The Fixed Trilogy: Fixed on You(72)

My eyes glistened. “It was years ago. I’ve learned to accept it.”

I couldn’t look at Hudson. I hadn’t told him anything about my parents, but if he had looked hard enough to find my restraining orders, he likely already knew. I couldn’t bear to see him look at me with pity.

“Less than ideal pasts,” Hudson said, loud enough for everyone to hear, but gentle all the same, his fingers continuing their sweeping pattern across my back. “It’s something Alayna and I have in common.”

I turned to him and found his gaze absent of pity. Instead it held understanding. More and more I realized that I was special to him because of this unique recognition he saw in me. Were we really that alike?

“I don’t like what you’re implying,” Sophia snarled.

“I’m not implying anything, Mother. I’m stating an unattractive fact.”

“Keep your unattractive facts to yourself for the rest of the day, will you?” The fury in her tone was unmasked. She scooted her chair out and stood from the table. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to prepare for our beach outing.”

With every card we’d played throughout the meal, Hudson had wounded her with one brief comment, the evidence plain in her expression.

I snuck a victory smile at Hudson, which he returned with equal delight shining in his eyes. This round had gone to us.





Chapter Twenty


Round two began almost two hours later on the sands of the private beach below Mabel Shores. It took over an hour to change and load up the beach chairs and Jet Skis from the storage shed into the back of the Ford Raptor the family used to drive the half mile down the hill to the beach. Millie also made a lunch for later and packed a cooler with beverages.

Sophia was mellow when we arrived at the beach, choosing to doze while the rest of us finished setting up our chairs and other items. By the time I was lounging next to Hudson under a big rainbow colored umbrella, I’d convinced myself that I could relax and enjoy the warm breeze and rhythmic sound of the waves rolling on the sand.

The idea of quiet serenity disappeared when Adam and Chandler suggested a game of beach volleyball.

“Alayna?” Hudson looked up from his Kindle. “We could be a team.”

“You play?” I’d been about ready to move my lounge chair into the sun and try to get a cancer-causing tan, but I could be talked into some friendly competition.

He scowled at me, a challenge glinting in his eyes. “Don’t act so surprised. I’m very skilled.”

I could tell from his tone that he was, and as competitive as I knew a man of his success had to be, I imagined he was quite good.

“He rarely loses,” Jack confirmed, returning from an ocean swim. He shook his long wet hair before taking a seat. “He takes after his old man.”

Hudson shook his head almost imperceptibly, not seeming to want to credit his father with any of his ability.

“Fantastic.” Sophia shifted in her seat, reminding everyone of her presence. “I’m trying to relax and you all are going to be noisy and wild and disturb the peace.”

“That’s what beaches are for,” Jack said over his shoulder, not bothering to look directly at his wife. “You could go back to the house if you don’t like it.”

Sophia’s opposition made my decision. “I’m in.” I pulled off my cover-up and began slathering sunscreen on the newly exposed areas of my body while Adam and Chandler attached the net to the permanent poles anchored in the sand.

“That’s your swimsuit?” Hudson grumbled beside me. “You’re practically naked. It’s going to distract the men playing.”

“Think of it as your secret weapon.”

“Except one of those men will be me.” He casually adjusted himself in his long navy swim shorts.

I shot him a smile, my insides melting at his obvious arousal. “Later, big boy.” And that was a promise. “Meanwhile, would you mind getting my back?”

I leaned forward and hugged my knees. Hudson took the lotion and sat in the space behind me, straddling me. I suppressed a moan as his hands applied the lotion, his fingers kneading longer and deeper into my skin than necessary.

“I love touching your skin,” he murmured near my ear, then nipped at my lobe, soothing it afterward with a smooth swipe of his tongue. It was an awfully sexual gesture, one I didn’t expect from him in the company of others. Either he’d upped his game or he was no longer finding it as easy to compartmentalize as he usually did.

I turned my head into him to see if I could read his face but stopped when I spotted his mother watching us, her eyes narrow slits of anger. So that was the reason behind his display. Satisfaction rose in my chest, but simultaneously I felt a wave of disappointment. Though I thoroughly enjoyed Sophia’s misery, our job had been to sway her to acceptance, not alienation. The task was impossible, I’d embraced that. But I knew Hudson hadn’t, and I hurt for the distress that his mother caused him.

“Net’s ready,” Adam declared, kicking a pile of sand toward us to make sure he had our attention.

Hudson stood and reached his hand out to help me up beside him. Once I was up, he didn’t let go, even as I pulled at my swimsuit bottoms with my other hand, relieving myself of the wedgie I’d gotten from sitting. All the while, I felt Sophia’s stare, knew I was on her radar. Soon, she’d fire. I sensed it.