Page 78 of With This Ring

He scanned her small backyard. “I didn’t realize how much I missed this.”

Her stomach dipped. “Missed what?” she asked.

“The stars.” He pointed up toward the sky and then around the yard. “The quiet. The sunsets. Don’t get me wrong. New York has its perks. I love my apartment and my building, but this—this is nice.” He faced her, and his expression was warm, sending a jolt through her. “Do you remember that time we decided to drive out to Coral Cove for the day?”

A bark of laughter burst from her lips. “That was a disaster.”

“Well, not the entire day. We had fun walking on the beach and wandering through those junk stores you love.”

“They’re not junk stores, Hud. They’re eclectic.”

A smile played on his lips. “Right.Eclectic.” He made quotation marks with his fingers.

She gently elbowed him in the side, and he chuckled. “Don’t make fun of me,” she said with a laugh. “Back then I had a collection of those funny little magnets that I cherished.”

“Your brother used to say your folks’ fridge was going to fall over because of your magnet collection.”

She laughed harder and wiped her eyes.

“After you covered the fridge, you started putting them in a drawer in your nightstand. You had magnets from different states, some with sayings on them, others with cats and dogs. The drawer was so stuffed it would barely close.” He cocked his head to the side. “I always think of you when I see a display of magnets. I wonder if you have them all stuffed in your drawer somewhere.”

Her heart stuttered at the earnestness in his face.

He grinned. “What on earth did you do with them when you moved out?”

“Well...” She tapped her chin. “I think they’re in a box in the attic.”

He laughed, and she enjoyed the deep, rich sound. She hadn’t realized how much she missed it.

“You insisted we stop in every single store to look at their magnets, and we quickly figured out that they had the same magnets at each one. But you still had to check them all out.” His eyes sparkled in the low light glowing above the deck. “And when we ran out of stores, we decided to head home.”

“And that’s when your truck broke down and we had to call my dad for help.”

He cringed. “Your folks were not happy about driving three hours to rescue us. Still, your dad was generous as always and offered to pay for the tow truck.” He lifted his face toward the sky again and smiled. “Sitting in the bed of the truck and stargazing while we waited was fun.”

Yes, it had been. She could almost feel his warm hand holding hers while they pointed out the stars and made up names for the constellations. And then there were those kisses that made her lose track of reality. Her lips tingled at the memory. The night had been magical. Actually, almost every moment spent with Hudson had been magical back then.

She examined his profile—those high cheekbones, that strong jaw, and those lips that she’d once known by heart. A chill that had nothing to do with the weather rushed through her, and she hugged her arms to her middle.

“I loved that old truck, but I had too much faith in it.” He tapped his fingers on his knee.

“I loved that truck too.”

“We had some good times together.” The softness in his voice reminded her of velvet.

She nodded, unable to speak for a moment.

He stared out toward the backyard again, and the quiet hum of traffic sounded in the distance. His expression became pensive, and she could almost hear his mind churning with thoughts.

Concern filled her, and she started to reach for his shoulder. But she held herself back, afraid to be too forward with him. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” He focused on her again. “I had to run an errand for Gavin today, and it took me out to Ridge Road. I drove by that old house where I used to live before...” He paused. “Before my folks died.”

“Oh.” She sat up straighter. Hudson rarely spoke about his parents.

“Did I ever show you that house?”

“Once, when we were eighteen or so, we drove by there.”