Falling for the Millionaire(4)

Melody gripped the back of her chair as if it was a lifesaver in the sea  of her own uncertainty. Would she encourage his interest if she agreed?  This date contained no future commitment, and he certainly expected to  dance with his date. Enjoying this time was what she needed to do, but  she couldn't let her attraction to Hudson show.

"You seem dubious."

Melody's halfhearted smile skidded into a grimace. Did she dare say what  she was thinking? "Most of the men I know, including my brothers, don't  like to dance."

Hudson held out his hands. "Hey, what can I say? I have to make use of those lessons."

Melody couldn't help laughing. "Okay. I wouldn't want them to go to waste."

Hudson grabbed her hand. "And we wouldn't want to waste this good music, either."

Letting the music and Hudson whirl her away, she focused on the here and  now. She wouldn't think about the future, and she wouldn't think about  the past. Tonight she would live in the moment and relish every aspect  of it.

The time with Hudson sped like one of his race cars. When the band  announced the last dance, she couldn't believe the evening was about to  end. Despite her vow only to think about the present, had she let  herself get too involved?

No. Tonight wouldn't translate into anything for tomorrow. One and done  like her other blind dates. That philosophy kept her heart safe from  disappointment.

Hudson escorted her off the dance floor. "Do you have any last-minute things you have to do?"

"I do. I'll check with Adam to see if they have a job for me before I leave. I hope you don't mind waiting."

"Not at all. I'll get your things and meet you there."

"Thanks." Melody hurried to the back of the room where Adam and Annie sat at a long table.

As Melody drew nearer, Annie looked up, a little frown creasing her  brow. "What are you doing here? You should be with your handsome date."

Glancing at the pile of receipts, Melody ignored Annie's reference to Hudson. "I thought you might need me for something."

Annie shook her head. "Got it under control, and you're going to like my  report on Monday. Now get out of here and enjoy the rest of your  evening."

"Okay." Melody went around the table and gave Annie a hug. "Thanks for all you've done."

"You're welcome. Now go, go, go." Annie shooed Melody away with her hands. "You have a date to take care of."

"Okay, okay. I'm off."

When Melody turned, Hudson was standing a few feet away as he held her  purse and wrap. A momentary image of Christopher flashed through her  mind. Hudson didn't resemble her former fiancé in the least. Christopher  had been shorter with light brown hair and blue eyes. So why had his  image come to mind when she looked at Hudson? She couldn't begin to  answer that question.

She tried to shake off the pain in her heart. Thoughts of her old love  usually didn't bring as much hurt these days, and she thought of him  less often. No one could ever replace Christopher. He'd been her life,  and now he was gone. Her only comfort lay in knowing she would see him  again in heaven.

"Ready to leave?" Hudson's question snapped her out of her sentimental thoughts.

Melody nodded. "Annie assures me that I'm not needed here."

"Good. I've called James. He should have the car at the front door when we get there."

"James? Really?"

"Yeah. That's his name." A frown puckered Hudson's eyebrows as they entered the lobby.

Melody shrugged. "When I was a kid we used say, ‘Home, James,' to my dad  when my brothers and I were strapped into our car seats in the back and  we were pretending that he was our chauffeur."         

     



 

"Oh, I see." Hudson stood aside as Melody scooted through the door ahead of him.

He probably didn't see the same humor that she saw. He didn't have to  pretend to have a chauffeur. Why had she told Hudson that story? It only  underscored the differences between them.

The inadequate feeling she thought she'd overcome slithered through her  mind. She tried to push the unwelcome thoughts away, but they kept  intruding. She remembered how the popular rich girls had befriended her,  and she'd been on top of the world. But they'd made her the butt of  their jokes. The reality of the situation had been a cruel awakening.

As a grown woman, she was stupid to let old hurts color her perception.  But that incident popped into her thoughts more often than she would  like. Once they were settled in the limousine, Hudson poured himself  another glass of water. He raised his eyebrows as he gazed at her.  "Would you like one?"

She nodded, her mouth parched. For a minute, they sipped their water in  silence. What was he thinking? What did it matter? Even though she  didn't plan to go out with him again, she wanted this date to have been a  success.

"So you have brothers?" After the silence, his question sounded like a loud clap in an empty room.

Melody pushed aside the cobwebs of her thoughts. "Yeah, younger brothers."

"How many?"

Melody never knew how to respond when people asked that question.  Fortunately, it didn't come up that often. A lump rose in her throat as  she thought about her eldest brother, Blake, who'd been killed when his  dirt bike had skidded and slammed into a tree.

"Is that a question I shouldn't have asked?" He peered at her in the dim light, concern on his face.

Waiting for her emotions to subside, she shook her head. "The eldest of  my brothers died in a dirt bike accident when he was seventeen. He was a  year younger than me. I have two other brothers. So I never know quite  how to answer that question."

"I'm sorry about your brother. That must've been a difficult time."

"Thanks. It was for my whole family." Melody lowered her gaze as she  twisted the strap on her purse. She didn't want to talk about it  anymore, or she was afraid she might embarrass herself by bursting into  tears. She'd lost too many men in her life.

Her brother. Her father. Her fiancé.

Hudson fell silent again, and Melody stared out the window as the limo  turned onto her street. The evening was at its close, but she didn't  want it to end on a sad note. She had to say something cheery or at  least make an attempt. "I appreciate you taking me to the fund-raiser. I  had a good time."

The concern on Hudson's face morphed into a lazy smile. "Me, too. It's  been a while since I've been able to show off my dancing skills."

Melody laughed, feeling the earlier sadness waft away. "Ms. Smithers would be proud."

Hudson joined in the laughter. "Maybe. I don't believe she ever  considered me one of her star pupils. I stepped on too many toes."

"She should've seen you tonight."

"Thanks." He set his empty glass on the bar, then turned to her. "I had  more than a great time tonight. I enjoyed every minute with you. I'd  like to take you out to dinner next Saturday."

Melody's heart caught in her throat. His request caught her off guard.  Aware that she'd upped his expectations with her compliments, she wished  he hadn't asked. How could she explain her reasons for not wanting to  go out with him again? She didn't want to go into past heartaches that  he couldn't begin to understand. Could he possibly see how their very  different backgrounds weren't compatible? "I did have a fun time with  you, but another date wouldn't be a good idea. I'm sorry."

His eyebrows knit above his brown eyes. "Why not? It's only dinner."

"I don't know, Hudson." Melody sighed. "I'm not sure I fit into your world."

The limousine came to a stop in front of her house before Hudson could  respond to her statement. He lowered the window between them and the  driver. "James, we're going to sit here for a minute." Without waiting  for James's reply, Hudson turned back to her. "My world isn't any  different from yours."

Shaking her head, Melody let out a halfhearted chuckle. "You come from a  rich family. I'm from small-town Georgia and grew up poor. I went to  the University of Georgia on a HOPE scholarship, got a degree in  psychology and then a masters in counseling. I worked for a few years  with a government job-counseling center before I started working at The  Village. I love my work there. What do I know about the life of a  multimillionaire?"

"Maybe you should find out. People are people. How can you make a judgment without getting to know me?"

"I don't want to go down a road that wouldn't be good for either of us.  Tonight was wonderful, but this has to be it." Melody gritted her teeth,  wishing he would listen to reason, but his mentioning her judgment went  right to her guilt. Was she too critical? But this wasn't all about his  money. She couldn't forget his love of skydiving and car  races-dangerous activities that took lives. She couldn't be with a man  who took such risks.         

     



 

"I won't take no for an answer."

"Please don't make this difficult. It's not just because you come from  wealth and I don't. You like to live on the edge and I like to play it  safe. How can that be a good combination?"