Vow of Devotion (Vow Series Book 4) Page 3

  Women creep out from the protection of the shade, inching closer to him. I snicker, watching the display. There’s hair fluffing, shirt straightening, and even a woman applying a fresh coat of lipstick.

  I can’t blame them.

  I’ve never seen someone as good-looking as him in real life. He belongs on a billboard in Times Square. When he reaches a bench and the kids leave him to run to the playground, the first woman approaches.

  I shake my head and turn my focus back toward Lilly. My heart drops into my stomach and my hands clutch the camera in my hands. She’s dangling upside down from a rung on the monkey bars. Her torso is swinging, each move gaining her more momentum until she catches another bar, just like an acrobat.

  The wild, fearless streak didn’t come from me, it came from her dad. He, too, loved defying gravity and testing the limits of physics. His idea of fun was strapping a parachute on his bag and launching himself out of plane a thousand feet above the ground with his US Army squad dropping right along with him.

  Lilly’s legs drop from the bar and the breath I’ve been holding whooshes out. My white-knuckled grip loosens from around my camera. Until she starts swinging again and her legs go back through the hole between two bars. Once again she’s hanging upside down with a smile on her face, and my entire body is frozen solid watching her.

  I flinch when a hand lands on my shoulder. My head whips to the side as I yank my body away. I already wasn’t breathing because of the acrobatic tricks my daughter was performing, but if I were, I would’ve lost my breath all over again.

  The man with the kids hanging off of him is sitting next to me, sans kids. His sunglasses are pushed to the top of his head, and crystal-blue eyes are focused on my face. There’s a crease between his dark blond brows as he stares at me. “Are you okay?”

  The deep timbre of his voice sends a shiver racing up my spine. “Are you okay?” He repeats his question after my continued silence.

  “Yes?” The statement comes out like a question. I clear my throat and slide a couple inches away from him. “Yes.”

  “I’ve been sitting here for a minute, trying to talk to you, and I swear you stopped breathing.”

  “My daughter—” I start, but stop, turning my face back to the monkey bars. Lilly is now swinging from the side of the monkey bars, rather than from the middle. I don’t know what she has planned, but she’s sure to send to me to an early grave. “I wasn’t breathing.” I point toward Lilly. “Do you see the blond girl hanging from the monkey bars? The one perfecting her circus routine?”

  “Yeah.” The stranger next to me slings an arm across the back of the bench, his warm skin is a hairsbreadth from my own.

  Lilly heaves her body one more time, swinging through the air, and let’s go of the monkey bars.

  We both gasp as she tucks her legs, does a backflip, and lands perfectly.

  “That’s why I wasn’t breathing.” I shudder but raise my camera, capturing Lilly with her chest puffed out and arms in the air, the pose she’s been striking since learning it in gymnastics.

  The stranger laughs.

  I shift my position, turning to face him slightly. “You were trying to speak to me?”

  His lips tip up on one side. “Yeah. I’m begging you to save me. I spotted you over here alone and told those women you’re my wife.”

  I laugh. “You had to tell them I’m your wife?”

  He shrugs. “It worked. It got me over here with you.”

  I roll my lips between my teeth to keep from smiling. “Where’s your real wife?” With the four kids he came with, he must be attached to someone.

  “Don’t have one. They’re not my kids. I’m babysitting for my cousins. They’re my nieces and nephews.”

  “Girlfriend?” I ask before I can stop myself.

  He smirks. “Interested?”

  I scoff and shake my head. “I’m not sure I’ve ever met a single man who’d spend his weekend watching four kids.”

  “I love kids.”

  My eyebrows shoot up into my hairline. A strange mixture of bafflement and pleasure swirls through me. It’s a simple statement, yet it packs a punch. I push aside the pleasure, not wanting to examine why it sort of thrills me that this insanely attractive and too charming man loves kids. I nod and go back to watching Lilly run around the playground, snapping a couple shots of her and the park. The stranger’s eyes are still on me, watching. His gaze rolls over my body like a caress.

  “What’s your name?”

  I glance at him again, raising my sunglasses to the top of my head. Even though the sun is burning my retinas, I hate having a conversation with someone when one of us is wearing sunglasses.

  “I knew your eyes would be amazing.” His deep voice has turned into a whisper. The compliment is so soft, I’m not sure he even meant to say it. I glance down at my lap, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear. My chest and cheeks warm with the rush of crimson filling them. When I meet his gaze again, I’m mesmerized by the unabashed way he’s staring at me.

  I want to gather my things, my daughter, and run for the safety of home.

  I want to beg him not to look away.

  I’ve never felt a war like this inside of my own mind.

  “Ava.” A thousand questions swirl through my mind, but my name is the only word that surfaces.

  He smiles. “I’m Hudson.”

  Chapter 4

  Hudson

  “Is your husband going to come along and blow my ruse? Is he going to throw me back to that pack of wolves?” I force my gaze from her eyes and down to her hands. No rings.

  Ava’s tongue pokes out between her twitching lips to wet them. I trace the movement with my eyes, unable to look away from the show. “No husband. I may blow your ruse though.”

  I lean toward her. “You’d do that? But you look so sweet.”

  And it’s true. The blue tank top, the exact shade of the blueberry snow cone I ate the other day, makes her tanned skin look lickable. It’s what first caught my eye as I carried the kids down the trail to the playground. When I took in the added bonus of long blond hair and tits just the right size for my palms, I walked faster.

  Four kids hanging off my body isn’t exactly easy, but the fiery adrenaline pumping through my veins made each kid feel featherlight. I was on a mission. I barely glanced at the women who approached on my walk toward Ava.

  That’s a first for me.

  I notice women. All women. Every size, shape, color, I love them all. The only thing that matters is that they’re at the very least twenty-one. Any younger would just be wrong.

  Once my eyes locked on Ava though, the other women fell away. What other women? There are no other women in the universe anymore. It’s a new experience, a new sensation. It’s just fucking new. And I want more of it.

  The last time I experienced this kind of heart-pounding, exhilarating, unknown adrenaline rush was when I stood on a platform at the state fair with a bungee cord attached to me.

  She shrugs and turns her face away from mine. “Looks can be deceiving.”

  “I don’t believe that for a second,” I say, challenging her. I want her bluebonnet eyes back on me. Is her blood running hot, too? Is her heart getting ready to burst from her chest?

  Ava scrunches her nose and shakes her head. “You’re right. I’m nice. I won’t sacrifice you just so I can sit alone on a bench.”

  My cheeks hurt from my grin. “I appreciate that.”

  Ava keeps her face turned away from me and pointed toward the playground. She raises the camera from her lap to her eye, and her finger presses the shutter button in rapid succession. My eyes drift that way, too. I do a quick head count, making sure all four of my cousin’s rascals are accounted for.

  “So,” I say breaking the silence. “No husband. Boyfriend? Girlfriend?”

  Ava chuckles, putting the camera on top of her bag in between us and placing her elbow on her knee, her head in her hand before facing me. “None of the above.”
/>   “Good.”

  One of her eyebrows arches higher. “It’s not too late to change my mind and throw you back to the wolves.” Ava and I both look toward the closest tree. The most aggressive of the pack slides her sunglasses down her nose, eyeing me like I’m her next meal and Ava is the fluffy little bunny in the way.

  I return my focus back to Ava just before she does the same to me.

  “Looks like they’re still waiting for you,” she chides.

  “I’m single, too. In case you were wondering.” I give her my sweetest smile, the one that saved me from Mom’s wooden spoon more times than I can count. Here’s hoping she doesn’t send me back over there with my tail tucked between my legs.

  “I wasn’t.” Ava brings her hand to her brow, shielding her eyes from the sun, and scans the playground. She lets out a groan. I bite back a laugh when I find the source of her anguish. Her daughter has moved on from the monkey bars to the obstacle course for big kids. She’s climbing a rope at a surprising speed to get to a small platform about six feet off the ground.

  “You weren’t wondering if I’m single?”

  “Nope.” She pops the p and doesn’t even look my way, but I don’t miss the small twitch at the corner of her lips before they twist into a grimace. Her hand reaches out for the camera, picking it up and aiming it at her daughter.

  “If you hate watching her do those daredevil tricks, why do you take pictures of it?”

  Ava sighs, her lips pursing as she sets the camera down between us again. Her hand comes up to her chest and rubs lightly. “When she’s older, I want her to have pictures of her memories. Even if she’s doing things I wish she wouldn’t, she loves it, and I don’t want to crush her spirit.”

  I open my mouth to ask more questions, like Who crushed yours? I want to pry into every nook and cranny of this woman’s mind. But I start off easy. “Are you a photographer?”

  “No.” She flicks her eyes to me. They get trapped on my lips, but when I smile she shakes herself and looks away. “I’m a teacher. Or I will be soon. It’s my first year.”

  “I’m surprised you’re actually using a camera. Most people use their phones for photos.”

  “Then they never get printed or hung on a wall. I like to fill our space with photos.”

  I can’t wipe the grin from my face. From the past minutes staring at Ava and catching glimpses of her daughter of the playground, I can imagine those pictures are something to see. And I want to see them.

  And, even stranger, I want to be in the pictures with them. I don’t understand why it’s crucial that I get to know Ava, I just know I want it more than I can fathom. When I find something I want, I always go for it with bullheaded force.

  “Are you from Austin?” she asks, changing the subject.

  “Born and raised. What about you?’

  She glances at me from the corner of her eye. “We just moved from San Antonio.”

  “I’d love to take you out. Maybe show you around.” I want to punch myself in the face for using that line. How fucking cliché. But I can’t let the opportunity to ask pass me by. My smile turns into the charming grin that I’ve heard is impossible to resist.

  “She turned you down?” Carmen asks, laughing.

  “Yes.” Ava. Beautiful Ava. I groan. She actually said no. Since I handed out my first valentine in kindergarten, it’s been a pretty consistent string of yeses.

  Ava said no.

  I’m not done trying. So she turned down a date. That’s okay, I’ll be her friend first. That worked for Liam and Savannah. She turned him down and now they’re married with a baby.

  Even the fact that Ava already has a kid doesn’t scare me off.

  I clap my hand against the granite countertop. “But I’m not giving up.”

  “Oh, mijo.” Carmen rolls her eyes, her head falling into her hands as she shakes her head. It’s a sight I’m familiar with. I’ve been on the receiving end of that gesture since I was kid. “As charming as you think you are—”

  “I’m very charming.”

  “—you can’t make a girl date you. She said no. She must have a reason to say no.”

  I wrap an arm around Carmen’s shoulders, bringing her short, round frame careening into my side. Carmen’s eyes light with delight. The wrinkles around them are deeper now, and there’s more gray spreading through her dark hair every year—each strand of which she attributes to me or my brothers. “I’ll give her a reason to say yes.”

  She taps my cheek like I’m a child. “Mijo.” I hear a lecture coming on. Growing up, I received as many lectures from her as I did Mom. Carmen may as well be my second mom. She was the Wells family housekeeper since before I was born. She even helped Mom through a surprise labor with me. She’s family.

  And, without her, I’d probably starve.

  “I know she said no. So I’m going to be her friend,” I say, staving off the lecture before it can begin.

  “Whose friend?” Brae asks as she walks into the kitchen from the back door, Callan hot on her heels.

  A year ago, Callan escaped the mafia with two bullet wounds as a parting gift, his little sister in tow. They’ve been living here for a while now while Callan works for me. At first, Callan was a friend of a friend I volunteered to help out. Now, he and Braelyn are just two more additions to the extended Mills clan, and I can’t imagine them living anywhere else. I like having them here. Without them, the six-bedroom, six-bath house can feel a bit lonely at times.

  “Hudson fell in love,” Carmen answers Brae’s question.

  “I didn’t fall in love.” I rub my middle finger along my brow. “I’m . . . interested.”

  Callan snorts. My head lifts, and I glower at him.

  “You’re ‘interested’?” Callan asks, quirking his brow.

  “Yeah.”

  Brae bounces on the balls of her feet and claps her hands in front of her in the way only an excited teenage girl can. Callan takes a seat on a barstool and pops a grape from the bowl sitting in the middle of the island into his mouth.

  “Is she going to be your girlfriend?” Brae asks.

  Callan snorts. “She turned him down.”

  I ignore him and turn to Braelyn, waggling my eyebrows. “She said no to a date. I’m going to convince her to be my friend. And if sparks fly . . .” I trail off and shrug, grinning.

  Braelyn sinks onto a barstool and swoons. “I love it.”

  “You would,” Callan mutters.

  Braelyn is obsessed with love. I don’t know if that’s normal for teenage girls, but she’s constantly reading romance books and wants everyone to be in a relationship.

  Much to Callan’s dismay, our young Brae has a friend/boyfriend situation. She swears they’re only friends, but they’re glued at the hip and can’t take their eyes off each other if they’re in the same room.

  “Where did you meet her?” Brae asks.

  “At the park. I was babysitting my cousin’s kids. She was there with her daughter.”

  “Dios mio,” Carmen hisses. “She’s a mom? You’re interested in a single mother?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh my gosh, I could babysit!” Brae exclaims.

  I smile at her. At least one person is on my side. Even if it is a teenage girl.

  “She is single, right?” Callan asks. “You’re not trying to hook up with a married lady, right?”

  “Yes, she’s single.” I shoot him the middle finger behind Brae’s back.

  “What’s your grand plan?” Callan asks sarcastically.

  “I’ll go back to the park. I’m sure she’ll show up eventually.”

  Callan stares at me blankly before throwing his head back and laughing.

  I pull my shoulders back, ready to defend myself.

  “You don’t have a kid,” he points out.

  “I know. I can still go to a park.”

  “So, let me get this straight,” he says through laughter. “A dude. Alone. Watching kids on a playground. Perfect plan.”
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  Shit. I side-eye Braelyn.

  “You’re not taking my sister with you to try and hook up with this chick.”

  “It won’t be a hookup.” I know in my gut that this is different. I’m not saying I want to take her on a month-long vacation to a deserted island, but I sure as fuck want this to last longer than one night.

  “I’m too old anyway,” Brae pipes in. “Teenagers don’t really play on playgrounds where little kids do.”

  I just need a plan B. Ava will be my friend, one way or another.

  And once that happens, we’ll take it from there.

  Chapter 5

  Hudson

  The blazing sunset beats down on the tall grass, turning it golden instead of green. A weak breeze rustles the grass, the empty field stretching into the distance. Other than that, silence. I place my brand-new, gleaming hard hat on my head.

  One of my favorite memories is sitting on Dad’s shoulders, him in work boots and a hard hat, as he looks over a piece of land before him. I’ve grown up on job sites and worked my way up through my family’s company since I was a kid.

  It was a foregone conclusion that I’d work for the company. Dad wouldn’t have forced me to though. He was perfectly content to let Maddox choose his own path—a path that strayed far from the company. But this, working for Wells Builders, is the only thing I ever wanted. And I knew I would be a part of the building process, not at a desk in the corporate offices.

  Sure, I have my office and I have to go there sometimes. It’s not my favorite, but it’s necessary on occasion. This is where I like to be. This is what I’ve always wanted.

  I crouch down and spread my fingers through the dirt. Soon enough, there will be a house standing here. The back will have floor-to-ceiling windows to showcase the prime view. After that house is complete, seventy-three more will go up right after it. A neighborhood with unbeatable views, large lots, custom homes, and premier amenities.