Until You Loved Me

3

The constant buzzing of his phone, vibrating from the pocket of his discarded pants, woke Hudson. He lifted his head so he could turn the alarm clock around to face him before dropping back onto the pillow. It was after noon. How had he slept so late? He was usually an early riser, couldn’t lie in past seven or eight even if he wanted to.

Only after he’d had a few seconds to regain full consciousness did he remember that he’d had a woman with him last night—a sweet, smart woman who’d made him laugh on the beach and given him a wild ride in bed afterward. That was why he’d been able to sleep so late. He hadn’t sacked out until almost dawn—and only after significant physical exertion. That workout had been the good kind, too, the kind he’d been craving for some time, which had to be why he’d scarcely moved since. Satisfaction. At last.

He reached out, searching for Ellie’s warm body next to him. Maybe the fun didn’t have to be over, he thought. But she wasn’t there.

His phone stopped vibrating as he shoved himself into a sitting position and squinted to see in the dark room. He had a suite at the Four Seasons, so the fact that she wasn’t in the bedroom didn’t necessarily mean she was gone. She could be in one of the bathrooms or the dining or living area.

He didn’t hear any noise, however—nothing to indicate he had company.

Why would she leave so soon? Without even giving him her number or pinning him down on when he might be interested in getting together again?

“Ellie?” he called.

No answer.

He got up and pulled on his boxers before opening the drapes to let in the sun. Then he walked through the whole suite.

As he’d begun to suspect, it was empty. And her clothes and purse weren’t anywhere to be found.

Had she gone out to get them some breakfast?

Hudson would’ve been happy to order room service if she’d told him she was hungry...

If she had stepped out for food, she might’ve left him a note to say she’d be back. He checked the desk, but there was nothing on the pad by the phone.

Returning to the bed, he held the pillow she’d used to his nose. He could smell her perfume. That was the only trace left of her.

His phone started to vibrate again. Disappointed that the woman he’d met and liked had walked out on him without so much as a goodbye—when she knew he still had a day or two in Miami—he picked up his pants and dug his phone out of the front pocket. As he did, he felt a small burst of hope and thought maybe she was calling. Until he remembered that she didn’t know who he was. They hadn’t exchanged numbers; they hadn’t even exchanged last names!

Before she left, she could’ve gotten his phone out of his pants and called herself to capture his number. He’d had other women help themselves. But it would have been locked since he hadn’t used it recently. Besides, she didn’t seem the type. If he was being honest, that was partly why he’d been attracted to her. She wasn’t as aggressive as some of the other women he’d met since launching his career. So he wasn’t surprised to find that his caller was just Teague.

With a sigh, he hit the talk button. “’Lo?”

“There you are!” Teague said. “Jeez, I’ve called you at least ten times. Where the heck have you been?”

“What do you mean, where have I been? I was up late. I’ve been sleeping. Why? What’s the emergency?”

“No emergency. Just checking in. I was afraid you were unhappy when you left last night. I would’ve left with you if you’d told me you were going. I tried texting you, but after that cryptic message you sent me—‘Leaving, see you tomorrow’—I got nothing.”

“I didn’t expect you to leave the club. I was having a good time without you.” The last thing he’d wanted was for Teague to catch up with him and ruin his fun. In addition to his fear of being recognized, that was why he’d made up an excuse to Ellie that they needed to slip out the back and only texted Teague once he was safely away. Otherwise, he knew his agent would have come running.

Crazy thing was, there were a million reasons last night shouldn’t have happened the way it did. And yet everything had worked out.

He’d never forget the moment Ellie pulled him into that cab. It had taken her so long to warm up to him that he hadn’t expected it. He’d spent several hours, both before and after that, with a woman who had no clue he was a professional athlete, let alone the starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Devils. And just as he’d suspected, taking his celebrity out of the mix had made their interaction so much more genuine. For once, he could be confident that the person he was with had no ulterior motives, that she honestly liked him for him.

“You were having fun?” Teague said in surprise. “Sitting in that booth alone? No, we shouldn’t have left you. We knew you weren’t that big on—”

“Teague!” he broke in.

“What?”

“I left with someone, brought her here to the hotel.”

There was a slight pause. “You did? How? I didn’t even see you talk to anyone.”

“Well, you weren’t watching me the whole night.”

“You were in that damn booth every time I checked.”

“There was a woman by the name of Ellie sitting nearby. We hit it off.”

“Just like that?”

“Not quite as fast as it sounds, but yeah.”

“She a football fan?”

“Don’t know. She didn’t recognize me. That’s what made it so enjoyable.”

Teague grunted as if he was struggling to process that. “You didn’t tell her who you were?”

“No.”

“And she couldn’t figure it out for herself?”

Hudson could hear the skepticism. He remembered feeling the same disbelief at first—waiting for her to put two and two together. “Guess not. She doesn’t watch sports. Which isn’t too big a shock, I suppose. She’s a scientist.”

“Interesting. I feel a lot better, then. Glad you had a great time.”

He did have a great time, and then he’d slept like a baby, something he’d been unable to do for months. He’d been too worried about Aaron Stapleton, one of the boys he mentored at New Horizons Boys Ranch, the behavior-focused boarding school he’d attended himself from his sophomore to senior year. The kid had been diagnosed with bladder cancer six months ago and was going through a second round of chemo, which made him deathly ill, and he didn’t have any parental support. Hudson was terrified that the treatments wouldn’t be as effective as they needed to be, that he’d lose the one person he’d felt he could trust with a big piece of his heart.

But he didn’t want to obsess about that while he was in Miami. He’d be home soon—in time for Aaron’s next appointment. “I’m glad I met her,” he said.

“So...where is she now?” Teague asked. “If you’re talking this openly, she must not be close by...”

He crossed over to the window and peered at the ground twenty-two stories below. He thought maybe he’d see her getting into a cab, but none of the people he could make out were wearing that killer white dress. “She’s gone—left before I woke up.”

“Well, that’s good!”

“Good?” he echoed, surprised by the relief in his agent’s voice.

“At least you didn’t have to come up with a way to get rid of her or face any awkward goodbyes.”

“I guess.” He supposed that was lucky, since he wasn’t looking for anything permanent.

He’d gotten what he wanted, he told himself. He’d had an incredible encounter with a woman he was really attracted to, and it had led to some of the best sex of his life. Even better, he’d done it all anonymously, so there’d be no blowback, no upsetting recriminations for not falling in love, no requests for money or other favors, no unexpected information about his love life showing up in the press. He hadn’t even had to give Ellie his autograph.

He should have been relieved, happy, ready to move forward from here.

So...why was he hoping she’d come back?

* * *

Ellie sat at a sidewalk café not far from where she’d been shopping and pushed her new sunglasses higher on her nose. After getting home and showering, she’d gone to the Shops at Mary Brickell Village and purchased quite a few clothes, including a black sheath cocktail dress, since she didn’t own one, some more lingerie—she’d gone a little crazy there, considering the prices—and a pair of Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses. She wasn’t sure why she was reacting to her night with Hudson by going on a shopping spree. Sleeping with him had been too self-indulgent already! But he’d made her feel so attractive and desirable that she was still running wild and free. Staying busy kept her from thinking too much about her actions. So there was that. And now that the wedding was off, she wouldn’t have to help her parents finance the reception or pay for her honeymoon to the Seychelles (Don didn’t have the savings, which meant she was carrying the financial burden). Although the venue had already been booked and she’d lost a couple thousand dollars in deposits when she canceled, that was only a fraction of what the whole thing would’ve cost, so she’d still have extra money to play with.

She counted the bags she had with her—she’d brought them into the restaurant so she wouldn’t have to walk all the way to her car—and felt a moment’s panic. Maybe she’d spent too much...

No. She refused to regret what she’d done today, any more than last night. She might as well start enjoying life. She wasn’t getting any younger, and now that she wasn’t getting married, either, she had only herself to please.

Should she go to the Seychelles without Don?

She’d been looking forward to seeing that part of the world.

She imagined what it might be like to spend two weeks on the islands by herself. If she could find another man like Hudson, it would be worth the time and money—

“There you are.”

At the sound of Amy’s voice, Ellie turned to see her friend weaving through the tables as she came onto the patio. Ellie was relieved she hadn’t brought Leslie. She hadn’t cared for Leslie all that much.

“Whoa! Look at you!” Amy stopped to gape at the evidence of how Ellie had spent her day. “I see you’ve been having fun.”

“Other than the stuff you convinced me to buy for last night, I haven’t been shopping in ages. I was too busy saving up for the wedding. But now...I figured I might as well splurge.”

“Those are some great brands.” She took her seat across from Ellie. Amy had called several times to talk about last night. Rather than answer her friend’s questions over the phone, she’d simply invited Amy to join her for an early dinner. Amy’s salon was close to the restaurant, so it was convenient, and meeting up allowed Ellie to postpone returning home, where she’d have to face her regular life.

“Are those new sunglasses?” Amy asked.

“Yeah. How do you like them?”

“They’re stylish. You look amazing.”

“Thanks.”

A waitress came to greet them and ask for their drink order.

“So...what happened last night?” Amy asked once they were alone. “I assumed you were joking when you texted me about leaving with someone, but I went by your place on my way home, and you weren’t there. Kind of scared me, to tell you the truth. I was afraid I’d contributed to something that put you in a tricky spot—or worse.”

When Ellie felt herself blush, Amy’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What? Don’t tell me you did go home with someone!”

“Yes.”

“Who?”

“Some guy at the bar.”

“Some guy? You don’t know his name?”

“Hudson.” Ellie watched carefully for Amy’s reaction. “Does that ring a bell?”

There was no recognition. Either Amy was the best actress in the world, or she wasn’t behind Hudson’s picking up Ellie. “No. Why would it?”

“I thought maybe he was a friend of yours.”

“I’ve never met anyone by that name.”

“Then it happened naturally.” Ellie found that hard to believe. There’d been prettier girls at the club. Ones with more curves, too—and gregarious personalities. Why hadn’t Hudson chosen one of them?

Amy’s smile spread wide. “Tell me about it!”

Ellie waited until their server had returned with their water and they’d placed their dinner order. Then she explained how Hudson had bought her a drink, joined her at the table and asked her to go for a walk.

“You went out on the beach with him.”

“For a couple of hours. I thought that should be safe. There weren’t a lot of people around that time of night, but I could’ve gotten someone’s attention if anything felt...off.”

“You must’ve felt safe.”

She remembered how he’d saved her from a tumble beneath the inky black waves. “Completely.”

“So then you agreed to go home with him?”

“After a couple of hours we wound up at his hotel. And it wasn’t just any hotel, either. He must be a high-powered businessman or someone else with money, because he had the most luxurious suite I’ve ever seen. I’ve never stayed in a place like that. There were these expensive perfumed soaps, you know? I almost put them in my purse. I doubt he would’ve noticed since it was obvious he hadn’t even been in the extra bathroom.”

“You should’ve done it.”

“Probably. Anyway, the towels were thicker than any I’ve ever felt, and there were monogrammed robes with slippers in the closet. It was pretty impressive.”

“Wow. So he was good-looking and rich.”

“Yes. And he had other assets, too.”

Gripping the sides of the table, Amy leaned forward. “Are you talking about what I think you’re talking about? You didn’t actually sleep with him, did you?”

Ellie felt her face heat even more.

“You did?” Amy gasped.

She nodded. “And it was absolutely incredible.”

Amy’s jaw dropped as she fell back in her seat. “I can’t believe it. So he was normal? Didn’t do anything that made him seem weird or made you uncomfortable?”

“No. I’ve never been touched like that. It was the best night of my life.”

“Wow!” Amy leaned forward again. “Going home with a stranger doesn’t always work out so well. I hope you understand that.”

“Good thing. Otherwise, I’d go clubbing every night.”

“I’ve never seen you like this,” she said with a laugh.

“I’ve never been like this.”

“It was that good.”

“Better than good. But I don’t have a lot of experience. So maybe it was just better than Don.” She stopped for a second, remembering her boyfriend before Don, and changed her mind. “No. Anyone would think that was about the best sex can be.”

Amy acted as if she didn’t know what to say. “You could knock me over with a feather right now.”

“I was shocked myself. I never dreamed I was capable of being that reckless.”

“Speaking of reckless...” She lowered her voice. “Please tell me you used protection.”

Ellie glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “Of course. We used the condoms Leslie shoved in my purse.”

“Condoms...plural?”

Ellie cleared her throat. “He, uh, recovered quickly.”

“Whoa. Okay, but...he didn’t have any birth control of his own?”

“None. We would’ve had to stop and buy some if Leslie hadn’t given me those, so it worked out perfectly.”

“And here I thought it was more of a joke when she gave us those. I certainly didn’t use the ones she shoved in my purse, but she got a kick out of making you blush. She told me she’s never met anyone who can still turn red over things like that.” She clasped her hands together on the table. “But back to your...experience last night. What man goes to a club and picks up a girl without having any condoms?”

A man wearing sunglasses, which was also odd, but she didn’t mention that part. “He’s traveling. I guess he didn’t expect to need birth control while he was here.”

“That makes him seem even better. Obviously he wasn’t cruising the club just hoping to get laid.” Her expression turned pouty. “I wish I could’ve at least caught a glimpse of him.”

“You didn’t see us because we slipped out the back.”

“Why would you do that?”

She shrugged. “He said it was too crowded in front.”

“And no one tried to stop you?”

“He’s pretty tall and imposing, and he moves with...authority. I don’t think there are too many people who’d dare get in his way.”

“There are guys who get paid to do that. They’re called bouncers, remember? You can’t walk out the back of a club.”

“I’m not sure what to tell you. Hudson spoke to some guy, and the big man guarding the back door let us out.”

“Hudson, huh?” Amy pulled out her smartphone. “Hudson who? Let’s see if we can find him on social media.”

“I don’t know his last name.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Why not?”

“We weren’t focused on that sort of thing.”

“Isn’t that basic?”

“It is, but...” Almost as soon as they’d walked out of Envy, they’d agreed not to talk about their families or their work, the two things most people droned on and on about when they first became acquainted. It seemed a little strange now, although it hadn’t then.

“But what?”

“He said he was tired of repeating all the same stuff, and you know me—I’ve never been much for small talk. In this case, there didn’t seem to be any point in going through the motions. He’d already told me he wouldn’t be in town for long. We both knew we weren’t starting a relationship, that once he left, we’d probably never see each other again. That changes your expectations.”

“You said you spent two hours on the beach.”

“We did.”

“You must’ve talked about something!”

“We talked about philosophy, politics, religion. Even certain mysterious phenomena he saw on a TV program last week where they used satellites to spot odd structures on earth.”

“You talked about philosophy, politics, religion and science?”

“Yeah. You know, how the universe was created, and the fact that Venus was a sister planet to Earth at one time and might’ve fostered life before a runaway greenhouse effect turned it into an oven. Whether we’re looking at something similar on Earth.”

She shook her head. “Only you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? It was fine. We agreed on politics and religion.”

“You told him you believe in evolution.”

“Of course! I told him the evidence for it is staggering.”

“Like I said, only you.” She laughed as she moved so the waitress could deliver their salads. “Even drunk, you’re talking about heavy subjects, risky subjects or subjects most other people don’t know much about.”

“He knew plenty.” Ellie had been surprised that Hudson was so intelligent. Not because she was arrogant about her own IQ. She just didn’t think it was all that common for one man to have so much going for him.

A text came in. Her parents were safely in Paris, said they were jet-lagged but would check in later. Relieved to know they were okay, because it stabilized her world after a crazy twenty-four hours, Ellie was about to put away her phone and start on her salad when she got another text—this one from Don.

Hey, I was wondering if tonight would be a good time to come by and get the rest of my things.

She stared down at those words. They seemed so impersonal, the kind of thing he’d say to any old friend. Only four days ago, this was the man she’d been planning to marry, to spend the rest of her life with. And now he was coming to get his CDs, his sweater, his cat, who’d been living at her house since they typically spent more time there, and a few pans he’d left. Her life had changed so abruptly and so completely.

“What is it?” Amy asked.

Attempting to mask her frown, Ellie glanced up. “Nothing.”

“Come on. What is it? You were so happy a second ago.”

“Don. He’d like to come by tonight.”

Amy took a drink of water. “What for?”

“I have some of his things.”

“Are you going to let him?”

“Why not?”

Amy blinked in surprise. “Last I heard you didn’t want to see him. You said it was hard enough to run into him at work. But since you have no choice about that, why not put his stuff in your trunk and let him get it at the lab?”

“Because I can’t put his cat in my trunk.”

“He’s taking Lulu?”

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“You love that cat!”

“So does he.”

“That’s cruel.”

“It is what it is. And why put it off? I might as well let him come tonight,” she said and texted him her response. That’s fine. I’ll be home after seven.

“You don’t think he’ll bring Leo...”

“He could. I doubt he’s looking forward to facing me alone.”

“He’d better not bring him.” Amy stuffed a forkful of lettuce in her mouth and spoke around it. “I’m shocked you haven’t destroyed what you have of his, to tell you the truth—except for Lulu, of course. Lulu’s a great cat. You should keep her on principle.”

Ellie hadn’t even considered damaging his property or keeping his cat. She’d been too brokenhearted to be angry or vengeful. Would that come next? She’d lost something that was important to her—she still cared about Don, after all—and anger was part of the grieving process. But thanks to Hudson, she thought she might be able to skip that step. What she’d done last night, going to his hotel room, was impulsive and foolish, and yet she’d experienced emotions and sensations she’d never felt as strongly before. Those few hours in his arms had shown her that losing Don might not be the end of the world.

She’d never be Mrs. Donald White. She wouldn’t be seeing Hudson again, either. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t something else out there for her—and maybe it was even better than the life she’d planned.

She slid her phone back in her purse and picked up her fork. “Somehow I’ll get through this.”

4

“Did you like that?” Teague asked as they drove back from the Everglades tour he’d insisted they take.

“Loved it.” In an effort to be convincing, Hudson spoke with more enthusiasm than usual. His new agent had been doing his best to show him a good time. Hudson wanted Teague to feel he’d succeeded, but he hadn’t been very interested in the sightseeing they’d done today. He hadn’t been very interested in anything—not since Ellie left. He knew it was a strange reaction on his part, but he felt he might’ve lost something he should’ve taken a closer look at. She was so different from anyone else he’d dated—from anyone he’d ever met.