Page 33 of Too Broken to Love

“I thought you could use a friend.” God knew he needed Malcolm to keep him sane. And the gratitude in Tessa’s eyes when he told her he’d arranged for Lia’s mom to have live-in help for the next week rivaled the high of saving a life on the battlefield.

An image of Chris in…wherever the hell he was now, slid into his head.

“Hudson. You okay?”

He shivered, but not from the chilly air. “I’m good.”

She squeezed his bicep. “Neither one of us is good, but you made the situation easier.”

He shrugged. “Just glad I could help.”

“Don’t brush it off like it’s nothing. It’s everything to me.”

Fuck, if he didn’t love the way she looked at him like he was the most valuable thing on the multi-million-dollar property.

Josie ran down the porch steps. “Oh my God, Hudson. I swear, I can’t let you and Malcolm go anywhere together. Things literally explode.” She looked at Tessa. “Hi honey.”

Tessa raised her hand in a wave. “Hi. I’m⁠—"

Josie pulled her into a hug. “I know who you are. I’ve been telling Sam forever to bring you here for dinner, but he said you had your reasons why you couldn’t come.”

“Yeah, well, those reasons don’t seem to matter so much anymore.”

Josie pulled back. Grabbing Tessa’s hands, she held her at arm’s length. “It’s so good to finally meet you. I just wish…” She glanced at the mansion and sniffled. “I knew Sam wouldn’t be around forever, but I didn’t think he’d leave us so soon.” She wiped her eyes. “I have a suite ready for you and your friend.”

“Thank you, and it’s nice to finally meet you as well.”

Hudson guided Tessa to the porch and opened the heavy wooden double doors.

She stopped and inhaled. “Smells like Sam.”

“Yeah, like bourbon and the sea. This house has smelled that way for as long as I can remember.”

Neither of them spoke as he led her up the stairs to her suite of rooms. He stopped outside the one he’d asked Josie to prepare for her and Lia. “There’re two bedrooms in there and a small kitchenette. Josie stocked it with a few things. Just let us know what else you need and we can get it later.” He pointed to a door at the end of the hall. “My suite is down there.”

“Thank you. I’ll need to go shopping for some clothes.” She pulled at her scrub top. “This is all I have. Hardly attire for the formal will reading tonight that Malcolm mentioned when we got in the car.”

“A formal will reading wasn’t my idea. And you know Pop wouldn’t care what you wear.”

“I know. But I can’t wear scrubs indefinitely.”

“You should. You’re good at taking care of people.”

A pained look akin to regret crossed her features. He wasn’t sure why, but instinct told him the reason was heavy. Did it have something to do with why she stopped being a paramedic?

He reached around her to open the door. “We’ll worry about clothes when you wake up. Get some sleep.”

She spread her hands on his chest. “But there won’t be time. The will reading is at six, and it’s almost noon. Maybe I should go to the store now.”

Warmth spiraled through his core as she pressed her palms into his T-shirt. Stepping into her, he placed his finger over her lips. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Right, you’ll take care of…” She trailed her finger down his abs.

Hudson shouldn’t finish that sentence the way his dick urged him to. There were too many unknowns, too many tragedies surrounding them. He shouldn’t let desire cloud his judgment.

Or maybe it already had.

He wasn’t sure if wanting her would land him in heaven or hell, but he’d learned to notice the small details. What he’d learned about her was worth the risk.