One Tiny Lie – Jennifer Youngblood Page 0,51
door. “You have a visitor.”
Hudson didn’t have any appointments scheduled. He typically reserved Mondays for catching up on emails and other housekeeping items. His brows knitted. “Who is it?”
“Margot Chase.”
He quirked a face. “Really?” What did Margot want? Hudson knew she was Ava’s best friend, but the woman was getting intrusive. It was obvious at the harvest party that she intended to stick close to Hudson and Ava. And she would have, had Peter Sedgwick not intervened.
“Should I tell her you’re unavailable?”
“Please.”
She nodded, turning to leave.
“Wait a minute,” Hudson called.
His assistant turned back around.
“Send her on in,” he sighed. Margot was Ava’s friend. Hudson needed to be more understanding. He was sure it was hard for Margot to see Ava getting engaged, to know that she would have to share her best friend with someone else.
A few minutes later, Margot came flouncing in with a large, buoyant smile. She closed the door as Hudson stood to greet her.
“Hey, you,” she said as she went around the desk and gave him a tight hug. She pressed her body up against his in the process.
Quickly, he extricated himself from her grip and stepped back. “Hey, Margot. What can I do for you?” He motioned across the desk. “Have a seat.” He wanted to put as much space between himself and Margot as he could.
She went over and sat down, crossing her legs. As always, Margot was dressed to the nines in white pants and a frilly, floral blouse. She was a beautiful woman, but there was something feline about her that was off-putting to Hudson. He’d once been enamored with Margot and her charms but learned quick that she was fickle.
Margot’s smile fell. “I came here to talk to you about Ava.”
He tensed. “What’s going on?”
“Ava’s been acting so odd lately. Surely you’ve noticed how much she has changed.” Margot scrunched her sculpted brows. “It’s like she’s not even the same person.”
A swift tide of relief swept over Hudson as he laughed. “Yeah, I’ve noticed.”
Margot leaned forward. “Don’t you think it’s odd?”
“Yeah, I suppose I did, at first. But I like the change … a lot. Ava and I have talked about her change. She’s trying to become a different, better person than she was before. I applaud her for that.”
Margot’s face turned red. “I’m all about someone wanting to become better, but there’s something strange about this whole thing. Before Ava up and disappeared for those weeks, she was adamantly against marrying you.”
The breath left Hudson’s lungs.
“Sorry,” Margot amended with an apologetic smile. “I don’t mean to offend you.”
He just sat there, looking at her. How else was he supposed to take that comment? It was an insult. What made it worse was that Margot was right. Ava had been against marrying him initially.
“I’m just trying to understand what’s going on.”
Hudson gave her a steely look. “Why are you so worried about this? Ava has obviously changed for the better. She’s getting along great with her parents. She loves her life on the vineyard.”
“You,” Margot spat.
“Yes, she even loves me. How is this a bad thing?” He lifted an eyebrow, waiting for her answer.
“I guess it’s good.” She threw up her hands. “I just think that something strange is going on. There was the guy at the bistro.”
His jaw tightened. “What guy?”
“Ava and I were having lunch at that bistro downtown. I went to the restroom. When I came back out, Ava was talking to some guy. She looked really upset. The guy claimed to know her, but she told him he was mistaken. Ava started walking away in a hurry. I followed after her. The guy then said, ‘See ya around, Luna.’”
“Maybe the guy was mistaken. Things like that happen all the time.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, maybe. But then I saw that same guy at the harvest party the other night.”
“Did you talk to him?”
“Yeah, I asked him about the incident at the bistro.”
“What did he say?”
She pushed out a loud sigh. “That he’d mistaken Ava for someone else.”
Hudson sat back in his seat and crossed his ankle over his thigh. “Okay, there you have it. Easily solved. The guy made a mistake.”
“Look, I know my best friend, and she has changed. Something is wrong.”
Hudson pushed out a breath. “Margot, why are you really here?”
She jerked. “What do you mean?” There was a tremor in her voice.
“You come here with these allegations that have no substance. You’re supposed to be Ava’s best friend, and yet I can’t help but think that