24. Hudson

HUDSON

The only way I stopped myself from driving to Caroline’s sorority house was that I didn’t want to draw any attention to the fact that the photo is of her. The last thing I want is for the media to discover that she’s the girl in the photo.

Imagine if they knew we’d been seeing each other in secret for months.

They’d camp outside the damn sorority house just to get a shot of her.

I’ve spent the last couple of hours fixing shit around my house that wasn’t even really broken to begin with, puttering around with things to keep my mind busy until I decided to get in the pool and swim laps. It seems to be the only thing that is truly giving me a minute of reprieve, and it’s nights like tonight when I’m thankful for it being heated. It’s cold as fuck, but the water itself is seventy, making this my favorite part of the house.

My phone died before I even got home from Coach’s office from the sheer amount of notifications, and I didn’t bother to charge it. The guys know where I’m at, and there’s no one else besides my girl that I even want to talk to right now. When she’s ready.

Pushing myself, I swim faster, harder, until my muscles burn with exertion. Only when my arms shake and my chest burns do I come up and suck a deep breath, groaning as I prop myself against the side of the pool.

A throat clears, and I whip around, my brow furrowing. What the hell?

Caroline’s standing near the edge of the pool, her arms crossed over her chest as she runs her hands up her arms to keep the chill away.

“Hi, Romeo.”

I can’t stop the smile that spreads on my face, even if I fucking wanted to. The best thing I ever did was fall in love with this woman. And give her the code to my house.

“Bubblegum,” I say, eyebrows raised. “Whatcha doin’?”

She pops her shoulder. “Just enjoying the view.”

“Uh-huh. I see.” Pulling myself from the pool, I make my way over to her, water dripping off me. “Just wanted to watch me swim? Sure that’s it?”

Her eyes widen when she realizes exactly what’s about to happen, and she starts to scramble backward, tripping over her own feet to get away from me.

“Don’t. You. Dare.” She screeches the moment my arms close around her waist, and I haul her against my soaked body, drenching her.

Not that I was going to listen. I pick her up, kicking and laughing, and I jump off the edge of the pool into the deep water, then kick us to the surface.

The moment she sucks in a breath, she squeals, “Oh, I am so getting you back for that.”

I smirk, my arms still around her waist, holding her close as I tread water to keep us up.

“Worth it.”

Her eyes roll, but the grin on her lips never leaves. Slowly, she loops her arms around my neck, her legs locking around my waist as she holds on while I swim us over to where my feet can touch the concrete bottom.

For the first time in days, I feel completely at peace. I feel so goddamn relieved to have her in my arms again, regardless of what it means for us. She’s here… but there is still so much for us to work through.

“You okay, Bubblegum?”

My eyes flit down to the droplets of water that cling to her sweet lips, wanting to lick away those little rivulets.

She nods, her fingers dragging over the buzzed hair at my nape. “I’m more than okay now. I was so afraid earlier. When I realized that I might not get the chance to apologize to you. For pushing you away when I got scared. For running when the only thing I should’ve done is stay. All of these feelings… they’re big, and they’re scary, Hudson.”

Her voice is a whisper, soft and low, as her blue eyes shine with unshed tears. “I’ve never been in love before, not until you. And realizing that I had fallen in love with you somewhere along the way was like a shock to my system. It snuck up on me until it consumed me whole. But I am in love with you, Hudson Rome. Irrevocably. And even though it took me a little while to realize that… it doesn’t make the feeling any less fierce.”

“Say it again,” I croak, squeezing her to me tighter.

“I love you. You, Hudson. Not the guy that the media portrays. Not the one that your fans think they know or even the man that my dad once thought you were. I love you. The man who volunteers with a youth hockey team because he loves seeing his players working together. The man that loves his nieces and nephews, who cares about his family. The man who takes my makeup off when I’m too drunk to see straight. The man that loves sharing his city with me and feeding me all my favorite foods. The man who knows my body even better than I do and the man who puts me first. Every single time. That’s the man that I love.” She pauses, pressing the softest, sweetest fucking kiss to the corner of my mouth, then another to the center of my lips, before pulling back and looking into my eyes. “That’s the man that I want it all with. I’m yours, you know?”

My arms tighten around hers as I slam my lips against her, kissing her with every ounce of longing from the past two days. She moans breathlessly into my mouth, and I swallow it, my tongue sweeping along hers.

Somehow, someway, I tear my lips away and rest my forehead against hers as I tell her breathlessly, “When you walk into a room, you are the only thing that I see. I’m so in love with you, Caroline Evans, I can’t see anything but you. My wild, carefree, beautiful girl. It’s you.”

Hockey has always been the center of my universe…. Until suddenly it wasn't.

It's her.

A teary cry leaves her lips, her entire body melting against me, surrendering just as I have to her. She ducks her head under my chin, nuzzling into my neck.

“I’m so sorry I was so stupid,” she says contritely. “I’m sorry that my first instinct was to run when you’ve been nothing but truthful with me. I’m sorry that I put your career in jeopardy with that stupid party. I’m just sorry for so many things, Hudson, and I’m scared that I’ll just keep making the same stupid mistakes.”

“Baby, having to pick you up because you got drunk is nothing. You’re young—you’re going to make fucked-up mistakes because it’s what life is. You make mistakes, and you learn from them,” I tell her as my hands slide up her back and across her shoulders to frame her face as I ghost my lips along hers. “Let’s make them together. You and I.”

She nods over and over, like eventually my words will click into place in her head.

“I told my father everything, Hudson. I told him that I loved you and that if he damaged your career in any way that our relationship wouldn’t survive the fallout.”

“Caroline…” I say, and she shakes her head, placing her finger over my lips to silence me.

“Loving you isn’t conditional. It isn’t something that I can turn off. It’s not something that I can walk away from without breaking my own heart. I could never sit back and watch my dad hurt the man that I love, no matter how good his intentions were. He doesn’t know the real you, Hudson, and that’s a shame because everyone should know the man in here.” She places her hand over my heart and rubs her thumb back and forth lovingly. “If he wants to have a place in my life, then he has to make the effort to accept the fact that I’m yours, and you’re mine. That’s not changing.”

“Fuck, I love hearing you say that. Mine.”

Rolling her lip between her teeth, she nods. “We talked for a long time today, cleared a lot of things up between us and said things that have needed to be said for a long time, and he promised me that he’s not going to punish you in any way. He should be calling this evening. He thinks that you should both make a joint statement together and explain that you’re in a relationship with his daughter and that he supports the relationship fully. That last night was an invasion of our personal life, and although it needs no explanation, he’s going to explain that you were protecting and taking care of me, just as any boyfriend would do.”

I don’t bother to hide the shock on my face. I mean, I don’t know exactly what I expected from Coach after our talk. I didn’t expect him to embrace the fact that I love his daughter, that’s for sure, but I walked out of his office fully accepting the fact that he might make my life a living hell from this point on because I refuse to walk away from her. No matter what he inflicted on me.

But this?

Making a statement to essentially clear my name? To have my back?

“Don’t look so shocked, Hudson. He was upset about the headline and that we’ve kept our relationship a secret, of course, but I think he also knows that you’re not the same person you used to be. I just… I need you to make an effort to have an amicable relationship with him, not just because he’s your coach but because he’s my dad. If we want to make this work, however we do that, he’s part of it.”

“You asking me to be your boyfriend, Bubblegum?” I say lightly, loving the way she tosses her head back and laughs.

She bites her lips, her nose scrunching slightly. “Yes, I am.”

“Then, I accept. And I promise to work on things with your dad. Whatever it takes. Your happiness is everything to me.”

She nods, leaning forward and melding her lips with mine. At first, it’s soft and sweet, and then it burns bright. Her tongue coaxes my lips open, and she sucks on mine, sending a jolt straight to my cock When I pull back, both of us are panting.

As much as I want to take her inside and spend the rest of the night making love to her, I want to finish this discussion first. The way things are headed with that kiss, there’s not going to be anything else said but my name as she comes.

“Bubblegum, slow down because I only have so much damn restraint.”

A giggle erupts, and she doesn’t look the least bit fucking sorry. Little devil.

“I’m worried about when the media gets a hold of your name. They’re fucking relentless. They’ll camp outside the sorority house just to get a photo of you, follow you at school. I don’t want that shit. I want you to be able to enjoy your college life like you planned to.”

“I know, but with us writing a press release and only releasing the information we want, it allows us to control the narrative. I think that we give the media enough to call them off, but other than that, we exist in our little bubble as much as we can. We’ll figure it out. I know that may sound naive, but it will eventually die down, and we focus on keeping our relationship as private as we can. My dad and I also discussed me moving out of the sorority house, possibly into a gated apartment complex with twenty-four-hour security, just so he feels confident that I’m safe.”

As much as I hate that she’s having to make sacrifices in order to be with me, a part of me is fucking relieved after last night at that frat house and me almost having to commit a goddamn murder. Not to mention how easy it was for me to sneak into her window that night.

“Is that what you want?”

Her shoulder dips slightly. “I don’t feel connected to them in the way that I did with my girls in Seattle. I mean, Tatum, of course—we’ll always be close. And I’ll still be in the sorority; I just won’t be living there. Lots of girls live off campus.”

I nod, seeing the truth in her eyes. “I support whatever you decide, but I want you to be safe, and I want to be the one to keep you safe, Bubblegum.”

“You do keep me safe, Hudson. You kept me safe last night, even after our fight, even when you were hurt you put me first.”

I press a heated kiss to her lips. “Always. I know asking you to dinner with my family scared you, and I know you might not still be ready even now that we’re officially a couple, but I do want you to meet my family and my guys. I want them to know you. I want them to meet the reason I’ve changed, the reason that I’m happier.”

“I wasn’t scared to meet them, Hudson. It was just what made me confront my real feelings for you. When you asked, it made me realize that things were actually getting serious and not just a casual hookup like I thought. I thought at first my apprehension was that I didn’t want that, but when I thought about it, I realized I was worried for the opposite reason because I do want that. I’d love to meet them. All of them.”

Fuck yeah.

“Really?”

She nods, her grin widening. “I want to meet the people who love you as much as I do. I want to be part of each other’s lives, not just in secret. I want to know what it’s like to be yours in front of the entire world.”

And that is irrevocably true.

Caroline Evans is mine.

Not that there was ever really a question.

Not since I tasted that bubble gum on her lips.

Not since she stole my heart in a darkened broom closet and never gave it back.

Not since the only play I would be making is the one where I keep her forever.

* * *

Three weeks later

“I can’t believeChristmas is like two weeks away,” Caroline says as she adjusts the gifts under the Christmas tree for at least the sixth time. “It snuck on me, and I am totally unprepared.”

“Bubblegum, aside from Mariah Carey herself decorating this house, it couldn’t possibly look any more festive. And even then, I still think you’d show her up.”

That earns me a full-blown smile, one that lights up her entire face and causes my heart to hammer against my chest.

She’s so fucking beautiful.

“That is practically the best compliment ever. Thanks, Romeo.”

After rearranging the presents once more, she moves on to the mantle above the fireplace and takes everything off, piece by piece, until it’s empty. A blank canvas. Then, she stands back and chews on the end of her red-and-green-painted nail as she stares intently at the mantle.

It’s so goddamn cute. She’s so goddamn cute.

And I think a little nervous, which is saying a lot because in the time that I’ve known Caroline, she’s been nothing but confident and sure in whatever situation she’s been thrown in.

It would explain all of the rearranging just to rearrange again and the fact that she’s been uncharacteristically worrisome about everything looking perfect. Obsessing over every little detail.

I walk over to where she’s standing and pull her to me, taking her chin between my fingers, “You nervous about meeting my family, Bubblegum?”

“No, of course not. Why would I be nervous? What’s there to be nervous about? There is absolutely nothing to be nervous about.” Her words come out in a rush, and when I grin, she blows out a breath. “Yes. I’m so fucking nervous, Hudson, and I don’t ever get nervous. It’s just… they’re the most important people in your life, and I want them to like me. I need everything to be perfect.”

“Baby, listen to me. They are going to love you just as much as I love you,” I tell her, tipping her chin up so I can brush my lips along hers. She sighs against my mouth. “I promise, they’re going to love everything you’ve done here. You’ve made my house a damn home in the past two weeks, and that’s what matters. Not how many trees are up.”

She didn’t hesitate when I asked her to take my card and decorate for the holidays after we decided that I’d host everyone here during the two days we have off. I’m so fucking excited for her to meet my parents, my sister, and my guys.

So far, we’ve fallen into a routine that’s just… us. It’s not easy trying to juggle both of our schedules and still have time for each other, but the time we do have, we take full advantage of.

“Okay. You’re right. I’m just freaking out.”

“Don’t, Bubblegum. Stop worrying about the house, and go change into that dress that I peeled off of you earlier.” I smirk, turning her toward the stairs and tapping her ass with my palm. “Go on. I’ll put this up.”

“Fine. Only because it’s an act of God to get myself into that dress.”

She’s right, and if she hadn’t threatened to not suck my dick for a week, I would’ve torn it right off her when I pressed her against the wall in my bedroom earlier and fucked her, fast and hard.

Disappearing up the stairs, she leaves me alone with the contents of the mantle, which I quickly put back as best as I can, trying to remember how she had it the last time she rearranged things.

Everything else is ready. I had the party catered, so the food is out and ready to go. There’s eggnog, drinks for the kids, and the fire pit is already lit.

Pulling out my phone, I pull up Coach’s contact and copy the link from my notes app that I saved earlier this morning.

Hudson: This one seems promising. Gated. Heated pool. Security at each entrance. Take a look.

A few minutes later, he responds.

Coach: Not a bad choice. Maybe we can meet with management after the holidays for a tour.

Hudson: Sure. Just so you know though… I’m going to ask her if she wants to move in here. Not sure she’ll say yes, but she’ll have the option.

Coach: Just when I was starting to dislike you less…We’ll discuss it when I get there later.

I smirk, pocketing my phone into my slacks when the doorbell rings.

… then rings again before I can even get to the foyer.

“I’m coming! Shit,” I mutter.

When I swing the door open, my jaw drops in complete fucking shock. The kind of shock where you blink wordlessly as you try and snap out of your stupor.

“Hudson! You handsome-ass motherfucker,” Graham grunts, pulling me into his arms for a hug as he claps me on the back.

Holy shit.

Graham motherfucking Adams. Our long-distance best friend who used to be our teammate. Well, until he fell in love with Reed’s younger sister and moved away to Tennessee.

Fuck, it’s good to see him.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Graham chuckles as he pulls back, throwing his arm over Emery, his wife. “Surprise. We’ve been planning it for a while. Missed home, missed you guys. Knew it was time to come home.”

Maybe it’s the holidays, or maybe I’m just a gigantic pussy, but I feel a little sting behind my eyes. Fuck. Blinking it away, I clear my throat, then lean forward and kiss Em’s cheek. She’s holding their newborn son, Mark.

“Hi, Em.”

“Hi, Huds.”

I squat down in front of his baby girls. They’ve gotten so big and so beautiful. They look like both of their parents, but damn, I see their uncle Reed in them too, which I know makes him happy as hell. They’ve got pretty red dresses on with little reindeer on the front and matching headbands.

“Hi, sweet girls. I know you probably don’t remember me, but I’m your uncle Hudson.”

Charlotte grins cheekily, never hesitating as she launches forward and throws her tiny little arms around my neck, squeezing tightly. My arms circle around her, holding her to me. Quinn looks a little more reserved, stepping closer to Graham and wrapping her arm around his leg as she peeks from behind him.

“I’m so glad that you’re here. All of you.” I scoop Charlotte up and put her on my hip as I hold the door open. “Let’s get inside. It’s freezing out here.”

We step across the threshold, and Graham looks around the foyer as we walk into the living room. He shakes his head before nudging my shoulder. “The house is amazing, brother. Definitely more space than that old apartment, huh?”

“Yeah, for sure.”

“It’s beautiful in here. You did this?” Emery asks skeptically. She’s rocking the tiny bundle in her arms as she glances around the room.

I chuckle, shaking my head. “Of course not, Em. That’s all on my girl.”

On cue, she walks down the stairs, and as always, it steals the breath from my lungs. The glittering black dress is fitted to her body like a glove, accentuating her delectable curves, her shapely legs clad with a pair of black heels that wrap up her ankle. Her honey-colored hair glows in the chandelier light as it falls in curls around her.

So fucking beautiful that she never fails to make my heart race.

“And this is her,” I say as she makes it to the bottom of the stairs, a bright smile on her red-painted lips.

I set little Charlotte back on her feet and step towards my girl, placing a kiss on her forehead. “Caroline, this is Graham and his wife, Emery.”

“Hi, gorgeous,” Graham says, bypassing her extended hand and pulling her into his arms. If he wasn’t my brother and I didn’t know he was obsessed with his wife, he’d currently be less two limbs.

“Hi, Caroline!” Emery says, offering her a kind smile, which Bubblegum returns before her gaze travels to the baby in Emery’s arms.

“Oh my gosh, look at this handsome little man,” she coos, stepping forward to grip his little sock-covered foot between her fingers. “God, I love babies. He’s so sweet and tiny.”

Graham makes a noise in the back of his throat, and when I glance at him, he’s raising his eyebrows suggestively. I don’t even need him to say it out loud—I already know exactly what that motherfucker is thinking.

Christ.

Emery rolls her eyes when he nudges me, obviously used to his ridiculousness, and directs Caroline’s attention to the girls. The doorbell rings again just as Em is introducing them, and before I can even open the door, it swings open and Chaney strides in, a huge box in his arms.

“Party’s here!” He grins, lifting the box.

Right after he walks through the entryway, Reed, Asher, and Briggs, along with their families, follow closely behind.

I never realized how many of us there were until we’re all inside my house, filling my living room, and I start making the rounds, saying hello to everyone and introducing them formally to my girl.

The kids run off toward the table that Caroline set up with gingerbread houses for them to make, and I watch as she excuses herself to go over and help them get set up.

“Dude, where’s your sister? I’m dying to meet her,” Chaney asks when he walks up with a glass of eggnog.

I narrow my gaze. “Don’t make me kill you during Christmas. They’re on the way, and you better be on your very best behavior.”

He raises his hands in surrender with a shit-eating smirk on his face. “I am, I am.”

The guys walk over together, and fuck, it feels so fucking good to have us all here together in one place again. It’s been a long time since we could make that happen, and it does something funny to my chest.

Our families are all here, laughing and having fun while we stand together, watching it unfold.

“I’m so fucking happy we’re all here together,” I say. “Especially you, Graham. Missed you, brother.”

“Miss you guys more than you know. Em and I are going to try and make it to a game soon. Things have just been crazy with Mark being born and the girls growing.”

Reed groans. “My nieces are getting so big.”

“They sure are, and they are handfuls too,” Graham says, gazing at his girls with an expression full of love and adoration.

Evan and Olive are lying in front of the Christmas tree, watching the toy train circle it, and Briggs smiles. “I bet you a hundred dollars the second we leave here she’s begging us for a train.”

“For sure,” I agree. “And tomorrow, she’ll have one because you can’t tell that baby no.”

“Yep. Anything for my Olive Juice.”

Graham shakes his head. “Yeah, just wait until you’ve got babies to say no to. It’s fucking impossible.”

Asher agrees. “Dude. I’m pretty sure if Alex asked me to take him skydiving off the coast of Ireland, I’d book the next flight out. Especially because he’s just such a good fucking kid, it makes it even harder to say no. Auden tells me all the time that I have to be strong.”

“Same. Holland tells me all the time that I’m a pushover when it comes to our kids, but I don’t care. I live to spoil them.” Reed chuckles.

Emery walks over, Mark fast asleep in her arms, and asks if one of us will hold him so she can get a drink.

“Chaney has been dying to hold him all night, Em,” I tease.

She turns to Chaney, whose face has completely gone ashen. “What? No.”

“Take the baby, Chaney,” I tell him. “Right now.”

He’s shaking his head adamantly as Briggs takes the eggnog from his hand, and Emery places Mark gently into Chaney’s arms.

I’m fucking dying. The kid looks like he’s about to shit his pants, his arms stiff like a fucking statue.

“See, Chaney? Not so bad. You look like a natural,” Graham tells him, clearly picking up on the fact that we’re fucking with him.

“No, take this thing out of my arms. Oh god, it just farted. I just got farted on by a fucking tiny child. Take it.” He turns toward Briggs, who steps back and holds up his hands, as does everyone else he tries to hand the baby off to.

Finally, Em walks back over and takes him from Chaney, and his relief is palpable.

“I swear to god, I am never having kids. Never,” he says. “I need a fucking drink.”

Once he’s gone, Graham smirks. “You gonna tell him, or should I?”

“Nah, he’ll find out on his own.”

We all laugh, sharing a secret of our own since every single guy in this group has had their world flipped upside down by one of the women in this room, and generally, babies come shortly after.

My gaze drifts to Caroline as she laughs with the girls on the couch in front of the fire, Quinn perched on her lap, and despite Quinn’s reservation when she first arrived, she’s burrowed into Caroline’s neck, twirling a piece of my girl’s blonde hair around her finger affectionately.

Fuck, she’s going to be the best mom. It might be a while from now, much later down the road for us, but I can’t wait for that moment. I can’t wait to have this girl by my side forever. To share all of these moments with her that my friends have had with their families.

“I know that look,” Reed says, “You deserve that happiness, Hudson. I’m glad you found your purpose in her.”

He’s right. I did find my reason in her. I was lost, drifting along, unsure of my place, never truly feeling like I was at home anywhere. Until her.

Until I realized that Caroline Evans is home.

And she will always be the best play I ever made.