“I know,” I said.
“Then, why do you look so distraught about it?”
“Because I want another child, Hudson. My daughter wants a sibling. I want some sort of normal semblance of a family. I always have.”
We walked into my living room, and I flopped down into a chair.
“You sure they don’t know anything?” I asked.
“Positive,” Hudson said as he sat on the couch.
“I don’t feel good about this.”
“I don’t either, to tell you the truth. That’s another reason why I wanted to see you,” he said.
“Why?”
“I have an idea that might work to get the Mafia off your back. You know, so you can return to your life as normal.”
I bolted upright in my chair as my eyes locked with Hudson’s.
“I don’t know if it’s going to work, but it’ll require you coming out of town with me for a little while.”
“I’d have to bring Audrey with me. There’s no one here I trust to watch her,” I said.
“That’s fine. I know where we can keep her safe, but I figured you’d want to know if there was even a chance your life could get back to normal.”
“Of fucking course, I do. We can leave now as far as I’m concerned.”
“Not so fast. You’re very distracted. And we still have to iron out a lot of kinks before we even get to talking about the idea of a normal life,” he said.
“I’ll take anything I can get at this point. It’s killing me, raising my daughter this way. I know she’s happy, but I also know she could be happier.”
“So we take it one step at a time like we always have. Okay?” he asked.
“Fine.”
A normal life? My normal name? No longer having to look over my shoulder? Was it even possible anymore? Hudson seemed confident that it was, and it lit a fire of hope under my ass that I wanted to chase down.
“Now, talk to me about what’s really going through your mind. This girl, she’s got you all twisted up, doesn’t she?” Hudson asked.
I put my face in my hands and sighed.
“I miss her,” I said.
“You what?” he a
sked.
“I know it sounds insane, but it’s been a week since I’ve talked to her. She was the perfect fit. I mean perfect, Hudson. She got along with Audrey and got along with me. She was interesting. Independent. Self-sufficient. A bit stubborn.”
“It sounds to me like you’re attracted to her.”
“Of course, I’m attracted to her. Fuck me. She’s gorgeous. But this is a business deal, a transaction between two people with a contract and everything. She got nervous because of her personal feelings, and then her mentioning her feelings got me thinking about my feelings.”
“You have feelings?”
“Fuck you,” I said.