Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 105161 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105161 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 526(@200wpm)___ 421(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
“Hudson. How has your week been?” I opened my eyes and saw him. His arse was propped on a wooden barstool, and he was wearing blue jeans with a blue-and-green plaid shirt that made his eyes look like deep pools of yes please. Other than a sliver of insecurity in his expression, he looked like a walking wet dream.
Out of the blue, I realized I probably smelled like week-old cheese.
My uncle walked up and clapped me on the shoulder. “There he is. I need you to run Hudson here into Cork. His flight is tomorrow morning, and his hire car was smashed to bits by a lorry delivering kegs this morning. You can book a hotel and come back in the morning.”
Without waiting for a word from me, Devlin gave Hudson a handshake and then ambled off.
I heaved out a breath. Despite my exhaustion from already driving all day to visit a couple of stud dogs I’d wanted to check out, I couldn’t say it would be a hardship to spend a couple of hours alone with the American.
“I should probably shower first,” I admitted. “Smell like week-old cheese. Sorry.” I turned to go, but his strong hand reached out to grab my upper arm.
“Wait. Charlie, wait.”
I turned to look at him, noticing the pink on his cheeks and the nervous fluttering of his eyelashes.
“You don’t smell bad. You, ah… you smell really good.”
I looked around the room before returning my gaze to Hudson. “Are you drunk again?”
His smile was like damned sunshine, and I basked in it. “No, but… are you sure it’s okay for you to drive me? I know you just got back from a long trip.”
“Yeah. It’s fine. Give me twenty minutes to get cleaned up and sort out the dog, yeah?”
Once we were on the road, conversation came easy. I had to admit that surprised me. From how awkward and stumbling Hudson had been around me, I’d expected two and a half hours of uncomfortable silence.
But the time flew by. We talked about a little of everything. Hudson told me more about his grandfathers who lived on the ranch in a tiny town called Hobie, Texas. He told me more about his siblings and their quirky personalities. I told him more about my experiences dog training and trialing.
“You’ve never been outside of the UK?” he asked in surprise.
“No. I’m terrified of flying. Those giant heavy tubes shouldn’t be able to stay in the air, and don’t bother trying to explain it to me. It won’t work. The fear isn’t in my rational brain.”
Hudson grinned his lovely shy smile. “They have medicine that can help, you know. I’m not a fan of flying either, but I’ve had to get used to it because of work.”
“Do you travel a lot for your job?”
“Not really. But when I do… well, I take a little something. That’s why I made a fool of myself the first time I met you.”
I glanced at him. “You were adorable. All stammering and blushing. It’s no wonder I thought you were gay.”
The red creeped up from his collar. I wanted to brush my thumb across it.
Hudson faced away from me, out the left side window of my Rover. “I thought you were a woman.”
The words were quiet, and I could tell he was unsure of how I’d take them.
“That’s pretty common. I don’t mind, in case you were wondering, Hudson. I fought my looks for a very long time before going off to college and finally feeling like I could embrace my true self. Once I accepted my feminine side, I got so pissed off at all the years I’d wasted fighting it and all the men out there who will never be able to know the freedom of embracing both aspects of themselves.”
He turned back to face me, now in full blush. “You’re so fucking beautiful. You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met. I can’t seem to control my tongue around you. I’m not usually such a babbler.”
I felt the inane flutter of excitement in my gut and tried to ignore it. The man had made it very clear he wasn’t into me in that way.
“Thank you. I have to admit, I kind of like you as a babbler.”
He snorted and looked away again. “I kind of like that you’re a man instead of a woman.”
I glanced over again, trying to read between the lines. He’d mentioned his gay brothers and grandfathers, so I knew he most likely wasn’t a closed-minded homophobe. But then again, was I at all interested in being an experiment?
Not really. There would be way less complication in finding my release with a random bloke in a bar instead of this straight business man from America.
“We’re almost to town. Where are you staying?”
“Cork International by the airport.”
I made quick work of dropping him off. The farewell was plenty awkward in front of his hotel, but we shook hands and wished each other well with fake smiles plastered on both our faces.