Page 11 of Best Kept Secret

“Thank you,” he said, but she was already greeting a group of guys who’d walked in behind him.

As he made his way to the back of the restaurant, he nervously smoothed down the front of his shirt. He’d come straight from work, and his shirt was wrinkled from hunching over his computer all day. It had been a helluva week, and he was really looking forward to that beer.

He spotted Nick first, and Stacy was leaned in close to him, but there was no sign of Kelsey.

Dammit.

Nick noticed him around the same time and stood up and waved him over.

Hudson greeted Nick and Stacy and then slid into the empty chair beside Nick.

“Glad you made it. Beer?” Nick asked, pointing to one of the pitchers on the table.

“Please,” Hudson replied. He glanced at the strangers around the table, some of whom had given him polite nods and hellos, and noticed one woman was staring at him intently.

Nick leaned in and said, “That’s Britney, and she should come with a warning label.”

Stacy laughed, although she nodded in agreement.

Hudson had just taken his first drink of beer when a flash of shiny brown hair caught his eye. She walked toward him in what seemed like slow motion, wearing snug-fitting jeans, a pink T-shirt, and pink lip gloss to match. She paused at the opposite end of the table, said something to a coworker, and laughed; the melodic sound of it was like music to his ears.

“Hud? You okay, buddy?” Nick asked.

Nick’s voice broke his trance. “Yeah. Doing great.” I am now.

Hudson took another drink as Kelsey made her way to his end of the table. When she finally laid eyes on him, he felt it like an electric shock.

“Hudson?” Her pretty brown eyes went wide, and her lips parted in surprise.

“Hey.”

“I invited him. Did I forget to tell you?” Nick asked, looking not so innocent.

Stacy smiled conspiratorially.

Considering he was a single dad, Hudson felt awfully naïve. He’d believed Nick had invited him out of friendship, but this seemed suspiciously like a setup.

“I hope it’s okay,” Hudson said, smiling up at her.

“Of course. I was just surprised to see you here.”

“Sweetheart, can you move down a seat?” Nick asked Stacy.

They moved so Kelsey could sit beside Hudson, and then he knew it was a setup. He made a mental note to thank Nick later.

She slipped into the empty chair, and Stacy slid her a glass of wine. Hudson had noticed the two glasses before but had wrongly assumed they were both Stacy’s.

Conversations went on around them while Kelsey got settled and took a few sips of wine. He tried not to stare at her plush lips, but it was a serious struggle. He’d thought she was hot since the first time they’d met. But tonight, sitting beside her without Jared’s eyes boring into him, he appreciated her beauty even more.

“Is Jared here too?” she asked, suddenly looking wary.

“No. He had a date tonight.”

She visibly relaxed. “Well, I’m glad you could join us.”

Then a waiter came over, and discussions ensued over what appetizers to order for the table. Hudson barely listened, his attention focused solely on Kelsey. Once the waiter left, he asked about her coworkers, and she leaned in closer and began sharing tidbits of information with him.

“What about Britney?” he whispered, though she was at the opposite end of the table and wouldn’t be able to hear them from there.