Page 31 of Bearly Mated

“I couldn’t commit. It was that simple. Some part of me was still in love with you, no matter how much I tried to convince myselfotherwise. We broke up, and I moved to New York. Haven’t dated anyone seriously since then, and I kept my rule.”

“It’s been three years?”

“Four.”

He made a noise of satisfaction. “Thanks for telling me.”

“You were never going to put it to rest if I didn’t.”

He chuckled. “You know me too well.”

Hudson started working my clit again, and my thoughts went blank. My mind went quiet.

Every fiber of my being was focused on the way he felt inside me—until I shattered again.

Eventually,we slipped out of bed. After a stop in the bathroom to clean up, Hudson tugged one of his shirts over my head and pulled on a pair of shorts. He held my hand as we walked back to the kitchen.

Somehow, the place already felt like home.

He dished up bowls of chili (and cornbread with honey that he whipped up quickly, of course), then joined me at the table. He sat down beside me instead of across from me, settling one of his hands casually between my thighs as he ate with the other. His feet tangled with mine, and I couldn’t bite back my smile.

“What did my mom say?” he asked, and my smile faded.

She might be able to keep his dad’s secrets from him, but I couldn’t. It had been hard enough to lie about dating when heasked over the phone a few times a year. Now that we were together again, I didn’t think I could sell a lie even if I tried.

“Your dad was in her driveway when I got there,” I said.

He frowned, his forehead creasing. “Why?”

I took a bite of chili to give myself a moment to figure out how to word the admission. “They’re engaged.”

His forehead creased further. “No they’re not.”

“I didn’t believe it either, but I watched them interact like a real couple from my car. Your mom saw me after he left, and waved me over. When I got inside her house, she explained.”

I gave him a very detailed rundown of everything she’d told me about his dad’s conversation with his friends, and their realization.

Hudson didn’t touch his food the entire time I was speaking.

He let out a slow breath when I wrapped up the explanation, his grip on my thigh deathly tight. “I need some air.”

Releasing my leg, he stood, then stopped abruptly.

“This isn’t me leaving you,” he said. “I’m not. I’d never.”

“You’re a bear. I know you need time alone to process sometimes. That’s not new.” I captured his hand and squeezed it. “I get it.”

He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. “I love you, Cal.”

With that, he strode out of the cabin, ditching his shorts on the porch.

I finished my food—and some of his—before digging through the kitchen for Tupperware. After I’d put the rest of the chili and cornbread away, I grabbed my phone. Then, I made my way out to the porch and sat down on the swing out there. It was positioned to face the forest just like the one at my dad’s house.

Lifting my feet onto the railing, I sent a message.

Me

I’m sorry about Hudson, I tried to stop him

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