"I haven't thought much about it."In high school, I naively thought I could ask Belle out like I was any other guy and take her out in my beat-up Camaro.But she deserved better.
"When are you going to start thinking of yourself as someone who deserves everything that comes his way?"Ford asked.
I gave him a warning look."Don't start that feelings shit with me.I'm not Hudson."
"Hey," Hudson warned.
"So you don't think that Belle is too good for you?"Ford asked.
"Well, yeah—" And then I paused because he'd tripped me up.
Ford exchanged a look with Hudson.
I didn't appreciate their psychoanalysis."There's no way she'd be interested in someone like me anyway.I stood her up in high school.Even though I apologized, she'd be dumb for giving me another chance."And there was one thing Belle wasn't, and that was dumb.
"You know Mom and Dad always talked about how you tested high achieving in school.That your misbehavior was because you were bored."
I snorted."My grades were awful."
"Because you didn't try, and you didn't care.You weren't challenged.Why do you think you go for the hardest jobs now?You're not dumb, and if you think you're less than because you're a blue-collar worker, you're not."
"That means we're all less than, and that's not true," Hudson agreed.
"You have good women, but that's not what I want."
Ford held his palms up."All we're saying is that if you want Belle, you could pursue her.She might even like you back.Didn't she say yes to a date in high school?"
My jaw ached from clenching."That was before I stood her up."
"Aspen said you took care of Belle when she was sick," Ford said, his gaze assessing me.
Hudson inclined his head."So you're a good guy."
The space between my shoulder blades felt stiff."I did what anyone else would do in that situation."
Hudson's brow furrowed."I wouldn't do that unless I liked a woman.I might call someone for her or drop off groceries.But I wouldn't have stayed all day and made her dinner if I didn't want her."
"I can want her from afar; it doesn't mean that I get to have her."I wasn't even sure I was making any sense at this point.
"It's not like I'm good enough for Angela.She puts up with me for some unknown reason.But I'm going to prove to her every day that I'm deserving of her," Hudson said, his voice gruff.
"That's different," I insisted, my hands gripping the bottle.
Hudson set his elbows on the bar and turned his head so that he was looking at me."You could step up and be the man Belle deserves."
That hit differently.I needed to be deserving of her.But not in a way that wasn't possible.In a way that I could fix.Hope bloomed in my chest.Could I have the one woman I'd always wanted?It sounded too easy.Too good to be true.
"Hudson's right.None of us technically deserve the women we're with.Instead, we do everything in our power to prove our worth to them.And we do it every day."
My lip curled."That sounds like work."
Hudson chuckled."Relationships are hard work.Just wait until you have a kid in the mix.I want to be the man Ayla deserves in her life too.She has a dad, but that doesn't mean I can't be another father figure to her."
The pressure was real."You're saying that I can be the man she deserves.If that's what I want."
"Yes," Ford said simply.
That outlook knocked something loose inside me.It gave me hope that I had a chance.That I didn't have to keep denying myself.The thought of making a move on Belle was exciting.
