Page 86 of That Time I Kissed My Beachfront Boss

“Yeah, well. It’s my job,” I say.

But what’s happening here doesn’t feel like it’s just a job anymore. The lines between us are starting to blur. In fact, the lines between us have been blurring for a while. Even more accurately, the lines between us are already fully blurred for me. So. Now that we’ve established that, what’s the conjugation that will save my heart and my professionalism at the same time?

“Listen, Hudson,” I begin.

His jaw shifts. “Nothing happened last night.”

“Oh, I know,” I rush to say. “You’re a gentleman.” And also, you’re just maybe not as attracted to me as I am to you. And that’s why standing this close to your delicious scent and your intense eye contact is a terrible idea.

So I take a few steps back, replacing our proximity with a little distance. “The thing is, I’ve been meaning to tell you …”

His eyes soften, and he waits for me to finish the sentence. This is our time to talk. We need to have a grownup conversation in which I admit that, while I’ve let myself get slightly attached to Hudson—not to mention to the inn—there is no long-term place for me at The Beachfront. Which means there’s no future for us. Hudson knows this.

I know this. I just got caught up in impractical feelings. And a hose fight. And a dunk tank. And a rain storm.

Really, I blame water!

“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” Hudson says, after I’ve paused for too long.

“You have?”

“I mean …well … that depends on what you’ve been thinking.” Hudson pulls the blanket up higher over his body, and I’m not gonna lie, I’m a little sad about the decrease in exposure. “What were you going to say?” he asks.

Just rip the Band-Aid off, Liv.

“I probably have bad breath,” I blurt, because I still haven’t learned how to be a normal human. And apparently I’m going to have to ease into this adult conversation.

“You smell fine to me.” Hudson’s lip quirks. “But we’ve got toothbrushes and paste stocked in every bathroom,” he tells me, like that was my actual issue. I run my tongue over my teeth as flames of mortification light up my cheeks, then my throat, then my entire upper body bursts into?—

ZZT.

Hudson snaps his focus to the nightstand where my phone starts buzzing with an incoming call. He jumps up—in a graceful but surprisingly still manly move—then stands on the other side of the bed from me.

“You’d better answer that.” He jerks his chin. “Could be Ford.”

See, Liv? Hudson’s nervous. He’s probably anxious to put this whole we-slept-together experience behind him. And he might be hoping Ford is calling to say the bridge is open so you can get out of here.

I glance at the screen. “It’s Brady.”

While I take the call, Hudson stuffs his hands in the pockets of his joggers. He’s across the room, but the air is still so full of his intoxicating scent, I might as well still be cradled in his arms.

“Good morning, Brady.” I try to sound calm, but my voice cracks.

“Sorry, Liv. Did I wake you?”

“No. Definitely not. We’re awake. I mean I’m awake,” I stammer. “I’ve been wide awake. For a while now.” So much for my cheeks not being nuclear for the rest of my natural born life.

“Okay,” he chuckles. “I just wanted to confirm that Link and Hadley are arriving tomorrow. I told them I’d double-check that everything’s still good there after the rain.”

“Oh, yes,” I say. “Totally good. With the rain, I mean. And with Link and Hadley. They can definitely come tomorrow. We’ll absolutely be ready for them. Positively.”

“Whoa.” Brady snorts. “That’s a lot of adverbs, Liv.”

I cover the phone, glancing at Hudson. “We will be ready for them, right?” I whisper.

He nods his answer, then slips out the door. Guess I just blew our chance to talk with my awkwardness. Or he’s afraid of my bad breath after all.

I return my attention to Brady. “So where were we?”

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