an alpha male. If we haul in tons of bags from the stores, he might just start pounding on his chest because he’ll feel like a real man.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That’s so messed up,” I said, my lips curving up in a smile.
“You know it’s true. Hudson likes to feel…needed. He wants to do things for you, and he wants to get you stuff that makes you feel good. Seth is the same way. He knows I’m filthy rich, too, and we’re married for God’s sake, but he still wants to be the one who pays when we’re together, and he’s always buying me gifts, even though I could easily go out and buy anything I wanted.”
“So what do you do about that?” I asked curiously.
“Not a damn thing,” she answered with a sweet smile. “He’s a billionaire. I let him pay with his card, even if I do have one with my name on it in my purse, because it really doesn’t matter to me. If he buys me something, I let him know I love it with tons of affection, because it’s usually a really thoughtful gift. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an independent woman, and if he gets too bossy, I’ll put him in his place. But I like to see Seth happy, too, so I don’t sweat the small stuff. If letting him do some of those little things that make him feel like he’s taking care of me makes him happy, I let him do it.”
“But I’m not wealthy, and Hudson and I just started an exclusive relationship two weeks ago,” I reminded her. “The last thing I want is for him to think that I want him to buy my affection. He has it, rich or poor.”
“He’s not trying to buy your affection, Taylor. I think you need to understand that. He wants to make sure you’re secure, comfortable, and happy. If you need something, he wants to get it for you because it’s an easy thing for him to do. All the stuff we’re buying today would be like you picking him up a pack of gum at a grocery store because you know he likes it. My brother is massively wealthy. Let the poor guy buy you a few packs of gum for God’s sake. Believe me, he’s going to enjoy that particular dress as much as you do.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
I grinned at her analogy, knowing she was probably right. “I’m not poor, exactly. I’m just cash strapped after all those years at Stanford. Once I’m working, I’ll have a lot more money. My foster father left me everything he had, but not enough for six years at Stanford. The last year was really rough. I nearly passed on the Montgomery internship because I wanted to get into a professional job as soon as possible. Now I’m glad I didn’t pass it up. If I had said no, I never would have met Hudson.”
I went back into the fitting room and started carefully taking off my dress. I heard Riley’s voice through the curtain. “I’m sure you wouldn’t have done the same thing if you’d known you were going to be kidnapped and brutalized?”
“Yeah, actually, I would.” I replied. “I’d do it all over again. I don’t have any regrets, Riley. I’m alive. I’m healthy. I have an amazing future in front of me. And I’m dating the hottest guy on the planet. So yeah, I’d go through it all again if that was the only way I could end up with Hudson.”
I finished slipping back into my jeans and top, and when I opened the curtain, I saw Riley leaning against the wall with her arms over her chest. “You are in love with him.”
It wasn’t a question; it was a statement. Maybe I had deflected that question when we’d been on the beach the day of her party, but she didn’t seem like she required an answer this time.
I nodded slowly. “How could I not be in love with Hudson? He’s the kind of guy every woman dreams of meeting someday. I guess I never thought it would happen to me. I could never see myself falling madly in love with any guy.”
She lifted a brow. “Does he know?”
I shook my head. “It’s too soon for all that. He wants to take me on dates for the next two weeks. He said he hates that everything happened ass backwards for us, and that I got robbed of