Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
“ W hy don’t you come with us tonight?” Katy asked. Anna and Katy were having a lazy day off from filming and had spent most of the day on and off the beach. They’d slept late and headed to the beach mid-morning. It was a perfect sunny day, and they both swam a few times and soaked up the sun.After lunch, they took a long walk on the beach and were now lounging on the deck under big umbrellas and flipping through a stack of fashion and gossip magazines. Smith was snuggled up next to Anna’s hip. Every now and then she petted his head softly.
“Who else is going?” Anna asked. She liked the idea of going back to the Chicken Box, but not if it meant being a third wheel with Katy and Billy.
“A bunch of people. Some of the production crew—Lauren, Eloise, and I think Hudson and Billy mentioned that Jason might go.”
The house was quiet at the moment. Billy and Jason had gone into town to run some errands. Sami, Honey, and Brett were all off-island for a few days. Anna wasn’t sure where Suzanne and Noah were, but she hadn’t seen them since before lunch.
“Oh, I think Suzanne and Noah are coming too. Noah mentioned it before he and Suzanne took off earlier.”
“Okay, I’ll go.” She felt better now that she knew there was a group going. “Where did they go?”
“They were heading to Millie’s for lunch. I only saw them because I happened to be picking up a package on the front step when they both walked out. I think it might be their first official date.”
“Oh, that’s cute. I wonder if production will have them recreate it?” Anna didn’t think they’d want to miss that opportunity.
“Probably. It’s nice that they get to do it without the cameras first, though.”
“And you’ll have the same thing tonight,” Anna said.
Katy smiled. “It’s not an official date, though.”
“In a way that’s better, don’t you think? Less pressure.” Anna tolerated the cameras, but for actual dating, especially a first date, she wouldn’t be comfortable with it unfolding publicly. She was more private than the others, in that way. Although Katy didn’t seem too keen on the idea, either. She hoped that the night out would go the way that her friend wanted it to. She liked Billy. It was impossible not to, but she couldn’t imagine dating him. Not after the recent cheating incident that Lauren had gone through.
“What do you think of Katy and Billy?” Lauren asked Hudson. They were sitting at their table at the Chicken Box Monday night, watching the rest of their group on the dance floor. The band was playing a popular country-rock song and Suzanne and Noah were the first ones on the dance floor, followed moments later by the others.
Lauren smiled as a text message flashed through on her phone from Eloise, who’d cancelled at the last minute due to a stomach bug. “ Am I missing anything good?”
Lauren texted her back, “Not yet. Stay tuned…” She turned her attention to Hudson, who was watching Katy and Billy. He looked thoughtful.
“I really don’t know,” he said. “She’s not exactly his type, but maybe that’s a good thing.”
That intrigued Lauren. “His type?”
“I mean physically. He seems to prefer blondes—model types.”
Lauren laughed. “That’s not me, at all.”
Hudson met her gaze. “Don’t underestimate yourself, Lauren. You’re very pretty. You have that California blonde girl-next-door that does yoga look.”
Lauren laughed, a bit stunned at the compliments. She’d never had any idea that Hudson viewed her that way. She certainly didn’t. She’d been doing yoga for years, because she liked it, found it relaxing and it helped to keep her toned and lean.
“Katy’s cute, but she just has a different look, if you know what I mean?” Hudson said.
She did. Katy was adorable, but she was the opposite of Anna, Sami, Lauren, and the actress he’d cheated with on TikTok. Katy was short, curvy and brunette. But Billy did look very into her and Katy seemed like she was falling hard. They had their arms around each other and were swaying to the music as the band shifted to a slower song. Suzanne and Noah were still dancing, but Anna and Jason returned to their table.
As they sat down, the band switched to a new song, one that Lauren loved, and she automatically started tapping her foot to the beat. Hudson noticed and nodded toward the dance floor. “Want to join them?”
“Sure.” She followed him through the crowd to where the rest of their group was dancing.
Lauren hadn’t gone dancing in ages. It was fun to move to the music and enjoy the energy of the crowd. For a Monday night, the Chicken Box was busy. The band played several fun, lively songs before slowing it down. Lauren expected to head back to their table, but Hudson smiled and held out his hand and she didn’t think. She just moved toward him. When their hands touched, she felt a buzz of electricity that surprised her. Hudson pulled her close, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. As they swayed to the slow song, Lauren breathed in Hudson’s scent—there was a hint of woodsy cologne that she’d never noticed before. She’d never been this close to him. It was exciting and a little unnerving.
Lauren recognized that she was attracted to Hudson. She liked him as a work colleague, but it was more than that. And it felt forbidden, which amped the excitement a bit, but was also a reminder that for several reasons, acting on this attraction wouldn’t be wise. Hudson was a good friend of Billy’s, for one thing. But more importantly, since they were working together, it seemed like a bad idea. And she reminded herself that these feelings could be completely one-sided. Hudson hadn’t given her any reason to think otherwise. As a co-owner of the production company they worked with, he’d been completely professional. Even if he did have an attraction, she doubted that he would act on it.
When the song finished, they headed back to the table.
“Are you ready for another wine?” Hudson asked. Her glass was empty.
“Sure, thanks.” Lauren noticed that Billy and Katy were still on the dance floor with Anna and Jason. They were all laughing and having a good time. Suzanne and Noah were off by themselves at the bar, sitting close together and in their own world.
Hudson returned a few minutes later with their drinks. Lauren took a sip of her chardonnay and smiled at Hudson.
“I’m glad we did this. It’s fun to get out and not have to worry about filming,” she said.
He grinned. “Yeah, I feel a little guilty though—as this is all the stuff people want to see. The beginnings of romance.”
Hudson was right. “Well, we don’t have anything planned for Wednesday. We could come back here and assuming there are no big changes in the wrong direction, we could recreate tonight. You know what I mean.” They never told the cast what to say, but they did sometimes suggest topics of conversation or to recreate something that had already happened.
Hudson nodded. “We’ll see what the film shows us over tonight and tomorrow. But I agree, probably a good idea to come back. And Wednesday makes sense.”
“Do you ever get out to LA anymore?” Lauren wondered if she’d ever see him again once the show finished filming.
He took a sip of his draft beer. “Not really.” He grinned. “I try to avoid it if at all possible and so far I’ve been able to do all meetings by phone or Zoom. I don’t miss LA.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t either if I was back on the East Coast, especially here.”
Hudson looked sympathetic. “Are you sick of it?”
“It’s ok. But I’d rather be here, anywhere on the East Coast actually, except for New York. There are some reality shows that film there, but it’s too much of a big city for me, and much too expensive. LA feels different, not as crowded, though the traffic is horrendous.”
Hudson nodded in agreement. “Billy tried to get me to move back to LA. For at least a year, every time I talked to him, he’d mention it. I don’t think he thought I’d stay here permanently. He finally gave up.”
Lauren smiled. She could picture Billy trying to talk Hudson into moving back to LA. “He missed you.”
“Yeah, he did. Even when I got my own place in LA, we still hung out all the time. Billy’s a good friend.”
Lauren was more aware of Hudson now. Her senses were heightened as she caught another whiff of his cologne when he leaned in to show her a picture on his phone. He’d gone fishing at his mother’s after dinner the day before and caught a giant fish. He was animated and enthusiastic as he told her about it, but she wasn’t getting any kind of vibe from Hudson, so she was pretty sure that the attraction she felt was one-sided. She was disappointed but a little relieved at the same time. She would just enjoy his friendship and their professional work relationship.
They stayed at the Chicken Box until almost midnight. As they were walking out, before Lauren headed to her car, Hudson stopped her. “Have you ever had grilled fresh striped bass?”
The question took her by surprise. “I’m not sure. I don’t think so.”
“You know that fish I told you about? The one I caught yesterday? I put it right in the freezer and was going to cook it up tomorrow. It’s a huge fish. I could use some help eating it if you want to come by for dinner?”
Lauren hesitated for a moment. Was this a date? Was Hudson interested in that way, after all?
“My mother will be there, so you can meet her, too. If you have plans, though, no worries.”
Lauren relaxed a little. If his mother was going to be there, then it definitely wasn’t a date.
“Sure, that sounds fun. Let me know what time to come by and if I can bring anything.”
“I’ll text you, but I’m thinking about six. You don’t need to bring anything, though.”
“All right. See you then.”