Heavenly shot Beck a quelling stare. It was logical to wonder if the first girl Seth had ever had sex with had been the one to bear this child. But she was grateful that Hudson seemingly hadn’t been conceived in the men’s room at the White Castle.
“No one important,” she supplied.
“Look, I’m going to shoot straight with you,” Beck jumped in. “Seth is in New York. He’ll be back in LA tomorrow. Do you have someplace to stay tonight?”
Hudson cursed under his breath. “Not your problem. I’ll figure it out.”
“Stay with us,” Heavenly offered. “We have a guest room, and it’s free. You won’t have to find a hotel?—”
“Us? You live together?” He looked between them speculatively. “You banging Blondie, too?”
“That’s none of your business. And watch your fucking mouth. If you don’t have family to go to, you’re staying with us.”
“Why?” Hudson’s tone suggested the idea was ridiculous. “You don’t give a shit.”
“We do,” Heavenly insisted. She hated him thinking that no one cared.
“And you’re a minor,” Beck added. “So you’re coming home with us. End of conversation.”
“You can’t make me.”
“Me? No, but I can call the cops, have them track down your mother, and send you home tonight.”
Hudson cursed again, uglier this time.
Heavenly sent Beck a reproachful stare, then softened when she looked Hudson’s way. “Seth would want us to keep you safe.”
Especially since he’d already lost one son. Losing another—for any reason—would devastate him. The thought of this boy wandering around Los Angeles alone made her chest tight with panic. How had he gotten here from Connecticut? Had he traveled across the country alone?
“You’ll have a room with a flat screen. There’s a pool and a gaming system. I’ll feed you…” The words tumbled out as she did her best to convince him.
“All right. I guess, if I have to wait…” Hudson rose from the couch with a fluid grace that reminded her painfully of Seth and grabbed his bags.
She glanced Beck’s way, unable to shake the feeling that their lives had just changed irrevocably. Tomorrow, Seth would come home expecting to pick up where they’d left off. Instead, he’d walk into a reality that would challenge everything he knew about his past—and his future.
Beck drove them home in his Mercedes. Tense silence filled the car. He worked mentally through the reality of this new development while he kept one eye on Hudson in the rearview mirror. The kid slouched, arms crossed over his chest in an I-don’t-give-a-fuck pose, barely controlled fury radiating from every line of his body. But he cast a side-eye out the window, seeming to take it all in.
He and Heavenly needed to find out what Hudson had been told, then figure out how to handle this situation when Seth returned.
Because one thing was crystal clear: Hudson had traveled three thousand miles to meet Seth, and that was going to change everything.
“Here we are.” Beck pulled into their driveway, noting the way Hudson’s eyes widened slightly at the size of the house before his mask of indifference crashed back into place.
“Nice,” Hudson muttered, grabbing his bags. “Seth must be doing all right for himself.”
Beck didn’t tell the kid that, legally, it was his house. First, it wasn’t any of Hudson’s business. Second, they didn’t owe him an explanation about their living arrangement. And third, Beck refused to give the sarcastic teenager any more ammunition to use against Seth.
With a sigh, Beck killed the engine. Heavenly slid out of the car and gestured Hudson to follow. “Come inside. We’ll show you around.”
Hudson shrugged, quickly banking his flash of curiosity. “Sure. Whatever.”
Beck unlocked the door and stepped aside, then trailed the duo into the house. “Living room over there.” He pointed straight ahead to the breezy white sofa with the modern tufted black leather chairs. “Up the stairs are more bedrooms and the home office. Down leads to your guest room with attached bath. There’s also a home gym, game room with a big screen and Xbox, and the wine cellar. The last one’s off limits.” He trekked deeper into the house, past the stairs. “Dining room is to the right.” A few more steps. “Family room. And kitchen on the left.” He gestured to each space before nodding to the sliding glass doors at the back. “Patio and pool are out there.”
Hudson assessed his surroundings with a dissecting stare. When he spied the framed photos hanging on the wall—pictures of Beck, Seth, and Heavenly together at various events, including one where she was smiling from ear-to-ear while both men had their arms wrapped around her, each kissing one of her cheeks—his jaw tightened.
Beck could practically hear the questions rolling through Hudson’s brain.
Thankfully, he didn’t ask, and Beck didn’t volunteer.
