Chapter 40 HUDSON
HUDSON
The glass doors of Emma Magnuson’s condo building slid open with a sigh, and I could swear the air inside smelled like money.
Polished marble floors, gold accents, vases full of flowers that probably had their own florist on retainer.
I rubbed a hand down my shirt, suddenly hyperaware that I’d ironed it myself and missed a crease at the collar.
“Christ,” I muttered. “I feel like a stray mutt someone let in off the street.”
Matty chuckled beside me, shifting Ivy higher on his hip. “Relax. You don’t look like a stray. You look… handsome.” He smirked. “Just try not to drool on the floor. They’ll charge us for cleaning.”
“Easy for you to say,” I whispered back, glancing at the crystal chandelier that glittered overhead. “You were raised in places like this. My parents did okay, but didn’t have this kind of money.”
“You’re fine. Stop worrying.” Matty squeezed my hand before I could tuck it into my pocket. His tone was steady, reassuring, like he knew exactly what was twisting my stomach into knots.
I shook my head. “Fine? I can’t relax when I’m about to face your mom. The woman terrifies me.”
Matty arched a brow, lips twitching. “She’s barely a hundred and twenty pounds. What’s she going to do, Hudson? Eat you alive?”
I stuck out my tongue before I could stop myself. “Says the man who’s scared of a three-year-old’s fake tears. You’re carrying her when she has two functioning legs.” I nodded at Ivy, who was content as a queen on his hip.
“She likes being carried,” Matty said defensively. “Plus, it means we get to walk faster.”
“You’re spoiling her,” I shot back, though the fondness leaked into my tone. “What are you gonna do next? Get her a pony?”
“Well… when she’s older, yeah.”
I groaned, dragging a hand over my face. “Unbelievable.”
“Stop worrying,” Matty murmured, leaning close enough that only I could hear. He brushed my cheek in a kiss that steadied me more than I wanted to admit. “It’s going to be fine.”
Ivy wiggled in his arms, her little sling snug across her shoulder, and parroted, “It’s gonna be fine, Daddy.”
God help me, I melted right there. I blew out a breath. “All right. Fine. If you both say so, then I suppose you’re right.”
We reached the elevator, and the doors opened silently.
My chest tightened the higher we went, floor numbers ticking upward like a countdown.
The past two weeks had been a whirlwind, what with preparing for the wedding, and I’d spoken a few times to Emma, but never in person.
What if, when she saw me, she remembered how unsuitable I was for her son?
The doors slid open straight into a plush hallway lined with framed art. My palms went damp.
Matty strode ahead, confident as ever, while I followed like a man on his way to his own execution.
Maybe I should have talked him out of driving all the way to Denver so we could get some things we needed for our wedding.
Surely wedding suits weren’t all that necessary for a wedding?
And between me and him, Gray and Ozzie, we could figure out a flower girl’s dress for Ivy.
We didn’t need Emma for all that. Except Matty said his mother had flair, and I knew he was right.
She would ensure Ivy looked the best for the wedding.
At the end of the hall, Matty stopped in front of a wide, white door with a brass number plate. He shifted Ivy to his other hip and pressed the doorbell.
Footsteps approached from the other side, light, brisk, like someone had been waiting just inside the door. The knob turned, and Emma appeared.
She looked as perfectly put together as the first time I’d met her, like she’d been born knowing how to belong in places like this.
The woman wore silk the way most people wore jeans—effortlessly, like it was stitched right into her skin.
Pearls at her throat, lipstick neat, not a strand of blond hair out of place.
Her perfume drifted into the hall, subtle but sharp.
Her eyes went straight to her son, softening as she reached out.
“Matty,” she said warmly, leaning in to kiss both his cheeks.
Then her gaze dropped to the bundle in his arms, and her smile brightened by a thousand watts.
“And Ivy, sweetheart. Oh, you darling girl.” She touched Ivy’s cast with a featherlight hand.
“I’ve been looking forward to our day together all week. ”
Matty kissed her cheek back, easy, comfortable. “Thanks for agreeing to take her shopping, Mom. She hasn’t stopped talking about a flower girl dress.”
Ivy ducked shyly into his shoulder, then peeked out to whisper, “I’m going to be a fower girl at the wedding.”
Emma laughed softly. “Yes, and we’re going to get you the prettiest dress in the whole store.”
Her gaze flicked to me. Cool, assessing, like she was taking my measure without saying a word. For half a second, I thought about bolting back into the elevator.
“Hudson,” she said finally. Polite. Even.
“Ma’am,” I answered, my throat dry.
Matty shot me a sidelong glance, the corner of his mouth twitching like he was fighting back a grin. He knew damn well how nervous I was.
Emma stepped back, gesturing with a graceful sweep of her hand. “Well, don’t just stand out there in the hall. Come in.”
Matty breezed through the doorway like he owned the place while I hovered a second before following, trying not to scuff the marble with my boots.
The hall opened into a wide sitting room that looked like it belonged in a magazine spread: pale furniture, glass-topped tables, a view of the city skyline stretched across the wall of windows. I tried not to gape.
Emma guided us toward the couch, her hand light at Matty’s elbow, the way mothers do when they’re proud of their sons. She motioned for us to sit. “Please, make yourselves comfortable.”
Matty sat easily, Ivy perched on his lap, her arm tucked close. I lowered myself onto the edge of the couch cushion, feeling like a bull that might knock over a vase just by breathing too hard.
Emma’s eyes softened as she looked at Ivy again. “She really is a darling. And so beautiful.”
Matty tickled Ivy’s side until she giggled and pressed into him. “She’s been buzzing all week for this shopping trip.”
“Good. She should be excited.” Emma smoothed her skirt and folded her hands neatly in her lap. “Every girl deserves to feel like a princess at least once in her life.”
Ivy perked up. “Pwinsess?”
Emma chuckled. “Exactly, sweetheart. You’re going to be the princess at that wedding. I’ll make sure of it.”
Before I could blink, Ivy scrambled off Matty’s lap and went straight for Emma.
“Ivy.” I half rose, heart in my throat. She had already clambered onto Emma’s knees, tucking herself into the woman’s lap the way she did to Matty. My stomach knotted tight when her small hand shot out to play with Emma’s pearl necklace, twisting it between her tiny fingers. “Bug, come back here—”
Emma’s hand came up, calm and certain, resting lightly on Ivy’s back. “It’s all right, Hudson. She’s comfortable.” Her tone was soft but carried a kind of authority that settled the air.
I don’t care how much Matty says she weighs. She’s scary as hell.
“Now tell me, how are the wedding plans coming along?” Emma asked, jolting me out of my thoughts.
Matty leaned back, casual. “On track, mostly. Rowan’s driving us up the wall half the time with all his ideas.”
“Do you want me to recommend someone else? I know a fabulous planner in Aspen.”
Matty’s lips twitched. “No, Mom. Half joking. Rowan’s great. He gets us. We’ll keep him.”
She studied him for a moment, then nodded. “As long as you’re happy. That’s what matters.”
Wow. She actually sounded as if she meant it.
For a beat, the room went quiet, the tick of a clock somewhere filling the space. Then Matty asked softly, “Have you…spoken to Carter recently?”
Emma’s expression faltered, though her posture remained perfect. “He calls me every day, but he won’t come home. Won’t attend the wedding. It’s too difficult for him. I probably shouldn’t be there either after everything, but I need to see my Matty on his big day.”
The air tightened around us. Matty’s jaw flexed, and I reached a hand out to grab his and squeeze.
“He should come,” I said quickly. “The ceremony itself is a small family affair, and you will always be a part of our family. You’re Matty’s mother, and he wants you there.
And Carter… well, maybe showing up would be a step in the right direction for everyone. ”
Emma’s gaze shifted to me, sharp for half a second, then softened with a smile. “Thank you for that, Hudson. It means a lot.”
I cleared my throat. “Just saying what’s true.”
Matty rose to his feet, surprising me when he picked Ivy up from off his mother’s lap. “Mom, got anymore of those cookies you had here last time?”
“Yes, hon. They’re on the counter in the crystal jar.”
“Come on, Bug. Let’s eat all Nana’s cookies and wash them down with some chocolate milk.”
I shot him a look that screamed “don’t leave me alone with her,” but he only grinned, traitor that he was, and disappeared with Ivy toward the kitchen.
Emma and I sat in the wide, quiet room, the city spread out behind her like a painting. She folded her hands in her lap again, her voice softer this time. “I’m not so scary, am I?”
I swallowed, forcing a crooked smile. “Not as scary as four years ago.”
Her lips curved in a smile, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“I should apologize for that. For the part I played in shoving you away from Matty. At the time, I thought I was protecting him. You’ll understand one day, Hudson.
You have a daughter now. In time, you’ll see we sometimes interfere more than we should—for their own good. ”