by Melody Anne
Hudson laughed. “I know. I’ve changed my mind a thousand times, but I’ve had this vision in my head since I worked on a smaller version of it fifteen years ago for another builder. I knew one day I’d have something bigger and better.”
“It’s going to be stunning,” Noah said. Then he laughed. “But if you keep asking for modifications I’m going to hurt you. I want to take my wife exploring, not be at your beck and call.”
“I’m good for now,” Hudson promised. “And I think we’ll start with the club house.”
“That’s the heart of it all. I can see the condos over there,” Noah said, pointing to the south. “And, of course, some fine homes along the back with the golf course in front of them and the water at their backs. The residents will get the best of both worlds.”
“I’m scrapping the homes,” Hudson said, making Noah groan.
“Don’t worry, I like the plans, but not for this project. I want four complexes. These two”— he pointed at one of the drawings — “and this one,” he added, pointing at another. “And of course, this.” His last building was the largest. It contained four three-thousand-square-foot units, a café, two boutique shops, and a large workout room.
Each unit had three or four shops built in for food or specialty boutiques, but this building would be sold out fast. It was big, bold, and beautiful. He’d have it right on the water with large balconies and private patios. He’d also put in docks so people could fish or swim. He’d much rather have units like that than houses. He got more bang for his buck, and maybe he’d even be able to expand. The property next to this one wasn’t for sale, but he had his eye on it.
“That’s not a bad plan at all,” Noah admitted. “And best of all, it doesn’t make more work.”
Before Hudson could reply, a woman interrupted — a very angry, very loud woman. They both turned as she rushed up to them.
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing here?” she demanded.
Her hands were on her hips, her blonde hair flying out behind her as she stopped about ten feet away. Her crystal blue eyes were on fire, showing exactly how unhappy she was with them being on the property — and Hudson’s jaw dropped as he realized who she was.
“I think this one’s all yours,” Noah said in a whisper as the woman drew closer.
“More than you know,” Hudson said, his voice quiet. He was dumbfounded, not quite sure how to process it.
Noah, who had no idea what was going on, chuckled as he stood next to Hudson and smiled at the woman whose glare fell as her gaze zeroed in on Noah. Her head then whipped between Noah and Hudson as a myriad of emotions crossed her very readable expression.
“What? How? I don’t understand,” she said, the fire from her voice gone as reality set in.
“Am I missing something here?” Noah asked, looking back and forth between the woman and Hudson.
“More than I can explain in a sentence or two,” Hudson quietly said, hoping the woman didn’t hear.
Daisy — the woman from the plane.
He had no idea why she was there, why she seemed so upset, or what fates were working to bring them together again, but there was no mistaking it was the same woman he’d spent the night with only to wake up alone with her long gone.
Daisy recovered faster than he did, and fury returned to her eyes as she glared straight at Noah.
“I asked you a question,” she said. She moved a little bit closer, then stopped, her foot tapping the ground as her fingers dug into her hips.
Hudson was still stunned, unable to answer her as his mind reeled at seeing her on his new property. She was more beautiful than he remembered even with her hair an utter mess, strands of gold whipping around her face in the wind and pink staining her cheeks. It took him back to images of her lying beneath him as she cried out her pleasure again and again.
He’d definitely noticed her eyes their one night together, but in the sunlight they looked as blue as a lake in the stirrings of a turbulent storm. They were absolutely stunning. Her full pink lips were pursed at the moment, but it didn’t take away how tempting they were, or how much he wanted to taste them again.
His eyes moved down her delectable body. Not much was hidden at the moment, and he had a great memory of what lay beneath her clothes. She was wearing yoga pants that molded to her shapely, muscled legs, showcasing her delicious, graspable hips. Her tank top showcased those luscious breasts he’d held in his hands and squeezed, causing her to moan in sheer pleasure. He was instantly turned on — but he didn’t think she’d appreciate that at the moment.
“My eyes are right here,” Daisy said in a huff, though he heard the husky edge to her tone. He was sure she was remembering their night together just as he was. Though it was difficult, he drew his eyes back to her face — and did a very dangerous thing — he smiled.
“If you don’t want me to look, you should be wearing different clothes,” he told her. Those were his first words after a month of silence between them. They might be a bit crude, but she’d been the one to walk out on him, not the other way around. If she wanted more respect maybe she shouldn’t have left his bed like he was nothing more than a gigolo. He’d never had that thought before.
Noah let out a gasp next to him, probably shocked at his words. Hudson didn’t normally speak to someone that way. Once his brother knew who this woman was, he’d completely understand.
“Are you going to answer me?” she asked, ignoring his comment, acting as if she didn’t know him. There was no doubt she was very aware of exactly who he was. He wasn’t a forgettable man — just as she wasn’t a forgettable woman. He had to give her credit because she wasn’t turning from him. He was more impressed with her than before.
“What was the question again?” His head was growing slightly fuzzy. She let out a groan, and it wasn’t one of pleasure.
“I believe she asked what we’re doing here,” Noah said, a smirk on his lips. He’d definitely noticed Hudson’s interest in the irritated woman and the tension between them. He was enjoying himself.
“The better question would be what are you doing here,” Hudson said. “Did you miss me?”
He didn’t think it possible, but her eyes narrowed more. Impressive. Noah chuckled next to him. He might not know what was going on, but his brother was a smart man, and it was obvious they knew each other.
“I haven’t once thought about you since . . .” She trailed off, refusing to add more to that statement. “However, this is my property, so I’ll be asking the questions,” she finished.
He smiled. He knew she was lying now. He’d purchased the land from Bruce Jensen, known as Bubby, who Uncle Joseph had known since they were kids. There had only been one owner on the deed. Maybe Daisy had missed him. That was okay with him. He didn’t mind if she needed an excuse to talk to him again. He didn’t mind seeing her one little bit.
“Ma’am,” he said, just to goad her. If she was going to play it cool, two could play that game. “I bought this land a few days ago from Mr. Jensen. I’m sorry for your confusion, but this land has been owned by the same person for the past fifty years.”
Her eyes widened at his words and the anger evaporated from her lips as she gazed at him in shock. He waited as she tried gathering her thoughts. Noah stood quietly beside him. Hudson felt bad about the look of despair on her face, but he shouldn’t. He’d done nothing wrong, so why did he suddenly feel as if he had?
“I don’t believe you,” she said, her voice quiet.
“I can show you the paperwork; it’s in my truck,” he told her.
Nope, she wasn’t trying to see him. Something else was going on because she’d been ticked off and now she seemed devastated. She obviously believed this land was hers. He’d spent less than twenty-four hours with her. She’d seemed perfectly normal, but what if she had problems? He didn’t know what to do right then.
“Daisy . . .” He stopped what he’d been about to say when she glared at him. He’d much rather see fire
in her eyes than despair.
“I want to see the paperwork,” she said, looking at Hudson with suspicion.
“That’s fine,” Hudson said. He turned and moved toward his large truck. He reached inside and pulled out the folder showing ownership of the property.
She snatched it from his hands, and he allowed her to hold it but stood close by in case she decided she wanted to start ripping up things.
She looked down at the papers, her shoulders slumping as she rubbed her finger over the signature of Bruce Jensen. When she looked up at Hudson again there was a sheen of tears in her eyes.
“This is wrong. This is so wrong,” she said.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, feeling as if he should reach out and comfort her but he knew that wasn’t a good idea. They’d only had a single night together and nothing in her body language or expression invited his touch.
“I don’t understand why he’d do this. I don’t get it.” The last few words were barely a whisper as she choked them out past an obviously tight throat.
“You don’t understand why who’d do what?” Hudson questioned.
“My grandfather. I don’t know why he’d sell this land.”
Hudson didn’t know what to say. He’d had no clue there was a granddaughter. Joseph had told him that Bruce’s only child had died seventeen years ago, and Hudson had assumed the man was selling because he had no family left.
How was it possible he’d met this woman on a flight from Australia a month before, taken her to his hotel, spent the night with her, and now had snatched her land out from beneath her? He racked his brain trying to figure out if Uncle Joseph was involved with any of this, but he didn’t see how. There was no way Joseph could’ve known he’d met Daisy on that plane. He hadn’t spoken of it.
Hudson shook his head as he focused on Daisy once more.
“Daisy, I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.” His fingers itched to reach out to her.
“Don’t apologize to me,” she said, tears in her voice. “I don’t understand how this is possible. I wasn’t supposed to see you again. How do you not only live here, but know my grandfather?” She stopped as her eyes widened. She held up a hand as she took a step back.
“You are one of those Andersons.” The words were spoken as an accusation.
“I’m an Anderson. I never lied about my name,” he told her.
“But there are thousands, even tens of thousands of Andersons. It’s as common as Smith or Jones. You were dressed . . .” She looked at his clothes and her nose went a little higher in the air. “You were dressed like you are now. I knew you had money, but not Anderson money.” Each word came out as more and more of an accusation.
“If you’re referring to the fact that I’m related to Joseph, then yes, that’s true,” he said, his humor popping up. “But I didn’t know that most of my life. I made my success on my own.” He paused while looking at his dirty work boots. Then he looked back up and gave her the same smile he’d given her on that plane. “And I like how I dress.”
“I can’t believe this is happening. This can’t be real,” she said. She looked back down at the papers she was still clutching.
“Have you spoken to your grandfather lately?” Hudson asked. He felt as if he were walking on eggshells, an unfamiliar feeling.
Her sadness and confusion seemed to vanish as she snapped her fiery gaze back to his face. The anger was back in full force. “Of course I’ve spoken to him. This morning, in fact, I live with him . . . right . . . over . . . there,” she said, pointing her finger toward a patch of trees.
The house was on the far southern end of the property, and the purchase agreement stated Hudson could purchase the property immediately, but Bruce had three months to get his business settled and move out. As the house was on the spot Hudson planned to make a community playground, it was out of the way, so he’d included an option for an additional three months if the man needed it. Bruce had said three was fine. But how could he not have told his granddaughter, who was living there, that they’d be moving soon?
“I’m sorry, Daisy, but this is final,” Hudson said, understanding her frustration. “You obviously need to talk to your grandfather.”
“Believe me, I’ll be having a chat with gramps. And don’t get too comfortable with this place, because the sale is getting reversed,” she threatened.
Hudson knew it was a done deal. There was no going back now. But there was no need for him to point that out. She’d have to accept what happened, but it might take her a little extra time. At least she had three months to find a new place to live. As angry as she was, that extra three months clause might get used. Hell, she’d made such an impression on him, he might let her stay there until the end of the project. At least then he’d know where to find her. Would he want to still see her in six months? He’d thought of her daily for the past month. Was that because she’d run from him or because she’d intrigued him? He honestly didn’t know the answer.
“Would you like me to come with you to talk to him?” Hudson asked. He wasn’t sure where in the hell that had come from. Maybe now that he’d found her, he didn’t want to lose sight of her again — at least not yet.
“I can talk to my grandfather on my own. He certainly has some explaining to do.”
“I think you do as well,” he said. He’d really like to hear all about her sneaking off in the middle of the night after the two of them had experienced one of the best nights of his life.
His words shocked her. He saw it in her face. She simply held out the papers to him and he took them. Then she smirked at him and took a step back, then another. He wondered if she’d say anything more.
“Why don’t you hold your breath and wait for me to explain everything,” she finally told him.
He smiled as she turned without another word and marched away as quickly as she’d appeared. Her backside was a pleasure to watch. She didn’t turn around again as she walked over to a bike he hadn’t noticed before. She mounted it and rode away in the direction of the hundred-year-old farmhouse on the edge of the property.
Hudson watched her until she was out of sight with no words spoken between him and his brother. He couldn’t erase the grin on his lips. She was a hell of a spitfire and he was very happy to see her again.
“Well, no project can be complete without a few bumps in the road,” Noah said as he walked up to Hudson with a raised brow. He was waiting for an explanation.
“She’s fantastic,” Hudson said, his eyes still glued to the place she’d disappeared through in the trees. “I think we might hear her yelling at her gramps all the way over here.”
“Do you think we need to call in backup for the poor man?” Noah asked with a chuckle.
“Nah, he can handle himself. And while she’s certainly ticked, I could see the devastation on her face when she looked at his signature. She thinks he betrayed her. We all know how that feels,” Hudson said.
“Yeah, but I don’t take Bubby as the type of man to do something without a plan. So maybe he didn’t want her having to deal with this giant property. I’m sure he’ll explain it to her and everything will be good,” Noah said.
“I took him as quite the crafty man, and being friends with Uncle Joseph, I’m always suspicious of motives, but wanting to sell his land makes sense. He wants to spend the winter in Florida boating, fishing, and relaxing, and live in the new senior community the rest of the year right here in Seattle. He said he was an old man and wanted to enjoy his retirement years. So there was nothing that set off any red flags.”
“Maybe he wanted to break it to his granddaughter gently. Maybe he felt it was time she moved from home,” Noah said. “And since you obviously know her, I want to know what in the hell that story is. It’s got to be more interesting than the property.”
“I met her a month ago,” Hudson said. There was no way he was going to be able to keep this from his siblings. They’d push and dig until they got it out of him. So it was better to pre
tend it was no big deal.
Noah grinned. “Does Uncle Joseph know you met her?”
“No, no one does,” Hudson said.
“Well it appears you might be working with her to get this all settled,” Noah said. He didn’t push on how they’d met. They all met women. It wasn’t a big deal.
“I wouldn’t mind doing some work with her . . . or on her,” Hudson said with a huge smile. “I think I can change her mind if she still wants to fight about the land.”
“I’m sure you can, little brother,” Noah said with a chuckle. Then he laughed even harder.
“What?” Hudson asked.
“Uncle Joseph helped you find this land,” Noah pointed out.
“Yeah, you know that. You were at the same meeting I was when he brought it up,” Hudson told him. “And he didn’t know anything about Daisy.”
“Even if he didn’t know you’d met her, which I’m not convinced of, he still knew there was a young, beautiful, stubborn, single woman who comes attached to the land,” Noah said, emphasizing the word single.
Hudson lost color in his cheeks. “No. He doesn’t know anything about Daisy, and certainly not that I’ve met her,” he insisted.
Noah kept on laughing. “If Uncle Joseph wanted you to have this property so bad, I’d bet my entire fortune he knows something,” Noah said.
Hudson wanted to panic, but then he glared at his brother as he swiped his hand through the air. “Nope. No way. No how. I’m not being matched like you other idiots. Even if that was Joseph’s plan, I won’t fall for it.” He gave a wicked grin before moving back to the table and gathering up his drawings. “However, there’s nothing that says I can’t have some fun along the way. If she wants to play, I can play, and maybe even get Uncle Joseph’s hopes up of another perfect match before I snatch the rug out from beneath him.” He was quite pleased with himself for thinking of that.
Noah wasn’t impressed. “Yep, Finn, Brandon, and I thought the same exact thing,” Noah said as he held up his left hand where his wedding ring shone in the sunlight.