Page 11 of Waiting for Forever
Dropping the carpet to the ground, she turned slowly, then narrowed her eyes. “Not long enough.”
Hudson had the nerve to chuckle. “Still don’t like me, huh?”
“Is that a rhetorical question?”
Paige didn’t have a clue why Hudson Ryan was here, but if he was expecting to find the awkward, cowardly mouse she’d been in high school, he was going to be sorely disappointed. Hudson had been all swagger and no heart when they were younger, an asshole to pretty much everyone, but he seemed to take extra special pride in making her life unbearable. He constantly stole her food, destroyed her stuff, and taunted her whenever she spoke up in class, calling her Princess in that derisive tone of his.
She wasn’t completely sure why she became his primary target, though she suspected it had something to do with her dad, and the fact Hudson had stood before Dad’s bench quite a few times. Hudson was always in trouble with the law and in school. He smoked, cussed a blue streak, and barely passed his classes. Outside of school, he’d been caught shoplifting,vandalizing various businesses around town, and he was pretty much always stoned.
Hudson Ryan was bad news with a capital B.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“At your house or in Maris?”
“Both,” she snapped.
Hudson grinned. “As it happens, the answer is the same. I’m moving back to take over my granddad’s business.”
“Ryan Construction?”
Hudson nodded.
Paige sniffed. “I suppose you’d have to work for your grandfather, because I can’t imagine anyone else would hire you with your criminal record.”
Rather than letting her insult land, Hudson merely looked amused. “I was underage when I did all that shit, so I’ve managed to land plenty of jobs. I heard from Macie that you’re looking for a contractor.”
“You heard her wrong. I’m looking for a handyman.”
Hudson waved his hands in the air. “I’m pretty handy.”
She laughed in his face and shook her head. He had to be out of his ever-loving mind. “No way in hell.”
Hudson sighed, and some of his cockiness faded. “I know I wasn’t very nice to you in school.”
She all but snarled because talk about understatement of the year. “You were a bully and an asshole.” Paige didn’t feel as if they needed to mince words. She didn’t give a crap about hurting Hudson’s feelings, because he sure as shit had never cared about hers.
“You’re right. I was.”
She didn’t reply, waiting for him to add something obnoxious. When he didn’t say more, she simply crossed her arms, hoping he’d get the message that she wasn’t interested in talking to him or rehashing the bad times.
“I’m sorry,” he said, with enough sincerity that Paige found herself believing him. Then she recalled his purpose for being here. He needed a job. No doubt he figured a stupid apology—twelve years too late—would soften her enough that she’d hire him.
“You’re not forgiven.” It was a petty response, but for some reason, hurts inflicted in youth were harder to overcome. She’d been a gangly girl in high school with thick glasses, braces, and a rather boring, not-at-all-cool sense of style, thanks to a conservative father who didn’t think mini-skirts, tank tops, or shorts were appropriate for school, even though all the other girls were wearing them.
Needless to say, Hudson wasn’t the only kid who’d bullied her. Though he’d been the worst by far.
Hudson didn’t seem surprised by the venom in her tone. “You shouldn’t forgive me. I was a dick to you…for years. I could offer a bunch of reasons why I behaved the way I did, but in truth, they’d just be lame excuses. I was angry at the world back then, and I took it out on you.”
Shit. Now she really didn’t know what to say, because there was no question he was being genuine. She prided herself on always trying to take the high road, but she wasn’t sure she could make that journey with Hudson.
“Fine,” she said, even though it was a complete throwaway response.
“Fine?” he questioned.
“Fine. I appreciate you stopping by to apologize. But as you can see,” she gestured to the carpet lying by her feet, “I’m very busy, so?—”
“So you bought old Ms. Bly’s house,” he observed, studying her new home. “Pretty big, isn’t it? What’s it have? Three, four bedrooms? Two, two and a half baths?”
