Hudson (Anderson Billionaires #4) - Melody Anne Page 0,15

did. He definitely appeared to be the love ’em and leave ’em type.

As if he could sense her weakness, he reached out and touched her arm. “I can be very persistent if I want to be.” She couldn’t turn away from him as his finger caressed her bare arm. A shiver ran through her. She was losing track of what they’d been talking about. She had a feeling he was speaking of something other than what she’d been doing in Australia anyway.

“You’re not used to people denying you, are you?” she asked in a breathy whisper she couldn’t control.

“No,” he answered honestly. “Some people are born to lead and others to follow. I’ve always been a leader. I’m learning to be a good listener too.”

Maybe he was a good listener. On a long flight, trapped in a seat next to a stranger, maybe he’d be an excellent sounding board. She started to talk.

“I just failed at saving a historic church that’s now going to turn into another needless shopping mall. I’m worried I’ll never save anything again, and I’m wasting my time in a cynical world that doesn’t care about what I’m doing or why I’m doing it,” she said. “Then I ran out of money, lost my place, and discovered the people I’d been calling friends actually worked for the corporation I was up against and were spying on me. I was basically chased out of Australia with a swift kick in the ass and a don’t bother to visit again.”

He looked shocked for a second, but he quickly composed his features as he smiled at her. She’d been trying to scare him away from wanting to hear her story, but she felt slightly better letting it all out. She was a hot mess right now.

“I’d say that’s a bad day,” he finally said.

Daisy smiled, then she chuckled. She had to hold her hand to her mouth to suppress the sound. She could already hear people snoring in front of them, and she didn’t want to wake up everyone with her pathetic story.

“All I’ve ever wanted to do from the time I was a little girl was preserve the past. I wanted to travel the world, put an emphasis on buildings and the history surrounding them, and maybe write Pulitzer Prize-worthy stories to enlighten mankind. Without a past there can’t be a future.”

“I don’t know about that,” he said after a second. “I think if a person focuses too much on the past they can’t have a future.”

“I hear that all of the time, and I don’t buy it. We wouldn’t exist if not for the past,” she pointed out.

Hudson chuckled. “That’s a good point, but if you live in the past how can you grow?” he asked.

“You can grow while reflecting,” she insisted. He didn’t respond this time and she let out a long sigh, deciding she might as well continue.

“I’m going home with my head hanging low and nothing to show for the seven years I’ve put into places all around the world. I’ve been everywhere and my victories are one out of twenty. Most people would’ve quit a long time ago.” He wouldn’t look at her the same after this conversation. She couldn’t stand herself right now, let alone expect anyone else to have empathy or respect for her.

He paused for so long she wondered if he’d fallen asleep. Maybe that was a good thing. She might’ve poured out her entire life story in the next breath.

“What will you do now?”

He was still gazing at her with that same wanton expression in his eyes. How could he still be interested in her when she was telling him how much her life was in shambles? She shrugged. Then again, it wasn’t as if he wanted her for more than this one night. Her life story wouldn’t make a difference to him.

“I don’t know. I’m a little lost and feeling like it doesn’t matter anyway,” she admitted.

“You don’t appear to be the type of person without a plan.” His words made her smile. He was right. Even though she felt like a failure, ideas were brewing in her mind. “Come on. You’ve already opened up, you might as well bring it home.”

“I might try to write a book about some historic place and try to open more eyes that way,” she said with a shrug. “I don’t know. It’s just an idea and it’s a long shot. If they aren’t listening now, why would a book make them