“Oh, yeah?” Spencer begins to move, taking several long strides in that direction. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
I take off, attempting to beat Spencer to the stranger. Passing a garbage can, I toss the beer and speed walk my way in and around the crowd of people. Luckily, Spencer gets caught up by a troop of Boy Scouts, giving me the slight advantage I so desperately need. I make it to the man first. The second I’m next to him, I push myself up onto my tiptoes and whisper into the stranger’s ear. “Sir.” I’m panting a little due to the effort it took to get here first. “If you play along, I’ll pay you twenty bucks. Please.”
The man doesn’t react, he doesn’t have time because Spencer is there. “This is him?” He rudely points at the stranger.
“Yep. This is him. My boyfriend.”
“That guy?” He’s still pointing.
“Yes, Spencer.Thisguy.”
Glaring at the stranger, Spencer snaps, “You’redatingher?” His finger moves until it’s directed at my face.
Feeling a bit defensive, I wrap my arm around the man’s back and attempt to snuggle in close. What is Spencer’s deal? What could possibly cause Spencer to react like that? That’s when I glance up at the stranger and the questions in my head come to a screeching halt.
I know why Spencer’s reacting like that.
Because this guy, this stranger, is effing gorgeous.
Like movie-star gorgeous.
Better than a young Brad Pitt gorgeous.
He’s a ten. Hell, he’s a fifteen on a scale of one to ten. On a good day, I’m a six on that same scale.
I can only see a bit of his hair poking out beneath the ballcap. From that, it looks to be a dirty blond hue. His face, my goodness, his face is perfection. I bet if I got a ruler out, he’d have that golden ratio just like a supermodel. His eyes are the palest blue I’ve ever seen in my life. I’d call them sky blue for sure. His nose is straight and perfect, but it’s nothing compared to his smile. Straight white teeth and full lips surrounding them. I know this because he’s smiling.At me.
“Um–” I’m staring at him like a complete idiot.
“You’re telling me,” Spencer growls, “That you and her–” I know he’s pointing at me again, but I can’t look at him. “–are in a relationship?”
“What’s your problem, man?” This fake boyfriend of mine directs the question at Spencer. I’m glad he’s spoken up because my mouth is as dry as the Sahara.
“My problem…?” Spencer stops talking for a second. Then he asks, “What’s your name?”
Uh. Oh.
My new, erm, I mean fake boyfriend glances down at me, then back at Spencer. “Hudson.” He pauses like James Bond. “Hudson Adler.”
“Ah-ha!” Spencer shouts. “She said your name was Hank.” He glares at me. “I knew you were lying.”
“My friends call me Hank, man. What the hell is your problem?” I feel a hand slide behind my back and around my shoulder. He gently nudges me closer until I’m pressed against his side. Hudson looks down at me, and that smile appears again. “Meeting this little peanut was the best day of my life.”
“Oh, yeah? I see you didn’t say her name. What ishername?” Spencer is beating this issue like a dead––never mind.
“Spencer–” I need to put a stop to this. Hudson, the poor stranger, doesn’t deserve any of this. I’ll just come clean and face the consequences. I’m going to have to put on my big girl panties and tell Spencer, once and for all, that I’m not interested in “just one date” as he likes to ask each and every Friday. No, it’s time I put my foot down and tell him that whatever he’s trying to make happen between us, well, it’s never going to happen and if he keeps it up, I’ll have to go to HR about it.
“That’s enough.” Hudson’s voice has turned from easygoing to quite the opposite in a flash. “I don’t know who the hell you are, but our relationship is none of your concern.”
Spencer grumbles “This is ridiculous” and stomps toward the steps. Finally.
I feel Hudson’s arm loosen, which enables me to take a step back and look up at him. He’s tall. Maybe seven or eight inches taller than me. “I’m so, so sorry to bother you.”
A small smile appears on his handsome face, but it disappears quickly. “I get it. That guy was bothering you. How do you know him?”
“He’s my supervisor at work.”
A fierce expression flashes across his face. “That guy? Is your boss?”
