Taking a seat on the bar stools, Hudson reaches in the bag and passes me my chicken nuggets and fries. "Thank you," I tell him, and I'm rewarded with a soft smile, something he doesn't give very often. Usually when he smiles there's still that hardness to him, but not now, and I think it's my favorite look of his.
I take a bite of a chicken nugget and decide it's time to get to know Hudson, hell we should have done this a while ago, but better late than never. "Do you see your mom much?" I know that she's alive, seeing as Harrison and she were married when Mom and he got together, I'm actually shocked that Mom did that.
He nods as his mouth is currently occupied with a Big Mac. "Yeah, although I've not seen her in a couple of weeks." He tells me once he's able.
"Why? Do you get along?" I ask and pop a fry into my mouth.
His hand reaches out and touches my thigh. It's as if he can't be around me and not hold me in some way. I love it though. "She's bitter; I guess she has been for a while. She doesn't know what to do now that Dad's gone."
"How long were your parents married?" I ask and reach for another nugget.
"Just over thirty-two years." He replies, shaking his head.
"Were they happy?"
He laughs, "A fucking disaster, they shouldn't have been together. They argued day and night. They were miserable." He doesn't sound happy, and I'm wondering what I'm missing.
"But?"
His eyes raise in surprise, "You're astute." He comments and I smile at his words, "But, they were married, and they took vows, that's an honor they had to obey. Something that my ma took seriously. My dad on the other hand," He shakes his head. "As I said a fucking disaster."
I glance around just to make sure that no-one is eavesdropping, "Do you hate my mom for their marriage ending?" I saw the disapproval in Mom's eyes today, but Hudson's not once made me believe that he dislikes her.
He doesn't look at me, and finishes off his Big Mac before he answers me. "I don't blame her for their marriage ending." His tone deep and pissed off; he doesn't want to talk about this anymore.
I change the subject, noting that he never actually said if he hated Mom or not. "Is the club the only business you have?"
His body tenses, "Kind of, what about you, you're in college, what are you majoring in?"
Great, another question dodged. "I'm majoring in English."
He smirks, "You're a book nerd?"
"I'm a bibliophile. There's a difference."
He leans in, his lips inches from mine. "Oh yeah, so enlighten me. What is the difference?"
"A bibliophile is a lover of books, who also collects them." I feel my cheeks heating. I feel like a geek. "Whereas a book nerd is someone who always has their head stuck in a book, technically learning."
He stares at me in disbelief. "Princess." He murmurs and shakes his head.
"If you want to be technical about it, a nerd is an unattractive, socially awkward, annoying, undesirable, and/or boring person."
His hand tightens on my leg, "You're not boring, annoying or socially awkward. You are definitely not undesirable. And the fucking opposite of unattractive."
I shrug, I don't think I'm ugly, but I'm not stunning.
"Fucking hell." He mutters, "Okay, Princess, let’s get one thing straight. You're gorgeous, every fucking inch of you is. I should know I've seen every one of those inches." My breath catches at his words and I squeeze my legs tighter together. Why does he always do this to me?
"Understand?" He asks as his hand on my thigh adds pressure; he wants me to open my legs. That's not happening, not here where anyone could walk in and see us.
I nod and continue eating, I'm starting to get really tired, and I want to check in on Lacey. I sent her a couple of messages while we were driving back, she answered them saying she was fine, but I need to see it to believe it.
"What are you going to do after you finish college?" He asks after a few moments of silence.
I shrug, "I've not fully decided yet. I'd love to be an English teacher or an editor." I throw the last of my fries into my mouth and reach for my Coke.
He studies me for a beat, "Editing? Is that something that you'd like to do? Teaching seems like it'll be more..." His head moves as if he's trying to find the right word to say, "Exhilarating... Rewarding even."
Placing my drink down on the counter, "Both editing and teaching would be rewarding, each in their own way. Take teaching, knowing that you could help a child is one of the most rewarding things in this world. Children, young adults are the future and if you can help them weave their own path, be a part in helping them become the best that they can be. That would be the best feeling in the world."
His gaze is intense, as he stares at me. It's like he's transfixed. He's hanging on my every word. This man gives me his full attention, and I love it. "What about editing?" He doesn't sound very convinced that it's worthwhile.
"Getting to edit someone's book, a book that they've poured their heart and soul into. Being a part of the process to take that diamond in the rough and make it into a shiny, polished one." I shake my head as goosebumps cover my body. "Having a book you worked on hit the bestseller lists." I don't think I'm selling editing that much, I can't express the words as to what being an editor would mean.
"I see that you're passionate about both of them. Now, I have a question for you..." Oh shit, that sounds ominous. "Would you think about going to college here in Cali?"
My eyes widen, "Um, why?"
His eyes narrow, and I feel as though I've said the wrong thing. "Why?" He grits out, "I've been looking for you for almost two fucking years, I've finally got you, do you really think I'm letting you go?"
Oh... I have no idea what to say to that.
"Mia, what do you think we're doing here?" He asks sounding exasperated.
"I don't know Hudson, I have no idea what we're doing. You're the only person I've been with." I blurt out, I don't want him to think that I'm playing around, I'm not, I just don't have a clue as to what I should be doing. This relationship thing, if that's what we're doing, it doesn't come with a manual. I'm winging it.
He smiles at me and I'm pretty sure he's actually laughing at me. "Princess, you're cute. So would you relocate?"
"Can I think about it?" That smile he had instantly vanishes. "I left Cali for a reason Hudson. Being here reminds me so much of what I've lost. I miss my dad every day and I left because I couldn't deal with the constant reminders." I want to go to his grave, I'll go when Lacey's home.
His eyes soften. "What about when you're here?"
I scoff, "God, there's not one bit of my dad in this house. A man my mom spent over fifteen years with. It's like he's been forgotten. I hate that my mom's wiped him from her life. It hurts that she doesn't think he deserves to be in her life. He's dead, and no matter if she didn't love him, they still had years together, good years together. Having one picture of us would show that she had a heart you know?" Tears sting my eyes, I didn't realize how much Mom hiding him has affected me.
I hear a gasp behind me and close my eyes. Great, Mom's heard everything.
"Princess." Hudson says low, his deep voice soothing and I open my eyes and see him staring at me, his amber eyes so full of worry.
Taking a deep breath, "I'm going to check in on Lacey and then I'm going to bed. Meet you there?" I whisper as my fingers reach for his and I gently brush them with mine.
"Yep, I'll be up in a bit." He tells me and I'm wondering if he's going to say something to my mom? I don't want to talk to her just yet, especially as I'm so emotional. Tomorrow after I take Lacey to the airport I'll talk to her, we'll clear the air and everything will be okay.
I turn on my heel and walk past both Mom and Harrison, I wonder how long they've been listening for?
"Tina, leave her for tonight, you heard her, she's hurting. You'll only make things worse between you." Harrison tells her and I don't stop, I walk toward the stairs.
"She hates me." Mom says but I don't, right
now I feel as though I don't know her anymore.
"She feels betrayed." Hudson's deep voice causes me to falter on the step, I carry on walking up them, but listen to what Hudson's saying. "She's right. Look around this house. There's not one picture of Mia's father, nor is there a picture of Mom."
"Son, we're starting a new life together. One where we're putting the past behind us." Harrison says and I sit on the top step and listen, as soon as I do, a door opens behind me. Glancing behind me, I realize that it’s Lacey’s door that’s open.
"Does that include your children?" God, Hudson sounds angry.
"You okay?" I ask her as she sits beside me on the step.
She shrugs, her eyes red from crying. No she's not, but she will be.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mom asks, her voice a shrill sound. She doesn't like Hudson and I'm curious as to why? As far as I know she only met him the night of their party. He's not done anything to warrant her not liking him.
Lacey lays her head against my shoulder and I wrap my arm around her. Pain hitting me as she begins to weep quietly against me. I wish I could help her but I can't. There's nothing I can do other than be here for her, offering her support.
"It means, this big pretentious house and not one picture of your daughter. Plenty of the two of you though. Fucking selfish." Hudson tells them, his voice is harder than I've ever heard it before. It's a different side to him, I can imagine his amber eyes darkening with anger.
"Son..." Harrison warns and I want to hide, they shouldn't be arguing, not over something that I said.
"Dad, don't. Mia's told me how Tina didn't even tell her you two were getting married, nor that you were even thinking about it. Fuck Dad, she didn't even invite her to your damn wedding."
Lacey jumps at the harshness of Hudson's voice. He's shouting and I'm surprised that no one else has come out to hear what's going on. Barney and Jagger are here too. A loud thump makes me jump. Shit, this is getting bad. It's why I didn't want to say anything to Mom, I didn't want the arguments that come with the conversation we're inevitably going to have.
"Lacey, come on, let's get you to bed." I tell her as I get to my feet, my hands reaching for hers to help her up. She gingerly gets to her feet and we walk to her bedroom.
As soon as I walk into the room, I'm shocked by how the bed looks. It reminds me of how Hudson and I leave our bed in the morning. It looks like she's had sex. Glancing at her, the way her eyes are downcast and her ears are red tells me that maybe she did.
"Lacey?" I ask and as soon as I do she breaks down. "Oh Lacey, what happened?"
She sits on the bed, her head in her hands as she weeps quietly, "I was so stupid Mia."
Sitting beside her I pull her into my arms, "Why?"
"I don't know why I did it, I just wanted to feel anything other than this pain I'm in. It seemed like a good idea at the time." She weeps.
"What was it like?" I ask and she glances at me in shock, at least she's not crying in her hands anymore. "Well?"
She shakes her head, a small frown trying to form but she's biting it back. "Awful. I cried as soon as it was over."
My eyes widen. Holy hell, how bad could it have been? "What did Barney say?"
Her eyes narrow, "Nothing, he left as soon as it was over. That's what made me cry in the first place." Her tone has a bite to it.
What a jerk! How dare he?
"Lace, what the hell happened?" How did it go from her ignoring him, to him bedding her and walking away?
"He brought me home from the party. We didn't really say anything on the drive, but when we walked upstairs, he kissed me and things went from there. It happened really quickly, it was okay I guess. I mean I didn't come, he did and as soon as he did, he left."
Oh wow, he's a bigger jerk than I thought! Who takes advantage of a woman who's in the midst of grief? She just lost her grandmother, a woman who practically raised her.
"Oh Lacey, I'm so sorry." She must have really liked him, she wouldn't have had sex with him if she didn't. This is going to hurt her, it's the last thing she needed, especially after losing her grandmother.
"It's okay Mia. It's my own fault." She whispers.
"No." I tell her sharply, "It's not your fault. You had sex with a man, a grown-ass man. One that knew how vulnerable you were and the jerk left you afterward. That, Lace, isn't your fault. That's on him. It shows you that your time is better off spent elsewhere." I could kick that douche in the balls. How dare he do that to her?
"I'm tired, goodnight Mia." She tells me as she stands from the bed.
I sigh, today has been a shitty day for Lacey and there's nothing I can do to help her. "Okay Lace, goodnight. I'll see you in the morning." She doesn't say anything as I leave her room, as soon as I'm in the hall, the arguing from downstairs assaults my ears.
"She's my wife Hudson." Harrison yells and I'm wondering what's been said.
"Yeah Dad, I know, she's the only person you give a shit about."
I close my eyes, what's going on now is between Hudson and his dad. We're one big fucked-up family. I guess what they say is true, there's no such thing as perfect.
I walk upstairs and into my room, I cleaned it before I left this evening, the sheets have been changed. The bed looks so inviting. Stripping down to my underwear, I climb into bed and close my eyes. This day turned into one of the worst days I've had in a while. I need to sleep. Hopefully tomorrow will be somewhat better.
Fifteen
Hudson
When Mia spoke about her mom making it seem as though her dad didn't exist, it made me dislike her mom even more. So far all I've seen from Tina is how selfish she is. Everything is about her and what she wants. Fuck what's good for her daughter. Seeing them overhear what Mia and I were talking about pissed me off, finally my girl was opening up to me. Finally feeling comfortable around me to ask questions, some of which I had to dodge as now isn't the right time to be telling her what I do for a living. She's still unsure of what to do, not because of me but because she's never done anything like this before. Neither have I, but fuck that, I know what I want and I'm going after it, guns blazing if I need to.
Tina's standing at the door with her arms crossed, she doesn't look fucking upset that her daughter's not talking to her. "Son..." Dad begins, his tone trying to get me to back down. Not going to happen. Someone needs to set him right.
"Dad, don't. Mia's told me how Tina didn't even tell her you two were getting married, nor that you were even thinking about it. Fuck Dad, she didn't even invite her to your damn wedding."
Tina's eyes widen, yeah, she mustn't have thought Mia would have told anyone that. Dad rolls his eyes, he’s not buying this, my hands slam down on the table. "Don't be stupid son, of course Tina told her about the wedding. Mia's upset, she's lashing out."
I let out a bitter laugh, "God, this is a joke coming from you. Dad, you should know by now how to spot a damn liar. Look at her." My voice is vibrating with anger.
"Tina?" Dad enquires but it doesn't take a fucking genius to see that she's been lying, the deer in the headlights look doesn't suit her. Her mouth’s open in shock. "Tina?" Dad asks once again. He comes and sits down on the seat that Mia vacated. "Why Tina? That's your daughter. She deserved to know that we were getting married. You told me that she wasn't able to come to the wedding. That she was busy with college."
I laugh, "And you believed her? Christ Dad, what the hell happened to you?" I shake my head, actually disgusted that he's turned into this asshole. One thing I could always guarantee was my dad had a keen eye, he could always spot a liar, someone out for their own gain and he'd make sure that anyone who lied to him regretted it. Yet here he is with Tina, and he's looking at her as if she's done nothing wrong.
"Son, watch your mouth." He bites out and I get up and walk to the fridge, I need a damn drink. Christ, how can someone as sweet as Mia have Tina as her mom?
"Tina, what the hell?" Dad asks, "Son, pass me a beer too." Grabbing two beers, I pass h
im one and go and stand by the sink, keeping enough distance between Tina and me.
"Harrison, I didn't want to upset her, you saw how vulnerable she is. Any mention of her dad and it sets her off."
Bringing the bottle to my lips so that I don't say anything. She's full of shit and we all know it.
"Tina, why did you lie to me?" Dad's getting angry, he hates lies and Tina's full of them.
She shrugs, "I guess I didn't want everything to be about Rob." Tears fill her eyes and I want to roll mine, God, how does she think crying is going to make my dad believe her?
"Oh Tina, don't cry. Christ." He says through clenched teeth and is up out of his chair and pulling her into his arms within seconds.
Putting the bottle down on the counter, I clap. "Bravo, epic performance." I say snidely, Dad's eyes cut to me and narrow dangerously. "You're an even bigger fool than I thought. She's a liar and selfish, you're too blind to see it."
"She's my wife, Hudson." Dad shouts at me as his arms tighten around Tina.
I let out a bitter laugh, fucking typical Dad. "Yeah Dad, I know, she's the only one you give a shit about."
Dad releases Tina and grabs his beer, "Hudson, you're a grown man, you understand these things."
I throw my head back and laugh. "These things? What would those things be Dad?"
He grabs his beer, "You have your woman now, you know what it's like to want to protect them, to make sure that they're happy and safe."
I shake my head. It's time to get the hell out of this room before I lose my damn mind. Grabbing my bottle off the counter, I walk past them both.
Forbidden Lust (The Kingpin Book 1) Page 14