Dare to Tease: A Dare Nation Novella, Carly Phillips [well read books TXT] 📗

to somehow force him to return home and work the business in exchange for the clinic money. In which case he wouldn’t be there to see his dream come to life, but the people he’d come to know would have access to everything they needed. But he was getting ahead of himself, and he forced his heart rate to calm as he waited.

His father straightened his posture as he said, “I’ll give you the money for your little health care center if you marry and provide your mother and me with an heir.”

That idea hadn’t even been on Hudson’s radar. “What century is this?” he asked, his tone rising.

“Lower your voice. I don’t want your mother running in here and interrupting us. Think about it. Your brother is gone, ruining any chances we have of a grandchild, and your mother is distraught about it. The family name needs to live on, and you’re the only one who can make that happen.”

Hudson rubbed a hand over his eyes before meeting his father’s gaze. “What else?” he asked, certain he hadn’t heard everything.

“You’re a smart man, son. And if I thought for a moment I could force your hand and get you to come home and take over the business, I would. But I know damned well you’d turn me down no matter the consequences.”

His father studied him with a hint of… It couldn’t be pride Hudson saw. But he was acknowledging Hudson’s dedication to his career.

“You’re right. So what is the catch?” As he asked, the answer dawned on him and his entire body stiffened. “I am not marrying Corinne,” he said, just as adamant about that as he was about staying in Florida.

His father let out a low chuckle. “I realized that as well.”

In other words, in the short time since Hudson had asked for the money, his astute father had sifted through all the possible blackmail options and come up with the only one he knew Hudson might agree to.

“You really are a piece of work,” he muttered, his gaze settling on one of the expensive paintings on the wall in the office.

Martin Northfield shrugged. “I didn’t keep us where we are in life by being stupid.” He set his hands on the armrests and pushed himself up from his seat. “So those are my terms. Let me know what you decide. Have a good flight back to Florida,” he said and walked out of the room, leaving Hudson alone with the bomb he’d dropped in his lap.

He rested his head against the back of the chair and groaned. Marriage. The idea itself wasn’t the problem. He and Bri had laughed about it enough over the weekend, and she hadn’t freaked out at the idea. His gut told him she definitely wanted to get married and have children one day with the right man. A man who wanted to marry her because he loved her and for no other reason.

Not twelve hours ago, she’d been in his arms and uttered the very words that put up a roadblock to him asking her now.

You’re the first person to see past my family. The only guy who is with me for me. You don’t want or need anything from me, and I appreciate that more than you know.

She wouldn’t appreciate it if he asked her to marry him so he could get access to the money to fund the clinic. Not at all.

If he told her what happened here today, she might offer to marry him in order to help him achieve his goal, but then she’d never know that he was marrying her because he loved her.

He did, but even he knew they needed more time to cement their relationship. And he’d never take something as important as knowing she was loved away from her. Which meant she could never know that his father had offered him the money with these strings attached. All he could tell Bri was that his parent had turned him down, and after meeting Martin Northfield, she’d have no trouble believing he could do something that cruel.

Son of a bitch, he thought, pissed at his father for fucking up the best thing in his life and putting him in a position of having to give up the clinic, leaving it to Braden to handle alone. Of course, he could go to the bank and attempt to take out a loan, and he would, but he didn’t have enough credit to fund what he needed. Only his trust fund had that kind of money, and it was within his father’s discretion to turn him down. Unless he got married and knocked up his wife.

Fucking perfect, he thought in disgust. If and when he had children, he swore he’d never use them, treat them like a commodity, blackmail them, or give them anything less than unconditional love and support.

And the same with the woman he loved.

Chapter Seven

For the next few weeks, Bri lived in a state of bliss in her relationship with Hudson. They saw each other at work, sneaking moments alone in her office when they could, and began alternating sleeping over at his apartment and her house, though recently they’d just begun using her house as their base. He brought things over and left them there. Her bathroom now had his razor and shaving cream, toothbrush, and shampoo. Who knew a man could be fussy about his hair care, she mused, enjoying having him in her personal space.

She grinned as she dressed for her mother’s birthday party they were attending this afternoon. All had been quiet in her work world, no player crises to handle, but Hudson had gone to the stadium to treat some of the players.

He was doing his best to push forward with clinic plans despite having been turned down by his father, who’d refused to release the principal of the trust fund money. So Hudson was busy making appointments with a bank to apply for a loan, and