“What has you frowning?” Hudson asks. I open my eyes and find him on his side, facing me. He pulls me closer to him, his strong hand landing on my thigh. My thoughts go to last night, his admissions. Being with him would be as easy as breathing… if we lived in the same area, had a similar lifestyle.
“I was thinking about how much Abby is going to miss Presley and Lucas… And how much I’m going to miss them… and you.”
Hudson nods. “It doesn’t have to be like this…”
“And what—we agree to do the long-distance thing? I go home and teach while you travel all over playing football. We’ll try to see each other on a weekend you aren’t playing or during a holiday break. We’ll miss each other, but the stress of trying to make it work will tear us apart. It will confuse the kids, and in the end, we won’t be able to make it work.”
I roll onto my stomach and prop myself up on his chest, so we’re face-to-face. “We’re the perfect case of wrong timing. I would rather walk away Saturday morning on good terms, feeling blessed to have met you. When I look back at this trip, at the pictures and memories, I want to remember the fun times we had, and I don’t want them being soiled by our attempt to make something more out of this.”
Hudson shakes his head. “I don’t like this. I don’t want to agree to that.”
“I don’t either,” I admit, “but it’s what’s for the best. Meeting you and your kids was such an unexpected surprise, one I’ll never forget. But we’re on two different paths that aren’t destined to cross.”
“What if they do?” Hudson asks. “What if our paths one day cross?”
“Then I guess we’ll see where they take us.”
“No peeking,” Hudson says, guiding me through the sand.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see…”
Tomorrow morning, Abby and I are leaving at six, so the kids are spending their last night together with Joanie watching them while Hudson takes me on our last date before we part ways. I told him I think it’s best if Abby and I spend the night in our room, so it’s easier to get ready to go. It’ll be early, and we don’t want to disturb everyone. It will also be a lot harder to say goodbye tomorrow morning instead of tonight. Thankfully, he agreed.
“If you walk me out into the ocean, I’m going to kill you.”
Hudson chuckles but doesn’t say anything. A minute later, we stop, and he steps behind me, encircling his arms around me. “Okay, you can remove your blindfold.”
It takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust in the dark, but once I do, I’m completely taken aback by the sight in front of me. There’s a large private cabana situated in the sand with blankets and pillows covering the ground. Tiki torches surround the area to add a hint of light in the darkness.
Hudson turns me around so I can see the other half of his surprise. An oversized blowup screen is several feet away with a stilled image projecting against it.
“We’re watching a movie out here?” I breathe in awe of what he’s done.
“Yep. It’s just the two of us. I spoke to the owner of the property, and since it’s private, no one will bother us.”
I glance around and realize that while we’re on the beach, the hotel isn’t in the background. Instead, it’s only overgrown shrubbery and the peaks of a couple of houses. We must’ve walked farther than I thought.
“This is amazing,” I tell Hudson, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing my lips to his for a chaste kiss. “What movie are we watching?”
He takes my hand and walks us over to the cabana. We kick off our flip-flops and drop onto the feather-like pillows and blankets. When he clicks play and the title of the movie appears, I squeal in excitement.
“Are you freaking serious? This movie isn’t even out yet!” I’ve been reading the book again in preparation for the movie that comes out next month, and I told Hudson as much one night when he asked what I was reading on my e-reader.
“I got the hookup,” he says with a shrug. “I called in a favor and had it overnighted. I also got all your favorites.” He points at the small table filled with popcorn and candy and drinks. “I figured if I only have one last night with you, I better make it count.”
The fact that he did all this isn’t what makes my heart flutter in my chest. It’s that he paid attention to what I was saying, to what I’m interested in, to what I like. One day, when he meets the right woman at the right time, he’s going to make an amazing husband. I have no doubt he already was one to Clara. And it breaks my heart that he has to start all over again. He did everything right, yet he still ended up heartbroken.