His eyes dart to mine, and his grin widens as he plants a soft kiss to my mouth. “You’re incredible, Nat.”
Straightening, Garrett heads toward the door, tossing us all a wink before he disappears into the hallway and down the stairs. The front door shuts behind him a moment later, and Hudson turns to me. “Shower, strawberry shortcake, and bed?”
“Wait…” I beam sleepily. “You guys got me an actual cake?”
“Of course.” Ellie laughs. “This is the celebration you asked for, gold medalist.”
My chest floods with warmth, and I feel like the luckiest woman alive, laughing into Hudson’s chest as he scoops me into his arms and carries me to the bathroom, Ellie follows.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
HUDSON
“That is some bummer news.”Nat sighs in response to finding out that while my team made it to the regional championship, it means we’re playing East Bay University—Bodhi’s team.
Nat continues casually flipping through her textbook sprawled out across my bed, and I turn to look at Ellie, who’s gone white as a ghost.
“He won’t come anywhere near you, darlin’,” I promise.
Nat lifts her head, glancing at Ellie. “Ellie, you remember how terrified he was of me. I’m sure he’s even more so now that he knows we’re together. He’ll stay far away, and he if doesn’t, I’ll fuckin’ deck him.”
Ellie huffs, flopping back on the pillows, staring at the ceiling. “What if he confronts you, Hudson? What if tries to taunt you about?—”
I snort. “Respectfully, I know she’s your mother, but I don’t give a fuck about Candace. I don’t give a fuck that they had an affair, and I don’t give a fuck if he thinks it gives him some kindof superiority over me. I’m thirty-six fucking years old. There is nothing he could do that would cause me to act stupid.”
She exhales deeply.
“Has he been trying to contact you lately?”
“Not sure.” She shrugs. “I blocked his number a few months ago. He annoyed me.”
“That’s my girl,” Nat chimes in.
Ellie lifts onto her elbows. “My mom has reached out again, though.”
“And?” I ask.
“I’ve been ignoring her, but blocking her feels…wrong. I don’t want any kind of relationship with her. My life is so much better off without her in it, honestly. But at the same time, eventually, I feel like I need to tell her I’m in a live-in, long term relationship with her ex-husband. If I don’t, doesn’t that make me as terrible as she is?”
“No.” I lean over the mattress, kissing the top of her head. “I’m not still married to her. You don’t owe her anything, Ells, but I understand where you’re coming from. I don’t think the timing is right just yet, but when it is, we’ll tell her.”
Truth be told, I don’t trust Candace within an inch of my life. I think when she finds out that Ellie and I are together, she’ll lose her fucking mind. I know her well enough to understand the entire reason she began fucking Bodhi to begin with is because she’s in the midst of a midlife crisis. She’s struggling to come to terms with the fact that her daughter is more beautiful, intelligent, and kind than she could ever hope to be.
I have no doubt that beginning an affair with Ellie’s boyfriend gave her a sense of power.
Ellie is undoubtedly better off without her.
I also know Candace well enough to know that when she finds out about us, she’ll stop at nothing to ruin it—ruin me specifically, even if that means she brings her only child downwith her. If I’m still working at Westgate when she discovers us, I have no question she’ll report me. She’ll get her own daughter expelled before she allows us to be happy.
I think Ellie is still convinced that, as her mother, Candace wouldn’t go to such lengths, but I know her differently. Plus, regardless of her mother’s involvement, I’ve long been frustrated with the secret nature of our dynamic, and I don’t want to hide the two of them anymore.
I’ve been working on a new opportunity, but I’m not yet ready to tell the girls, because I don’t want to get their hopes up if it doesn’t come to fruition. I’ve been keeping it close to my chest, but by the time they both begin their senior year of university, I hope we’ll have the freedom to be as open and honest as we all desire.
“If you don’t want to come, I understand,” I say to Ellie.
Her features soften. “Of course I’ll be there.”
“She’ll have her scary, black cat girlfriend by her side.” Nat waves us off. “She’ll be fine.”
