Page 45 of Secret Hudson

“Me? I thought the best man is in charge of the ring.” She dabs at the corners of her eyes to fix the smudged eyeliner. She’s been a total freaking sap ever since the night of the proposal three months ago.

“Yeah, like I’m really going to trust Blaise with this. You’re in charge until we’re standing at the altar. Then, casually hand it off to him. At that point, even he should be able to manage keeping track of it.”

After carefully considering our options in terms of our wedding party, Hudson and I decided to keep things simple. Since my parents are definitely not going to be attending, and his mother definitely is, we thought it would only make sense to have the two most important women in our lives walk us down the aisle. So, while he will be escorted by his mother, I will be making the walk down to the altar with Ava by my side.

When it came to picking a best man, Blaise, Derek and Angel drew straws and Blaise won. Which seems fitting really, all things considered. On Hudson’s side, he asked his friend Carlos to stand up with him. I have yet to meet him, but if he’s important to my fiancé, he’s already important to me. As for Derek and Angel, we split them up evenly and each took one. As far as picking a side of the aisle, we left that part up to them. The way my life has been turning out lately, I’m really starting to enjoy the element of surprise.

“Alright, we’ve got the ring. What’s next on the list?” Ava scrolls across the screen of her phone. Even though it isn’t actually her wedding, she’s pretty much treating it as if it is. Calls it her ‘dress rehearsal’, but only when Blaise isn’t around to hear it. Anyway, as part of her little practice run, she’s insisting on being copied and pasted into every email Paris, our wedding planner, sends out.

“Okay, we need to go finalize the cake.”

I shake my head. “Nope. Hudson and his mom are taking care of that.” Maxine has been in town for nearly a week already. Ever since I met her over Christmas, she’s been busy making up for all the years I was motherless. No one is shocked when Max and Ava declare they’re new BFFs, and I finally understand why Hudson wasn’t more put off by my overbearing and outspoken friends. And, the added bonus is, of course, finding yet another thing to love about him. His mother.

Meanwhile, Ava is seriously disappointed regarding the cake situation.

“What do you mean? I was really looking forward to going back there. It’s a bakery. They have cake. Lots of it. And one of them was Nutella flavored.”

“If I tell you that we included it as one of the five flavors in our insane cake and then take you to the cupcake shop one block over right now, will you stop asking why Hudson went to finalize the cake for his wedding?”

She nods. “Okay.”

One of the jewelers who helped us earlier comes and gets the door for us. They had to lock us inside for security reasons. Unfortunately, those reasons are still waiting for us when we step out onto the sidewalk.

“Royce, is it true you’ve bought an engagement ring?” It’s the first question I can actually make out among the shouting.

“No. It’s not true.” I take Ava’s hand and proceed to lead her through the crowd toward her car, which is parked merely a few feet in front of us. Of course, it could have been miles what with the major speed bumps wielding cameras we’re hitting.

To distract them while Ava makes a run for it and starts the car, I raise my hand holding the fancy paper bag containing my ring and call out loudly, “It’s a wedding band. I’m getting married.”

More questions ensue, none of which I understand specifically, but I gather what’s at the center of all of their inquiring is the identity of my fiancé. So, taking a deep breath and feeling my heart swell with the joy that comes from simply fucking saying his name, I smile and announce, “Kieran Hudson. I’m getting married to Kieran Hudson.”

Then, taking full advantage of having stumped the paparazzi for the first time ever, I run for the car and jump in.

Two hours later, I’m strolling in through my front door, a bag of cupcakes in hand.

“Babe?”

“In the kitchen,” he calls back.

I wander in, planting a kiss on him as I pass him while heading toward the fridge with my leftover baked goods. “So, I went ahead and took care of sending out our wedding announcements while I was out.”

He stops chopping the veggies he has laid out on the counter for dinner. “What are you talking about?”

“Ava and I ran into some local representatives of the media while we were out and I arranged for them to run it.” I grin. “Pretty sure shouting out that I’m marrying a man will get us front page coverage. I know you were worried about some of your family back in Texas not hearing the news, so you know, thought I’d take care of that for you.”

Hudson stares back at me, stunned. “Who are you?”

“I’m still me. But with you.” My hands land on his hips and I pull him toward me.

“If someone like you could love me, there must be something there that’s worth something.”

He smiles, softening the contours of his handsome face. “It’s worth everything.”

His lips come up to meet mine and I’m about to taste what I’ve been missing all day. Then.

“Hey, boys. What’s cooking?”

Having Max here is no different from living with Ava really.

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