used to think I couldn’t have it both ways with Taylor, but I was wrong. She’s my best friend, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. She knows all of my strengths and my weaknesses, and still loves me anyway. The only way you’re going to know if Harlow loves you is to put your heart out there, Jax.”
“And if she butchers it into tiny little pieces?” I asked morosely.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen, but if it does, you’ll know she isn’t the right woman for you,” Hudson said philosophically.
“Yeah, I’m sure I’ll find that knowledge comforting while I’m laying on the floor bleeding out,” I grumbled. “Fuck that! Harlow is going to be mine.”
“If that’s the case,” Hudson mused, “then you’ll have to work to make it happen. I know you, Jax. You can charm the hell out of anyone you meet. You’ve always been a lot better at that than I’ll ever be.”
“Everyone except her,” I corrected. “She messes with my head until I don’t know what to say, and she doesn’t fall for any of my usual bullshit. She never has.”
“Good,” Hudson replied smugly. “You need someone who can see right through that and throw you off your game.”
I raked a frustrated hand through my hair. “I love her, Hudson. I think I probably have since the first day we met. Just the thought of losing her makes me come completely unglued.”
“Then don’t lose her,” he suggested. “Make her happy. You said Seth and Mason were crazy because they’d probably move mountains just to make Riley and Laura happy. Have you changed your mind about that?”
“I take back every single thing I said about them and you,” I said gruffly. “Hell, maybe I had to convince myself that falling in love was a choice because Harlow had already turned me down flat. It killed me that first day I saw her after the kidnapping. She seemed so damn defeated, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to never have to see her like that again. I still wish I’d gone to see her in person way before I did. All I had to do was take one look at her, and I knew something wasn’t right. She looked like she’d been battling demons, and was on the losing side of that fight. She’s so damn stubborn that she thought she could fix everything herself.”
“It’s not easy reaching out for help when you’ve never had to do it before,” Hudson considered. “She’s obviously tough. Harlow did six years active duty Air Force, and apparently thrived. Anyone who can juggle working full-time while they’re pursuing a doctorate has to have the kind of determination that most people don’t. She might be hardheaded, but she’s had to be to get to where she is today. I say that when she’s ready, she’d be an amazing asset to Last Hope if that’s still what she wants.”
“I think she’s even more determined to do it now than she was at the beginning. She has a big heart. She’d already have all the equipment up and running if she had her way.”
Hudson chuckled. “Maybe you should let her have her way. Do you think she’ll come back to Montgomery?”
“Most likely,” I answered. “She hasn’t mentioned that yet, but I think she’s getting stir-crazy. I just don’t want her to rush the rest of her recovery, and she will if she thinks she can get away with it.”
“I think she should take some time to take care of herself,” Hudson agreed. “She doesn’t have to rush. Her position will be waiting for her when she’s ready.”
“I’d like to be around to make sure she does,” I said. “I want to take some time off, Hudson. I’d like to spend some time with Harlow as something other than her advisor.”
“You and Cooper covered my ass when I needed time,” Hudson replied. “Is there any question that I’d do the same for you? It’s been a long time since you had any real time away from Montgomery. Take all the time you need. We worked our asses off to get our company to where it is now. We don’t really need to work that hard anymore. That’s why we have all our top-level executives.”
I snorted. “Yeah, we saw how well that went while we were all away at Mason’s wedding.”
It had been our top-level executives who had screwed up the entire kidnapping situation in the first place.