Find Me (The Found Duet #2)(9)
Author: Laurelin Paige

I jumped down to the ground.

His face relaxed and he asked again. “What should you be upfront about and which of you is it that Alayna is talking about?”

I opened my mouth to say something since he was still looking at me, but Laynie saved me by answering. “Gwen wants to bring a date to the fireworks celebration, and she didn’t know if she should just show up with him or let you know beforehand.”

If looks could kill, Hudson would be making funeral arrangements for his bride.

He swept a suspicious gaze over me. “Either would be fine. You’re dating, Gwen? Anyone we know?”

“I’m not dating,” I said at the same time Laynie said, “It’s her first date,” and simultaneously with Norma’s response, which was, “Boyd.”

Jesus fucking Christ. I didn’t bother to hide my irritation.

Hudson continued to study me then moved his stare to Norma. “Of course Boyd is welcome.” His tone was stiffer than it had been a moment ago. “Just remember that you have an image to maintain.”

I could hear Norma swallow. “Always.”

“Excellent. This is a situation where perception is key. As long as that’s in check, you’re good.”

Damn. I got what Laynie meant about innuendo.

His features relaxed as he turned back to his wife. The way he looked at her—the way he always looked at her, as though she hung the moon—it never failed to make me both smile and ache. I’d felt adored like that when JC had looked at me. Felt like I was his whole reason. God, what I’d give to have that again. To have him again.

Thirteen days to my quit date. Could I really let him go?

“Alayna, the cook wanted a word with you.” Hudson held a hand out to her.

“Okay. Coming.” She twined her fingers through his and went with him, but turned her head over her far shoulder and mouthed, “He knows.”

“He totally knows,” I concurred once they were out of earshot.

“Shit.”

I wrapped a comforting arm over Norma’s shoulder. “But it’s fine, Sissy. He said perception is the key. Did you hear how he annunciated the word perception? He’s trying to tell you he doesn’t care what you’re doing as long as other people don’t know.”

Norma frowned. “I didn’t get that at all. He was warning me.”

My sister really didn’t know Hudson. “He wasn’t warning you.”

“He was. Plain as day.”

I let my arm drop, annoyed. I wasn’t really a touchy person in the first place, and if she wasn’t at least going to try to have a hopeful perspective, I wasn’t going to go out of my way to try to bolster her. “He wouldn’t have said Boyd could come if he was warning you.”

I hugged my arms across my chest, ready to be done with the subject.

“True.” She sounded more optimistic now, or maybe she just sensed my annoyance. “But even if that’s the case, it doesn’t help solve the dilemma that we want to be out of the closet. For the fireworks, fine. Eventually, though.”

“Hey, one step at a time.” I bumped her shoulder with mine. “Right?”

“Yes. You’re right. I’m not going to worry about it anymore tonight.”

Thank God. “I still think you should just show up with Boyd as your date and see what happens.” Because I definitely wasn’t going with him. That wasn’t how I wanted to spend my quit date. Not that I knew how I wanted to spend it instead.

“Fine.”

I raised a brow, surprised that she’d agreed.

Then she added, “If you show up with Chandler as yours.”

I rolled my eyes. “Never.” Norma was the only person I’d confided in about my raunchy fling with the Pierce teenager. I’d felt the need to confess to someone and since she had her own May-December relationship going on, I’d figured she couldn’t judge. And she hadn’t.

I’d yet to tell her about the previous day’s breakup though. “By the way, that’s over.”

“So soon?”

I twisted to face her. “Don’t get that disappointed tone in your voice. This was never meant to be a thing. It was banging, and that’s all.” Despite her frustration about having to keep her romance with Boyd hush-hush, falling in love had made her pro-coupledom for all. As if finding—and keeping—the right guy was that easy.

“I wasn’t insinuating that it was anything else. You’re just so much nicer when you’re banging someone.”

I glared at her. “Well, it can’t be Chandler. He was starting to get attached.”