“Good.” He cleared his throat. “Then I’ll talk to you later.”
“Hudson, wait!” I was at the front door now, the night air cool compared to the warmth of the club. Not wanting to be seen, I stayed tucked behind the doorman.
“What is it, Alayna?”
I scanned the circle drive in front of the club. There he was standing next to his Mercedes, the emergency lights flashing as he paced the sidewalk next to the car. He was in another three-piece suit. It was late, why was he still dressed for work? And had he really driven all the way out to the club just to leave without seeing me face-to-face?
My next words bubbled with the hurt I’d carried all day. “Is that all you have to say to me?”
“Right now, yes.” He shoved his hand through his hair. “You’re protected. That’s what’s important right now.”
He’d been concerned—that much was obvious. His hair was tussled as if he’d ran his hand through it more than just the one time, and his agitation was present in his stride.
It wasn’t enough. If he really cared, I’d be in his arms. He’d have come in and found me instead of the other way around. “Have you considered that if you just told Celia that you’d left me that she’d probably drop this whole thing?”
He shook his head, even though he had no idea I could see him. “I didn’t leave you.”
“It sure feels like you did.”
He leaned his hand on the top of his car and looked toward the club entrance. “Is that what you want?”
“No!” Never. “No. I just want the truth. That’s all.” The doorman shifted, and my cover was blown. Hudson’s eyes met mine.
We stared at each other, locked in our gaze, for several long moments. Even across the hundred feet of sidewalk, there was a current between us. An electric spark that ignited from so much more than chemistry or lust. It was an emotional charge that surged right from the heart of me. We were connected, so completely, that for the first time since he’d walked out of the penthouse the night before, I felt a flash of hope.
He broke the gaze first. He looked to the passenger window of the car, as if someone were inside, talking to him through the glass.
I stepped forward, squinting to see. “Oh my god, are you…?” My stomach fell. “Hudson, are you with Norma?”
Hudson threw his hands in the air. “Not now, Alayna.”
I started toward him. “Are you fucking kidding me? One day gone and you’re out with her?”
He circled around to the driver’s side of the car. “It’s for business!” The door slammed.
I picked up my pace, even knowing he’d be gone by the time I reached the curb. “At this time of night?” In a suit, by themselves. How fucking stupid did he think I was?
“It’s…I can’t get into this right now.” He pulled out onto the road. “Why can’t you ever just trust me?”
“Because you can never tell me the truth!” I watched the taillights of the car as they mixed in with the rest of the traffic. It was comical, really, to ask for his trust when I’d just witnessed him on what could be described no other way but as a date.
“I have to go. I can’t talk to you while I’m driving.”
I could hear Norma’s voice in the background. I wanted his attention on me, not her. “Wait, don’t—”
“Goodbye, Alayna.”
“—hang up.” The dial tone replaced his voice. “Dammit!” I screamed and threw the phone down on the sidewalk. Hard. It shattered into pieces. Seemed fitting, considering that’s how I felt inside.
“Laynie, are you okay?” David’s voice was neither surprising nor comforting. Of course he’d come after me. It was a nice gesture—I just wished he were somebody else.
“Yeah.” Total lie. My entire body felt weak. Like I could just fall over there on the sidewalk, unable to walk or even crawl back to the club.
But I was strong. I could ignore the fact that I had died inside until I was alone at home. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said again. “I broke the phone.” I bent down to collect the pieces off the sidewalk.
David squatted next to me to help. “It’s technically Pierce’s phone.”
“Well, that makes me feel better.” Marginally. “Funny, this is the second phone I’ve destroyed on account of that man.”
“Maybe that means something.”
“Maybe.” I knew what David wanted it to mean. I didn’t want to think about what it could mean for me.
When we’d gathered all the parts, David stood and held his hand out to help me stand. Reluctantly, I took it. He didn’t let go right away, though. Worse, I didn’t pull away.