Hold Me Closer (Sea Island Brides Book 1) (15 page)

Anxious
to see him again and judge his reaction after their night together,
she finished her shower and wrapped one of Hudson’s plump blue
bath towels around her wet frame. The only clothes she had to wear
were the ones she’d had on last night, and they were covered in
sand. Instead, she rummaged through Hudson’s closet and
selected one of his oversize t-shirts and a pair of his boxer shorts.

When
she was dressed, she went searching for Hudson, expecting to find him
in his study. From the stairway, though, she heard voices coming from
the dining room. Listening for a moment, she recognized the voices of
Hudson’s mother and sister, as well as the housekeeper, Nora.
Not wanting anyone to see her wearing Hudson’s clothes and
obviously coming from an upstairs room in the house, she turned and
tiptoed back up the long staircase.

“Annabelle?
Oh my goodness, bless your heart! Get down here girl, and let me give
you a big hug.” Sue Ellen Montgomery must have been walking
into the hallway just as Annabelle tried to make her escape.
Annabelle froze on the stairs and slowly turned around, embarrassed
to be seen this way by his mother.

“Mrs.
Montgomery, good morning. I was just looking for Hudson.” At
Sue Ellen’s urging, Annabelle made her way back down the
stairs. The two were soon joined by Hudson’s sister, Jilly, and
finally Hudson himself.

Her
eyes locked onto his and she blushed, biting her bottom lip in
embarrassment. She watched as he looked her up and down, then raised
his eyebrows at her choice of outfit.

“I
see you found something to wear,” he said, a teasing smile on
his face as he lifted his coffee mug to his lips.

“Yes,”
she stuttered, unsure what to say in front of his family. “I
probably should head back to the cottage to get some clothes.”

“You
poor thing,” Sue Ellen said, grabbing her into a bear hug. She
didn’t seem at all surprised by Annabelle’s lack of
clothing. “Hudson told us all about the break-in last night in
the cottage. I just couldn’t believe it! Thank God,
you weren’t hurt!”

“I
would be so angry if someone broke into my place,” Jilly said,
ushering them all back toward the dining room. “You must have
been terrified.”

Annabelle
sat down at the large table and Nora set a heaping plate of bacon,
eggs, biscuits, grits and fruit in front of her with a large glass of
orange juice. “Thank you,” she said before turning back
to Jilly. “Hudson was a real hero last night. If it hadn’t
been for him, I don’t know what might have happened.”

“Did
you get a good look at his face?” she asked.

“No,”
Annabelle lied. “It all happened so fast.” She hated
being dishonest when they were all so obviously concerned, but it
couldn’t be helped. If she told them the truth about Mark, he
would expose her secrets.

“Well,
I hope you won’t think of sleeping in that cottage alone
anymore,” Sue Ellen said.

“She’s
moving into the Big House with me.” If anyone was surprised at
Hudson’s announcement, they certainly kept it well hidden.
Maybe his family already sensed that their scam of an engagement had
progressed into a more significant relationship. Then again,
Annabelle knew there were at least five other bedrooms in the house
besides Hudson’s. He was probably planning to move her into one
of those.

“I’ve
also increased security around the plantation.”

“On
a lighter note,” Sue Ellen said with an excited note in her
voice, “I was wondering what you are planning to wear to the
engagement ball next weekend?”

Annabelle
glanced at Hudson. He had already reminded her several times to go
shopping for a dress, and as much as she loved to shop, she hadn’t
been able to bring herself to go alone and look for a dress to wear
to a fake engagement party.

“I
don’t actually have anything to wear, yet.”

“Great!
Jilly doesn’t have anything either, and Lord knows she could
use some help.”

Jilly
looked up from her plate and groaned. “Mom, seriously. Are we
back to this again?”

It
would be a relief to have a shopping partner, but Annabelle had been
secretly hoping to spend some more time with Hudson. She couldn’t
very well turn down his mother’s request though, and she did
need a dress. “Sure, I’d love to shop. It’ll be
fun. Where should we go? Savannah?”

“No,”
Hudson said with a smile. “Why don’t you ladies take the
company helicopter? Bruce could fly you up to Atlanta for the day and
you could find a dress, maybe go to a salon or something. Have a
girl’s day out. Mom, you should go too.”

“Me?”
Sue Ellen laughed. “I’ve already got my dress. Besides,
there’s so much to be done, with the
party less than a week away, you know. But you girls go on ahead and
have a great time. I can call the spa and get you a VIP appointment
for this afternoon. I’ll telephone Scarlett and see if she’s
available. I know she’s dying to meet you, Annabelle. She’s
just been so busy, she hasn’t had a chance to make it home
since you arrived.”

As
the dining room erupted in chatter, Annabelle observed the family
dynamic. Hudson pulled out his cell phone and made a call to his
pilot while the women talked about dress ideas and hairstyles. It was
suddenly so overwhelming, Annabelle wasn’t sure if she wanted
to cry or laugh.

All
her life she had longed to be a part of a family like this. It wasn’t
the money that mattered. It was the simple act of being together. The
Montgomerys were so close and open with each other. Watching Jilly
and her mother chat away made Annabelle mourn the years of growing up
without a mother of her own. For a moment, she wondered what it would
be like to be joining this family for real. No fake engagement where
they all felt like they had to include her. This morning, for the
first time, it all felt so real that it took her breath away.

But
it isn’t real.

After
they found out who she really was and what she had done to get here,
they would hate her, and this temporary fairy tale would disappear
like the illusion that it was. She pushed her plate away and excused
herself, deciding to head back to her cottage to change clothes for
their outing to the city.

Pieces
of the door and frame were strewn across the stone entryway of the
cottage from where Hudson burst through it the night before.
Annabelle passed over it carefully and headed back to her bedroom.
The sound of footsteps behind her brought fresh terror to her heart,
but when she turned, she was pleasantly surprised to find Hudson
standing in the doorway with a smile on his face.

“Whew,
you scared me,” she said, letting out a deep sigh of relief.
“Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to sneak up on a
girl like that?”

“I’m
sorry,” he said, concern darkening his features. “You’ll
have to forgive me for wanting to spend a few minutes alone with you
before you leave.”

With
that, he crossed the room and swept her into his arms, his mouth
covering hers in a heated kiss. “Seeing you in my clothes was a
surprisingly stirring sight this morning. Makes me just want to rip
them off you and do a repeat performance of last night’s
activities.”

Annabelle
giggled and buried her head in his shoulder. God he smelled good. She
inhaled and closed her eyes. “So,
your response is to get rid of me by sending me to Atlanta for the
day, instead?”

“I
just thought it would be nice for you and my sister to get to know
each other better. I only wish Harlan and Jack were going to be here
for the party too, but hopefully, you’ll
get to meet them when we go to Japan to sign the final papers for the
merger.”

The
mention of Harlan’s name reminded Annabelle of her reason for
being there in the first place. “I can’t wait to meet
them,” she said honestly. She wondered for the hundredth time
if Harlan even knew about Julia’s pregnancy or if Hudson had
ever bothered to mention it. She bit her tongue to keep from asking
the question she couldn’t ask.

“When
you get back tonight, I have a special dinner planned. Just the two
of us, okay?” Hudson kissed her again, this time softer and
Annabelle melted all over again.

“Sounds
perfect.”

By
four o’clock, Annabelle was certain she’d been
transported to some alternate universe. Riding in a plush helicopter
was exhilarating, and the entire trip only took an hour. She was so
busy watching the countryside below that she could hardly believe how
soon they were landing on top of a skyscraper in the middle of
downtown.

The
salon Hudson’s mother sent them to gave them the royal
treatment—facials, manicures, pedicures, and a hot stone
massage. Scarlett hadn’t been able to meet them, but promised
to come to the dress shop if she had a spare moment.

Annabelle
had never been pampered so thoroughly in her life, and now, sitting
in the foyer of a designer’s private dress shop, she knew the
spa was only the beginning.

Jilly
had greeted the Italian designer with a kiss on both cheeks, then
introduced him to Annabelle before being dragged behind the curtain
for a private fitting, the designer promising the whole time that he
wouldn’t dress her in anything too “girly”. Left to
herself in the foyer for a moment, Annabelle was glad for the time to
let the events of the day sink in.

A
girl could get used to this.

But
getting used to being treated like a princess was dangerous when it
was a temporary situation. Extremely temporary. The startling
progression of her relationship with Hudson was making her mind
fuzzy, and she suddenly felt like Alice going down the rabbit hole.
Somewhere along the way this whole thing had stopped being solely
about Julia and the baby, and Annabelle had allowed her own heart to
get invested.

She
took a deep breath and repeated her cousin’s favorite saying to
herself.

You
can’t change the past, Annabelle, but you can start right now
to make a future you can be proud of.

Usually,
Annabelle snorted at her cousin’s words, feeling like a child
who was slapped on the wrist for bad behavior. But Julia was right.
No one knew better than Annabelle that the past couldn’t be
changed. How many times, as a child,
had she wished she could go back in time to the day their parents
were killed? If she had a time machine and could change one pivotal
moment in her life, that would be the day she would choose. But no
one can change the past, and her parents had been gone for a long
time now.

In
some ways, that was the toughest part about
the week she had spent with Hudson and his family. They treated her
as though she belonged there, and the feeling was addictive. Making
love to Hudson had been taking it a step too far, though, and she
knew it. She crossed a line that couldn’t be uncrossed.

With
a sigh, Annabelle let her head fall back against the plush leather
sofa in the waiting room. Her feelings for Hudson were more
complicated than ever. How was it possible to love someone and
despise them at the same time? But she didn’t despise him
anymore. Not really. She just despised his actions, and deep inside
her heart, she hoped he would change his mind about Julia once the
truth was in the open.

The
beeping of her phone startled her. She sat up and rummaged through
her bag until she came up with the small silver phone. The screen
told her she had a text message waiting, and when she opened it to
read the message, her heart began skipping wildly. How did Mark know
where she was?

She
flipped her head quickly toward the window at the front of the shop.
There, with a scowl on his face, was Mark. He had a fresh red scratch
running down the length of his arm and she swallowed as she
remembered the horror of the previous night on Sea Island when he
attacked her in the dark. Mark beckoned for her to join him outside,
and Annabelle spared a glance toward the dressing room.

Leaving
her bag on the couch, Annabelle forced a smile at the receptionist
and excused herself.

“If
Ms. Montgomery asks for me, please tell her I had to take a phone
call and I will be back in a few minutes.” The receptionist
nodded and went back to her work as Annabelle slipped outside.

“What
are you doing here? How did you find me?” Her voice sounded
more scared than she intended, and she reached deep within to find
the strength to calm herself before she spoke again. “What do
you want, Mark?”

“I
lost my job over those pictures, Annabelle. The pictures you asked me
to take, remember? And your boyfriend has had his goons looking for
me ever since. I haven’t been able to go back to my own
apartment. I need money.”

Annabelle
looked nervously toward the door of the shop and shuffled Mark
farther down the street, away from the view
of the window. “Those pictures were never supposed to go
public, Mark. That’s all on you and you know it. Besides, I
don’t have any money to give you. Blackmailing me now would be
stupid.”