Page 32 of With This Ring

An unspoken conversation passed between the women, and Hudson sensed Kayleigh’s disapproval. That was his cue to leave.

He slid out of the booth and stood.

“Hud,” Dakota called.

He froze before spinning to face her.

“Did I hurt you when I fell on you?”

For a moment, he studied her gaze. That couldn’t possibly be genuine concern sparkling in her dark-chocolate-colored eyes, could it?

He moved his hand over the back of his neck, ignoring the pain still radiating up from his lower back. “Nope.”

“You sure? I landed on you pretty hard.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Well...” Her voice trailed off. “Thanks again.”

He nodded before skating away from them.

***

“Did you have fun, Hud?” Jeannie asked, walking through the Flowering Grove Rollerama parking lot between Gavin and Hudson.

Gavin carried Anissa, who was fast asleep with her head resting on her father’s shoulder.

Hudson shrugged. “Yeah. Did you?”

“Oh yeah.” She grinned. “We always have fun here.”

“Glad to hear it.” He glanced back toward the door, looking for any sign of Dakota.

The last time he’d seen her, she was sitting on a stool by the snack bar talking to a few of the teenagers who worked at the rink. She had taken off her skates and replaced them with black high-top Converse sneakers, and she still held an ice pack on her knee. He’d considered checking in with her again, but he thought it best to steer clear of her.

Even better, maybe he could forget she even existed.

Yeah, right.

“Did you see the party rooms behind the snack bar?” Jeannie continued. “We should have Anissa’s birthday party here.”

“That’s a great idea,” Gavin agreed.

When they reached Gavin’s four-door Dodge pickup, Hudson shook Gavin’s free hand. “Thanks for inviting me.”

“Of course. We’ll have to do it again,” Gavin told him.

Hudson nodded. “You all drive safe.” He waved and continued to his SUV.

His phone dinged with a text just as he climbed inside. He pulled it from his pocket and found a message from Layla:Tux fitting at Fairytale Bridal Wednesday, 3 p.m.

He stared at his sister’s message. He hadn’t heard from her since their argument on Thursday. He texted back:You okay?

Hudson expected the message bubbles to appear right away, but after several moments, they still hadn’t. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair. Being on the outs with her was a new feeling, and he didn’t like it at all.

Then the speech bubbles suddenly appeared.

I’ll be okay when you have some respect for my fiancé.