Come Down Under Page 14

  I nodded but didn’t say anything. Shooting him a questioning glance, I narrowed my eyes and gave my head a small shake.

  Every reporter we worked with knew Luke was off limits. I didn’t plan on subjecting him to living his life in the limelight just because I’d made some money. If he ever wanted to speak out, that was up to him.

  For now, I did everything to safeguard his privacy. John knew this very, very well, but he met my gaze and nodded at the mic. “Speak up, Mr. Hudson. For the audience.”

  “Yes,” I said, irritation making my skin crawl. “She’s the mother of my young son. As I’m sure you’re aware, we’re no longer together.”

  I sat forward and propped my elbows on the table between us, glaring at John but keeping my tone light. “I wouldn’t like to discuss her without her knowledge and consent. How about I tell you all about the updates to All for Love instead? They might even help poor wankers like you and I find that special someone.”

  John didn’t take the bait. “There are rumors circulating that this Audrey is going to move for full custody of your son. Can you confirm this?”

  Fuck. Me. Dead. For the first time in a long time, I was thrown by an interview question. “I can’t confirm the rumors, John. I haven’t heard them.”

  Hell, I hadn’t even talked to Audrey since she’d picked Luke up three weeks ago. She’d bailed on their scheduled time together last weekend—again. It wasn’t out of the norm for her.

  “So it’s not true, then?” John asked, brows furrowing as he checked the notes in front of him. “She’s not suing you for full custody?”

  I shook my head. “Under no circumstance is this rumor true. Like I said, I hadn’t heard about it, but I can assure you that I’m not being sued.”

  What would Audrey want with Luke anyway? She could hardly stand to have him around for a weekend. A week would drive her nuts.

  A month? He’d be visiting his mother in an asylum.

  No. It definitely wasn’t true. But it pissed me right the hell off that there was a rumor like that circulating.

  “I’ve heard from a reliable source that you are being sued,” John pressed. “You can be honest with us, Jude. We’re your friends. How does it make you feel to know she’s claiming she should have sole custody?”

  Anger boiled in the depths of my soul. My eyes narrowed to a squint, piercing my so-called friend with every ounce of the hatred I felt toward him right now. “It doesn’t make me feel anything because it’s not true. Do you want to know about the updates to All for Love? Because if not, I have places to be.”

  “We’d love to hear about those in a minute. What do you say to the allegation that you’re not capable of raising your son?”

  Everything in me slammed to a halt before blood rushed in my ears and my heart pounded. Without even thinking about it, I shoved the chair back and got up. “This interview is over.”

  John’s eyebrows shot up and he motioned at the sign that said “live.” I shrugged. I’d never walked out in the middle of a live interview, but there was a first time for everything.

  And today was that first time for me. I gave him one last glare then pivoted on my heels and marched out.

  No way am I putting up with that shit.

  Chapter 21

  ROSE

  “What the fuck do you mean?” Jude practically growled into the phone when I walked into his office on Wednesday morning. “I understand she’s well within her rights to do it, but why now? I don’t agree that she has a case at all.”

  I paused by the door, not used to hearing him biting someone’s head off this early in the morning. The last couple of weeks had been going really well for us, but I was suddenly unsure if I was welcome in his office for this conversation. It sounded personal.

  “I don’t give a fuck what it costs,” he snapped, looking up at me and motioning for me to come inside. “Look, just do whatever the fuck needs to be done and keep me in the loop. I have to go.”

  He listened intently for another minute, then sighed and rubbed the back of his head. After he hung up, he tossed the phone down on his desk and sent a piercing glare at the ceiling. Rage came off him in waves. I could practically see him vibrating with it.

  It was a little frightening actually. I’d seen a lot of different sides to him, but this was definitely a new one. For some reason, it worried me to see him like this.

  I knew I was taking a chance at ruining the easygoing relationship we’d built lately, but concern pushed me to question him about it. “Is everything okay?”

  As I moved to the conference table to take my seat, I braced myself for the possibility of him taking aim for my head next. He surprised me when his shoulders came down and he shook his head, the aggression melting out of him.

  “No, it’s not okay.” He pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes. “My ex is trying to take my son away from me. It’s ridiculous, but it’s happening. I can’t believe she’d try something like this after everything she’s done. Or rather, everything she hasn’t done.”

  Suddenly, I understood why he looked like he hadn’t slept. There were dark smudges beneath his eyes and his hair looked messy, like he’d been dragging his hands through it all night.

  “That sucks,” I said. “Is there any way you can work it out with her?”

  He shook his head, the corners of his lips turning down. “She doesn’t even care about Luke. She’s either doing this to get even with me about something or she wants more money. I don’t know how to work it out with her if I don’t know what she’s after.”

  My heart ached for him. He hadn’t spoken about his son much to me, but even a blind person would’ve seen the anguish this was causing him. His voice sounded haggard, and his usually set shoulders sagged like someone had placed the world on them.

  There was nothing I wanted more than to go over and give him a hug, but I knew I couldn’t. We’d done well with keeping things professional and I couldn’t afford to mess that up, especially since I didn’t know how well he’d take it if I offered him comfort.

  I was surprised enough that he was making himself vulnerable in front of me. Offering up comfort might be pushing it seven steps too far.

  “Is there some way you can find out what she wants?” I suggested. “Maybe there’s a way to avoid going to court to fight over him.”

  “If she wants more money, she can have it,” he said. “I can’t lose my son.”

  Oh, screw it!

  I’d walked all the way to the conference table and had been about to take a seat, but I couldn’t do it—not when he really needed someone. I was finally getting another glimpse at the man behind the persona, and he was a very real person.

  This wasn’t the guy who thrived on attention and bought flashy watches and sports cars like other people buy toilet paper. This man was a father who cared deeply for his son, and he was in anguish.

  As I crossed to him, a tiny crease appeared between his eyebrows. But he didn’t warn me away. Instead, he opened his arms when I did and stood up, enveloping me when I got close enough for him to do it.

  I felt his ragged breaths against my hair and felt my own heart cracking. I didn’t know this boy, but that didn’t matter. Obviously, he meant the world to Jude.

  “I’m sorry,” I said again, my voice muffled against his shirt. I took a small breath, luxuriating in his expensive, rich, aquatic scent before I could stop myself. I knew this wasn’t the time, but holy hell, he smelled good.

  Having his powerful arms around me again felt damn good, too. Despite the inappropriateness of the thoughts, I had to admit that holding him was like a slice of heaven.

  “I’m here for you, okay?” I whispered, afraid that if I spoke too loudly I’d break this bubble of peace we suddenly found ourselves in. “Anything you need me to do to help, all you have to do is say the words.”

  “Thank you,” he said, his voice gruff and deep. “I’ll let you know.”

  He cleared his throat, then tightened his
arms in that way that people did before they let you go. I didn’t want to lose having his arms around me just yet, but this hug wasn’t for me. It was for him, and if he was done with it, I guessed I had to be, too.

  As I’d suspected, he released me and took a step back. A soft sigh left him, but it probably didn’t mean anything. He smiled at me before going back to his chair. “We should get to work. Sorry about that.”

  “You have nothing to apologize for.” He really didn’t.

  Reluctantly going back to my own workspace, I logged into my computer and waited for his instructions. I looked over to him with my fingers poised over my keyboard and a hand on my mouse, but what I saw wasn’t a man ready to get back to dominating his empire.

  He was staring into space, his lips set in a firm line and his spine rigid. As I watched, I saw him give himself an almost imperceptible shake before he wheeled his chair forward and woke up his laptop.

  “Okay, so we’re meeting with a client we’re building a security system for. They’ll be here in about an hour. What I need you to do is to go over the deliverables. We’re only at the beginning of the project, so if anything jumps out at you, let me know.”

  “That’s it?” I frowned. He’d been a lot more involved with me these last few weeks than this, but I supposed he had a lot on his mind.

  “That’s it,” he confirmed without looking at me. The sound of his keyboard clacking told me the conversation was over.

  The rest of our day was pretty much the same. We went to meetings, worked on separate things when we were in the office, and spoke strictly about work. Every once in a while, he’d take a call that sounded like it was about Luke and his ex, but he only let out huffs of exasperation and moved on with his work.

  It was late afternoon when there was an unexpected knock at his door. We didn’t have any more meetings scheduled for the day, and usually, his assistant let us know when someone arrived.

  Jude cursed at the interruption, ice in his eyes as he sent a look that would make grown men cry at the door. “What?”

  Instead of answering, the person on the other side just let themselves in. It took me no more than a second to put things together.

  This had to be Jude’s son. He looked like a mini-version of his father with his brown hair and defined features, but it was the eyes that made me absolutely, one-hundred-percent convinced this was Luke.

  A glance at Jude confirmed my suspicions beyond a shadow of a doubt. All the tension of the day melted away from his gorgeous face and a brilliant smile spread his lips.

  “Luke, buddy.” He shook his watch out from underneath his cuff, his eyes going wide. “Sherbet, I didn’t realize it had gotten so late.”

  Luke gave me a shy smile before he walked toward his dad. “Gram dropped me off. We’re going out for dinner and to the boardwalk fair, remember?”

  “Yeah,” Jude said, but it didn’t take a lifelong friend to figure out that he hadn’t remembered. Not that I blamed him, considering everything that had happened this morning. “I just need a minute, okay, bud?”

  “I’ll wait outside.” He gave his dad another wide smile, waved at me, and left the office.

  Jude stood up, pressed his palms against the glass surface of his desk, and hung his head, dragging in breath after breath with his eyes closed.

  “You really do need a minute, don’t you?” I asked quietly, wheeling my chair back and getting up.

  He nodded, but his eyes remained closed, and his head faced down. His shoulders were rounded and his knuckles were white as his fingers flexed against the desk. “I don’t want my emotions to bleed over to Luke. He’s dealing with enough as it is. I need to get my shit together and my frustration under control.”

  Again, I was surprised by his honesty and directness. I was also more than a little impressed by the extent of his self-awareness.

  “Take your time,” I said. “I’m great with kids. I’ll go keep him busy for a bit, okay?”

  Jude finally opened his eyes again and, when he did, brought them right to mine. There were questions there, but he didn’t ask them. He simply gave his head the smallest dip of acknowledgment before turning around to face the window.

  I made my way out of the office without another word, trying to be respectful of the space he needed. Having a mentor and sharing their office was a very different kind of working relationship. I doubted anyone who hadn’t ever had a mentor or been mentored would ever understand.

  It was a delicate balance, sticking to their side while also trying to respect their privacy within their own offices. I already felt like I’d overstepped this morning, even though he had invited me in. Conversations with a lawyer about custody of a child weren’t meant to be overheard by anybody.

  Giving him this time was the least I could do. Luke glanced up at the door when I opened it, curiosity etched into his features when he saw it was me.

  “Hello, my name is Rose,” I said, smiling as I shut the door behind me and went to sit next to him on the couch in the waiting area. “I’m new here, but I’m working with your dad.”

  “Hi, Rose,” he said, that hint of shyness I’d seen from him before present in his voice. “I’m Luke. I’m not new here.”

  “I know. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  It seemed to make him happy. His smile widened and his eyes met mine with a little less reservation in them.

  “Do you like working for my dad?” he asked, those bright green orbs not straying away immediately this time.

  I nodded. “I’m learning a lot from him. He’s almost ready to go. He just needs a couple of minutes. What do you say you and I make him his favorite coffee and surprise him?”

  Luke nodded eagerly, looking like a clone of his father when a lock of hair fell across his forehead from the movement. “He’ll like that.”

  “I think so, too.” I dipped my head in the direction of the bridge to the pause area. “Let’s go find the espresso machine.”

  The little boy stood up with a broad grin, then fell into step beside me and peered up. I had a feeling he had a lot of questions. I only hoped he would take it easy on me.

  Chapter 22

  JUDE

  Luke and Rose were nowhere to be found when I finally managed to get my shit under control. It had taken me longer than I’d thought it would, but I was really fucking out of my depth here. I didn’t remember the last time I’d been so completely blindsided and it had never been about something this serious.

  I couldn’t lose Luke. He was my life. Audrey didn’t even want him in hers, so I honestly didn’t know what she was playing at.

  When I’d called my lawyer after the interview, he’d said he hadn’t received any papers yet. He told me he would call if he did but that he could only go to bat once a ball had been thrown. That ball had been chucked right at our heads early this morning.

  Audrey had come out of the starting blocks with all guns fucking blazing. It was infuriating. The worst part was that my lawyer said it didn’t look good for me. The allegations she made were ludicrous, and some of them were patently untrue, but my lawyer said proving it wouldn’t necessarily be easy.

  All day long, I’d struggled to focus on anything else. While Rose had been working, I’d been going over anything I thought might help our case. Old emails, texts about her canceling, and any communications where I’d told her how disappointed Luke had been, nothing was off-limits if it would help me keep my son.

  But now he was here, and I needed to forget about his mother and be in the present with him. First, though, I had to find where he and my intern had gone off to.

  I checked Shane’s office first but saw through the window that he was alone. My next stop was the pause area, and that was where I hit gold.

  Rose and Luke were standing at the espresso machine. She was laughing up a storm while Luke giggled and attempted to steam milk.

  Hearing her laugh was quite possibly my favorite sound at the moment, but hearing Luke’s laughter mingled in
? That really did account for hitting gold in my book.

  All I could do for a minute was stare. The knots in my stomach untangled, and my anger, frustration, and fear vanished like they had never existed. My entire existence narrowed to only the scene playing out in front of me.

  Luke did something wrong with the steamer, and frothed milk shot everywhere. It was a wild mess but Rose only laughed harder. She also kept him safe, though, making sure he steered clear of the hot steaming wand.

  While he tried to make the coffee look presentable, she grabbed a wad of napkins from the stack next to the saucers and cleaned up. Both of them looked happy and relaxed. Seeing them together like that was a mental image I knew I’d never forget.

  “What are you two up to in here?” I asked, forcing my feet to move before someone caught me staring at them like some kind of a creeper.

  Truth be told, I’d have been happy to just watch them for the rest of the day, but that wasn’t really an option. Neither of them seemed to have noticed me before because their laughter cut off abruptly and their eyes widened as they looked up, startled to see me there.

  “We made you your favorite coffee,” Luke said. “It was supposed to be a surprise.”

  “It is a surprise,” I said, reaching out to ruffle his hair.

  He lifted the very messy cup and tiny saucer, presenting it to me proudly. “Try it. I think I messed up the steam.”

  I took it from him, ignoring the fact that the pad of my thumb dipped into an ice-cold pool of liquid lying in the saucer. I took a sip and grinned. “It’s the most delicious coffee in the world.”

  It wasn’t.

  I wouldn’t have been surprised if there was more sugar in it than coffee, the milk had somehow curdled, and it was already cold. But I drank it like it was the best thing I’d ever tasted and smiled all the way through.

  “Thank you, buddy. That was great.” I set the cup down, suppressing a shudder as the sweetness lingered on my taste buds. “Are you ready to go?”