I was there…
Last summer Cara was declared cancer-free after being in remission for five years. As exciting as that news had been, we all knew it wasn’t a lifetime guarantee. As I sat watching My Best Friend’s Wedding, I was trying to silence the worst-case scenario voices that were screaming every negative outcome possible through megaphones in my head.
I did my best to silence them.
“She’s fine.” My head nodded up and down while I rubbed Romeo’s head and my eyes filled with moisture. “Right? She has to be fine.”
Knowing that tears weren’t going to help the situation, and not wanting to put any bad juju into the world, I decided to go against every instinct I had and focus on the one and only thing that actually did have the power to distract me from this.
Hudson Reed.
It’d been nine days since our Thursday afternoon lip-lock at the ranch and unnervingly intimate conversation in his SUV that evening. I’d spent all last weekend fantasizing and dreaming about what it was going to be like when I showed up to the ranch on Monday.
Would we work side by side?
Would we have lunch together?
Would we share longing looks?
Would we talk about the kiss?
Would we kiss about the talk?
In a perfect world the answers to those questions would be; Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Unfortunately Destiny’s Child answered those questions best with their 1998 smash hit: No. No. No. No. No.
Hudson had spent the entire week doing a great impression of a cereal box on the top shelf of the kitchen counter. If I got on my tippy toes I could feel my fingertips grazing him, metaphorically, but I just couldn’t quite grasp him. He was just out of reach. He was no longer ghosting me, but it wasn’t like he was actually spending any time with me, either. If I was working outside, he was working inside. And vice versa. He was friendly, but distant. Always around but not really there.
All week I kept thinking he would say something. Anything. He didn’t. By the time I drove away from the ranch on Thursday I was starting to think that I may have just imagined the kiss, the talk, the chemistry that felt like it’d been in a pot for years, simmering beneath the lid and now the burner had been flipped to high and it was boiling over.
Monday morning I’d arrived to find that I was back on landscaping duty, but this time the task was much more reasonable and I actually had a lot of fun working on it. I planted an organic garden that the kids were going to take care of in order for them to learn about sustainable living. Hudson had stopped by a few times, told me I was doing a good job, even smiled, but then he’d go right back to work inside the house.
Then on Wednesday and Thursday I’d worked inside the main house and he’d been out repairing my shoddy irrigation installation. The days weren’t a total loss though because I’d gotten to spy on him through the windows as he worked shirtless. Plus I’d been tasked with painting, which I loved. Painting had always been very therapeutic for me. It represented a new start. A clean slate.
Shifting the leg that was falling asleep under the weight of my companion’s head, I sighed. “That’s what I want for my birthday, Romeo. A clean slate.”
Living in a small town those were hard to come by. Not that I was complaining, I loved Wishing Well, But, I was Harmony Briggs. Only daughter to Dolly and Walker Briggs. Youngest of nine. People thought they knew me.
In reality, the circle of people that actually knew me was a small one. The card carrying members being Destiny, Cara and my parents. Oh, and Romeo.
“You know me, huh, handsome boy?” I scratched behind his ear.
He opened one eye and I took that as agreement.
“And Hud sees me,” I whispered, mainly because I was still in disbelief.
When he’d said those words to me, instinctually I’d recognized them as the truth. Not because he’d proven his claim by backing up his assessment that I was a romantic with such personal examples. The thing I responded to was the look in his eyes.
All my life I hadn’t really felt seen. Not the way he saw me. When he looked at me it was like I saw myself, the real me reflected in his eyes. It scared the shit out of me.
It had been the moment I’d been waiting for my entire life, and I just wasn’t prepared for it. I didn’t know whether to cry, kiss him, or run. I chose run.
The second I made it into the house, I’d regretted my decision. I should’ve stayed. I should’ve told him what I saw when he looked at me. I should’ve let him take the lead when he’d told me that we needed to talk. I’d let my fear, pride, and control issues drive me to avoid something real. I knew better. When you do that, even the most important moment just…
“Passes you by,” voices from the television eerily finished my thoughts.
I sniffed as my eyes flicked to the screen just in time to see Julia and Dermot Mulroney emerging from under a bridge. I watched as Julia closed her eyes against the realization it was exactly what had happened. The moment had passed her by.
Shit. Is that what I’d let happen? Had I missed my chance with Hud? Was there ever a chance to begin with? Even as I asked myself these questions, the phantom impression of his lips on mine reminded me that there had to be a chance. There was no way that he kissed me the way he had kissed me just on a whim. That wasn’t a whim-kiss.
Just the reminder of it had my body buzzing with pent up arousal. Great. Now I was home alone. On my birthday. On a Saturday night. On my couch. In my pajamas. And I was horny.
This just kept getting better. Might as well add drunk to my list. I’d learned my lesson with Vodka, and there was no way I was going to slide down that slippery slope to hangover valley.
“Wine!” I announced loudly to Romeo as I stood. “Wine is what I need,”
His head rose up only because he’d just lost his pillow. He looked sleepy and not too happy about being awake. But after doing one heck of a headshake ear flap combo he jumped off the couch and happily followed me into the kitchen. My own mood was starting to turn around as well. A glass of wine was just what the doctor ordered. A little buzz would help my overactive imagination and over analyzing mind calm the heck down.
Just as I finished filling my large wine glass there was a knock on the door. My head fell back as I sighed and closed my eyes. I was sure it was one of my brothers stopping by. During my birthday dinner tonight, I’d been asked if I was okay, or some variation of that question, more times in a three-hour period than I probably had in my whole life. If I were a betting girl, I would let it all ride on the idea that my mom had been worried about me and sent in a recon team.
I was tempted to sneak off to my bedroom and ignore my unexpected visitor. I would’ve but with my luck they would spot my shadowy figure tiptoeing past the front door and never let me live it down.
If I let any of my brothers in, it would probably take at least an hour for me to get rid of them. I would rather be alone than have to exchange barbs and engage in witty banter with my brothers. Especially now that my pity party had an open bar.
Which reminded me…
Lifting my glass, I felt the cool rim hit my lips before the sweet taste of Moscato swirled over my taste buds. As I savored the first taste of my favorite, fruity beverage, I kept hope alive that whoever was on the other side of the front door would give up and leave. All I had to do was stay in the kitchen and lay low until that happened. A chore that was made much easier by my alcohol sustenance.
The knock sounded again, this time it was a little louder. The increase in volume and force sent Romeo into protective mode and he started barking.
So much for laying low.
Before I reached the door, a third round of knocking commenced. Feeling that it was a little excessive, I yelled as I turned the doorknob and pulled, “I’m coming—”
My exclamation was interrupted by a sharp intake of breath. Hudson Reed was on my porch in jeans, a faded blue t-shirt that showcased his physique, and a sexy grin that had every cell in my body
screaming with delight. In his hands were a bouquet of flowers and a mysterious bag.
“Not yet.” He winked. “But then I haven’t given you your birthday present yet.”
I blinked in disbelief. That wasn’t just flirting, it was suggestive flirting. I didn’t know why he was here, but whatever he was selling, my body was buying. My heart pounded so hard I was sure it was audible and my legs had turned into noodles at the predatory look in his eyes. In the back of my mind I knew there was no way I could be drunk off of one sip of wine, but that was the only way I could explain what I was seeing and hearing.
Part of me wanted to shut the door in his face so I could compose myself. The last thing I wanted was for him to see that he had this drastic of an effect on me. But I also didn’t want to make the same mistake I’d made last week. No, it was time to face this, whatever this was.
“Happy birthday to me.” My lips turned up in a broad smile as I opened the door wider in invitation.
Chapter 18
Hudson
“A smile from the right woman is worth more than a million from the wrong ones.”
~ Loretta Reed
Damn. My heart slammed into my chest like a crash test dummy. Harmony was wearing sweat shorts, a V-neck white t-shirt, and slippers. Her auburn locks fell loose around her shoulders and her face was scrubbed clean. She’d never looked more beautiful, but the real showstopper was that smile. The one that I’d branded into my memory to the point that it was now a part of my DNA.
“That smile…” I rasped.
Her eyes widened at my words.
“That smile haunts me. It owns me. It’s the last thing I imagine every night when I close my eyes and the first thing I think about the second I open them in the morning,” I confessed, still standing on the porch.
A small glint of confusion flashed in her emerald stare as a soft shade of pink flushed up her cheeks. Knowing that there was only one way to clear up any and all questions she had, and more than ready to do so, I stepped into the house and closed the door behind me.
When I did, she backed up. Instead of letting her retreat like I had when she’d scrambled out of my truck, I closed the distance between us, leaned down and whispered against her ear, “Just so there’s no confusion that was a compliment.”
Soft, silky strands of her hair brushed against my nose and I inhaled deeply, finally letting myself take my fill of her strawberry and wild flower scent. Unfortunately, my indulgence was cut short when Romeo decided to jump between us to sniff the bag I’d brought.
“Down,” I instructed as I leaned back on my heels and patted his head when he obeyed.
After a quick greeting, I shifted my attention back to Harmony and found her in the same position I’d left her in, dazed and confused. She looked to be experiencing a little bit of shell shock.
I’d had over a week to prepare for what I was about to propose, but in that moment I realized my one eighty might be a little bit much for her to take in. It looked like I needed to take a page from Zapp and Roger and take this Slow and Easy.
Thanks to her drunken night of confessions, I knew that she wouldn’t need the emotional reserve that I’d had to build up. She’d been explicit in telling me that all she wanted was “one no-holds-barred night, wild night” with me. One night. It had felt like a punch in the gut at the time, when I wanted so much more. But now, now it was exactly what I wanted to give her.
“Do you have something that I can put these in?” I asked with the hope that giving her a task would snap her out of her haze.
“Oh…yeah.” She pivoted in one smooth movement and headed into her kitchen.
Romeo and I followed behind her. My eyes were glued to her perfect, heart-shaped backside as she shuffled across the tile floor in her white fluffy slippers. Her legs were even more golden brown than usual thanks to all the work she’d been doing outdoors. The sun-kissed glow highlighted her toned calves and slender thighs. If I stared any longer Romeo wouldn’t be the only one panting and drooling.
She stopped in front of the fridge and her heels lifted off the ground as her arm stretched as far as it could towards the back where I saw a simple vase sitting against the wall. As much as I was enjoying the view that her position afforded me, I knew there was no way she could reach it without some assistance.
I crossed the space in two strides and easily grabbed the glass container. Harmony lowered flat on her feet. Her intoxicating stare lifted to mine through a bed of thick lashes. The innocent look of amazement in her eyes sent my pulse racing and triggered every primal instinct I had.
As she took the vase from my hands, she breathed, “Wow.”
Getting a big head about her being impressed with a porch I’d built was one thing, letting the fact that she was in awe that I could reach an object easily have the same effect on me was another. There had to be more behind that wow.
“What?” I asked, wanting to know everything that she was thinking.
“Cereal,” she answered as if that explained everything.
It didn’t. In fact, this conversation was making less sense by the second.
I tried to clarify. “You want cereal?”
“No, you…you were cereal. I mean…at the ranch you were acting like…never mind.” She dropped her chin and looked down at the vase in her hands.
That’s when I noticed that a bottle of girly-looking wine was sitting on the counter. Beside it was a glass that was almost filled to the brim. Disappointment flooded my chest. If she’d been drinking it would explain a lot of her behavior since I’d shown up.
“How much have you had to drink?”
“Not enough.” She let out a forced breath, snatched the flowers out of my hand, turned around so her back was to me. She carried the flowers and the vase straight to the sink. After turning on the faucet, she glanced over her shoulder. “Thank you for these, they’re beautiful.”
“Harmony.” I could hear the tension threading in my tone. If she’d had more than one glass of wine, there was no way tonight was going to go as I’d planned. If that were the case, it would be a fucking tragedy. “How much have you had to drink?”
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” she mumbled under her breath as she shut off the water. Her hair fanned out as she spun around to face me head on. The fire that I was used to seeing burning her expressive eyes was back in full force. “Why? Is it a crime to drink in my own home now? On my birthday? Is that why you came over here? Are you going to arrest me for private intoxication, Officer Killjoy?”
“Officer Killjoy?” I repeated as a grin tugged at my mouth.
“Yep.” She placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head to the right with challenge in her stare. “If the name fits.”
Now that she was responding more like she normally would, I was ninety-nine percent sure that she hadn’t had too much to drink. But if tonight was going to play out how I hoped it would, I had to be one hundred percent sure.
“This is the last time I’m going to ask you, Princess.” Mainly because I was holding on by a very thin thread, normally I had the patience of Mother Theresa. “How much have you had to drink?”
Her eyebrows rose slightly as a sly smile appeared on her ruby red lips. Slowly, she lifted her right hand, holding one finger in the air. Her middle finger.
“I’ve had one drink.” She repeated the gesture lifting her left hand, flipping me the double bird. “Of one glass.”
I wasn’t sure what I was happier about, the fact that she wasn’t toasted or the fact that we seemed to have fallen back into our verbal sparring pattern. Over the past few weeks, things had been so different between us. Strained. Off. I hadn’t even realized how much I missed this, missed us, until now.
“Good. We need to talk.” With that declaration I went into the front room and sat on the couch.
“By all means, make yourself at home.” Sarcasm dripped from each word as she followed me and took a seat on the opposite side of the couch.
G
rabbing the remote, I switched off the movie that was playing.
“Excuse me, I was watching that,” she protested.
“You told me to make myself at home,” I countered, for which I was rewarded with a killer look, meaning if looks could kill I’d be dead.
“Why are you here, Hud?” Her expression grew more irritated as her brows furrowed. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
“I took a personal day.”
“Wow, Superman takes personal days?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s your birthday.” I set the bag I was carrying on the coffee table. Romeo laid his head beside it and pushed his nose against the side of the paper bag. I pulled out the paperwork that was sticking out of the top. “And I wanted to give you this.”
Harmony took the documents as carefully as if I was handing her a bomb. And hell, maybe I was. This could definitely blow up in my face and it had a really good chance of destroying me.
I remained silent as she read the order.
“Wait…” Her eyes scanned the papers again. “This says that I’ve completed my community service and it has Judge Patterson’s signature on it.”
“Yeah, and that wasn’t easy to get on a Saturday. I had to play two rounds of golf and I hate golf.”
“But I’m not done yet. I still have a week left.” I could hear the panic rising in her voice.
Shit. I’d figured this would be the part she’d be the happiest about. “When you factor in the drive to and from Emerald Cove and the fact that you’ve never taken a full lunch, not to mention the nights you’ve stayed well past five o’clock, then you’ve completed your hours.”
Discovering Harmony (Wishing Well, Texas #3) Page 13