Until You Loved Me

“And she couldn’t figure it out for herself?”

Hudson could hear the skepticism. He remembered feeling the same disbelief at first—waiting for her to put two and two together. “Guess not. She doesn’t watch sports. Which isn’t too big a shock, I suppose. She’s a scientist.”

“Interesting. I feel a lot better, then. Glad you had a great time.”

He did have a great time, and then he’d slept like a baby, something he’d been unable to do for months. He’d been too worried about Aaron Stapleton, one of the boys he mentored at New Horizons Boys Ranch, the behavior-focused boarding school he’d attended himself from his sophomore to senior year. The kid had been diagnosed with bladder cancer six months ago and was going through a second round of chemo, which made him deathly ill, and he didn’t have any parental support. Hudson was terrified that the treatments wouldn’t be as effective as they needed to be, that he’d lose the one person he’d felt he could trust with a big piece of his heart.

But he didn’t want to obsess about that while he was in Miami. He’d be home soon—in time for Aaron’s next appointment. “I’m glad I met her,” he said.

“So...where is she now?” Teague asked. “If you’re talking this openly, she must not be close by...”

He crossed over to the window and peered at the ground twenty-two stories below. He thought maybe he’d see her getting into a cab, but none of the people he could make out were wearing that killer white dress. “She’s gone—left before I woke up.”

“Well, that’s good!”

“Good?” he echoed, surprised by the relief in his agent’s voice.

“At least you didn’t have to come up with a way to get rid of her or face any awkward goodbyes.”

“I guess.” He supposed that was lucky, since he wasn’t looking for anything permanent.

He’d gotten what he wanted, he told himself. He’d had an incredible encounter with a woman he was really attracted to, and it had led to some of the best sex of his life. Even better, he’d done it all anonymously, so there’d be no blowback, no upsetting recriminations for not falling in love, no requests for money or other favors, no unexpected information about his love life showing up in the press. He hadn’t even had to give Ellie his autograph.

He should have been relieved, happy, ready to move forward from here.

So...why was he hoping she’d come back?

* * *

Ellie sat at a sidewalk café not far from where she’d been shopping and pushed her new sunglasses higher on her nose. After getting home and showering, she’d gone to the Shops at Mary Brickell Village and purchased quite a few clothes, including a black sheath cocktail dress, since she didn’t own one, some more lingerie—she’d gone a little crazy there, considering the prices—and a pair of Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses. She wasn’t sure why she was reacting to her night with Hudson by going on a shopping spree. Sleeping with him had been too self-indulgent already! But he’d made her feel so attractive and desirable that she was still running wild and free. Staying busy kept her from thinking too much about her actions. So there was that. And now that the wedding was off, she wouldn’t have to help her parents finance the reception or pay for her honeymoon to the Seychelles (Don didn’t have the savings, which meant she was carrying the financial burden). Although the venue had already been booked and she’d lost a couple thousand dollars in deposits when she canceled, that was only a fraction of what the whole thing would’ve cost, so she’d still have extra money to play with.

She counted the bags she had with her—she’d brought them into the restaurant so she wouldn’t have to walk all the way to her car—and felt a moment’s panic. Maybe she’d spent too much...

No. She refused to regret what she’d done today, any more than last night. She might as well start enjoying life. She wasn’t getting any younger, and now that she wasn’t getting married, either, she had only herself to please.

Should she go to the Seychelles without Don?

She’d been looking forward to seeing that part of the world.

She imagined what it might be like to spend two weeks on the islands by herself. If she could find another man like Hudson, it would be worth the time and money—

“There you are.”

At the sound of Amy’s voice, Ellie turned to see her friend weaving through the tables as she came onto the patio. Ellie was relieved she hadn’t brought Leslie. She hadn’t cared for Leslie all that much.

“Whoa! Look at you!” Amy stopped to gape at the evidence of how Ellie had spent her day. “I see you’ve been having fun.”

“Other than the stuff you convinced me to buy for last night, I haven’t been shopping in ages. I was too busy saving up for the wedding. But now...I figured I might as well splurge.”

“Those are some great brands.” She took her seat across from Ellie. Amy had called several times to talk about last night. Rather than answer her friend’s questions over the phone, she’d simply invited Amy to join her for an early dinner. Amy’s salon was close to the restaurant, so it was convenient, and meeting up allowed Ellie to postpone returning home, where she’d have to face her regular life.

“Are those new sunglasses?” Amy asked.

“Yeah. How do you like them?”

“They’re stylish. You look amazing.”

“Thanks.”

A waitress came to greet them and ask for their drink order.

“So...what happened last night?” Amy asked once they were alone. “I assumed you were joking when you texted me about leaving with someone, but I went by your place on my way home, and you weren’t there. Kind of scared me, to tell you the truth. I was afraid I’d contributed to something that put you in a tricky spot—or worse.”

When Ellie felt herself blush, Amy’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What? Don’t tell me you did go home with someone!”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“Some guy at the bar.”

“Some guy? You don’t know his name?”

“Hudson.” Ellie watched carefully for Amy’s reaction. “Does that ring a bell?”

There was no recognition. Either Amy was the best actress in the world, or she wasn’t behind Hudson’s picking up Ellie. “No. Why would it?”

“I thought maybe he was a friend of yours.”

“I’ve never met anyone by that name.”

“Then it happened naturally.” Ellie found that hard to believe. There’d been prettier girls at the club. Ones with more curves, too—and gregarious personalities. Why hadn’t Hudson chosen one of them?

Amy’s smile spread wide. “Tell me about it!”

Ellie waited until their server had returned with their water and they’d placed their dinner order. Then she explained how Hudson had bought her a drink, joined her at the table and asked her to go for a walk.

“You went out on the beach with him.”

“For a couple of hours. I thought that should be safe. There weren’t a lot of people around that time of night, but I could’ve gotten someone’s attention if anything felt...off.”

“You must’ve felt safe.”

She remembered how he’d saved her from a tumble beneath the inky black waves. “Completely.”

“So then you agreed to go home with him?”

“After a couple of hours we wound up at his hotel. And it wasn’t just any hotel, either. He must be a high-powered businessman or someone else with money, because he had the most luxurious suite I’ve ever seen. I’ve never stayed in a place like that. There were these expensive perfumed soaps, you know? I almost put them in my purse. I doubt he would’ve noticed since it was obvious he hadn’t even been in the extra bathroom.”