Page 22 of Best Kept Secret

Still, he shouldn’t be tangling her up in his mess. She seemed enamored with Annie, but would she feel the same if she knew who her real mother was? He probably should have taken his chances and told her the truth from the start. If she’d backed off, he would have had to accept it and move on. Now she believed that Emily was Annie’s mom, and he’d only perpetuated the lie.

If that weren’t bad enough, they were both lying to Jared. If Jared found out they’d been secretly seeing each other, he’d blow a gasket, and maybe even kick Hudson out of the apartment.

I could always move in with Emily for a while, he reasoned. Then he shook his head in disgust. Or I could man up and tell the truth!

He knew that was the right thing to do, but he envisioned the look of shock and disappointment on Kelsey’s face when she found out. She’d probably assume he’d been irresponsible about using protection. She might think Annie had been the result of a one-night stand and he’d left Sonia to fend for herself, even though he hadn’t known she was pregnant until the end.

Even if he told her the whole story, she might not believe him, not after all the lies. He took another swig of beer and pondered it some more.

She deserves someone better than you. Someone who didn’t mess around and become a single dad because of it.

Yet he couldn’t think of Annie as a mistake. She was his, and she was adorable, and he loved her. Yes, he’d made some mistakes, but he would never blame this on her.

He took a deep breath. “No matter what happens, I’ll always have Annie.”

Saying it aloud gave him some peace. He set down the beer, tipped his head back, and closed his eyes. There was only one true escape from his troubles, and soon he was fast asleep.

Seven

Kelsey tried to tamp down her enthusiasm as she pulled into the parking lot of Jared and Hudson’s apartment. She’d tried convincing herself she was excited to see Annie, but she was even more anxious to see Hudson.

Earlier he’d sent her a text letting her know he was babysitting and invited her to come over. She’d immediately responded, Yes! and then scolded herself for being overzealous. He probably thought she was baby-obsessed, and that was fine with her. It was better than the truth, that she was Hudson-obsessed!

Thinking of the truth, she wondered if he’d told Jared that he’d invited her over. Glancing around the parking lot, she didn’t see Jared’s car and guessed that he hadn’t. She suffered a brief pang of guilt for sneaking around behind her brother’s back, but then she reminded herself she was a grown woman who could make her own decisions.

If his only reason for not wanting her to date Hudson was because of the friend code, well, that wasn’t good enough. Eventually she’d confront her brother about it, but not today.

She parked the car, an orange Volkswagen Beetle that Jared mercilessly teased her about, and entered the apartment building. She pressed the intercom button for their unit and then smoothed her hands over her long, chestnut brown hair.

She was wearing a white tank top, cropped yoga pants, and sneakers on the chance that they might take Annie for a walk. She didn’t care what the clerk at Victoria’s Secret had said. Yoga pants weren’t just for women who’d recently had a baby!

“Kelsey?”

Hudson’s warm, deep voice rippled through her. “Yep, it’s me.”

“Come on in.”

The security door buzzed, and she went inside, adrenaline surging through her as she approached his apartment. She’d just raised her hand to knock when the door flung open, and there he stood, holding Annie so she was facing her.

Okay. So maybe she was becoming a bit baby-obsessed. “Aw. She’s even cuter than the last time I saw her!”

He chuckled. “That was only a few days ago.”

“Really?”

He nodded and said, “Are you coming in?”

She laughed, realizing she was still standing in the hallway, gushing over his beautiful niece. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

“I take it Jared’s not here,” she said as she followed him into the living room.

“Nope. He’s at the gym.”

He sat on the couch, and she joined him, wanting to be as close to Annie (and him) as possible.

“Oh. Before I forget, Emily wanted me to thank you for the baby clothes. She loved them.”

“I’m so glad. I was hoping I’d get to meet her today.”