I remembered that because everyone was wondering where he was. “How could I forget? All your friends were lost without you.”
His jaw clenches. “I was at a funeral in Michigan.”
My chest tightens. “I’m sorry, Hudson. I didn’t mean to sound insincere.”
He waves me off. “It’s okay.”
“What happened?” I speak the words softly.
He lifts his eyes to mine. “My dad’s best friend and his family’s house had burned down. Everyone survived except for Lisa. She was eight years old. Died of smoke inhalation.”
I can see the pain on his face, and it breaks my heart. “I can’t even imagine.”
He nods. “So ever since that day, I knew that if she had been saved a few minutes earlier, she’d still be here. That’s why I do what I do. I want to save people.”
All I want to do is comfort him and as I’m about to reach for his hand, the door to our private dining room opens wide and my sister walks in, all smiles. “Hello, you two.”
Hudson and I both stand, and I walk over to her. “What are you doing here?” I ask her.
She winks at me. “I came to get you. It’s time for your interview.” Then she leans in close. “Nice touch with the sunblock. Everyone laughed when they watched the feed.”
Hudson joins us and Erin holds out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Hudson. I’m Erin, Allie’s sister.”
His eyes widen. “Oh wow. It’s nice to meet you.”
Erin nods for the door. “Let’s get you two ready. I have to hook the microphones on to you.”
We follow her out the door and down the long hallway to one of the smaller conference rooms. There’s a backdrop on one side of the room with the show’s logo printed on it along with two chairs in front of it and a large TV screen to the side. Ryan is already in place with a camera man behind him and two more throughout the room.
Once Erin has the microphones hooked up to us, she goes to stand behind Ryan while we take our seats. The countdown begins and in three, two, one … it’s showtime.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” Ryan announces as he looks at the camera man near me. “We’re now here with Allison and Hudson. We’ve gotten your feedback and took your questions into consideration. I have to say, I’m really excited to hear how our couple responds. We had some interesting new developments come into play this morning. Let’s take a look.”
Ryan turns to the TV screen and on it is a clip of mine and Hudson’s breakfast time where he mentions our past. I knew they would play that. My stomach twists and turns and my palms grow sweaty. I can only imagine what the viewers want to know now. Once the clip is over, Ryan focuses on us and smiles. “I have to say, that was a major plot twist. Viewers had noticed a little bit of animosity from Allison, and now we know why.” Ryan stares right at Hudson. “You broke her nose in high school? How did you manage that?”
Hudson smacks a hand to his face. “I am never going to live this down, am I?”
Ryan chuckles. “Not yet, I’m afraid.”
Hudson sighs and looks over at me. “Well, it was freshman year and Allie was new to school. I accidentally tripped her, and she fell. When I tried to help her up, I got bumped and ended up knocking her into the lockers and breaking her nose.”
Ryan cringes and turns to me. “Ouch. That had to be hard, especially on your first day at a new school.”
I snort. “You have no idea. And as you already know, I spent the rest of my high school years with those lovely nicknames.”
Ryan nods. “I can see why you hated him after that.” This makes Hudson shift uncomfortably in his chair and I smile. Ryan glances over at Hudson. “You have a lot of making up to do if you want this to work, Hudson.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Hudson peer over at me. “Trust me, Ryan, I plan on it. A lot’s changed since high school. All I wanted was Allie’s attention, but I tried getting it the wrong way. As you can see, it backfired on me.”
Ryan chuckles again. “Are you trying to say you liked her back then?”
I freeze. Do I really want to hear his answer? Hudson is still looking at me, but I can’t bring myself to turn my head toward him. “I did,” he confesses. “I was even going to ask her to the senior prom, but then I overheard her talking in the library to her friend about how much she hated me. That was when I realized just how badly I’d screwed up.”
Gasping, I jerk my head toward him. The solemn look on his face is back and he shrugs. “It was the day I came back from that two-week trip I told you about at dinner tonight. Sometimes it takes something like that for you to see things clearly.”
It just so happens, I remember that day as if it was yesterday. Hudson had gotten back to school and it was all anyone could talk about, even Crystal, who was my friend, sitting with me in the library. I remember her talking about Hudson and how cute he was, and my reply on how I hated him. I had no clue he was close by. I want to tell him I’m sorry, but I don’t get the chance.
Ryan points at the TV screen. “Let’s see another clip. This time it’s from your date at the private pool. I have to say it’s pretty hilarious.”
Uh-oh. Hudson’s brows furrow in confusion and I bite my lip. I’m curious to see what he’ll think about his new sunblock tattoo. The video
