Page 31 of Off the Record

“Ugh.” She rolls her eyes and heads back for the ballroom. I watch her, making sure she gets through the right doors, before turning back to Hudson.

He looks uncertain. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I say brightly. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

He’s not convinced. “I can take you home if you’d prefer.”

And miss the chance for him to come clean on his own? No. “I’d rather stay.”

“Okay.” He reaches for my hand, and it feels natural to let him take it. Surprising for someone who hasn’t even kissed me yet. But I let him pull me outside and walk down the sidewalk toward his building, crossing my fingers that once we get there, he’ll be honest with me. Ireallydon’t want this magic between us to be wrong.

Surprising no one,Hudson does live in a penthouse near the top of an elite building downtown. I don’t see a gold-plated gym anywhere, but I’m guessing it’s hidden behind a secret door. He has the dream kitchen of American sitcoms and a view to rival the one in his office. It’s stunning, the river glinting against the sparkling lights of the city at night, the plush sofa and tastefully placed plants. This apartment is aBetter Homes and Gardensad. It’s stunning, but it doesn’t feel like him at all.

Hudson makes some tea, because I mentioned being cold on the walk, and carries it toward his sofa where I’m wrapped in a blanket. I’ve debated outright asking him about what Andrea said since we started walking here, but it’s important to me that he comes out with it on his own.

I had tofindLeo in the middle of his lies. I don’t want to go through the same thing with Hudson.

“Here you are,” he says, handing me a mug.

I take a sip, and it warms me from the inside. “Thanks.”

Hudson sits beside me. His arm is strung along the back of the sofa, and he’s looking at me with a furrow between his eyebrows. “Sorry about my family.”

“They’re fine,” I tell him. “It’s interesting to see where you come from.”

“I understand. I wouldn’t mind seeing the home that made you, too.”

My home. My parents and siblings and dogs. Our mismatched cups and messy counters. My life is so different from this pristine, hotel-like penthouse and the leathery people who apparently are old enough to be Hudson’s parents but definitely look more like his older brother and sister. I can’t even imagine our families together at Christmas. It would never work.

I take another sip to put off saying what I need to, but it’s inevitable, really. Just being here is good for me, seeing the stark differences between us in a calculable way. Leaning forward, I let the blanket fall from my shoulders and rest the mug on the coffee table, perching on the edge of the sofa cushion.

Hudson sits up.

“Is there anything you need to say to me?” I ask.

He blinks, his bright blue eyes tracking my face in rapid motion. “What’s going on, Paisley?”

“I was hoping you’d tell me.Doyou have something to tell me?”

We sit there in silence, him staring, me hoping. It’s painful, my nails digging into my palms while I wait. But he deserves a chance to come out with it, to explain the madness Andrea spouted.

“Hudson,” I breathe. “I can’t take another man lying to me, hiding things from me. It hurts.”

“I’m not seeing anyone else,” he says carefully. “I haven’t gone out with another woman since I saw you with that flat tire on the side of the road.”

My eyes close. “That’s not?—”

“I’ve liked you since that meeting about the columns last month, but I didn’t have the guts to ask you out.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“I mean it. I already liked your writing, but then I met you and realized you were as cool as your voice.” He scoots closer, earnestly holding my gaze. “Why do you think I’ve been working so closely with you on those articles? I needed an excuse to be around you. When my uncle mentioned the interim editor position, I offered to take it because I was intrigued and wanted to see more of you.”

What? I’m squirming, wanting so badly for this to be true, even when I deeply feel how it’s not all adding up. “But you only agreed to come with me tonight for Leo’s sake.”

“No,” he says quietly. “I never said that.Youdid. I asked you to be my date, and you needed a reason to accept. It was real for me, Paisley. Everything was real for me.”

My heart thunders in my chest, fighting the urge to run with the strong inclination to jump into his arms.

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