Part 3The Maid Model Caught Feelings

I’d only been at my desk for half an hour when my phone chimed with a shipping notification.

[Customer Service]: Your Romantic-Class companion is on his way! Check out his profile below and make sure to have his essentials ready. ლ(°◕‵ƹ′◕ლ)

I clicked the file.

Name: Benji. Height: 5'10". Weight: 170 lbs. Owner: Maddie Thorne.

He was significantly smaller than Hudson. Hudson was a wall of muscle; Benji sounded... manageable. I realized Hudson’s clothes wouldn't fit him at all. He’d look like a kid playing dress-up in his father’s closet.

I added "Shopping" to my to-do list.

After work, I hit the mall with a few girls from the office. We got distracted by happy hour and window shopping, and by the time I pulled into my driveway, I realized I had five missed calls.

All from Hudson.

That was weird. A Domestic model shouldn't be tracking my location, right? He’d never done that before.

The front door swung open before I could even reach for my keys.

Hudson stood there, his shadow stretching across the porch. His eyes swept over me, dark and scrutinizing. "Maddie. Where were you? Why didn't you answer your phone?"

"I was shopping," I said, frowning as I stepped past him. "Since when do I have a curfew?"

He didn't look happy, but his expression softened slightly when he saw the bags in my hands. He caught a glimpse of a plaid button-down sticking out of one of them.

A small, almost imperceptible smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. He knelt to help me step out of my heels, then gathered the shopping bags to take them to the bedroom.

A moment later, he walked back out, looking… awkward.

He’d tried on the plaid shirt. It was two sizes too small. The fabric was strained to the breaking point across his chest, the buttons clinging for dear life. It made him look rugged, slightly indecent, and entirely too masculine.

"It’s a bit snug," he said, his voice dropping an octave. "But I can wear it open."

Oh god. This was a disaster.

I used to buy him clothes all the time—mostly sheer fabrics or things with far too many straps. He’d always refused to wear them, sticking to his two sets of "normal" clothes. Seeing him try so hard to please me with this shirt made my heart ache.

I cleared my throat, trying to fix the misunderstanding. "It’s too small because... well, don't wear it. I'll get you something else."

"No," Hudson said, and there was a strange warmth in his tone. "I like this one."

"But it wasn't for you," I whispered.

The air in the room seemed to vanish. Hudson’s eyes went dark, his entire posture turning predatory. He stepped closer, looming over me.

"Then who," he asked, his voice a low vibration in the air, "were you planning on giving it to?"