Chapter 14
HUDSON
“Want to take it out for a spin?” I asked her.
“Very funny,” she said with a laugh. “I don’t think I’m quite ready for that. Baby steps.”
“You did great,” I told her. “You conquered a major hurdle. Huge. Don’t you feel good?”
“I’m not sure what I feel,” she answered. “I think I’m in disbelief.”
“Believe it,” I said. “You’re standing on a boat.”
“I should get back though,” she said. “I really do have a lot of work, and you are supposed to be babysitting that team of yours.”
“Okay,” I said. “You kicked ass today.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome. Now, how do you want to do this? Do you want me to get off first and help you off or do you want to go first?”
Her lips quirked. “I’ll go first.”
“Naughty, naughty little sprite,” I teased. “You’re playing with fire.”
“Does that mean I might get burned?”
If she was flirting, she wasn’t scared. It was the distraction she needed to conquer this fear. That was what I wanted. She stepped one foot on the dock and I couldn’t resist slapping her ass. She hopped onto the dock and turned to face me. “You could have made me trip!”
“You would have fallen backward, right into my waiting arms,” I said.
I climbed onto the dock behind her.
“That was risky,” she scolded.
“It was completely safe.”
We walked into the office together. One of my guys was showing a brochure to a couple of customers. That was a good sign. Natalie went straight to her office. Hux rose from where he was sitting behind the desk. There was a frown on his face.
“Where were you?” he asked.
“Just down the dock,” I answered.
“Jordan, hold down the fort,” Hux said to another employee. “Come into my office.”
I followed him into his office feeling like I was going into the principal’s office to get yelled at. He closed the door behind me. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“At the moment, I’m standing here,” I said. “What’s wrong?”
“What are you doing with her?” he snapped.
“Her? Natalie?”
“You know that’s exactly who I’m talking about,” he said.
“I’m not sure what you’re asking,” I said.
He sighed and rubbed his jaw. “I’m asking, what are your intentions with her? What do you plan on doing with her? She’s not someone you screw around with and then walk away. You can’t fuck with her and then cast her to the side.”
“I’m not doing that,” I said. “I like her. We have some serious chemistry. Is that a problem for you?”
“It’s a problem if you’re going to mess with her,” he said. “She doesn’t deserve that.”
“Are you guys a thing?” I asked. “Do you have feelings for her?”
“I have a lot of feelings for her, but not in the way you’re suggesting. She’s my best friend. She’s more like a sister to me.”
“Have you guys ever screwed around?” I asked. It was probably a little immature to feel like I was picking up his sloppy seconds, but I wasn’t interested in sharing anything.
“Fuck no,” he said with his nose wrinkled. “Why in the hell would you ask that?”
“I don’t know. Because you guys have been friends forever. She’s hot. What’s wrong with you? Why haven’t you made a move?”
“Dude, sister. No. Just, no.”
“Then why are you crawling all over my ass about this?” I asked.
“Because she’s someone I care about,” I said. “She needs someone looking out for her. I know you and I know her. You can’t treat her like she’s one of those chicks you pick up and fuck a few times before running off.”
“Woah, slow down,” I said. “I did not go there. You did. I like her.”
He shook his head. “I won’t let you take advantage of her. She’s always had a crush on you. This is her getting to live out her younger self’s fantasy.”
I smirked. “I’m her fantasy.”
He rolled his eyes. “Don’t act like you didn’t know all the girls in school were hot for you. She wasn’t immune to your charms.”
“That’s good to know.”
“That was forever ago,” he reminded me. “Nat is not some na?ve teen girl. She’s a little jaded if I’m being honest. I don’t think she’s going to give you the time of day. I guess I’m just trying to save you the embarrassment.”
I smirked. “I’m doing just fine on my own.”
“Before you make a move, we do need to set some rules,” he said.
“You don’t make rules for me,” I said.
“No, but I will fight for her,” he replied.
“She’s not to be toyed with. You can’t pull that shit you did the other night.
Natalie has been through a lot. What happened with her dad was rough.
It changed the trajectory of her life in a lot of ways.
I guess you could say I’ve kind of looked out for her.
I don’t want her to have to put up with any more drama. ”
“I don’t do drama,” I assured him.
“The bar fight says otherwise,” he shot back.
“It was a mistake and I’ve already apologized to her,” I said. “She accepted.”
“She needs stability,” he said. “She doesn’t do the one and done thing. She’s more the type to meet a man and settle in for a while.”
“I get it,” I said. “I’m not really the kind of guy that dates a lot either. Natalie is different.”
“Yes, she is,” he agreed. “Natalie is loyal. She’s funny and kind.
She doesn’t talk much about herself, but I know there’s a lot going on in that head of hers.
I don’t want her to feel like she’s in line behind a bunch of other shit.
She deserves to be someone’s number one.
You can’t dabble with her. I don’t know how to say it without just saying it—Natalie needs to be the priority.
If you aren’t ready to make her a priority, find someone else. ”
“I get it,” I said.
“Do you?” he asked. “I swear, if you make her cry or send her deeper into that shell she’s built around herself, I will kick your ass so hard you won’t know what hit you.”
“Pretty strong words from a guy that ran away crying after getting a bloody nose.”
“Fuck you,” he growled. “It wasn’t about the bloody nose and I wasn’t crying.”
“Say what you want, but we both know what it was,” I teased.
“I will not let you hurt her.” He said it with complete seriousness. It was kind of a bummer he thought I could or would do anything to hurt her.
“You know what we were doing out there?” I asked.
“Do I want to know?” he said.
“Get your mind out of the gutter,” I said with a laugh. “She stepped onto that old Catalina at the end of the dock.”
He looked at me like I was crazy. “Fuck you. No, she didn’t.”
“Oh, she did,” I said.
“No shit?”
“She stood on the boat for a good five minutes,” I said with pride.
“No shit,” he said.
“Yep. I promised her I would hold her and wouldn’t let her drown. I had to keep my arms around her the whole time, but it worked. She stood there and didn’t panic. It was pretty awesome.”
“She got on the boat,” he breathed. “Do you know it’s the anniversary?”
“She told me.”
“Fuck me.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you got her on the boat. Maybe I was way wrong.”
“Maybe you were,” I said. “Does that mean I have your permission to ask her on a date?”
“Yes,” he said. “Go for it. You know my rules. Don’t screw her over and don’t fuck things up with the business.”
“Thanks, little brother,” I said with a laugh. “But just so we’re clear, I would do it without your permission. I don’t ask anyone for permission to go after a woman.”
“You asked me.”
“Because I thought the two of you were a thing,” I said. “Now that I know you aren’t, I don’t need to ask you for shit.”
I walked out of his office and directly across the hall to Natalie’s office. I knocked once and then opened the door.
She looked up from her computer screen. “What’s wrong?”
“Why are you asking if something is wrong?” I asked.
“Because you have a strange look on your face.”
“Nothing is wrong. This is me asking you out. On a date. I’m asking you out on a date.”
“You are?”
“I am,” I said. “An actual date. Dinner at least.”
“When?”
“Tonight,” I said. “I’ll pick you up at your place.”
“I don’t know if I can,” I said.
“You can,” I said. “What time do you leave here?”
“I don’t know, five,” she said, shrugging.
“Then I’ll be at your place at six. I don’t have wheels yet, so it’ll have to be somewhere close.”
“I have a car,” she said.
“Are you saying you want to drive me around?” I questioned.
“No,” she said. “I was just saying.”
“I’d prefer to walk,” I said. “We can go to that place that’s not far from you. It’s just a little uptown.”
“I—”
“You’re gorgeous and I want to take you out,” I said firmly. “Plus, we need to celebrate your accomplishments today. You have to celebrate the little things. We’ll get you out on the open water soon and we will celebrate every step of the way.”
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch,” she said with a laugh.
“I’m looking forward to tonight,” I said.
“Me too,” she said bashfully.
I was about to walk out but paused. “Natalie, you really are an impressive woman. Know that.”
Then I left her office. I felt it was about time she realized how special she was.
Hux gave some good advice. She did need to know she was the number one priority.
I could do that for her. The chemistry we had was pretty amazing.
I wasn’t going to pretend it didn’t exist. Of all the women I’d been with over the years, there had never really been a spark.
Sure, there had been sexual chemistry, but it was usually fueled by alcohol.
Stone-cold sober, I wanted Natalie. That had to mean something.
I walked out front and checked to make sure the guy out there was doing okay.
Once I was sure he was handling his duties as a salesman just fine, it was time to check the shop.
I talked with each of the men to just get an idea of how they were all doing.
So far, everything seemed to be good. I wasn’t quite ready to pat myself on the back, but I had to admit things were going well. I hoped Hux and Nat saw it that way.
I didn’t necessarily have a job to do at the shop. I just kind of meandered about for a bit before finding a quiet corner to follow up with some of the other people I had reached out to about working together. I couldn’t help but check the time.
I was counting down the minutes until I got to take her out.