Avery read it over my shoulder and made a small sound. “That’s actually pretty good. Short and to the point. No excuses. But he’d better do a lot more than cake if he wants you back after everything he let Maddie pull.”
“Don’t worry,” I reassured her. “I’m not going to cave over one gesture, no matter how delicious it is.”
Another small envelope was tucked under the cake stand. When we lifted it, a second note fell out, this one in a feminine scrawl.
Serena,
I heard you might need a little sweetness right now. Hopefully, this lemon zest cake with lemon curd and raspberry compote will bring some sunshine into your day.
And my offer still stands—come visit me in Connecticut anytime. Bring Avery. We’ll make a day of it.
— Tessa
Avery’s eyes lit up. “Oh my gosh. Tessa Hale invited us to visit? How did I not know this already?”
“Sorry, Sis. I was a little distracted at the time.” I bumped my shoulder against hers. “And although the offer sounded genuine when she made it, I thought maybe?—”
“She was just being nice,” Avery finished for me.
“Yeah.”
She tilted her head toward the note. “Now that we know the invite is real, we should go! She sounds awesome, and the cake she made for my birthday was the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”
“We can definitely go sometime,” I agreed. “But not right now. You have school on Monday, and that speech and debate tournament is coming up. You’ve worked too hard to miss it.”
Avery shrugged, but her voice was soft when she murmured, “I’d skip all that if being gone is what you need right now. Seriously. You’ve always put me first. I’m happy to do the same for you, finally.”
I pulled her into a hug, blinking back the tears that threatened to spill. “Thank you, Aves. That means more than you know. But I have stuff going on too, and it’s better if we remain in town. For now at least.”
She hugged me back tightly. “Okay. But if it gets worse, we’re leaving. No arguments.”
“Deal.”
We cut into the cake, and the first bite tasted like comfort and regret all at once. Hudson had remembered exactly what I loved. He had gone to the trouble of getting Tessa to make it on short notice. And he had written the most honest note possible.
The thoughtful gesture cracked something in my walls, just a little. The first tiny flicker of hope sparked in my chest.
But I didn’t let it burn too brightly because that was dangerous. Faith in Hudson had let me think he would finally see what Maddie was doing. Instead, it had only allowed her to wreak enough havoc in our lives to make it a headline.
I was terrified that believing in him again might break me completely.
Avery took another bite and watched me carefully. “You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “Yesterday was rough in so many ways that’ll be hard to come back from, even if he’s finally starting to wake up to the crap Maddie’s been pulling. That doesn’t take away from all the months he ignored all the giant red flags she was waving while I pointed them all out to him.”
Avery set her fork down and wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “You deserve someone who chooses you every single time. No excuses. If Hudson can’t do that, then maybe he’s not the one.”
Her words were simple, but they packed a wallop.
I hugged her tighter, letting the tears I’d been holding back slip down my cheeks. “I know, but I still love him. And that makes it hurt even more.”
Even if he kicked Maddie completely out of his life, I was still worried Hudson might break what was left of my heart. I needed to figure out what I wanted my future to look like because I couldn’t keep being the only one willing to fight for it.
14
HUDSON
Three days without any word from Serena, and I was already falling apart. I knew she got the Hale & Honey cake I sent over to the hotel, but only because Avery posted it to her stories on social media and hadn’t blocked me there yet.
