Found in You(116)

“Nah, not that bad. Maybe twenty-five shades.”

I laughed, and she joined me. Damn, that felt good—to laugh and relax. I needed to find a way to do it more often.

Lauren stood, and I knew it was time to part. I hugged her and thanked her and promised her I’d be at group the following Monday. Then I left.

After talking to Lauren, I no longer felt the need to see Celia. I tried to call her to cancel, but even after several attempts, she didn’t answer. That was fine. I’d use our coffee date to tell her that I was going to come clean to Hudson. I might as well give her a heads up.


I got to the coffee shop ten minutes early, but half an hour later, Celia hadn’t shown up. I called her several times, texted her, but got no response. I waited another thirty minutes then decided to pop my head in at Fit Nation. She’d said she was working there—maybe she’d gotten caught up.

Inside, I headed straight to the welcome desk. “Hi, I’m looking for Celia Werner. She’s supposed to be doing some design work here. Have you seen her?”

The man who greeted me was about my age and built like a weight lifter. “I know Celia.” His eyes brightened as if he had a bit of a crush. Hell, she was a knockout. Probably all men reacted that way to her. “She hasn’t been by at all today, though.”

“Are you sure?” She’d specifically told me she’d be working there that day.

“Positive.”

“Huh.” A chill ran through me. Considering how little I really knew Celia, I didn’t have any reason to jump to worrisome conclusions. Maybe she did this often—flaked out on her jobs and her appointments. Maybe something had come up. I didn’t know anything about her personal life. But something about the situation was unsettling. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

I left my number at the desk in case she stopped by later. Then I shook off thoughts of Celia and prepared myself for cleaning up my shit storm.

When Jordan picked me up, this time I was ready. “Take me to The Bowery.” It was almost three. I could send someone to take my key to Brian whenever he texted. I’d have plenty of time to pack my bags for Japan and gather my thoughts before Hudson came home. Then we’d talk, heart-to-heart, everything on the line. If he said the wrong things, I could still back out of the trip. But he needed to know that I was committed to our relationship too. He needed to know I was all in.

Except when I got there, the penthouse wasn’t empty like I’d expected. Heated conversation hit my ears the minute I stepped into the vestibule. My stomach twisted as I recognized who the voices belonged to—Hudson. And Celia.





Chapter Nineteen




I found them in the living room, standing so close to each other they would only have to lean in a little to kiss. I could only see Hudson’s face clearly from my angle, and he didn’t look about to make-out—he looked about to strangle.

A fireball mixed of jealousy, hurt and confusion sparked through my body. And betrayal. We’d vowed to not see Celia without one another. I’d betrayed him too in that department. Served me right to get a taste of what that felt like. It felt like shit.

“Why would Celia make it up?”

I’d been too wrapped up in the scene in front of me to realize Celia and Hudson weren’t alone. The voice that pulled my attention belonged to Sophia. Sitting next to her on the couch was Brian—shit! My And Jack was at the window, his back to the room.

What. The. Fuck.

“Because that’s what she does.” Jack turned from the window. “Ah, and many of these questions can now be settled because the subject at hand has arrived.”