Chapter 37
NATALIE
“Hi, Mom,” I said when she picked up her phone.
“You sound happy,” she said.
“I am.”
“Is this due to the boy you are seeing?” she teased.
“Mom, he’s not a boy,” I said, laughing. “He’s a grown, full-fledged man. Very grown.”
“When do I get to meet him?” she asked.
“Mom, you have met him,” I reminded her.
“No,” she said. “I met Hudson the boy. I would like to meet Hudson the man.”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “We’re still in the new phase. I don’t want to push him too fast. He does tend to be skittish.”
“How’s the PTSD thing going?” she asked. “Did you get that email I sent you?”
I smiled at the very sweet email she had sent after I explained to her I was seeing Hudson, but things were a little different than a normal relationship. She had researched PTSD and sent me links to various websites that offered advice.
“I did,” I said. “I have read a lot on one of the websites. It’s very helpful.”
“Good,” she said. “We will have to get together soon. I do want to see him. All of them.”
“I’ll talk to Hux,” I said. “That might be fun. It’s a little cool for a day out on the boat, but maybe we can have dinner. You’ll have to bring your man.”
She giggled like a woman half her age. “My man. That’s so very young.”
“You’re young again,” I told her. “I’m going to plan something. Maybe we can go out on one of the boats in our inventory.”
“I still can’t believe you are going out on a boat,” she said. “Every time I think about it, I just can’t stop smiling. Your father would be so proud of you.”
“Technically, I’ve only gone out once after the first time,” I said, laughing.
“It’s still a big deal,” she exclaimed. “You conquered your fear. You should write a book. You managed to do something most people can’t.”
“I didn’t do anything all that impressive,” I said. “And it’s Hudson who should write the book. He’s the one who got me on the boat and in the water.”
“It’s just a beautiful thing. I’m so proud of you.”
“I think I’m going to buy a boat,” I said. “If I do, will you go out with me?”
“Oh goodness,” she said, laughing. “I was never all that keen on the boat before the accident.”
“I would love it if you were there with me,” I said. “It can be a tribute sail. We’ll honor Dad’s memory. You know he would just love it.”
“I’ll think about it,” she said. “You would still need to buy the boat.”
“Build it, actually,” I said. “I’ve got the design in my head and I’ve been working on it. I’m going to do it. One day.”
“I have no doubt in my mind you will,” she said.
I filled my to-go mug with coffee. “I have to go to work, but I’ll call you in a day or two.”
“Take care.”
I grabbed my jacket and stuffed my arms in. It was a cool, rainy morning. I wasn’t interested in walking to work and getting my feet wet. That made for a miserable day. I grabbed my car keys and drove the few blocks to work.
Hudson was sitting at the front desk when I walked in. “Good morning,” I said.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he said with a flirty smile. “Want to go in your office and knock shit off the walls?”
I felt my cheeks blushing. “Shh!”
“No one is here yet,” he said.
“What are you doing here so early?” I asked.
I walked around the desk and gave him a kiss.
So far, things had been going very well between us.
We kept the PDA to a minimum when we were at work.
I didn’t want everyone to think I wasn’t serious about my work.
After the situation with Trey, I made sure I kept a professional distance between myself and the rest of the crew Hudson had brought on.
Luckily for us, we hadn’t heard another word from him, and we hoped it stayed that way.
Hudson did make sure that people in his network knew about Trey’s behavior just in case he got hired someplace else and tried to pull the same stunt.
“I was just working on some final stuff for the agency,” he said.
“Did you decide to go nonprofit?”
“No,” he said, sighing. “Is that wrong? I’ve been torn, but I like food.”
I laughed and kissed him again. “Me too. I personally think you should make it a business. You’ll have more freedom that way. You don’t have to work for free. Be reasonable and fair, but don’t cut yourself out of the deal.”
“Thanks.”
I walked into my office and hung up my jacket.
I went into the shop to check the status of the projects.
We had one boat almost finished. Once it was out of the shop, we had another one ready to get started.
One of these days, it was going to be my boat on the line.
That day would probably come the day after we were able to buy a bigger shop.
At that rate, I was going to be near retirement age before I ever got my boat.
“I love your ass,” Hudson said while squeezing both cheeks.
“You scared me,” I said.
“Sorry.” He nuzzled my neck. “You walked by me and I caught a whiff of your shampoo. No way was I just going to let that go. Let’s get on board.”
“No.” I laughed and pulled away from him. “The rest of the crew is going to be here soon.”
“Trust me, it’s only going to take me about forty-five seconds,” he teased. “I’ll owe you one.”
“I am not about to get on the boat and have sex with you in the shop,” I told him.
“Let me just pull down your pants,” he murmured against my ear. “I’ll slip it in. One, two, and done. I’m so hard for you right now. Feel.”
He grabbed my hand and pressed it to his erection. It was a powerful thing to know I could make a man like him that hard just by walking by him. It was going to go straight to my head. “You’re tempting me,” I groaned.
“That’s the goal.”
“You’re so bad,” I moaned with his tongue sliding down my neck. He slid his hand up my shirt and cupped my breast.
“You didn’t say I was bad last night,” he whispered.
“Stop. You’re making this so hard for me to resist.”
“That’s the idea,” he said, laughing. “Feel how hard I am for you.”
“I feel it,” I said. “But we can’t.”
He pinched my nipple, something he knew drove me wild. “We can.”
The man had a way of making me crazy. He was the definition of irresistible. I had no self-control when I was around him. I would crawl over hot coals to get to him. He did things to my body that turned me inside out. He could make me cry in pleasure. He had on several occasions.
“I drove to work,” I said on a breath. “Let’s run to my house. We’ll be back before the rest of the crew comes in.”
“Now that’s an idea I can get behind,” he said. “Literally. I want you bent over the couch.”
“Let’s go,” I said.
“Who’s here?” Hux called out from the door.
I jumped away from Hudson. “Shit,” I whispered and straightened my shirt.
“I’m here,” I called out.
“I’m going to need a minute,” Hudson said with a sigh.
“Is Hudson here?” Hux asked.
“Yeah, he’s, um, he’s—”
“He’s sporting a woody he doesn’t want his little brother to see,” Hudson called out.
I was going to evaporate right there where I stood. My cheeks burned. Hux looked at me with his lip curled. “Gross,” Hux said. “Seriously? You guys are worse than teenagers. Get a room.”
“We didn’t think anyone was here,” I said.
“Well, I’m here. Actually, so is a customer. Thank God I didn’t bring him back here. Put a sock on the door or something next time.”
“Sorry,” I muttered.
“Fine. Weird and very awkward, but fine. Are you going to hide all morning, Hudson?”
Hudson walked out from behind the boat. “Turns out you’re a better boner killer than Mom walking in on me ever was.”
If the ground didn’t open up and swallow me whole, I was probably going to die of embarrassment. This was humiliating. I pushed aside all the embarrassment to deal with later. “What customer?” I asked.
“He said we met with him last year,” Hux explained. “I don’t remember him, but he said you were working on a custom design with him. He had to abandon ship, pun intended, because his mom got sick. He’s been in LA for the last year, but now he’s back. He’s back with a fat inheritance and a dream.”
“Oh,” I replied. “That sounds intriguing.”
“Go talk to him.” He shooed me away. “This could be huge for us.”
“Alright, alright.”
I was a little self-conscious. I hoped I wasn’t sporting any sign of our naughty behavior. I smoothed down my shirt and wiped my mouth.
“You look fine,” Hux said dryly. “There is no evidence of the horror I just walked into.”
“Ha, ha,” I said.
I headed up front and immediately knew who the customer was. “Russell!” I greeted the middle-aged man with a friendly hug. “How are you?”
“Good, good,” he said, nodding. “I was hoping you would still be here.”
“I am. How’s your mom?”
“She passed away a little over a month ago,” he answered without a hint of sadness.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said.
He smiled. “She was ninety-one. Trust me, even she was ready to go.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that. I would have been thrilled to have my dad live to ninety-one. “Huxley said you were interested in restarting that project.”
“I am,” he said, nodding. “I hope you didn’t scrap the plans.”
“I didn’t,” I said. “Come on back.”
I took him to my office and gestured for him to sit down. I left the door open like I normally did. Hudson and Hux walked by. I tried not to look at Hudson because I just knew he was going to make me blush. Of course, the incorrigible man winked at me, which in turn made me blush.
I cleared my throat and turned on my computer. “I don’t remember all the details, but I think we had it pretty much done.”
“Yes,” he said, nodding. “I just want to take a peek and then sign whatever I need to in order to get it started.”
I found the file and pulled it up. I remembered the boat quite well. It was a beautiful piece of art. It was also a very expensive piece of art. “What do you think?” I asked him after showing him the rendering.
He let out a whistle. “Gorgeous,” he said. “I told my wife we’re going to do it. We’re going to sail to the Bahamas.”
“This girl will make it,” I said, nodding. “She’s going to be solid. You’ve got all the amenities. This is going to be a beautiful boat.”
“How long will it take to get it done?” he asked.
I cringed and pulled up our schedule. “I don’t really do the scheduling, but looking at the current roster and the size of the boat, I would say maybe a year.”
“That’s better than the two years we were estimating last year,” he said with a smile.
“We’ve hired a few new staff. Things are moving much faster now.”
“Perfect!” He clapped his hands together. “Where do I sign? I brought my checkbook.”
“Let me get Huxley,” I said. “He’s that side of the business. I’m just the girl that sketches.”
“You’re the brains behind the operation,” he replied.
“Thank you.”