Page 34 of Waiting for Forever
“I don’t care about that, Hudson. I knew you were bidding on jobs. I’m thrilled you landed a project so quickly.”
Hudson hadn’t gone into any detail about the jobs he was bidding on, claiming he didn’t want to jinx things. Regardless, due to context clues, she was able to figure out which job he’d landed.
“You do realize my dad works in the courthouse you’re going to be renovating.”
Hudson grimaced, though he didn’t look all that upset. Regardless, he never passed up the chance to give her a hard time regarding Dad. “Don’t remind me.”
She gave him a light slap on the chest, then lowered her head to his pec again. It was so cozy being tucked against him.“Mom mentioned city council had approved the budget for the renovations last week, when she and I talked on the phone, but she didn’t know who’d won the bid.”
Paige’s mom was seriously one of her best friends, and they talked on the phone at least once every other day, something that seemed to amuse Hudson.
Mom would be delighted by this turn of events, as she’d been not so subtly suggesting that Paige ask Hudson out on a date. Apparently,bothher parents were worried about her long-standing single status.
“So what’s the job involve?” she asked.
“They want to do a total facelift, because the building was built in the fifties and very little has been improved since then. However, the taxpayers aren’t ready to support that kind of expense all in one fell swoop, so the city council divided the project into three stages. For this round, my crew and I will be renovating one of the two courtrooms in the courthouse and a conference room. If that goes well, in a year or so, they’ll hire Ryan Construction to renovate the second courtroom and the offices. The third stage might not happen for a few years, but it involves updating the interior hallways, front foyer, public restrooms, etcetera. The entire building is currently stuck in the stone ages. Sound familiar?”
“Changes come slow in Maris. Dad said the only reason city council agreed to the construction in the first place was because someone tripped and fell on the threadbare carpeting on their way to his bench. Sounds like you’ll have your work cut out for you.”
“I like a challenge. The job doesn’t officially start for a few more weeks, so I was hoping to convince you to let me move your plumbing overhaul up on the to-do list.”
Paige had already mentally done that, aware her days with Hudson serving as her handyman were numbered, and it wasstupid to have a professional plumber stripping wallpaper when her pipe concerns were real and not going anywhere. “I think that’s a great idea.”
Hudson placed a kiss on the top of her head. “Good. I can’t wait to get those ancient pipes out of here. Wait until you see the difference it will make in your water pressure. You think you love this house now…”
“The house already looks a million times better, and we haven’t even started making it pretty yet.”
“It’s a great home, Princess. Not sure too many people would have looked at it and seen beyond the horror show. You were smart to snatch it up.”
It wasn’t the first time Hudson had reassured her she’d made a good purchase. She’d genuinely believed so at first, but tiny kernels of doubt had begun to creep in after seeing the faces of her family members when they’d helped her move in.
“Thanks, Hudson,” she said, sighing peacefully.
They talked for a little while longer, about the house and what an asshole Beck was and even the weather, until her eyes got heavy. Hudson’s breathing evened out and deepened as he fell asleep, and she let the soothing sound and gentle rise and fall of his chest push her into dreamland as well.
Chapter Seven
“Okay. So that’s it for now.” Hudson finished handing out assignments, dismissing his crew to start work. Today was their first day at the courthouse, and Hudson was equal parts excited and anxious. This project would be his first true test as a contractor and a business owner. He’d landed the job on his own. Now, he needed to prove he and his crew could do the work.
There was a lot riding on this, and he was determined to succeed.
Especially since everything in his personal life was finally clicking into place. It had been three weeks since he and Paige spent that first night together, and there hadn’t been too many since where they’d slept apart.
Hudson wasn’t prone to flights of fancy, but if someone asked him to describe his relationship with Paige, he’d call it a whirlwind. An all-in, perfect whirlwind. With the exception of his dad, he’d never spent so much time with one other person.
The two of them woke up each morning, wrapped in each other’s arms in Paige’s bed. More often than not, they started their day with a quickie…or a not-so-quickie. From there, they showered, then ate breakfast together. If Paige had work, sheheaded to the restaurant as he continued tackling things on her to-do list. If she was off, the two of them worked—and played—together.
They’d christened no less than five of the rooms in her place, neither very good at keeping their hands off the other. At the beginning, their home repair sexual innuendoes had just been humorous, but now, they hit differently. They had a tendency to take the jokes to the next level, then the next, until suddenly he was dragging her jeans to her knees and bending her over the nearest flat surface.
It was madness. It was bliss.
He never wanted it to end.
Hudson had never used the word forever for anything. But every night as the two of them fell asleep in each other’s arms, he prayed it lasted forever.
Granddad knew what was up…obviously. After the fourth night in a row of Hudson not making it back to his own bed, Granddad cornered him when he came home for clean clothes. The dear old man was thrilled, swearing Hudson would be the one to break the Ryan curse once and for all. Since then, he and Paige had eaten dinner at Granddad’s at least once a week, and she’d even served as his assistant, helping Hudson do little small jobs around his grandfather’s place.
Surprisingly, he and Paige had somehow managed to fly under the radar as far as Maris gossip was concerned, but Hudson didn’t expect that to last forever. In small towns, gossip was more prized than gold, and he suspected there were quite a few locals who would be entertained by the love story of Maris’ perfect princess and the bad boy.
