Seth scoffed. “If that’s what they were doing, I might support them. But there’s a big damn difference between the twins looking to get laid and my relationship with Beck and Heavenly.”
“So you’re saying their ‘emotions’ don’t reach above their waist?” Hudson snickered.
“Clearly. But sex is way better when you care about the person?—”
“Or people.” Hudson raised a brow.
Seth hated to concede this point to a sixteen-year-old, but he couldn’t be a hypocrite. “Yeah.”
“Did you…ever care about my mom?”
Of course the kid wanted to know, and Seth was surprised he hadn’t asked sooner. Seth had grown up, knowing his parents had been mad about each other. Poor Hudson must have wondered for most of his life if everyone considered him a mistake.
“At the time, I had a huge crush on your mom. I really wanted her to like me, and I was more than a little heartbroken when she abruptly quit her job and I didn’t hear from her again. Now I know why, but…”
Hudson nodded. “She’d talk about you sometimes, you know. Not your name or anything, but every so often when I bugged the shit out of her, she’d say you were tall and handsome and funny. That I looked just like you. Then she’d clam up. But…I think she had feelings at the time, too.”
“Water under the bridge now. I’m just sorry you and I lost so many years. If I’d had any idea?—”
“I know.” Hudson smiled at him. “It would have been cool, but…yeah.”
“Don’t blame your mother. She was young and scared.”
“I know. I can’t imagine… If someone told me I’d have a baby in the next year or two, I’d flip out.”
He clapped his son on the shoulder. “Exactly. She did the best she could. That’s all any of us can do.”
Hudson nodded.
After yesterday’s crushing reminder of Tristan’s loss, he was so fucking grateful that he had this moment with Hudson. That their bond seemed to grow more each day. And maybe it was all the turmoil, the change, the future coming at him fast, but he found himself blinking back tears.
“I’m glad you’re here now.” Seth clapped him on the back as they strode to the parking lot.
“Me, too. Even if this family is a little crazy.”
Seth laughed. “They are, but they mean well. And Grandma loves you already.”
The kid’s smile widened. “I know. She’s actually pretty cool.”
“She is. And speaking of moms, yours is meeting us in the morning, before the wedding. At ten.”
“Yeah, I know. At that diner off the turnpike. She’s bringing Ted and the baby.”
Completing the official paperwork naming him Hudson’s father would give him some assurance and rights. Then, after an upcoming court appearance and a couple of minutes with a notary…Hudson would be his son legally. “I’m really glad you came to find me. And you chose to stay with me. Honestly.”
Hudson kicked at a rock, like the emotion was a bit too heavy to face head-on. “Me, too.”
The others joined them outside, organizing rides to the country club for the rehearsal dinner. Mom still glowed as she talked animatedly with Carl. Beck and Heavenly stood with Seth’s brothers, maintaining careful distance—practiced, deliberate, and completely unnatural for people who loved each other as much as they did.
Seth watched them, the weight of this pressure-cooker situation pressing in on him.
A couple more days and nights. His mother deserved a wedding day full of joy, without his romantic drama overshadowing it.
But after that? He wasn’t wasting another damn moment pretending to be something he wasn’t.
Even if he hadn’t pinpointed when or how to tell his mother, he looked forward to stopping this awful pretense. His announcement might turn everything nuclear, but whatever happened, he would face it with Beck and Heavenly—strong, united, and together.
Beck sighed as he stepped out of the car and into the cool October evening. He was so fucking ready for this weekend to be over.
