Page 22 of Waiting for Forever
Originally, he’d chalked up the attraction as a physical thing. While teenaged Paige had been skinny, and as awkward as a baby giraffe learning to walk, she’d fucking bloomed in the years since. Nowadays, she was still trim, but she’d acquired curves in all the right places. Not to mention, she was goddamned beautiful with her cute little button nose, high cheekbones, and thickly lashed onyx-colored eyes.
There was no denying, she’d turned his head since his return to town.
But the more he got to know her, the less it was her looks driving his attraction.
Nope. It was all the other things that made her Paige.
She was a damn hard worker, an interesting conversationalist, and a hell of a lot funnier than he would have expected. She had a wicked and—at times—inappropriate sense of humor that matched his own. Home improvement opened itself up to lots of sexual innuendoes and dirty jokes. He was used to making those with the guys on the previous crews he’dworked with, but he hadn’t expected Paige to start slipping dirty little jokes in.
It all started when she was struggling with a nail, and he’d told her to “hammer it in harder.” An innocuous comment, until Paige retorted, “That’s what she said.” After that, it was on. Most days, they spent way too much time laughing their asses off together as they made countless dirty construction jokes.
If Paige was some woman he’d met out socially in Dallas, either at a party or bar, he would have asked her back to his place by now. But this was Paige. The girl he’d tormented. He was pretty damn sure she’d laugh him into the next county if he asked her out on a date.
“I’m afraid I can’t work on the house tonight,” she replied.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “Got a hot date or something?”
Paige grimaced. “I wouldn’t say hot.”
He frowned. Paige hadn’t gone out once in the past month, not on dates or even with friends. He got the sense she was one of those people who were perfectly content keeping their own company. He understood that because he was the same. He enjoyed the far-too-occasional moments of solitude.
For the last twelve years, he’d shared an apartment with his dad, not because he couldn’t afford his own place but because hisdadcouldn’t. Then, Dad got sick. So for the past three years, he was less Dad’s roommate and more his caregiver.
Nowadays, he was living with Granddad, and they hadn’t discussed whether that would be long or short term. While Granddad was fine living on his own, he’d mentioned on more than one occasion how nice it was having someone else in the house, which told Hudson his grandfather had been lonely. Plus, the guy was getting older, and when the rheumatoid arthritis flared up, he needed help with stuff around the house.
“Youaregoing out on a date?” Hudson asked, with more surprise than he probably should have revealed.
Paige narrowed her eyes. “What’s so shocking about that?”
“Nothing,” he hastily replied. “I just didn’t think you were seeing anyone.”
“This guy isn’t a boyfriend. It’s just a date.”
“Who is he? Do I know him?”
Paige hesitated just long enough that he knew she didn’t want to tell him. “You wouldn’t know him. He moved to Maris a few years ago. He plays golf with my dad.”
Hudson rolled his eyes. “Of course, he does.”
Paige huffed out an annoyed breath, as she always did whenever he made snide comments about her father. He swore to behave himself, but it was like the mere mention or thought of Judge Sparks had him reverting back to that same punk kid he’d been years ago.
“So where is the golfer taking you?” he asked, sounding like the jealous ass he was.
“Not that many choices for date night in Maris. Since my family owns one of the two decent restaurants in town—and I have no interest in having my date under the noses of Macie and Uncle TJ—I suspect we’ll go to Santucci’s.”
Santucci’s was an Italian restaurant, and it wasn’t half bad. Personally, if Hudson was going to spend money eating out, it was going to be at Sparks, but Santucci’s was a decent second choice.
“If you’re hoping to get lucky,” he teased, “you might want to skip the garlic bread.”
Paige snorted. “No one will be getting lucky.”
Hudson couldn’t shake the feeling that Paige wasn’t exactly excited about this date. “Is this your first date with the guy?”
Paige sighed. “Nope. My third.”
Hudson tried to piece that information together with the fact she hadn’t gone out with the guy in the month he’d been working with her. “Has he been out of town?”
She shook her head, clearly confused by his question. “No. Why?”
