Chapter 8
PIPER
Walking into the kitchen, I feel like Hudson must have already been up for hours, as there is a half-filled pot of coffee. When I came down the stairs, I heard him talking in his office which was expected as he told me he would be up early.
I grab a mug that Hudson left out near the pot to pour myself a cup, then I breathe in the smell as I look out across the room to the windows and the lake. It looks like it will be a beautiful day.
“Morning,” I hear in Hudson’s deep timbre voice.
I look over my shoulder to see him walking into the kitchen wearing jeans and a dark t-shirt. Damn it, it only brings out his eyes more, and with the charcoal color, his skin looks a little tan.
“Good morning.” I smile as he walks to me with determined eyes, and I know what he’s going to do, what I want him to do.
He hums a sound as his fingers slide into my hair and our lips fuse together. It’s the kind of smooth and sweet kiss that is by far better than coffee to wake me up.
“We’re making progress… you’re joining me for morning coffee,” he teases as our mouths part.
I smile shyly at his reference. “I said I would be here in the morning, and I keep my word.” I notice our hands have linked of their own accord as we stand here in the middle of the kitchen. “How was your morning?”
“I didn’t wake you, did I? Had a bit of a tense meeting. One of my guys that we just drafted has an injury, and it could be a toss-up if he’ll be better for summer training or not.”
“Not a great way to start the day, no.”
He tilts his head to the dining area. “Breakfast or want to head straight into Lake Spark to explore a little?”
“You haven’t eaten yet?”
“No. I normally just have a shake and then I don’t eat until around now.”
“In that case, a little breakfast would be great.”
He begins to move in the direction of the stove, but I yank his arm back so he doesn’t get far. “Bran flakes and raisins are fine.”
Hudson looks at me like I’m crazy. “So, no omelet? I need to make sure you have your Hudson protein intake this morning.” He winks at me, and I playfully slap his arm.
I give him serious eyes, but my smile doesn’t fade. “Let’s keep it simple, we have enough complications as it is.”
He taps his finger on my nose before he breaks free and grabs supplies.
By the time we’re sitting at the dining table and pouring cereal into our bowls, I realize that I’m perfectly relaxed around Hudson, almost as if I walked into his house like I’ve been here before.
I blame it on our connection, the bond that I wasn’t expecting when I walked into a bar all those weeks ago.
“You’ll love Lake Spark. There is a surprise for you.” He plays with the spoon in the bowl.
“Really?”
He flashes his eyes at me, clearly not willing to elaborate.
An obvious issue dawns on me. “Uhm, I need to ask…” I nervously pull my hair to the side over one shoulder. “I mean, won’t people notice that we’re walking around town together? Do we have to worry about, well… April finding out? The world for that matter, but I am more concerned about April.”
Hudson leans back in the chair and presses his lips together before he blows out a breath.
“No. Or at least not the locals. I guess I’ll just scratch the whole kissing you senseless on Main Street idea, and I’m probably going to have to ditch holding your hand as we stock up on condoms at the store too.
” I hear the humor in his tone, which I do appreciate, but I give him a look and he turns serious.
“I’ll make sure we get a private table for lunch, but I can’t make promises about privacy unless we decide that we will never leave this house while you’re here, which I mean, could be a great option, but I would like to show you around. ”
“That sounds reasonable.”
“Good. And don’t worry about April, she’s a big girl.”
I look at him, astonished that he’s so laid back about this. “You slept with her best friend; I’m sure she’ll look at you completely the same come Arrows family Thanksgiving,” I say sarcastically.
The corners of his mouth twist. “Lucky us, I’m not at Thanksgiving, as it’s one of the most important game weeks of the year for me.
Besides, we happened, Piper, and considering we don’t regret it, then we might as well own it.
” He tilts his head slightly to the side.
“Now, if you decide that you want to trade down to some other guy, then yeah, it may be awkward as fuck, but we know that won’t happen. ”
His cocky confidence is oddly not a deterrent.
I cross my arms over my chest. “Why are you so certain?”
Hudson stands to head back to the kitchen like he forgot something, and on his journey he stops and leans down to whisper near my ear. “Because we haven’t even started yet and already it’s promising.”
Walking along the main street of Lake Spark, it isn’t busy.
It’s clear the flowerpots are filled with newly planted flowers, the flag flying above the hardware store is well taken care of, and there is a café that smells delicious, plus a few little stores and a barbershop.
It all reminds me of a scene from a classic movie.
“This is adorable, I love this.” I admire the town as I let Hudson lead us to wherever our destination is. “It would be a perfect spot for a boutique over there.” I point to an empty shop.
“That place used to have some great tailored suits, but the owner was pushing eighty-five and wanted to retire. Haven’t heard any of the latest gossip if he’s willing to sell yet, as rumor has it that his kids are arguing over the place. Is that something you want? A boutique?”
“Eventually. For now, I have my online store and rent some space to put the orders together, but the landlord already let me know that he is most likely selling soon. My grandmother always pushes for me to go bigger, but a boutique is more my scale and pace,” I explain as we continue to walk.
“Your instinct will lead you in the best direction.”
Huh, that phrase hits me right. So simple, and I’m not sure why I haven’t heard it before.
I notice we’re stopping, and I assess the location, a candy store called Jolly Joe’s. “What’s this?” I have to laugh.
Hudson’s hand is firm on the handle of the door he is about to open. “Your surprise.”
“Really?” I’m beaming like a child because I’m curious.
We walk through the door and a little bell chimes. The store is a classic candy store, with jars and jars of different types of candy. It’s open-plan, and it seems two stores broke down the wall to become one.
“You told me once you are a stand-in-the-candy-store type of woman.”
Ah, yes, I did. The night we met.
“True.” I touch his arm to insist he stay close, and I lean in to speak low. “But you know I’m not that young, right? I’m very legal and can’t be bribed with candy.”
Hudson roars a laugh and continues to grin wide as he guides me by the hand farther into the store which has an ice cream parlor set up as a 1950s diner. Then my eyes catch a display, and I know that it is the reason why he brought me here.
“Gingerbread,” I gasp. There are entire families of gingerbread cookies and different gingerbread men in different themes… doctors, firemen…
Hudson moves to stand behind me, and he rests his hands on my shoulders. “Look to the left.”
My eyes dart to the end and a wide smile takes over my face. “My goodness, you are a local hero.” There is a gingerbread man with an iced jersey that says coach, and I realize it’s Hudson.
“I’ve always loved gingerbread.” I hear his sinister undertone.
Ignoring him, I’m too much in my element and walk closer to the cookies behind a glass display case. “You’ve been hiding this up your sleeve this whole time?”
This is quite a coincidence, considering my nickname and references. Mostly, I love that he brought me here. He put thought into it.
“Wait.” He holds up his hand. “Is this our gamechanger?”
I can’t help it, and I walk into his arms that naturally wrap around my middle. “No, but this is quite a surprise and may just be the highlight of our day.”
His look warns me before he pulls me closer and runs his hand down to my behind since nobody is around. “Highlight of the day? Not a fucking chance.”
I stocked up on a bag of cola gummies. Hudson wasn’t impressed with my choice, as he went for licorice.
In the end, we didn’t buy any gingerbread.
Turns out the owner is not actually called Joe but Pete, an older man who clearly runs the place for fun.
He is also the swimmer in the lake every morning.
Hudson spoke to him for a few minutes while I stayed to the side, not quite sure how to interact.
What does one do in my position? My awkwardness didn’t last long, as Hudson kept glancing at me with a wink or soft smile.
After that visit, we moved to the restaurant on the lake called Catch 22.
As soon as we entered, the staff looked at Hudson like he’s royalty, yet Hudson didn’t seem to notice.
Instead, he asked one of the waitresses how her daughter was and asked the bus boy who brought us water how college was going.
Despite the lunchtime hour, it wasn’t too busy, but still we nabbed a table away from everyone outside on the deck.
“Is there anyone in this town whose name you don’t know?” I ask, quite taken by the man in front of me.
Hudson places his menu to the side. “I’m nobody special. I may have money and name, but I eat and sleep just like everyone. If I’m treated differently, then I have no hope of trying to live a somewhat laid-back life. I only use my fortune when I need to.”
“Such as?”
He takes a sip of his iced tea. “A nice house, and when I found out I might have a son, I made sure I had the best investigator and lawyer around. And you better believe that I made sure Drew has a top-notch honeymoon too. I wasn’t allowed to contribute to the wedding, as my daughter-in-law’s family went traditional. ”