to start my life with, and here she is,” he says, holding out his arm so I walk up to his side. He wraps his arm around me.
“I’m Deven. It’s nice to meet you,” I say, holding out my hand to Drake.
“The infamous Deven,” he says, shaking it. “I’m Drake.”
I look up at Hudson. “Infamous, huh?”
Drake laughs. “Oh yeah. You didn’t hear about that?”
“Shut it,” Hudson says, looking at Drake.
“Why don’t you two come in and say hi to Celeste? I think she just put Tyler down.” He opens the screen door and leads us into his house.
On our way home, my phone rings and I pull it out of my bag. “Hello?” I answer.
“Hey,” Brad says.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Mom just left. She’s going to pack up her things and then she’s moving back here.”
“What? She’s actually leaving him?”
“Yep, I’m proud of her. She hasn’t been on her own in a long time now, so she’s really going to need our support.”
“Of course. Where’s she staying?”
He lets out a bitter laugh. “Here with me until she can get her own place. I was going to see if you and Hudson wanted to move back in, but then she dropped the bomb that she needed a place to stay, so here we are.”
“That’s sweet, but I think we’ll stay where we are for now.” No way could I step foot back into that bedroom, not after what happened in there. It’s a shame that I have so many good memories of Hudson and me in there, and now they’re all overshadowed by that one terrible moment with Marco. “When does she get back? We can set up a dinner with all of us so she can formally meet Hudson.”
“She should be back by Saturday. You want to come over here around five?”
“Sounds good,” I agree, hanging up and looking over at Hudson.
“What?”
“Mom’s leaving Marco and moving into your old room at Brad’s. We’re going to have dinner with them Saturday night. Is that okay?”
“Absolutely,” he says, picking up my hand and pressing a kiss to the top.
Saturday rolls around, and Hudson and I get dressed and head over to Brad’s. I don’t bother knocking. I just walk right in like I still live there. Brad’s in the kitchen cooking dinner, so we go in there directly.
“Where’s Mom?” I ask, sitting down at the table.
“She’s in her room, unpacking and getting settled.” He brings over the salad and places it on the table. “What’s new with you guys?”
Hudson sits down next to me. “I bought a new truck.”
“Nice. I guess the fire department is paying you well then, huh?” Brad has no idea about how much money Hudson has, just like I didn’t.
“Not too bad,” he answers, not wanting to bring it up. I always thought that people didn’t talk about their money because they were greedy and didn’t want anyone to know, but now I know that isn’t true. Hudson doesn’t talk about his money because to him, it doesn’t matter. He’s still the same guy he’s always been, good, caring, and reliable.
Mom walks into the kitchen and sits down across from me and next to Hudson. “I had no idea you guys were here already. How are things?” she asks. “It’s nice to see you again, Hudson. You’ve grown so much since we moved away.” She flashes him a smile.
He nods. “It’s been a long time, ma’am.”
She laughs. “Oh, please. Call me Janel like you always used to. Deven, how are you doing, honey?”
I’m thrown off by her nice tone of voice, but I don’t mention it, wanting tonight to go smoothly. “Good, actually. We have some news.”
Brad looks over his shoulder at me just as I hold up my left hand, showing them both my engagement ring.
“We’re getting married!”
Brad laughs and comes over to hug Hudson, and my mom just gushes over how big the diamond is and how it had to cost a pretty penny. I don’t know how my mother has changed so much over time. When I was little, she was the best mom I could’ve asked for. She took care of me, made sure I had everything I needed, and she spoiled me rotten. I guess my years of misbehaving and then being with Marco ruined her. Now she seems to hold a grudge against me, and only cares about money. Looks like she has a rude awakening coming.
“We’re also building a house,” I continue on with the good news.
“Really? Where at?” Brad asks, coming to