Page 34 of Worth the Risk

PIPER

Looking into my cup of tea, I dip the bag as I sit waiting at a table. I feel a smile threatening to stretch on my mouth as I recall in my head the last few days.

Gosh, Hudson does something to make me feel alive.

Every conversation is light, every joke a laugh, and he is one of those people who lives life without a care in the world. And he’s asking me to come along for the ride.

That’s what it is, right? Fun. That’s what it should be, but I can’t shake the feeling that Hudson Arrows is a lightning strike that hits deep inside of me.

The pure thought spreads warmth inside of me, and I smile to myself.

“Hey, Ginger,” April greets me as she slides her purse onto the high-top table.

I gently shake my head to bring me back to the present. “Hey there, stranger.”

“I ordered a gin and tonic when I came in. Why are you drinking tea?” She smiles in bewilderment as she adjusts her hair and sits on the stool.

Looking at my drink and then April, my mouth parts open but stalls. In truth, I’m drinking tea to ensure alcohol doesn’t influence what I say to April. Already, I feel slightly sour in my stomach from my lies, and a few nerves float inside of me.

“Saving myself for my grandmother’s dinner tomorrow. You know how she gets with serving wine,” I explain half-heartedly.

April seems to accept that answer, and she thanks the waiter for bringing her drink. “How was Austin?” She sips from her lemon-slice-rimmed glass.

“Austin?”

“Yeah, you had that fashion expo thing. You went to Texas, no?”

Right, I did say that. “It was normal. Nothing exciting, just good to network. So, tell me about wedding planning.” I’m quick to divert our topic.

April frowns. “Okay, I guess.”

“What do you mean? Haven’t you started to talk about venues or something?”

She shrugs and takes another drink. “Not really. Jeff has been busy this week.”

I reach out to touch her hand. “That kind of conversation needs a lot of attention, so if he has been busy, then it’s probably not the best time,” I do my best to assure her. Squeezing her hand, I tell her something to make her smile. “I began to play around with a design for your dress. I forgot the sketches at my office, which by the way I’ll need to move out of next month. The landlord confirmed it today.”

“Yay for dress designs. Boo for office. What are you going to do?”

I bob my head side to side as I sink my shoulders and lean back. “I don’t know. Something inside me says to wait it out and have my living room become a chaotic nightmare of boxes until I figure out a more concrete option. My grandmother has a storage unit in her building that she said I could borrow. I’m trying not to think about it.”

“Did my lobster statue curse you?” She attempts to smile.

“Nah. He may still bring me good luck, but I don’t see it yet.”

April’s eyes scan around the room and then she scoffs a laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“My uncle is on the TV.”

My eyes snap in the direction of the flatscreen over the bar. When I arrived it was playing the sports channel… which now in retrospect shouldn’t be surprising.

I can’t look away. I can’t hear what he’s saying, but Hudson is sitting in an interview, with that winning grin that makes me want to melt. The screen bounces back and forth between him speaking and a replay of a football game.

“He always knows how to schmooze for the camera. I remember this documentary, a sort of history of Hudson Arrows becoming one of the best coaches of our time. They really missed out on interviewing me.” I can hear her joke in the last sentence.

I study the screen more intently and realize the replay is of a younger Hudson playing football, before the blonde-haired interviewer asks another one of her questions, which causes Hudson to smile in this suave manner that makes me internally shake my head, amused. He’s charming everyone.

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