Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 30857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 154(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 30857 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 154(@200wpm)___ 123(@250wpm)___ 103(@300wpm)
“Had?” Hudson picked up on the past tense immediately.
I looked back at him, and found his gaze curious. There was a small crease line between his brows that hinted at concern. “His dad is still alive but he wasn’t his dad. He’s Killian’s father and there’s a difference. He’s been in and out of prison most of Killian’s life. Mum met my dad when Killian was little and my dad adopted him, so he was really our dad. But they uh… when I was six and Killian was eleven we were on holiday with Mum and Dad and… our parents died in a helicopter accident.”
Suddenly Hudson reached across the table and threaded his fingers through mine. “Shit, I’m sorry.”
I melted at the warmth in his expression. It was mixed with a sympathetic pain and I knew, deep down, that his emotion for me was genuine. It boggled my mind but it was true. Hudson hurt when I hurt. How strange but beautiful was that?
“I’m okay. It was a long time ago. But it meant that Killian and I were raised by his biological father’s brother and James Byrne is not the nicest of men. He sued the events company, and their insurance company, and he won a lot of money for us. He’s very smart and has the golden touch when it comes to finances. He took that money and invested it for us in some high risk ventures that paid off. We each got our share when we turned eighteen. A lot of mine is still in investment and stock funds and it means I can live well. Hence the suite. But I’ll have to find a job sooner or later. It’s not the kind of money that will last a lifetime. And I want a job.
“My uncle didn’t think it was necessary for me to have one. He’s delusional enough to think that me not having a job proved to the rest of the world that he was wealthy enough for his niece to live like a socialite. When I was younger he ‘indulged me’—his words, not mine—and paid for me to continue my ballet lessons in the hope that any future success as a ballerina would give him social standing. But when I was thirteen I auditioned for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, which is one of the world’s top five schools of performing arts and extremely competitive. I didn’t get in. My uncle refused to pay for any further ballet lessons if he couldn’t parade me out to all his friends as if my ballet achievements were owed all to him.”
“And is that all he cared about?” Hudson squeezed my hand. “Money and what you could do for his reputation?”
I nodded. “Our uncle gave us nothing but material offerings. No affection. No family. Killian stepped in and became my parent and he was just a child himself. He loved and protected me with a fierceness that meant I had what I needed growing up. It wasn’t a mum and dad but he tried his damn best. I guess because I had Killian, my uncle’s lack of affection didn’t hurt as much. But Killian didn’t have that same paternal support and so he grew up trying to win it from our uncle. He even took a job at my uncle’s record label. I hated watching him trying to prove himself to a man who didn’t deserve the attempt.”
“Your brother still work for him?”
I shook my head and smiled. “He met someone. You may have heard of her actually. Skylar Finch?”
He frowned. “The name is familiar but I don’t know why.”
“She’s been all over the news lately. She used to be the frontwoman for the band Tellurian. Her parents were murdered. She fell off the face of the earth a few years ago and just showed up again recently.”
Hudson nodded as recognition lit his eyes. “I do remember catching glimpses of that in the news.”
“Well, she was living in Glasgow. It’s a long story.” I shrugged. “But the result was that Killian fell in love with her. She’s changed him for the better. Now he’s starting up his own record company and our uncle is out of our lives for good. We don’t need his toxic personality around us anyway.”
In answer, Hudson rubbed his thumb over the top of my hand and I fought a shiver. “First your uncle and then all those assholes you told me about. Fuck, Autumn, you deserve so much more than that.”
“What if that’s not true?” I whispered because the words were hard to say. “What if I’m not who you want me to be and this is a giant mistake?”
“I get it. I get why you’re questioning this because it feels unreal that two people could connect like this so quickly. You ever ask why I’m not questioning it? It’s because I know that this kind of connection exists and it’s real. I know that because I was lucky enough to grow up surrounded by love. I’m more open to it. I get it now why you’re not. Between those guys and everything you’ve lost, I get it in a way that I really wish I didn’t. Because I’ve known you only a few days and I would give anything to give you back your parents. That’s why you don’t want to believe this is true. Because good things rarely happen, right?”