I should be over the moon, but I can’t get Hudson out of my mind. I’m missing him desperately. We’ve tried so hard to stay connected, despite the distance, but it’s beginning to wear on me. I’m not sure how much longer we can keep this up. I’m aching to be in his arms again, to see his handsome face and dark eyes. It’s so bad, I think I see him wherever I go. In fact, as I enter the lobby to Bailey’s studio, I think I see him sitting on one of the waiting area couches.
He’s even standing up and hurrying toward me with that grin I’ve imagined so many times over the past months.
It’s only when he picks me up and twirls me around in a huge hug that I realize he’s really here. I’m so stunned, I can’t speak. I can barely think, only hang onto him for dear life.
“Did you miss me as much as I missed you?” he asks when he sets me back on my feet.
I throw my arms around him again, not caring that the receptionist’s eyes are bugging out. “More,” I say, kissing him. “Are you really here?”
He nods, smiling so wide, I think my heart will burst. He’s as handsome as I remember.
“I’m really here. I came to see you. I couldn’t take it anymore.”
I pull him down a hallway and into a fabric storage room where we’re free of prying eyes. “I can’t take it anymore, either,” I say, already sliding my hands under his t-shirt. His hard, rippling muscles under my palms make me sway toward him.
He laughs and pulls my hands away and kisses them, his eyes shining. “I don’t want to be apart from you anymore,” he says urgently. “These last few months have been torture.”
“For me, too,” I admit, feeling my eyes fill with tears, but I blink them away. A visit won’t be enough, but I’m going to be grateful for it and get my fill of him while he’s here.
He suddenly drops my hands and gets a serious look. “Is everything okay?” he asks. I nod vigorously, but he’s not satisfied by this. “Do you not believe that I love you, that I’ve missed you? Is it because you don’t love me anymore?”
I swallow hard, but I’m not afraid to put my feelings on the line. “I do love you,” I tell him. “I love you more than I can put into words. I just can’t stand the thought of you leaving, of being apart from you again.”
His beaming smile is back, and he reaches into his pocket. “I really never want to be apart from you again, either,” he says, snapping open the small box. There’s a beautiful, square-cut white diamond surrounded by smaller, pale pink ones. How does he know that’s my absolute dream ring? I sniffle and look up at him, smiling at his expectant face.
“You made friends with my sister,” I say.
“I made her go shopping with me for this,” he admits. “She swore she wouldn’t tell you, despite twin code.” He shakes his head and holds the ring out. “Marry me, Cara. I know it seems crazy, but we’re the real deal. I know it.”
“I know it, too.” I let him slide the ring on my finger and then wrap him in a hug. “How will this work? I can’t give up my job here.” The wheels start spinning, but he stops my anxious thoughts with a deep kiss.
“I know,” he says. “That’s why I made sure to get picked by the team here. It’s a slight pay drop from the first team that wanted me, but it’s still a lot of money. And you can finish design school.”
I’m stunned that he did that for me and pull him behind a rack of muslin. We’re pulling each other’s clothes off as we ease our way to the floor. I don’t think about being discovered or fired. My only concern is getting his cock out of his jeans and inside me as fast as I can.
“Easy there, tiger,” he says when I pull him hard against me.
I shake my head. “We have a lifetime for easy,” I say, blind with hunger for him. “I’ve been waiting way too long. And besides, I have to get to work.”
“You put up a good argument,” he tells me, groaning when I wrap my hand around his huge length and stroke up and down.
My skirt is up over my hips and my panties are down around my ankles a second later. He pauses to kiss the inside of my thigh, and my throbbing pussy is more than ready for his tongue. He laps at my clit, and I’m transported by bliss. It’s not just his mouth working me to a heady fervor, but the fact we don’t have to be apart anymore. My brain tells me things aren’t going to be that easy, but my heart tells it to shut the hell up. Hudson loves me, and I love him. The fact he’s been working all these months for us to be together makes me as happy as the way he’s licking my body.
The moment his cock moves deep inside me, I come, grabbing a handful of nearby muslin to muffle my cries. He kisses me, parting my lips as he thrusts hard and fast, finally spilling inside me and collapsing onto my chest. He quickly rolls over and pulls me close, burying his face in my hair. He’s trembling as much as I am.
“This is where we start, baby,” he tells me. “I can’t wait to see what happens next.”
I smile against his shoulder, already imagining all the wonderful things we’ll do together.
Epilogue
Cara
Ten years later
I wake up on the morning of my first ever debut at New York Fashion week. I’ve been sick with nerves the whole week, trying to make sure everything will be perfect. I know I’ll need to be at the tent soon, but want to stay in bed with Hudson as long as possible before I get caught up in the whirlwind of the show.
We never closed the hotel curtains the night before, and the early morning sun casts a warm glow over his muscular shoulder as he sleeps peacefully. I’m so glad he was able to work his schedule to be here with me, and I’m even more glad he’s retiring after this season. It’s been tough with all the traveling, trying to be together as much as possible while he plays, and I split my time maintaining my two boutiques, one here in New York, and the other back home in Boston. It’s tough, but also an amazing adventure, and no matter what comes up with our careers, we always put each other first.