Page 77 of Summer Love

I looked up at him. "Yes, it is."

I saved and closed out the document, not quite ready for him to read it. Then I stood, wrapping my arms around his middle. "I was thinking of doing a little section on each of your brothers, maybe with a few facts, so everyone can get to know them a bit."

He looked down at me. "That's a good idea."

I dropped my gaze to his T-shirt that was covered in a fine coating of dust. "I'll need to ask them questions, but I could do it at the photo shoot while they're getting hair and makeup done."

His nose scrunched. "There're going to be hair and makeup for this thing?"

I grinned. "It's a photo shoot."

Hudson groaned. "It sounds like torture. Is there any way we could avoid doing the photo shoot?"

I laughed. "Not for a magazine article. But it will be over soon enough, and you can get back to your solitary ways."

His gaze turned thoughtful. "I'm going to miss having an assistant at work."

I patted his chest with one hand. "I'm fairly sure I'm holding you back. You'll be surprised at how quickly you can work when you're by yourself again."

His expression was dubious. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Remember my incessant chatter and music playlist," I recited the things that he'd complained about when we started working together.

He pulled me more tightly to him with a hand on my ass. "I'm going to miss this."

"Uh-huh."

"And this." He dipped his mouth to mine, kissing me slow and deep. It was too intimate, considering that my grandmother was somewhere downstairs.

I pulled back, my lips slightly swollen. "We should check on Grams and see about dinner."

"We should." He looked around my room. "Why don't you pack a bag for tonight?"

"You want me to spend the night?" I asked.

"I like having you in my bed."

A smile curved my lips. "I can do that."

He grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the door. "Let's make dinner for Grams."

I loved that he put Grams first and didn't get annoyed that I wanted to make sure she was taken care of.

I needed to talk to him about keeping our relationship quiet until after the magazine article was published. But I couldn't bring myself to mention it now.

Things between us were so new. I had plenty of time to discuss it with him. Right now, I didn't like the idea of broaching it.

ChapterEighteen

HUDSON

This week, Elena spent more time at home drafting her article. Her absence at work made things infinitely duller. I thought it would be awful to have her on the jobsite, but now that she was gone, I could see all the ways she brightened the day just by being herself.

She was always eager to lend a hand and curious about how everything worked. She kept up a constant litany of questions and insisted on playing music in the background. Without her, it was disturbingly quiet.

I needed to get used to the silence and working alone, because this is how it was before she came into my life. I found myself gravitating toward the crew more and more, offering my assistance.

"You miss the girl," Ralph finally remarked when I offered my assistance again.

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