as I realized that I’d judged Hudson and his family without really knowing any of them. I’d just assumed that since they were outrageously rich, and had been born that way, that they’d have lavish parties. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed—”
He put a finger to my lips. “Don’t,” he said harshly. “I’m not saying that we don’t all love the conveniences of being wealthy. Our private jets, our ability to buy whatever we want without thinking about the price, our nice cars, and expensive homes. I’m just saying that every one of us works our asses off like normal people, and there isn’t a single one of us who hasn’t had our own challenges that money can’t fix. I just want you to give us a chance. Give me a chance.”
My heart skittered as I saw a hint of vulnerability in Hudson’s expression.
He was asking me to accept him as he was, just like he’d always been willing to put up with me and any weird quirks I had.
He knew I hadn’t grown up rich, and he’d never judged me.
What in the hell had I been thinking?
He hadn’t made a single judgment about me, no matter what I said.
I’d let my own insecurities rule me, and I’d hurt someone who had done nothing but help me during a very difficult time.
Hudson Montgomery was asking me to see him, and not all the superficial things that surrounded him.
And God, somebody needed to see this man, because I was pretty sure very few people did.
Not really.
“I think I’d like that,” I said in a hushed voice, feeling overwhelmed by his humility because I knew that being the least bit vulnerable didn’t come easy to Hudson Montgomery.
God, wasn’t I the one who had told him that he was just one man?
My breath caught in my lungs as he lowered his head, his eyes on my mouth, his gaze…hungry.
In an instant, Hudson had gone from slightly pleading to predatory, and my heart started to race.
He’d never looked at me the way he was right now, but I’d sure as hell fantasized about seeing a Hudson Montgomery who did.
Every damn night.
I just never thought I’d experience it with my eyes open.
I’d tried so damn hard not to let Hudson see exactly how much I wanted him, because I was sure that carnal desire didn’t go both ways.
Okay, so maybe I was wrong?
I started to drown in his masculine scent, and then his smoldering heat as he shifted even closer.
He was going to kiss me, and my body was wound tight with anticipation.
Needing to get closer to Hudson, I lifted my arms to wrap them around his neck, but before I could complete that move, I felt a very cold sensation on the bare part of my upper arm.
“Crap!” I hissed, realizing that I was still holding the ice cream scoop in my hand, and that the residual ice cream in that utensil had started to melt, dropping in a big blob onto my skin.
And just like that, any hint of the carnal desire I’d thought I’d seen in Hudson’s eyes disappeared—if it had ever really been there at all.
Hudson dropped a lingering kiss on my forehead as I put the stupid scoop into one of the bowls.
I’d been so dazed that I’d completely forgotten what I’d been doing just moments before, and I felt like a complete idiot as I turned back toward the counter, searching for something to wipe the offending frozen treat from my arm.
Had I really been ridiculous enough to think Hudson Montgomery had been about to give me a toe-curling, passionate embrace?
He hadn’t.
Had I really thought that what I’d seen in those mesmerizing eyes of his was really some kind of out-of-control hunger for…me?
It hadn’t been.
All he’d meant to do was thank me sweetly for offering to be his nonjudgmental…friend.
I moved to the sink, wet a washrag, and scrubbed the sugar from my arm way harder than I needed to simply remove it.
Honestly, I should be grateful that the incident had happened.
If it hadn’t, I would have felt like an idiot moments later for literally throwing myself into Hudson’s arms.
“Hey,” he said in a husky tone. “It’s just ice cream.”
I took a deep breath, put the rag neatly back in its place, and turned toward Hudson. “I know. It was just a really…dumb thing to do.”
Apparently, one perceived look of passion from Hudson, and I completely lost my intellect.
He turned his head for a second, and shot me a mischievous