Page 23 of Waiting for Forever
Hudson waved his hand. “Never mind. So you’re just doing dinner and coming home? Because if that’s the case, I could start tackling that pantry-slash-broom closet and you could join me after. Doesn’t sound like the date is going to take long.” He told himself that offer was based on him getting the job done, and not because he was curious to see this douchebag she was going out with.
Douchebag?
Jesus. He really was jealous of the guy.
“Oh.” Paige appeared to consider his offer, then her shoulders slumped. “Better call it a night now. He mentioned going dancing at Cruisers after dinner.”
If she looked unenthusiastic about dinner, that feeling was tripled as she mentioned the dancing. He was tempted to ask her why she was going out with the guy, but that would be crossing a line. They were only just beginning to build a friendship, but they hadn’t reached that level of personal sharing yet.
“Okay, then. I’ll just grab my stuff and get out of your way so you can get ready.”
Paige smiled. “Thanks.” She lifted her arms, gesturing around the foyer. “This really does look great.”
“Just wait until we sand the walls and paint. Unless…” Hudson was getting ahead of himself.
Paige tilted her head. “Unless?”
The fact she didn’t seem to realize the timeframe on their trial run had elapsed set his mind at ease. “It’s been a month.”
“Oh, right. Well,” she lifted one shoulder, “I think it’s working out great.”
Hudson breathed a sigh of relief. “So do I. And we’ve made some amazing headway. I’m pretty invested in the work now. Can’t wait to see some of these rooms completed.”
Paige knew it wasn’t feasible—timewise or financially—to tackle the whole house at once. So, she’d decided to renovate the primary living spaces, pushing the other rooms off until “someday.”
“Great,” she said.
Her goal was to finish the kitchen, living room, dining room, her office, as well as the master bedroom and bathroom by the end of summer, so that she could host a housewarming party for her family. The two guest bedrooms, other bathrooms, sunroom, and bonus room were going to remain as-is for now.
He considered telling her about the job he’d just landed, then decided to break that to her later. Hudson hadn’t mentioned the offer because he’d been worried about jinxing it. Hell, he hadn’t even mentioned it to Granddad until the contract was written and ready to be signed.
He picked up his tool belt, swinging it over his arm. The new job wasn’t scheduled to start for a few more weeks, so he was hoping to convince Paige to let him start on the plumbing issues now, even though it wasn’t next on her list. He’d discuss it with her tomorrow.
Hudson was strangely bothered by how anxious she was to get ready for this date. She didn’t sound like she wanted to go, but she was definitely in a hurry for him to leave. She’d also managed to avoid giving him the guy’s name.
“Have a good time tonight with…”
Paige didn’t take the bait. “Thanks,” she said. Then added, “For everything, Hudson.”
The smile Paige gave him as he left hit him hard square in the middle of his chest, cracking open a heart he’d always believed was made of stone.
Jesus Christ.
He was falling for Paige Sparks.
Hard.
Hudson kicked back in the barstool, letting his eyes glance across the large room. He pretended he was searching for familiar faces from high school, but the truth was, he was essentially spying on Paige, who’d shown up with her date half an hour earlier. She’d looked mildly surprised to see him sitting at the bar. Actually, she’d looked somewhat panicked, though he couldn’t understand why. It wasn’t like he intended to make some sort of scene or ruin her date.
He didn’t even plan to approach her. The two of them had exchanged brief waves from across the room while her date stopped to chat with someone at another table, and that was as far as he planned to take it.
When he left Paige’s house, he was certain his night consisted of nothing more than BLTs and soup with Granddad, after which they’d catch a baseball game on TV. However, fate had decided to tempt him when one of his old buddies called and invited him to Cruisers.
Hudson, who didn’t believe in God, karma, or voodoo, had decided it was a sign and agreed to join Ronnie McCarty for a beer or two.
Which in hindsight was a bad idea, because he and Ronnie were friends in high school for a reason. They’d both been assholes.
Ronnie was actually the one who’d stupidly pitched the still-lit joint inside old man Potter’s shed, igniting the fire, but he’d managed to avoid getting caught. Mr. Potter could only chase down one of them after they’d split up, taking off in different directions. Hudson had drawn the short straw, so it washisass that had been hauled before Judge Sparks’ bench, and his sorry hide that had been forced to rebuild the shed, with his Granddad’s help. Granddad had made him work to pay back the cost of replacing the shed every weekend for three months.Ronnie had gotten off scot-free because Hudson refused to rat him out.
