Page 30 of Best Kept Secret

“Swearing and coming up with devious schemes. Who are you?”

Stacy laughed. “I haven’t changed.”

“You went missing for a while,” Kelsey said softly.

Stacy had divorced Cole after he’d cheated on her with his young administrative assistant. She’d been devastated, and it had taken her two years to recover. Then she’d met Nick, and although it had taken a while, they’d finally gotten together. Being in love had done wonders for her, and Kelsey was glad to have her back.

“We’re supposed to be talking about Hudson.”

“I wish there was more to say, but he’s been silent for a week and a half. What if he changed his mind about going out with me?”

“Why would he?”

“One guess—Jared.”

“Well, he won’t be there tonight, so you’ll have Hudson all to yourself.”

“Do you think Hudson knows I’m coming, or did Nick set it up without telling him?”

Stacy shrugged. “I have no idea. This was the first I heard of it.”

Kelsey decided not to worry about it. Regardless of whose idea it had been, she’d get to see him tonight, even if it was at a bowling alley!

Later that evening, when they entered the bowling alley, she spotted him right away. He and Nick were already at a lane, and they were chatting animatedly as they put on their bowling shoes. Since he hadn’t noticed her yet, she took a moment to admire him. No matter the situation, he always seemed comfortable in his own skin. There was a quiet ease about him that she’d instantly been attracted to. As she’d gotten to know him, the attraction had intensified, and she was inexplicably drawn to him despite her brother’s warnings.

Jared had painted a picture of him as the ultimate player. He’d claimed that Hudson rarely dated a woman for more than a few weeks and was always eager to move on to the next one. According to her brother, Hudson had no intention of ever settling down. On the contrary, he scoffed at the idea. Jared had warned her that any woman who got involved with him was bound to get hurt, and he didn’t want Kelsey to be one of them.

Despite her brother’s warnings, she hadn’t any solid evidence that his claims were true. In all the times she’d visited their apartment, she’d never seen Hudson with a woman. He either kept his personal life carefully guarded, or Jared was exaggerating.

After all this time, the only female names he’d spoken were Annie and Emily, his niece and sister. She refused to believe that he was the big bad wolf her brother had made him out to be.

She and Stacy stopped at the front desk to rent bowling shoes. Then, carrying them gingerly by the laces—because who knew who’d worn them last—they went to join the guys.

They were one lane away when Hudson’s head popped up, and his eyes locked on hers. The look he gave her stole her breath and made her heart gallop in her chest. She’d been looking forward to seeing him all day, and the stored images of him in her head just wouldn’t do. In the flesh, he was so much more magnificent.

“Hey,” he said, his gaze warming her from the inside out.

“Hey.”

“I didn’t know you bowled.”

“I didn’t, either.”

He laughed loudly enough to garner attention from the group of bowlers on the neighboring lane. Naturally, they were women, all four of whom gave him an appreciative once-over.

“They’re probably lying about being bad bowlers,” Nick said, coming up beside them. “Watch them kick our butts!”

They all laughed.

“Don’t we need to select our balls?” Stacy asked innocently.

Nick and Hudson exchanged boyish grins.

“There must be a good set around here somewhere,” Kelsey added without missing a beat.

The guys burst out laughing, gaining even more attention from the ladies in the next lane. Then she and Stacy went over to a rack of bowling balls and began the selection process.

Spotting a bright blue ball, she slid her fingers into the holes. She tested its weight like she knew what she was doing.