Page 55 of The Ex Project (The Heartwood #3)

WREN

The moment Shelley announces the arts centre will be named after Cora, my eyes snap back to Hudson to see his reaction.

He’s stunned for a moment, but then he swallows thickly and blinks several times in quick succession.

Pride swells in my chest. Pride and happiness and all the ooey-gooey, warm and fuzzy feelings of watching someone you love succeed.

Had I been watching Hudson up there last year, I would have been standing here scowling, allowing jealousy and envy to fester and corrode me.

But I’m proud of him, endlessly proud. And I’m also proud of me.

The work I’ve done to sift through other people’s opinions about who I am and what I should be, and the work I’ve done to find myself.

Not only find myself, but be okay with the woman I am. Love her. Accept her. Let her flourish.

“Wren, we’re going to grab something to eat.” Poppy interrupts my thoughts as Spencer, Ally, and Emma start wandering over to the barbecue tent. “Want to come? ”

“Nah, thanks, Pops,” I say, searching the crowd. “I’m going to wait for Hudson. I’ll catch up with you later, though.”

Poppy’s broad mouth widens into a smile, and she walks toward me to pull me in for a hug.

“I’m so happy for you, Wren. You and Hudson,” she says. She pulls out of our embrace and looks at me for a moment before turning back to join the other women.

As my best friend walks away, a pair of thick, warm arms wrap around my waist from behind. I turn within the circle they create around me, coming face to face with the strong, soft face of the beautiful boy I’ve always loved.

Hudson plants a kiss on my cheek, his stubble lightly scratching my skin.

“I can’t believe Shelley had the arts centre named after your mom.” Hudson’s throat bobs, and he nods, unable to get any words out. I wrap my arms around the back of Hudson’s neck and pull him closer. He buries his face in my hair, my neck. “Hudson: a million. Everything else: zero,” I murmur.

When Hudson pulls away from me, there’s a new expression on his face, one I can’t place. I’ve studied Hudson’s face and all the different versions of it for so many years—I’ve drawn those features, at every angle, with every new shape they’ve formed, but this one is new.

“Are you feeling up for a little walk?”

I tilt my head with an askance look, but I nod, yes.

Hudson loosens his arms around me, but his hand finds mine and doesn’t let go as he leads me through the throng of people, and out to the street where the crowd starts thinning.

He doesn’t tell me where we’re going, but I follow him for a few blocks, in the direction of the river that runs through the town.

We end up at another empty lot, nothing but tall grass blanketing the flat expanse. The long, rectangular space is flanked by thick evergreens on either side, but the far end is bordered by the rushing river.

“Another build site?” I ask. Business at the construction company has been booming ever since they landed the arts centre contract, but I’m still unsure what he wants to show me here.

“Mmhmm,” Hudson answers. “Are you wearing appropriate shoes to take a tour?”

I glance down at my feet, at the brown leather boots I’ve finally broken in. I tap my toes together in confirmation.

Hudson leads me about ten yards in from the road, through the tall grass.

“This is where the house is going to go. I’m thinking a modern farmhouse style, white with some reclaimed wooden beams. Nothing is set in stone yet, of course.” I try to envision what Hudson is describing.

“Who’s the client?”

“No client,” he says, as if it’s obvious. “The lot is mine. Ours, now.”

“Ours?” I repeat, turning the word over in my mind to understand it.

“Ours,” Hudson says again. “To build a home, together. Half you, half me. Co-project managers.”

Now it’s my turn to be stunned, frozen in time. I look around the lot again, seeing it with a new perspective. My eyes meet Hudson’s, and his blue irises are bright, sparkling.

“Come on, there’s more,” he says, and turns to keep walking toward the riverbank.

We stop at the corner of the lot, next to the river.

“Now, the house, we’ll design together. But this part is all you.

” He gestures at another empty space. “We’ll leave enough room to build you a studio, a proper one.

With big windows at the back, facing the river and the mountains to inspire you, the way you were inspired by nature that day at the swimming hole. ”

“Hudson … this is …” I turn to face him, tears blurring my vision. “God, how am I ever going to compete with this?” I chuckle, wiping away the tears collecting on my lashes.

“We’re not competing anymore, remember?” Hudson says, the corners of his eyes wrinkling with his smile.

“Look, I bought this lot a couple years ago, and it’s sat empty for that long.

I always felt like breaking ground on this lot would be a symbol, like the start of the next chapter of my life.

There was always something holding me back, like I wasn’t ready for the next step.

What I’ve been waiting for is you. No life was ever going to be good enough without you in it. ”

I blink back at Hudson, now unsure of what to say. As he explains, though, it’s like he’s speaking to a truth deep inside me. The truth I’ve been ignoring for the last ten years—no life was going to be good enough without him either.

“There’s one last thing.”

I glance around us at the expansive open space.

From where we’re standing, we can see everything, including the river, all the way back to the road where we came from.

But Hudson takes my hand again and leads me along the edge of the riverbank until we’re standing in the middle of the property, only about five yards from where we were.

“Okay, so, this spot is extra special to me,” Hudson starts.

“Because this is where I ask you to marry me.” He keeps his eyes pinned to mine as he lowers himself to one knee.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small red velvet box.

It’s Rival Rouge. Something that sounds like a laugh and a sob all at once, bubbles up out of me.

“I’ve waited ten years for you to come back to me.

For ten years, I’ve been hopelessly in love with the girl that got away.

3650 days, and not one of them went by where I didn’t think about you.

” His voice cracks, threatening the very fragile hold I have on my control before I ugly cry.

“I don’t want to wait one more day, Wren Miller. I want to be your teammate for life.”

I’m already nodding frantically before Hudson is finished speaking, tears now streaming down my face.

I’m not aware of the words coming out of my mouth, but I must have uttered the word ‘yes’, because Hudson is standing, wrapping me in his arms, his lips covering every inch of my face before finally finding my mouth.

“I love you,” I say, each word punctuated with a kiss. When we finally separate, Hudson looks down at the sparkling oval solitaire in the small red box. “When did you …?” I don’t need to finish the question, because he knows. I need to know when he decided he wanted to marry me.

“As soon as I knew you were back in town,” he says it, as if it were the simplest, easiest decision he’s ever made.

“You hated me when I first got here,” I point out.

“It was probably illogical,” he says. “But I always knew deep down I didn’t hate you, Wren. I don’t think I ever did. The moment I saw you scowling at me across the street, there was a part of me that knew it was my chance to make things right.”

“You knew you were going to marry me when I was scowling at you?”

“Yeah, Miller. I did.” Hudson chuckles as he pulls the ring out of the box and picks up my hand to slide it on my finger.

It fits perfectly, and once it’s on, he looks up at me from under his eyebrows.

A cheeky grin tugs up on the corners of his mouth, the dimple in his cheek pronounced.

My kryptonite. “You know how I like a challenge.”