of her family. If he offers you money, poke out your bottom lip and tell him how the cost of living is more expensive in Portland and see if you can squeeze a fifty out of him.”
My boy grinned all toothy and wide, and that was all it took for me to remember why I was doing this. He nodded excitedly.
“After that, you’re spending the night with Mimi and Grampa David. Please do me a favor and see if you can do something about that brave face of yours for a little while. I bet if you flashed her a few smiles, she’d stop crying and let you eat junk food all night.”
He giggled and it caused a warmth to wash over me. “What about Grampa David?”
“Well, he’s a tough nut to crack. Just spend time with him, maybe let him read you a book or tell you a story about when he was a kid. He’s going to miss having you around all the time. Give him some good memories to last until he can come up for a visit.”
My boy sighed. “I’m gonna miss him too.”
“And hey, do me a favor? Keep an eye on my girl for me. I’m gone for the next week. Lex is going to need all the Bradley love she can get while I’m gone. You think you can handle that?”
He put his chin to his shoulder to look back at Lex. She made a kissy face and tapped her cheek.
“No way!” he exclaimed. “No kisses.”
Ruffling his hair, I rose to my full height. “All right, no kisses. But hurry up and get in the car so I can give her a few before I have to leave.”
“Yuck!” he exclaimed, but he did not waste a single second before climbing back into the Chevelle.
Lex softly laughed as she shoved off the car and walked my way. “Do you think it will help my case if I tell him I’m up to date on all of my cooties shots?”
I circled my arms around her hips and pulled her close. “Not likely.”
“Damn,” she breathed, sliding her arms around my neck.
I dipped low and grazed my lips over hers. “Come with me. I’ll only be gone a week. We can scope out the area together. Figure out where we want to live. Jack leaves with Lauren the day after I get back, so we could spend the rest of the month tying up loose ends before following them out to Portland.”
“Hudson, don’t.”
“Just say the word and I’ll buy you a plane ticket right now. First class. We can pick out a house and find you a warehouse for Plush Pet tomorrow, then spend the rest of the week in bed.”
“That would kinda defeat the purpose of you spending a week up there to get things organized on the new branch of Hud Construction.”
“Come on now. I’ve seen your orders. Few more months and I could retire and become a kept man.” I teasingly swayed her from side to side. “Once a week, I could come to your office under the guise of making repairs then bend you over the desk and—”
She slapped my chest. “Plush Pet is a respectable place of business, Hud. The only way I’m allowing you in my office is if you put together cat houses in a thong like the rest of my guys.”
I shot her an evil glare, but judging by her laugh, it packed little heat. “If I so much as hear about a man in a thong in your warehouse, I’m catching the first flight back to kick some naked ass.”
“Good. I’ll start interviewing male strippers first thing in the morning.”
And just like that, the pretending was over.
She wasn’t coming to Portland with me.
And in a few more weeks, I wasn’t going to be in Atlanta anymore, either.
Fuck, this was a nightmare. I kept telling myself that she’d eventually come around. Maybe not now, but in a few years, when her life had settled down a bit. But it felt like I was walking a plank by leaving her for a week. How the hell was I supposed to survive the next few years?
“You need to go,” she mumbled, pressing up onto her toes for an all-too-brief kiss. But then again, it was Lex. She could have stood there until her lips melded to mine and it still wouldn’t have been long enough.
“Just to be clear, you were a hard no on hiring a hitman for Mark instead of