Found in You(129)

And I’d been avoiding that like the plague.

I sighed. “There’s more than this. I did some things that I shouldn’t have done. And he did some things that he shouldn’t have done. There’s a lot of fixing and stuff to be said and I think the things we need to say need to be in person.”

“So go to him.”

I arched a brow. “To Japan?”

“Why not? What you’re saying makes sense. Big things need to be face-to-face. It’s easier to be honest. Harder to run away. Yeah, you should go to him.” Mira’s whole face transformed with her enthusiasm.


Though adorable, her notion was insane.

“Isn’t he going to come back soon?”

“It doesn’t sound like it. The people he’s dealing with are dragging their feet.”

“Oh.” My heart dropped into my stomach. If it truly was Sunday, it had now been five days since Hudson had left. I didn’t think I could stand many more.

But the alternative was crazy. “I can’t go to Japan. I don’t have that kind of money.”

“I’d foot the bill.”

“Oh, no. I’m not letting you pay for me to go to Japan. Get real.”

Mira scowled and put a fist on what was probably once her waistline. “I have about as much money as my brother, you know. A trip to Japan is a drop in a very large bucket, and I’m not trying to brag. I’m trying to be clear.”

I opened my mouth to continue my protest.

“But if that’s really an issue,” she said before I had a chance, “then charge it to The Sky Launch. Hudson’s money. He wanted you out there to begin with.”

It wasn’t a bad idea necessarily. Not the best, but not bad.

Except what if he didn’t want me there?

Or maybe that’s why he’d sent his sister. I eyed Mira suspiciously. “Did he send you to convince me to go to Japan?”

“No!” She seemed appalled. “Uh-uh. Do not give him credit for my idea.”

But I’d wanted to give him credit. It would make it less scary to show up unannounced.

“Think about it,” Mira said, her eyes all dreamy. “Wouldn’t that be an awesome surprise?”

I imagined the roles reversed, if he showed up and surprised me. “Yeah. It kind of would be.” More than kind of. “I miss him.”

That was all Mira had to hear. “Laynie, he’s dying without you! I can hear it in his voice. He’s a basket case. He can’t eat, he can’t sleep—”

“He told you this?”

“I can tell!”

I popped a piece of cheddar in my mouth to keep from laughing. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a hopeless romantic?”

“It doesn’t mean I’m wrong about Hudson.”

“Maybe not.” Though I couldn’t imagine the calm, collected Hudson ever being anything close to a basket case.

Mira sighed. Then her eyes brightened. “You know, he told Celia he doesn’t want her in his life anymore.” She said it nonchalantly, but she was an easy read—she knew this was big news.

“What?” It was hard to hear myself talk over the pounding of my heart. “Are you serious?”

She nodded.

“Why didn’t you lead with that?”

“I guess I probably should have.”

Holy shit! This changed everything. Everything. “What else? Tell me all the details.”

“I don’t know what else. I wasn’t there. It was here, that day that everything else happened. Dad told me about it. Said she was crestfallen.”