Page 205 of Bridesmaid By Chance
“Then you’re in the right frame of mind to fix things.”
Beep.
“Hold on a second,” I say and then look at my screen where I see an incoming call from Haisley. “Fuck.”
“What?”
“Haisley is calling me.”
“She knows.”
“Yup.”
“You have to answer,” Hardy says. “Just remember who you’re putting first, then everything else will fall into place.”
“I sure as fuck hope so.” I hang up with Hardy and answer Haisley’s call. “Hey, Hais.”
“You married Sloane?” she shouts.
I wince and sink farther into the couch. “Listen?—”
“No, you listen. I have a husband who is ready to rip my brother’s head off, and the only reason he hasn’t yet is because I’ve stopped him, or else he’d be in London right now, tearing you apart.” I don’t know what to say to that, so I remain quiet. “What the hell were you thinking? You know how protective Jude is, you know he trusted you to make sure his sister was taken care of. Why would you do that?”
I blow out a heavy breath and say, “It was a mutual decision that benefitted both parties.”
“What do you mean it benefitted—oh my God, Hudson, was this all done for business?”
I wince again and nervously say, “Yes, it was.”
“I…I can’t… Oh my God… Wait, is that where the money came from? Is that why they were able to buy the house?”
“Yes,” I answer.
She’s quiet. I swear I can hear a pin drop through the phone. And then, “Disgusting, Hudson. You bought her.”
“It…it wasn’t like that. And it’s not currently like that”
“What do you mean… ‘it’s not currently like that’?”
“I…I like her, Hais. A lot.”
There’s silence.
More silence than I want there to be.
And after what feels like minutes, she says, “What?”
“I have feelings for her. And I know I’ve fucked this up and I know that Jude is pissed, but I can’t deny the way I feel about her. Sloane means something to me.”
“But…but you said it was for business.”
“Started that way, but she’s…she’s made an impact on me, and I can’t sit on these feelings and do nothing about it. I know Jude is pissed. I know he is not happy and is probably hurting from the betrayal he must be feeling. But I promise you, I will fix this. I promise.”
“How, Hudson?”
“I don’t know yet,” I say quietly. “But I promise I will.”
Chapter Thirty
