The Invitation

8-1/2 months later

Dear Diary,

Tonight Stella fell asleep before me, and I watched her. Every once in a while there was a little twitch at the corner of her lip, and her mouth would curve upward. It didn’t last long, a second or two, but I found it mesmerizing. I hope she was dreaming of me, because I want to make all of her dreams come true—just like she’s made mine.

-Hudson

I clutched my new diary to my chest. Seriously? How did I get so lucky? Hudson and I had moved in together a few months after the public launch of Signature Scent—not that I needed a roommate anymore. For the first time in my life, I could afford my own place in New York City. I could have plunked down a nice deposit on a brownstone of my own, as my business had done better than I could’ve imagined in my wildest dreams. Oprah had even put my little invention on her list of favorite gifts to give this year. We now had a special-edition Valentine’s Day Signature Scent box, and pretty soon a men’s version would be ready to launch. I’d worked long days writing the new algorithms, but now the experienced staff at Rothschild Investments had taken over, and I finally felt like I’d found the work-life balance I’d always wanted.

Hudson Rothschild had made all my dreams come true, and then some. He’d even surprised me with a trip to Greece to celebrate shipping our first product internationally. We’d stayed at the most amazing hotel in Mykonos. When we pulled up, it had looked vaguely familiar. But it took until I walked into our suite to realize why. The hotel he’d booked for us was the one I’d picked out almost a year ago while dream vacation planning in the lobby of his office and waiting to speak to him. He’d remembered from just the quick look he’d had at my screen.

As for my diary-reading hobby…well, I stopped buying them. I was afraid having journals laying around might remind Hudson of difficult memories. A few months back, he’d noticed and asked why I’d stopped. I’d told him I didn’t need to read about other people’s lives anymore, because my love story topped anything anyone else could pen. I hadn’t been lying, of course, but Hudson knew me well. He’d known I missed reading them and probably knew the reason I’d given them up. Which was why he’d surprised me with a diary last week—one he’d secretly kept for months. It was the sweetest, most romantic thing anyone had ever done for me. Well, most of the entries were sweet—some were just dirty.

Case in point… I flipped a dozen or so pages back and reread one of my favorites.

Dear Diary,

Today was a particularly hard day—pun unintentional, but damn if it isn’t the truth. My girl has been out on the West Coast for almost a week now. This morning when I woke up, I’d been lying on her pillow. Inhaling her scent made my usual morning wood impossible to deflate on its own. Rather than fight it, I shut my eyes and pulled her pillow from beneath my head to cover my face. Taking deep breaths, I stroked my cock, imagining my tight fist was her beautiful pussy. There was no substitute for the real thing, but I imagined she was sitting on top of me, grinding down hard to take every last inch inside her. She’d throw her head back as she came close, her beautiful tits bouncing up and down and aching to have my mouth on them. I’d wait until after she came and then thrust so deep that some of my cum would still be inside her the next time she had to leave.

-Hudson

Another of my favorites was a few more pages back. It was a story he’d never told me, but it warmed my heart.

Dear Diary,

Today I took Charlie out to breakfast and told her Stella was moving in. After, we were walking home and passed a park. Inside were two little girls, maybe a year younger than her. They were jumping up and down with wide eyes and huge smiles plastered on their faces. I pointed to the girls and said, “What do you think they’re so excited about?” Charlie’s response was, “Maybe their daddy’s girlfriend is moving in, too.”

-Hudson

The man I was currently swooning over walked out to the backyard. I sat in a rocking chair on the deck next to the fire pit, with Hendricks at my feet.

Hudson shook his head. “My faithful friend there seems to forget who his master is.”

I smiled. The sheepdog I’d bought Hudson for Christmas had become my shadow lately. I wasn’t sure why, since all I seemed to do was yell at him for eating my shoes and furniture. He’d taken forever to housetrain, only to take up the lovely new habit of gnawing on thousand-dollar coffee table legs. To be honest, Hendricks was a pain in the ass, for the most part. But seeing the look on Hudson’s face on Christmas morning—when he realized he’d finally gotten the dog he’d wished for as a little boy—made all the chaos worth it.

I now had a copy of the photo Olivia kept framed on her living room mantel on my own nightstand—the one with Hudson blowing out his birthday candles and making a wish for a sheepdog while covering her mouth. And yes, he’d named our dog after the gin that brought us together.

“It’s only because I’m the one who usually feeds him,” I said.

Hudson’s eyes zoomed in on the book in my hands. “Remember our deal—you’re only supposed to read one a day.”

“I know. I was just rereading some of my favorites. I still have my one for today to read.”

“Okay. I’m going to run to the store to pick up a bottle of wine for us to bring to Olivia’s tonight. I’ll take Hendricks to get his walk in. Anything else I should get while I’m out?”

Today was Mason and Olivia’s one-year wedding anniversary, so we were going over to their place for dinner. They’d just moved out of Manhattan and into a house a few blocks away. I wondered if Hudson realized it wasn’t just their anniversary, it was ours, too. One year ago today, I’d sniffed some gin and met the love of my life. Though love wasn’t exactly the feeling I’d had when I’d hopped into the cab to flee the scene that night. I’d gotten him a little gift to commemorate the anniversary of our meeting and figured I’d give it to him later when we got home.

“No, I don’t think we need anything but wine. I baked a cake for dessert already.”

“Alright. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”

“Okay. We can watch the sunset before we leave for Olivia’s.”

Hudson started to walk into the house, but he stopped and turned back with a warning finger. “Remember, one entry. No reading ahead.”

“I won’t.”

Hearing his footsteps fall away, I sighed and opened my diary back up. I only had another twenty or so pages left. And the next entry was so damn short. I could probably read the entire book before he got back, and he wouldn’t even know. But instead I’d savor the pages like he wanted me to.

At least…that’s what I planned.

Until I actually read the next short entry…

Dear Diary,

Today I went shopping. I don’t know much about jewelry, so I took my sister with me. She was a royal pain in the ass.

I smiled, imagining Hudson and Olivia shopping. His idea of shopping was walking into one store with the purpose of buying three suits and walking out within a half hour. Olivia, on the other hand, didn’t as much shop as graze. She would set out to buy a pair of shoes to go with a dress and come home with a new dining room set, a coat for Mason, a toy for Charlie, and some electronic gadget for the office from The Sharper Image. The shoes she set out to buy would no longer be necessary, because she’d also have a brand new dress.

I’d actually been with her once when she’d gone to shop for shoes for one outfit and come home with a completely different ensemble—only to realize she still needed shoes for the new item she’d brought home. Olivia was the woman who walked out of a mall with fourteen different shopping bags. Hudson was a man who requested they ship his suits to him when they were done being tailored, so he didn’t have to return to the store.

But as I went back to reading, I realized Hudson hadn’t mentioned he’d gone shopping with his sister. He also hadn’t come home with any new jewelry recently… So I curiously returned to my diary.

We went to six stores. Anything I liked, Olivia hated. Anything she liked, I nixed. After a full day, I went home empty-handed and aggravated. My beautiful girl came home about ten minutes later—smelling like a forest. She’d been at the lab since early this morning working on her new Signature Scent for men. But she wrapped her arms around my neck, brushed those pouty lips with mine, and my shitty day evaporated. That’s when I realized the problem with buying my love jewelry was that I hadn’t found anything half as special as her. It took me thirty-one years to finally get it right, and I wasn’t going to half-ass showing her what she meant to me.

-Hudson

Oh my God. There was no way I could stop reading here. Hudson was shopping for jewelry that’s special for me? Could it be… Looking over my shoulder, I glanced into the house. Everything was still. It would take Hudson at least twenty minutes to walk to the liquor store and back with the dog. I had to read a little more—one more entry, at least.

Of course one entry led to two, and two led to three, and suddenly I was on the last page. Hudson had gone on a half-dozen shopping trips, written another vividly steamy entry about things he wanted to do to me, and penned a heartfelt few pages about the night my parents had come over for dinner. It had taken me a long time, but yes, my parents and I had finally seen each other in person. I’d had to work my way up to it, and I’d been a nervous wreck, but in the end, the evening had been pleasant. I hadn’t yet rekindled my relationship with my sister, though I’d finally told Hudson the full story and admitted who Aiden had had an affair with. I remained hopeful that maybe someday I’d find a way to forgive Cecelia, too.

From what I’d heard, she and my ex had since broken up—after she’d found him cheating with one of her friends. I probably should have felt good learning that, but I didn’t. I felt bad for Cecelia, which is why it gave me hope that there was a chance for us after all.

None of Hudson’s entries specifically said what type of jewelry he was shopping for, but it was pretty obvious it was a ring. What other type of jewelry had to be so perfect and took so many shopping trips?

My pulse raced as I read the final pages.

Oh my God! He bought something.

And he hid it where he’d hidden my Christmas present in our room last year!

And he isn’t planning on giving it to me until his birthday.

Hudson’s birthday wasn’t for two more months! No way could I wait that long to find out.

Hudson had no idea I’d stumbled upon his little hiding spot in the back of his closet last year. So I could—no, I really shouldn’t.

Blood swished through my ears, and my hands started to sweat.

Maybe I could just go see if it was a ring box?

I didn’t need to open it or anything.

Imagine the anticipation that would build over the next couple of months… Now imagine what would happen when the big day finally came, if he handed me a square box with…earrings?

There would be no way in the world I could hide my disappointment after waiting months. It almost felt like I had to go look now. Whatever he was shopping for had taken him a damn long time. He’d feel awful if I burst into tears, unable to hide how letdown I felt. So, in a sense, I would be doing it for him.

Sure you are.

I looked at my watch and glanced back over my shoulder into the house one more time. Maybe I should wait until a time when he was going to be gone longer…

No. I shook my head, even though I was answering my own thoughts.

I definitely couldn’t wait.

So I rushed into the house and ran directly to the front door. Opening it, I looked right and then left to make sure Hudson wasn’t already coming down the block. Finding the coast clear, I hurried to the bedroom. The door was closed, and I was such a nervous wreck that I had to take a moment to steady myself. My hand trembled as I took a deep breath before turning the doorknob.

But my heart stopped as I walked inside.

“Looking for something?” Hudson raised a brow. He was sitting on the edge of our bed with Charlie on his knee. Hendricks laid at his feet.

I blinked a few times. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d left.”

He prompted his daughter to jump off his lap and stood. “What am I doing here? I could ask you the same question. What are you doing in the bedroom right now, Stella?”

“I, uh…”

He walked over to where I stood, frozen. With a grin, he took my hand. “You didn’t read ahead, did you?”

My mind was so jumbled. When did he get back from the store? And where did Charlie come from? What the hell was going on?

Though I didn’t need to wait very long for the answer. Hudson held out his hand to his daughter. Charlie took it with an ear-to-ear smile. If I’d thought I was nervous before, it was nothing compared to how I felt as I watched the man I loved get down on one knee.

He brought my trembling hand to his lips.

Seeing a bit of nervousness on his face as he looked up actually helped calm me.

“One year ago today, I met a beautiful, smart woman,” he began. “When I’ve heard you tell the story of how we met, you say you crashed my sister’s wedding. But the truth of the matter is, you crashed my heart. You’re the kindest, warmest, strangest, most amazing person I’ve ever met.”

I lifted my hands to cover my mouth, and happy tears filled my eyes as I laughed. “The strangest? You make that sound like a good thing.”

Hudson smiled. “It is. And I love you because you’re a little strange sometimes, not despite it. You’ve spent years reading everyone else’s love stories, and tonight you read the last chapter of mine…” He winked. “…even though you weren’t supposed to. But my last chapter is only the beginning, sweetheart.” He looked over at Charlie, who pulled a little black box from behind her back and handed it to her father. “Stella Rose Bardot, let me give you your happily ever after. Be my wife, and I promise to try my hardest to make your life better than anything you’ve ever read in a book.”

He opened the little black box, and inside was something I’d never seen before. The velvet-lined box contained two rings. On the right was a gorgeous, emerald-cut diamond set in white gold with tiny baguettes going all the way around the band. On the left side was a tiny replica of the engagement ring. He took the first one out of the box and held it out to me. “I’m not just asking you to marry me. I’m asking you to be my family with Charlie. So I had yours made, and then a mini replica in cubic zirconia for her—my two ladies. Whaddya say, sweetheart? Be ours?”

I looked over at Charlie. She had a giant smile on her face as she took something from behind her back and held it up.

A banana with writing on it.

Say yes, so we’ll never split.

As silly as it was, the banana did me in. The happy tears now streamed down my face. Wiping them, I mouthed I love you to Charlie before pressing my forehead to Hudson’s. “Yes. Yes! My heart already belongs to you both, so this is the icing on the cake.”

After Hudson slipped the ring on my finger, we helped Charlie put on hers. The three of us held each other for a long time before my fiancé told her to go wash up to go to her aunt’s house.

“Finally…a minute alone.” Hudson cupped my cheeks and pulled my mouth to his. “Now kiss me properly.”

As usual, he left me breathless. “You know, between your diary and that proposal, I think you might be a true romantic at heart, Mr. Rothschild.”

“Oh yeah?” He smiled. “I’ll deny it if anyone asks.”

I laughed. “It’s okay. I’ll know the truth. Under that hard exterior is a big old softie.”

Hudson took my hand and slid it down to his crotch. He cupped my fingers around a pretty damn steely erection. “I got more hard exterior for you later.”

I smiled. “I can’t wait.”

He brushed his lips with mine. “Did you like the diary?”

“I loved it. It was the best love story I’ve ever read. But my favorite part was the ending.”

Hudson shook his head. “That wasn’t an ending, sweetheart. It was only our beginning. Because a true love story like ours never ends.”