Page 90 of All the Beautiful Things
“I went out and bought six different brands when you realized you didn’t hate that one, but what about something different? A margarita, maybe?”
I’d almost tried one at the restaurant earlier, but since no one else there was old enough to drink, I’d held off. “That sounds great, actually.”
“Good.” He kissed my nose and a pleasurable wave rolled down me.
How was it possible he really was this good? And more… how could I have been lucky to find someone so patient with me? He was right, we had a lot to talk about. Starting with tonight’s fiascos and going all the way back to this morning, why he’d started pulling away this entire week, but we’d get there. Staring into his beautiful face, seeing his earnest expression, I didn’t doubt that at all.
“Now sit. I’ll get the water running and then get drinks made, but you—I don’t want you moving an inch.”
He turned to head toward the bathroom, grabbing my scarf, and before he could get too far away, I grabbed his hand and squeezed.
“Thank you, Hudson.”
“It pisses me off you think you have to thank me for any of this when it’s the absolute least a decent person would do. But I also want you to know I get it. I get you trusting someone fully will take time, especially after how we started. So don’t worry about it, Lilly. I love you.”
He loved me.
My jaw dropped and I gaped at him. He’d told me he fell in love with me in photographs, but he hadn’t straight out admitted it. A rush of warmth flooded my veins.
He loved me. Tears blurred my vision and my fingers went numb. I stood in front of this man who was so damngoodwho believed in me… who loved me…
“Hudson—”
“You don’t need to say anything. I know.” He silenced me with a kiss before I could say anything and when he pulled back, he dipped into the bathroom, not giving me a chance.
The words burned the tip of my tongue to say them back, to shout them through his home so he’d hear me. Hell, I’d stand on the rooftop deck and scream them to the entire city. But not now. Not when I had to tell him about Manny and he had one hell of a story to tell me. Because I was pretty damn certain he told that woman he wasn’t going to marry her which meant his story would be longer.
But now I understood what Angie had told me. And even what Sandra tried to say.
Hudson didn’t need or want anything from me. Except me.
Which meant I finally figured out exactly what to get him for Christmas.
* * *
I didn’t listento him and I definitely moved more than an inch. By the time Hudson returned with two margaritas on ice, I’d already stripped out of my clothes and wrapped myself in a towel.
I had a few sips of the drink while the bathwater ran, just enough to send a rush of warmth through my blood. The sour made me scrunch my nose, but I couldn’t taste alcohol at all.
“I like this,” I said, holding my glass up. With every small sip, the tension in my shoulders softened.
“I like you,” Hudson said. His own drink was in the corner of the bathtub.
He stripped out of his clothes, unashamedly, and I took in every inch of his body while he exposed it to me. The alcohol might have warmed me from the inside, but it was the vision of Hudson, naked, proud and tall and so large everywhere that made my skin burn with want.
I shook it off and dropped the towel. Hudson lifted a hand and helped me step in, settling me between his legs, my back to his chest.
Once I climbed in and was holding my glass, the rest of the tension melted away.
Now, I was snuggled in him. His strength. With the haze of anger and fear melting away.
I had never taken a bath with another man before. I also hadn’t taken a single bath since I was eighteen years old. The halfway house and my first apartment barely had showers large enough to turn around in and for whatever reason, I’d hadn’t yet taken one in my new place. Boy, had I been missing out. On both accounts.
Sitting between Hudson’s thighs, my back to his chest and our legs bent and tangled together and his hands sweeping up and down my arms, I decided I would never take another bath without him again.
“This is delightful,” I hummed, eyes closed, head to his shoulder.
“You’re delightful,” he said. I could feel his grin on my cheek and his hands slide to my stomach. Further down, my body pulsed but I fought to ignore it.
