His eyes flashed as if I'd given him a challenge he couldn't walk away from. "I want to come."
"Okay."
Then he paused. "Unless you have a problem with me being there?"
"Of course not." Ididhave a problem with him being there. There was something about watching him interact with my daughter. He was always kind and respectful to her. It was nice, and it only made him more attractive.
A slow smile spread over his face. "Like I said, I'm hungry."
"As soon as she's done with her homework, we can walk over."
"Sounds good," he said, and I moved away, wondering how I was going to survive an evening with Hudson. He was so big and imposing; he took up every square inch of space in that break room. I couldn't breathe deeply. I felt like I was still wearing that corset from earlier.
The one that pushed my breasts up.
Did he like seeing me in that outfit? There had been a weird energy between us since the afternoon. I couldn't help but think it had something to do with his grumpy mood.
I was positive he had plenty of single women throwing themselves at him whenever he went out. He wouldn't be interested in a single mom with a fledging business.
It was easier if I thought of him as a coworker or a partner. Not the attractive single guy I wanted to touch me.
I sat across from Ayla as she worked through her math problems. When she got frustrated, I tried to help her, but math wasn't my strongest subject in school.
Hudson came out of the break room. "Is everything okay?"
Ayla dropped her head onto the table. "I hate math."
"She's having trouble with this math problem."
He paused by our table. "Let me take a look."
Ayla sighed and handed him the paper. "It's the last one."
He looked at it for a few seconds and then crouched by the table. "You did this part right. You just forgot the second step." He turned the paper over and showed her how to work the problem.
Relief flooded her face. "I always forget that part."
"Keep practicing," Hudson said easily.
Ayla stood and gave him a little bow. "Thank you. Thank you."
"I'm happy to help." He waved a thumb over his shoulder. "I'm going to take everything outside. Want to head over after I lock the back door?"
"That sounds good," I said, suddenly nervous to be going to dinner with him. Would anyone think something was going on between us? Surely not with Ayla there. But you never knew with small town gossip.
Even if Christmas Town wasn't a real town, the shop owners had formed their own small-town feel, along with gossip and rumors.
I'd have to tell everyone it was purely business. I surely wasn't going to tell anyone about him walking in on my photo shoot. Bill would have me closed up for good.
I had a flash of regret over creating a website that was so sexy, but Wynter had insisted that it was classy. Exactly what women wanted to see. I wouldn't let Bill cheapen the shop or my brand.
Hudson disappeared into the break room.
"Let's finish up so we can eat," I prodded Ayla.
Her tongue darted out in concentration as she followed the steps that Hudson had shown her. I was grateful he'd stopped to help. Homework issues could cause a tantrum that would have derailed our dinner plans.
I never had someone to step in and offer help. It was nice.
