Chapter 40 HUDSON #2
I nodded politely, though doubt curled in my gut.
I’d seen what real fatherhood looked like.
Gray Magnuson never smothered his sons. He gave them room to grow, room to fall, room to figure out who they were, with the promise that he’d be there when they stumbled.
That was the kind of father I wanted to be for Ivy.
“It’s all water under the bridge now. Matty and I found our way back to each other, and life’s never been better.”
“You impressed me a lot when Matty showed me you never spent the money.”
I lowered my head. “It was the one thing I could do at the time to prove how I really felt about him after everything that happened.”
“Daddy! Daddy! We got you a cookie!” Matty returned with Ivy, a cookie wrapped in a paper towel, which she clutched precariously in her good hand. “It’s for you, Daddy.”
A side of the cookie had teeth marks. I grinned and took it from her. “Thank you, Ivy, but did you have to take a bite out of it?”
“Other Daddy did.”
Matty grinned. “Hey, we brought you back something at least.”
“Well, then I’m sending you three-quarters of my thanks.”
Chuckling, Emma rose to her feet and smoothed down her skirt. “Are you ready to go shopping now, Ivy?” she asked. “Let’s get your princess dress.”
“And a mermaid dress?” She peered up at Emma with the same eyes she used on Matty.
“No, baby,” I said around a bite of the cookie. God, it tasted good. “Remember, we talked about this last night. It’s a flower girl dress. Something very special for your daddies’ wedding.”
She sighed dramatically but nodded. “Okay.”
“Our ride should be here.” Emma held a hand out for Ivy, who took it. “Do you want to ride with us?”
“Nah, we’ll take my truck,” Matty said. “But we’ll go down with you.”
While Emma whisked Ivy off to find her flower girl dress, Matty and I had gone the opposite direction, straight to the men’s boutique where we’d booked our suit fittings.
It didn’t take long. Neither of us was fussy.
Matty knew his size down to the half inch, and I’d never been one for preening in front of mirrors.
A few quick adjustments, a couple of nods from the tailor, and we were done in under an hour.
With time to kill, we walked the block, coffee in hand for me, a lemonade for him.
We ducked into a bookstore, browsed shelves we didn’t need, bought Ivy a couple of new mermaid books, and a Kama Sutra book we found that made us both look up and grin at each other.
It was easy, domestic, like we’d been doing this for years.
By the time the two hours were up, we were back at the condo, stepping off the escalator into the lobby.
I thumbed my phone, frowning at the empty screen.
No messages. No calls. Ivy could be fussy, though she’d been doing so amazingly with new people lately.
Maybe because she felt safe, but I had expected Emma to call half an hour into their shopping date to tell us she was crying or demanding to see her daddies.
“Do you think they’re back already?” I asked.
Matty bumped his shoulder into mine. “We’ll find out in a minute. Stop checking your phone. If Mom needed us, she’d have called. She has both our numbers.”
Maybe. But my gut still knotted.
Turned out we reached the condo before they did.
The silence was thick when we stepped inside, our footsteps echoing across polished floors.
I felt like we were intruders without Emma there.
Matty seemed to be able to flow effortlessly between the rancher and the city boy.
He was as at home in his mother’s condo as he was knee-deep in muck and cow pie.
“Come on.” Matty tugged my hand toward the glass doors to the balcony. “If you keep pacing like that, you’ll wear a track into Mom’s fancy rug.”
Out on the balcony, the city stretched out in a glitter of sunlight on glass. The air was cooler out there, quiet above the traffic below. We sat together on one of the cushioned chairs, his thigh pressed against mine, his hand finding my knee like it belonged there.
“Nice try.” I swatted away his hand. “We’re not having sex on your mother’s nice chairs. They already look fragile.”
Matty threw his head back and laughed. “Is that what you think this is?”
“It isn’t?”
He got up on one knee, proving me right when he kissed me. Before I could pull away, he upended me on the chair, slanted his lips over mine, and lifted one of my legs so it was hitched on his hip.
“Mmm.” He slid his hand under my shirt and brushed over my abs. He raised his head and smiled down at me. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you this time, not sex you up.”
“In this position? You tease.”
I snipped at his lip with my teeth. “How do you feel about all this? The wedding planning. Still want to marry me?”
“Of course.” I slipped my fingers through the fine hairs at his nape. “Nothing can stop me from marrying you, Matthias Magnuson.”
He huffed out a laugh, brushing a hand down my face. “I don’t regret meeting you, Hudson Granger. Don’t regret being with you, whether that’s four years ago or now.”
My eyes misted, and my nostrils burned. “No regrets?”
“None. We’re right where we need to be, and this is our perfect timing. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, and I’m resigned to the fact that things had to happen the way they did so we could have Ivy because our lives wouldn’t be the same without her in it.”
“Matty.” I pulled him down to kiss him, wrapping my arms tightly around him. “I love you so fucking much.”
“I love you too, Huddlebug.” He kissed my temple, firm, certain. “You’re everything I want. Don’t ever forget that.”
The knot in my chest loosened. “You’re everything I want too. Need even.”
For a few seconds, we fell silent, but I sensed something else was on his mind. Finally, I couldn’t stand not knowing. “Are you going to tell me what’s on your mind?”
“Just thinking.”
“About?”
“Me and my mom. How we are fixing things between us. And wondering if you ever think of making that first step with your parents.”
My stomach churned. I stared out at the skyline. Matty’s question was proof of how much this man knew me. “To be honest, I’ve given it some thought. Watching you and your mom, the way you’re slowly working things out—I wonder if I should try. Bury the hatchet. But I don’t know if I can.”
“You don’t have to know right now.” He squeezed my hand. “Just think about it. You’re not that boy anymore, Hud. You’re a dad now. And you’re gonna be my husband. If and when you decide to do it, I’ll be right here to do it with you. You never have to go through anything alone again.”
You never have to go through anything alone again.
Something broke open inside me. I turned, caught his face in my hands, and kissed him. Long, slow, aching. He kissed me back with the same unhurried patience, like we had all the time in the world. Our mouths moved together, breathing in the promise that whatever came, we’d face it side by side.
The balcony chair creaked as I shifted closer, my hand splayed across his chest, over the steady thrum of his heart. He slid his fingers up into my hair, tugging gently as his lips deepened against mine. Sweet turned hungry, then softened again, our breaths mingling.
It felt like we were alone in the universe until voices floated from inside, high and bright. Ivy’s giggle, Emma’s softer tones following.
Matty smiled against my mouth, resting his forehead on mine. “Guess the princess is back.”
I huffed a laugh, pressing one last kiss to his lips, then pushing him off me. “I can’t wait to see the dress Emma picked out.”
We stepped back inside, the click of the balcony door quiet behind us. A man I didn’t recognize staggered in under the weight of a dozen glossy shopping bags. He set them down in a pile on the carpeted floor.
“Thank you, Vincent,” Emma said smoothly, passing him a tip from a neat little clutch that had appeared in her hand. He left with a crisp “ma’am.”
Matty let out a low whistle, one brow arched as his eyes swept the mountain of bags. “Mom, I think Ivy’s flower girl dress was just an excuse for you to do some shopping for yourself.”
Emma’s smile was cool and triumphant. “These aren’t for me. They’re for Ivy.”
My jaw dropped. I counted five, six, ten, thirteen bags and groaned, dragging a hand over my face. “Oh my God. This is too much.”
“Nana got me a wainbow dress! And sparky shoes!” Ivy was happy-dancing around the bags, practically glowing.
Emma delicately lifted a brow. “Is something wrong? We got the dress, but there was still so much that looked adorable on her.”
Matty stepped in before I could make a fool of myself. “I’m afraid my fiancé thinks we’re spoiling our daughter.”
Emma’s mouth curved, soft but knowing. “Every girl deserves to be spoiled a little. And that’s what Nanas are for.”
Matty chuckled, bumping my side. “Don’t fight it, man. Accept it. Besides, it’s not like we’re just spoiling her. We’ll teach her values, teach her to be kind.”
“I don’t want her growing up not knowing the value of working hard. I hadn’t, and look where I ended up?”
Matty wrapped an arm around my waist. “Where? From where I’m standing, our life together is pretty good, isn’t it?”
“Of course it is, but you know what I mean. Before I met you.”
Ivy paused midspin, looking between us with wide, worried eyes. She ran over to me, tilting her head back. “Did I do something bad, Daddy?”
My heart dropped to my boots. I crouched fast until I was eye level with her. “No, baby,” I said, my voice rougher than I meant. I brushed her hair back. “You’re the best little girl in the world. The very best.”
Her smile returned, shy but sure, as she leaned into me. And in that moment, I knew Matty and Emma were right: little girls like this deserved the best. Maybe I could let go of my worry and let her have the rainbow dresses and sparkly shoes, so long as she also learned hard work and discipline.
I glanced up at Emma and managed a real smile. “Thank you. For doing this for her.”
Emma’s expression softened, and for the first time, I felt like maybe she and I weren’t on opposite sides anymore.