Page 5 of With This Ring
“Hud!” The excitement in her voice was palpable. “I have news.”
He hit the speaker button on the phone and grabbed his coat. “Do tell, baby sis.”
“I’m engaged!”
Hudson froze, his coat half on. Surely he hadn’t heard her correctly. “You’rewhat?”
“Engaged. I’m getting married.” She giggled with joy.
He let his coat drop to the floor, then sat down on his chair. He clutched the phone and switched off the speaker. “To who?”
“To my boyfriend, of course. You met him when you came home for Christmas.”
Hudson searched his memory, trying to recall meeting Layla’s boyfriend. Then a vision of a skinny, nondescript guy filled his mind. “Shawn?”
She expelled a frustrated puff of air. “It’sShane. You need to pay better attention, Hud.”
He brushed his hand down his face. Now he remembered talking to the guy during Christmas dinner. He clearly recalled thinking Layla could do much better. “He mows lawns, right?”
“No, he’s a landscaper,” she corrected him. “You have to see what he did for Aunt Trudy’s backyard. The flowerbeds look awesome, and he added a cute little birdbath in the corner. He put in a bench and a path too. He’s very talented.”
Hudson couldn’t stop his snort. “Do landscapers make enough money to support a family?”
“Of course they do.”
He ignored the irritation in her tone. “Don’t you think you’re rushing into this?”
“Not at all. Today is our three-month anniversary, and we’ve known we wanted to get married since our first date. Remember how we reconnected at the coffeehouse? We were both there on our lunch breaks. I saw him and recognized him from high school.”
“Wait a minute,” Hud said as his conversation with Shane returned to him. “Didn’t he mention at dinner that he was always in trouble in high school?”
“Yeah, and we laughed about it. He’s changed just like I have.” She paused for a moment. “He earned his GED and got his life together. He’s a really hard worker, Hud.”
“That’s great and all, but three months isn’t long enough. Marriage is a serious commitment.”
“Iknow, Hud,” she muttered. “We’re both ready to commit.”
He rolled his eyes. “But you’re only—”
“Don’t you dare tell me I’m too young to get married,” she snapped. “I’m almost twenty-three, and you got engaged at twenty-one.”
“And look how well that turned out. Please don’t make the same mistakes I did.” He pressed his lips together as a vision of Dakota Jamison gripped his mind. He closed his eyes and tried to stop the familiar heartbreak from creeping into his chest.
Dakota had been the love of his life. At least, that was what he’d believed—until she dumped him without any explanation.
“Did you hear what I said, Hud? We’re getting married in June.”
Her statement brought him out of his thoughts. “June?”
“Yes, June,” she said firmly.
Hudson glowered. “Layla, I don’t approve of this.”
She sniffed on the other end of the line. “I don’t need your approval, Hud. You don’t have to be such a jerk all the time.”
“I’m just looking out for you—”
Click.