Slide

by Michelle Congdon

  “Fancy running into you, Mr. Hudson. What brings you to New York?” Amelie’s voice snapped me out of my fantasy. I looked up to see her standing there with a wide high-school girl grin on her face. It almost made me laugh knowing that she wasn’t immune to his boyish charms either.

  “I had the weekend free so I thought I’d come along and watch my sister and her husband’s new Broadway show.”

  “Oh my God!” Amelie gushed. “How could I not realize that Sierra Hudson-Stranburg is your sister? Tell her and that talented husband of hers that we thought the show was absolutely magnificent! I enjoyed every minute of it. The costumes and the set were amazing. And it was a sell out tonight can you believe it? I’m sure it will do every well!”

  “Calm down, babe. It was only a show,” Connor teased nudging Amelie softly on the side with his elbow. “Make sure you give them our congratulations,” he added turning back to Hawke.

  “I will do. So, what have you guys got planned for the rest of the evening?”

  “I’ve got a very early morning flight to Dallas tomorrow morning, sunshine. So I’m heading straight home to bed,” answered Amelie.

  “Unfortunately I have a few loose ends to tie up back in the office, otherwise I’d love to have joined you for a few drinks.”

  “You two get more and more boring with each year that passes. Well, what about you then, my bearer of good news?”

  Everyone went quiet, which I found rather odd.

  “Evangeline?” Connor’s voice cut into my thoughts. Huh?

  I looked up to see Connor regarding me with a peculiar look, while beside him Amelie was not so subtly using her head to point towards Hawke. Oh! He’d said something… to me.

  I tried to run through their conversation my head. The last thing I’d heard him say was something about me bearing good news… What?

  “What did you call me?” I asked suddenly going shy.

  Hawke threw his head back and laughed before throwing me a cheesy grin. “I called you ‘my bearer of good news’. It’s the meaning of your name and I’m hoping it will ring true right this moment.”

  I frowned in confusion. “I don’t―”

  “Would you like to come and hang out with me tonight? That’s what I was asking and I’m hoping that you will say yes.” Hawke chuckled.

  Oh. God, I felt like an idiot.

  “Umm. Sure, why not?” I shrugged, still trying to piece the last few minutes together.

  “Do you think that’s a good idea? You know, with your―”

  “Oh, honey, she’ll be fine. She’s not made of glass for heaven’s sake,” Amelie butted in laughing, giving Connor a playful slap on the arm.

  Connor nodded but threw me a hesitant look. To give him reassurance, I smiled and said, “I’ll be alright, big brother.”

  ****

  “Connor’s very protective isn’t he?” Hawke asked, once we were on our own and heading towards his car.

  I smiled at that. Yes, he was, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. “He most certainly is, but it’s not because of you, I promise. He has said a lot of nice things about you, actually.”

  A huge grin stretched across his face before he began to speak. “Of course he has, and I get that; the whole protective thing, I mean. It’s the same with my younger sister, if anyone were to―”

  “Evangeline?”

  Hawke and I both came to a halt and turned at the same time to see whom the squealing belonged to.

  Before I could do anything to prevent it, a body threw itself against me and squeezed me tight. I managed to pry the arms off me and came face to face with… Ryan’s sister?

  “Annabelle? What are you doing here?”

  I caught the surprised look on Hawke’s face as the overly excited teenager fixed herself up.

  “I just knew it was you! I saw you walk past so I had to come and say, hello.”

  I chuckled. “Well, hello to you too. Is anyone else with you?” I scanned the area over her shoulder. Oh god. Did that mean Ryan was here? “By the way, you look stunning in that dress,” I added trying to shake the thoughts of him out of my head.

  “You really think so? Thank you,” she replied, ecstatic. Her eyes were wide and shining, as if my words meant everything to her. “It’s a Celeste design, you know: a favorite from your father’s rather large list of designers.”

  That caught me by surprise. Should I have recognized it? Not that I shopped at any of my father’s stores, or kept up to date with the latest season’s collection. I didn’t view fashion like that. I saw something I liked, I bought it. Simple. “I love your dress. Valentino, right? It looks amazing on you,” she added.

  I chuckled again, glancing over at Hawke and offering him an apologetic smile. Jeez, this girl was a bubble of energy. Hawke looked as though he was fighting to hold back a laugh but when our eyes met his cheesy grin was back. “Yes, you’re right. You have quite the eye for fashion, don’t you?” I added, turning back to face Annabelle.

  I thought back to the day I ran into her and Ryan in the foyer of the hotel, the day of my father’s funeral. She was dressed well then also.

  “I love it so much! I’m about to start the semester at the Fashion Institute. Then eventually I’ll do a year in Paris. European designs are―”

  “Annabelle! Seriously?” a frustrated familiar voice boomed. Every part of me froze. “You’re eighteen. Stop running off like― Oh… Hi.” Ryan immediately came to a halt just a few feet behind his sister. “I’ll deal with you later,” he hissed at his sister, who had a mischievous gleam in her eye. Something told me she’d planned this all along.

  “Sorry, I need to apologize for her,” he replied, nervously scratching the back of his head. God, he looked amazing. I wanted nothing more than to run to him, and then collapse in those strong, firm arms. No. I couldn’t think like that. Not after…

  “Don’t worry about it. How… how are you?” I managed to say without taking my eyes off his. How could I?

  “I’m great. Things are great. Just heading home from the Broadway show that Annabelle insisted I go to.” Great? He was great? A spark of anger ignited inside me.

  “Yeah? We were just there too. What’d you think?” Hawke asked, stepping up beside me. For a moment there I’d completely forgotten he was standing there. The muscles in Ryan’s jaw tensed as he finally tore his gaze away from me and looked at the man standing awfully close to me.

  “I loved it! One of the best yet!” Annabelle answered. “The story was incredible and well told.”

  I wanted to agree with her but I couldn’t seem to find my voice. How unfair was it that he was ‘great’? It was only three weeks ago he was begging me not to leave for St Bart’s and now he was ‘great’? Perhaps Connor was right… Maybe he was just using me? I hoped he’d sorted things out with Jessica then.

  I could hear Annabelle and Hawke discussing highlights of the show, Annabelle even squealed when she figured out the connection between him and the main actress.

  As they spoke, Ryan and I stood there staring at one another. I noticed several times he’d open his mouth to say something but then quickly shut it, only to then throw a glare in Hawke’s direction, but Hawke was fully enthralled and laughing at something Annabelle said to even notice.

  I was about to reach for Hawke’s arm and ask if we could leave when Ryan quickly took hold of my hand. The skin on my hand burned by his unexpected touch; burned with the same hot desire I had for him before everything began to fall apart. I wondered if he felt it too. “Can I… Can we please talk?”

  I blinked a couple of times before tearing my eyes away from the spot he held on to. We’d been standing like idiots for ten minutes and when I finally decided that I’m ready to leave that’s when he wants to talk?

  “I don’t―” Before I could finish, Ryan began striding away from the others, pulling me along with him. I looked back over my shoulder at Hawke, who didn’t appear to have noticed Ryan dragging me away.

  “Are y
ou two together?” He said in a low growl once we’d stopped a fair distance away from the other two.

  It took a moment for me to recollect myself and realize what he’d said. He had no right to ask me something like that!

  “That doesn’t concern yo—”

  “Just stop! Please…” he interrupted.

  I ripped my hand out of his grip and frowned up at him. “Stop what?”

  “Stop acting valiant, like this whole situation isn’t really tearing you apart.”

  My body tensed at his words. Was it tearing him apart? Or did he just say that because he expected that to be happening to me? “It’s not…” I lied, looking down at the ground to avoid his eyes.

  “You’re lying, I can tell. I know you well enough to know that you are. Evie—”

  “Stop calling me that!” I spat, shooting a glare at him.

  Instead of arguing back like I’d expected him to, Ryan did the complete opposite. Taking a step back, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he re-opened them, they were glassy. Was he going to cry right in front of me? “Evangeline, I’m sorry. I just didn’t expect to see you here, or with another guy for that matter. I shouldn’t have reacted like that…” I eyed him warily, wondering where he was going with the conversation. “I heard you came back because you were sick, and asking if you were okay should have been the first thing to come out of my mouth,” he continued.

  Looking suddenly frustrated, he scrubbed his face with his hand and mumbled something inaudible. “Damn it, I had a whole speech planned out for when I ran into you next and I just fucked it up.”

  For some reason I found this funny and a small laugh escaped.

  “Why are you laughing?” he asked confused about my strange reaction.

  “Oh, it’s nothing,” I replied biting my lip to stop from smiling. “Did you really have a speech ready?”

  He gave me a look as though it was strange of me to even ask such a ridiculous question. “Of course I did. I have so much to say to you that I didn’t want to ruin it and say something impulsive. Which clearly I did…”

  I couldn’t help but to laugh again, but I immediately stopped when there was no smile on Ryan’s face. “Jessica admitted the truth. She’s not pregnant, Evangeline. She made it all up,” he suddenly blurted out.

  What?! Before I could ask him anything a large, rough hand took hold of mine. I turned to see Hawke standing really close beside me. “Ready to go, Angel?” Hawke whispered into my ear.

  I turned back to Ryan who stood there straight-faced with his jaw clenched and eyes narrowed in on Hawke. As much as my body ached to be beside him; reassuring him that there was absolutely nothing going on between Hawke and I, I knew the best thing to do was walk away. We did need to talk, but somewhere private, and not in the middle of the street with others around. So, in the end, even though it pained me greatly to do so, I nodded and quietly said goodbye to Ryan and Annabelle, who was now standing beside her brother.

  Before turning away I gave Ryan one last look and mouthed ‘sorry’ but seeing him look away and ignore my apology felt like somebody had stabbed me in the chest with a knife and twisted it.

  “Sorry about that,” Hawke said once we were inside his car.

  “About what?”

  “Taking your hand back there. I knew it would drive him crazy, that’s why I did it. I just wanted to give him a taste of his own medicine.”

  When I gave him a confused look he added, “After what he put you through, he deserves to know he’s messed up big time, and if seeing you with another guy is going to make him see that, then so be it.”

  I mustered a smile as we turned into the street. “So an Audi, huh?” I asked, coxing the conversation away from the current topic.

  Hawke turned and met my playful smirk. I raised an eyebrow at him. “An Audi L W12, actually,” he replied, eyeing me suspiciously. “What’s wrong with it?”

  I let out a laugh. “Nothing’s wrong with it. I just expected you to have some sort of sports car like most athletes seem to have.”

  His face relaxed.

  “If I tell you the truth, you promise not to laugh at me?” I chuckled but bit my lips when he flashed a faux glare at me. “It’s not my car. Robert, my sister’s husband owns it. I’m terrified of cabs, so I borrow this whenever I’m in town.”

  My eyes widened. “You’re scared of taxi cabs? What? How?”

  Hawke shrugged. “I don’t know? Nobody can ever get me inside one of those damn things, I totally flip out.”

  I couldn’t help a giggle. “How bizarre. You’re a strange man, you know that?”

  “Yeah, yeah. I hear that plenty of times from the rest of the family,” he responded, shaking his head. “So anyway, where would you like to go?”

  “I’m happy to go wherever you want to go.” I smiled, turning to face the front.

  “Dessert? I know a place nearby that serves the best gelato in the city.”

  “Sounds perfect. Let’s go,” I replied a little too eagerly. I was starving and a great big bowl of gelato sounded mouth-watering, but I was also eager to spend more time with Hawke.

  Was I insane? Seeing Ryan made it obvious that I was still in love with him, but there was something different about Hawke. I felt comfortable being around him. Not to mention he was charming, funny, and my brother loved him, so that was an added bonus.

  I knew I was thinking way too hard about this, but maybe Hawke was better for me than Ryan ever was? But all the happy thoughts were soon dispelled by one obvious fact. I was pregnant. How could I consider starting a relationship with anyone while I was carrying somebody else’s child? It wouldn’t be fair on Hawke.

  My thoughts were interrupted when we pulled up in front of a cute little restaurant. I decided to push everything to the back of my mind and just enjoy the night as it was: two friends going out for dessert.

  CHAPTER 31

  Before long, the night was over and Hawke and I were standing out the front of my apartment building saying our goodbyes to one another. Dessert had been great. We’d laughed and spoken about a lot of things.

  “I had a great time tonight,” I said, looking up at him with a genuine smile on my face.

  “Yeah, I did too. My stomach is about to explode.”

  “That’s your own fault! You were the one that wanted to try every flavor,” I teased.

  “It had to be done. Anyway, you did alright for a girl, eating three large scoops on your own.”

  “‘Alright for a girl’?” I put a hand on my hip and raised an eyebrow, which earned a laugh from him. “That is probably the most arrogant thing you’ve said all night,” I added, giving him a light jab on the chest with my fingernail.

  With a mischievous grin, he caught my finger, wrapped his own fingers around it and took a step closer. I felt a lump rise in my throat as my heart quickened its pace. Why was he standing so close? “Would you slap me if I kissed you right now?”

  I stared at him; unable to look away, and slowly shook my head from side to side. “Good,” I heard him whisper before his lips were on mine.

  I stood up on tiptoes to wrap my arms around his neck, while his hands grabbed hold of me and pushed me against him. Wanting more, I opened my mouth to allow his tongue to slip inside.

  I moaned against his lips just as he pulled away, a gentle, sweet smile sat on his face.

  The kiss was much different than what I shared with Ryan. Although it felt nice, it was missing something. The intensifying electricity that made my entire body tingle with just a single touch wasn’t there, but Hawke made me feel secure. This was the type of man I needed to be with.

  “I guess this is the part where I say goodnight,” Hawke whispered against my lips.

  “You could come up?” What?! Where the hell did that come from, Evangeline? My face burned realizing the words that had accidentally escaped my mouth. Was I insane? I was thankful when Hawke broke the awkward silence with a light laugh.

  Pressing a kiss to
the side of my face he replied, “Ask me again after our third date and I’ll definitely take you up on that offer.”

  I blinked, stunned by his calm, casual and polite answer. He was saying no, but it wasn’t a rejection, was it?

  “Third date?” I braved a look at his face and found him smiling.

  “Yup. Tonight being our first.”

  I couldn’t help but mirror his smile. For a guy having grown up in the limelight with famous parents and the rest of his family in the entertainment industry, it was hard to believe he was still so grounded and normal.

  “So, will you let me take you out again?” he asked wagging his eyebrows like a ridiculous schoolboy.

  I burst out laughing and almost lost my balance before Hawke’s hands reached out and caught me around the waist, steadying me.

  “I hope you’re not laughing at me. That took a lot of courage for me to ask you out again.”

  Trying hard to contain my laughter, I bit my lip and shook my head. “No, I’m laughing at your ridiculous attempt to look sexy,” I teased.

  His eyebrows shot up in mock disgust. “What? You don’t find this sexy,” he asked wagging his eyebrows again. I burst into another fit of laughter.

  After calming down and agreeing to catch up the next time Hawke was in town, we said our goodbyes with another quick kiss.

  I couldn’t remember the elevator ride up to my floor. It felt like I was floating the entire time, and a permanent cheesy grin plastered to my face.

  Once I got into my apartment, I raced into my bedroom and collapsed on the bed. Staring up at the ceiling, I found myself eagerly thinking about the next time I was going to see Hawke. That’s when I heard the doorbell ring. Huh? It was very late, the only person it could be was Connor, who had a swipe that allowed him access to my floor, but what would he be doing here at this time of the night? Could it be the young lady on the front desk or security perhaps?