Chapter 12 8 Hours Between Heaven And Hell
HUDSON
Tonight was the night. I was going to tell Mari everything, and maybe she’d hate me, but maybe she’d appreciate that I was honest.
I adjusted my tie for the third time, studying my reflection in the mirror. The restaurant I’d chosen required formal attire, which meant fancy suit, crisp white shirt, and a forest green tie that Mari had once offhandedly mentioned brought out my eyes.
My apartment felt too quiet, too empty as I moved through it, checking my watch, my wallet, my keys. In less than an hour, I’d be sitting across from Mari, confessing my betrayal. By tomorrow, she’d likely never want to speak to me again.
But it had to be done. The wedding was a week away.
My parents were arriving tomorrow. Eleanor Trolio was completing the feature and the creative director contract.
The walls were closing in, and I couldn’t continue the deception any longer, not if I wanted even the slightest chance of salvaging something with Mari.
A voice in the back of my head kept telling me I should wait until after the wedding, though. I ignored it.
She deserved the truth.
Somewhere between bickering over lighting and dancing in an empty ballroom, I’d fallen in love with her.
Her brilliance, her chaotic energy, her unflinching honesty—everything about her had become essential to me.
The thought of losing her made it hard to breathe, but continuing to lie to her was unbearable.
I’d rehearsed what I would say. Started with how I’d seen her app designs on her computer months ago, before the engagement party when we’d started working together.
How I’d used her ideas in my meeting with Eleanor Trolio.
How the feature and job offer were built on her innovation, not mine. How I would make it right.
I’d beg for forgiveness, offer to call Eleanor and confess everything. And if she never wanted to see me again after that... well, I’d have to accept it.
The doorbell rang at 7:00 PM. I opened the door to find her standing there in a floral pink dress that hugged her curves, her blonde hair cascading over one shoulder, her lips painted a bright red. She was breathtaking.
“You’re staring, Gable,” she said, but her smile took any sting out of the words.
“You look beautiful,” I managed, stepping back to let her in.
“You clean up pretty well yourself.” Her gaze traveled over me appreciatively. “Though you always do. I’m beginning to think you sleep in tailored suits.”
“Only when it suits me.”
“Ha. Ha. I see what you did there,” she said, jabbing me in the stomach and grinning.
“Can I get you a drink before we go?”
“Nope. I’m starving and would definitely get tipsy a little too easily right now.”
“Okay.” I grabbed my keys and wallet from the entryway table. “Shall we?” I offered my elbow, and she took my arm.
The restaurant was everything I’d hoped for. Our table, reserved a week in advance, was positioned perfectly by the floor to ceiling windows with a view of the Chicago skyline. A single candle cast a warm glow over the white tablecloth.
“Wow,” Mari said as the hostess seated us. “You weren’t kidding about proper wining and dining.”
“I keep my promises.”
We ordered drinks—an old-fashioned for me, a specialty cocktail with elderflower and gin for Mari—and studied the menus in comfortable silence. When the server returned for our orders, Mari surprised me by choosing the same dish I’d been eyeing.
“Great minds,” she said with a wink when I commented on it.
“Or you saw me reading that section of the menu and copied me,” I teased.
“Please. If I were going to copy someone’s ideas, I’d pick someone more creative.”
The irony of her statement twisted my stomach. That was it—the perfect opening. I took a deep breath, preparing to launch into my confession.
“Mari, there’s something I need to tell you—”
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I ignored it.
“What is it?” she asked, her expression turning serious as she registered my tone.
“It’s about the Modern Wedding feature. About—”
My phone buzzed again. Then a third time in rapid succession. Whoever was calling wasn’t giving up.
“I’m sorry,” I said, pulling out my phone to silence it. “Let me just—”
My blood ran cold as I saw the notifications. Three texts from my mother:
Surprise, darling! We came early.
We’re at your apartment now. Where are you?
Hudson, it’s rude to keep your parents waiting. Call us immediately.
“Hudson? What’s wrong?” Mari’s voice seemed to come from very far away. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“My parents,” I managed, my voice strangled. “They’re here. In Chicago. At my apartment. Now.”
“Now? I thought they weren’t coming until tomorrow.” She frowned, reaching across the table to touch my hand. “Hey, it’s okay. Just tell them you’re out to dinner.”
But it wasn’t okay. Nothing was okay. My parents were here early, standing in the apartment I’d just left with Mari, waiting to ambush me. The careful timeline I’d constructed—tell Mari tonight, deal with the fallout, then somehow prepare to face my parents—had just collapsed.
“I should call them,” I said, already dialing. “I’m sorry about this.”
Mari waved away my apology with a smile. “Go ahead. I’ll enjoy this ridiculously expensive cocktail.”
My mother answered on the first ring. “Hudson, finally. Where are you? We’ve been waiting for twenty minutes.”
“You called me two minutes ago. How has it been twenty?”
“The point is, you’re keeping us waiting.”
“I’m at dinner, Mother.” I worked to keep my voice level. “I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow.”
“Well, plans change. Your father had some business in the Midwest, so we thought we’d come early and see this operation of yours. We’ll wait for you to return. Don’t rush your dinner.”
Which, of course, meant the exact opposite. I could practically see her checking her watch, calculating exactly how long a reasonable dinner should take.
“I’ll be awhile,” I said, glancing at Mari, who was sipping her cocktail and pretending not to listen. “Why don’t you two go to your hotel, and I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
“You’re telling me that we flew all the way across the country to see you, and you’re going to make us wait until tomorrow?”
“I’m sorry, but this is an important dinner.”
“More important than your parents?”
“Please don’t be this way.” I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “I will see you two tomorrow morning at seven.” I wasn’t ready to explain Mari to my mother, not over the phone, not before I’d had a chance to tell Mari the truth. “Goodbye, Mother.”
I hung up before she could respond. Shit. I was never going to hear the end of that.
I set my phone down carefully, as if it might explode. “I’m sorry about that.”
“No worries.” Mari’s expression was curious. “Everything okay?”
“Like I said, they arrived early. They’re supposed to be staying at the Peninsula, but they went to my apartment instead. I told them I’d see them tomorrow morning.”
“Do they always just... show up and start making demands?”
“Pretty much, yes.” I took a long sip of my drink, needing the burn of alcohol. “I’m really sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.” There was no judgment in her voice as she placed a hand on mine across the table. “Do you want me to go with you tomorrow?”
The simple gesture of support nearly undid me. Here she was, offering to stand by me, when I’d been planning to confess to betraying her trust.
I chuckled darkly. “You don’t know what you’re offering.”
“I can handle a tough family. It’s sort of in our job description.” Her gaze held mine. “I’ve dealt with more than one monster-in-law.”
“I know, but I… It’s—”
“Complicated. So you’ve said.”
How could I tell her now, with my parents already in town, with the wedding a week away? If she left—and she would have every right to—the wedding would be compromised, my parents would witness my failure, and the Modern Wedding opportunity would evaporate.
Just get through the wedding, a voice whispered in my head. Tell her after. Make it right then.
“I appreciate the offer, but it’s probably best I meet them alone tomorrow. That way I can gauge what sort of mood they’re in,” I said finally, hating myself for the cowardice.
“Okay. But I’ll be ready to support you if you need me to.”
Our food arrived, thankfully pausing the conversation.
As we ate, Mari regaled me with stories about Lia’s bachelorette weekend, and I tried to relax, but couldn’t.
I was an awful person. I didn’t deserve to be sitting across from such a wonderful woman.
Being with her was easy in a way few things in my life had ever been, and I’d betrayed her.
It wasn’t until dessert that she circled back to what I’d said earlier.
“So, before your parents so rudely interrupted with their surprise arrival, you were about to tell me something about the Modern Wedding feature?” She took a bite of the chocolate souffle we were sharing.
“It can wait. It’s not important right now.” I was every bit the asshole she had labeled me from day one.
“If you say so.” She didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t press.
The drive back to my apartment was quieter than the drive to the restaurant, a comfortable silence settling between us. Mari slipped her hand into mine as I drove. The simple gesture felt more intimate than any kiss.
“Thank you for dinner,” she said as we pulled into my building’s parking garage. “It was perfect.”
“Even with the parental interruption?”
“Even then.”
I turned to look at her, taking in the way the dim garage lighting cast shadows across her face. “Would you like to come up? For a nightcap?”
She leaned across the console, her face inches from mine. “I’d love a nightcap.”
Inside my apartment, I moved to the bar cart in the living room, gesturing to the various bottles. “What would you like?”
“You.” She stepped closer, reaching up to loosen my tie. “I vaguely remember something about my needing to be sober the next time you fucked me, so I’m actually going to pass on that drink.”