I leaned in and kissed him. “Then let’s go, Superstar.”