Page 17 of Waiting for Forever
If she didn’t think about it or bring it up, she wouldn’t be forced to question her wisdom in hiring him. And he was being careful not to remind her of all the reasons why he probably shouldn’t be working for her.
They were just two weeks in on their month-long trial run. The first week had been the honeymoon phase, as they worked harmoniously, chiseling away at her list more quickly than she’dexpected. Hudson was a hell of a worker, and while Bobby had only been here a few days before his unfortunate accident, there was no comparison between the men.
She’d traded way the hell up.
This week, however, Hudson had started to question the schedule, pointing out that they’d be wiser to tackle some tasks before others. He kept insisting on moving into the office, tearing down the ceiling and walls, so that he could get a proper look at the plumbing.
For right now, he’d basically put a Band-Aid on the slow leak problem, cutting out a small section of the ceiling, using pressure-rated pipe repair tape to solve her problem for the short-term.
Paige insisted she wasn’t ready for the mess that tearing down the drywall would involve. She preferred to finish stripping the wallpaper and getting the carpet out first. She supposed it made sense that the plumber would want to move on to that, since stripping wallpaper was as thrilling as watching hair grow.
It would also probably be smarter of her to make use of the plumber while he was here and had the time.
Unfortunately, that argument with Hudson had occurred on the same day her dad found out she’d hired her former bully, and she’d been subjected to countless questions from Dad that she hadn’t had good answers to. Primarily, if she’d asked Hudson for references, or even a resume to prove the man could actually do what he said.
“That arson was the result of a lit joint, wasn’t it?” she asked.
“Fucking small towns,” he muttered. “Everyone always knows all the details.”
“Uncle TJ is very thorough with his storytelling,” she joked. “Given the way I’m feeling right now, I wouldn’t mind risking a fire if you had some pot you were willing to share.”
Hudson’s eyes widened. “What? The perfect princess wants to smoke pot with Maris’ OG bad boy? Think of the scandal.”
Paige snorted. “We’d throw those stupid high school clichés on their heads if we got caught, wouldn’t we?”
“We would. They really are stupid clichés, but damn if they don’t stick.”
“Still getting the hairy eyeball from folks around town?”
“Some. I’m pretty sure Mrs. Wainwright locked her car door the other day when I walked by her on the sidewalk. Like I was going to drag her out from behind the wheel and steal the thing. She drives a goddamn minivan.”
Paige laughed, then leaned toward him, bumping her shoulder against his. “Give them time. They’ll soon see that you’ve changed. Meanwhile, I’m destined to be a goodie-goodie for all of eternity.”
“That’s a bad thing?”
Paige shrugged. “I guess not. But one of these days, I swear I’m going to cut loose and do something so wild and crazy, the locals will have gossip about me that’s more interesting than my perfect attendance or MBA.”
“What’s wrong with them talking about that?”
“Other than the fact they scream boooooring? Sadly, those are apparently the only memorable things about me. How depressing is that?”
“You’re making me sorry I don’t have any pot in my truck. Gave that up along with the cigarettes the year I turned twenty-one. I could start drinking legally, so hitting the bar and splitting a few pitchers with my colleagues became my vice. Less expensive and less illegal. Texas really doesn’t want us to be happy.”
“Wow, you’re as boring as me these days.”
“Watch it.” Hudson reached over, ruffling her hair playfully, as she tried to bat his hand away. There were moments—like thisone—where it felt surreal to have Hudson Ryan in her house, the two of them chatting like old friends, rather than the bully and his victim.
“Guess it’s ultimately up to us to reinvent ourselves,” she mused. “Like you’re doing.”
“It would be a hell of a lot easier if there was some button we could push to do a complete reboot after graduation. Some way we could shed all the high school crap and become the adult version of ourselves instantly. No muss, no fuss, no dark pasts hanging over our heads.”
Paige considered that, then joked, “I think I was my adult version in high school.”
Hudson laughed. “No way. You’re much cooler nowadays.”
Paige was ridiculously thrilled by that comment.
“So…did you break it to your dad that you hired me yet?” Hudson asked.
