Page 94 of Nanny for the Firefighter

My stomach drops through the damn earth. That’s what I get for being so hasty with the damn all-black tee.

“Oops. I swear. I do this all the time.”

But I can tell Hudson isn’t buying it as he looks between Mason and me. After a moment, his eyes go as wide as saucers, and a tiny gasp escapes.

“This is the booty call?!”

Hudson’s voice is way too loud, and I see Mason look over at me from the corner of my eye.

“Booty call?” he remarks, and I shake my head.

“That’s not… I was trying to…”

Oh my God. This is not happening.

“What?” Hudson interjects. “Cat got your tongue? Or is it apparently my best friend? What the hell?!”

Mason steps forward, putting his hand up between himself and Hudson like he’s playing referee.

“Hey, I get that you’re mad, but can we keep the screaming to a minimum around Mia?”

Hudson glares at me before his head ducks down, and I see his hands ball into fists.

“How long has this been going on?” He looks up at me, his glare penetrating. “I mean, you’ve clearly been at this. How long have you been sneaking around behind my back?”

“Hudson,” I level him with a glare of my own, “that’s totally uncalled for. I’m not sneaking. I just wasn’t ready to tell you. Probably because I knew you’d react like this.”

His eyes flare wider, and even though Hudson keeps his voice down, there’s no mistaking the venom in his tone.

“My best friend, Bridget. And you didn’t want to tell me?”

“Get down off your high horse, Hudson. We were both friends with Mason, and it’s not like I’m dating him just to piss you off.”

Hudson scoffs, rolling his eyes at me. “You’ve been gone for five years, and as soon as you’re back in town, you happen to fall into bed with the guy you’re nannying for? Classy, sis.”

The air is shunted from my lungs as if Hudson had actually punched me, and I just stand there like an idiot, gaping at him.

“You lied to me.” He looks over at Mason. “You both did. I’m…I’m out of here.”

Hudson turns around to leave, and I just look over at Mason. My brother clearly isn’t listening to me, and I don't know what else to say.

I never meant to lie to him, about this or the Jai bullshit, but it looks like I can’t stop myself from obscuring the truth.

My heart aches as my eyes burn, and I hate what just fucking happened. This is not how I wanted Hudson to find out.

And we’d just been talking about telling everyone.

Mason steps into my line of sight, putting his hands on my shoulders. His brows are pinched tightly together, but he’s doing his best to put on a smile.

“Hey, don’t worry, I’ll go talk to him. Watch Mia, okay?”

All I can do is nod, so that’s what I do. I adore my brother, and I don’t want this to ruin the relationship that we just started repairing.

The front door is about to slam when Mason catches it and rushes out after Hudson. I want to go out there and talk to him, too, but Mason’s right.

He needs to smooth this over with Hudson alone. After all, I’m the stranger who’s been gone for five years.

Guilt hits me square in the chest, and I nearly break down, but Mia comes walking in front of the living room and tugs on my hand.

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