Page 54 of And Then There Was Us
Brianna kissed her forehead. “Good night, princess.”
Layla reached her arms up toward Hugh. “Good night, Prince Hugh.”
Hugh brought her covers up to her chest and kissed her cheek. “Good night, Princess Layla.”
She curled around her Piglet doll, and within seconds, she was fast asleep again. Brianna took Hugh’s hand and led him out to the living room, closing Layla’s door behind them.
Hugh tried not to notice how sexy Brianna looked with her sleepy eyes and graceful movements, but how could he not? Brianna nibbled on her lower lip, and he went to her. She wanted to talk and he wanted to kiss. How could he be expected to want to do anything else so soon after she’d given him the green light to act upon his feelings? That’s all it had taken for a flood of emotions and desires to surge forward. Her whole body had reacted to the kiss in the parking lot—and left him wanting more. A taste of Brianna just wasn’t enough. With one hand on her waist, he glanced at Layla’s toys on the counter and it returned his mind to what mattered most.
“You wanted to talk?” He buried his face in her neck, taking one small taste to hold him over.
“Yeah,” she whispered.
He reluctantly pulled away. “Let’s sit down.”
The scent of her perfume called to him. She was close enough that all it would take was leaning over a handful of inches and his lips would meet hers, a few more and their bodies would be intertwined.What am I doing?Just because she said it was what she wanted didn’t mean he needed to go into full-on make-out mode.
He brushed her hair from her shoulder and rubbed the knot at the back of her neck. “What did you want to talk about?”
Brianna sighed. “That feels so good. Thank you.”
“You worked hard tonight.” Brianna had glided through her busy night at the tavern without so much as a complaint. She didn’t fall apart when Layla showed up unexpectedly, and she didn’t get flustered when she had five booths and two tables of rowdy couples to wait on. She was one of the most in-control women Hugh knew.
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. When she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, Hugh knew that whatever she wanted to discuss was not only important, but unsettling.
He held her hand between his. “Tell me.”
She let out a loud breath. “I’m probably jumping way too far ahead here, and I feel stupid even bringing it up, but…” She glanced toward Layla’s room.
Hugh drew her face back toward his. “You’re worried about Layla? I shouldn’t have offered to stay with her at the bar. I’m sorry, Bree.”
She shook her head. “No. That’s not it at all. I love that you did that.”
Hugh never claimed to be an expert at understanding women, but he was pretty sure he didn’t suck at it. However, at that moment, he had no clue what Brianna was trying to tell him. “You’re totally confusing me.”
“I know. It’s because I’m confused, so how can I be clear if I’m not even sure what I’m thinking?” She withdrew her hand from his and rose to her feet. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pinched tight.
Hugh’s stomach knotted. He forced himself to remain seated, giving her space to pace, as she was doing now, with her arms folded over her stomach. He wanted to take her in his arms and tell her that whatever it was, they’d work it out, but as she took her lower lip between her teeth again, he held back, allowing her to tell him whatever was eating at her when she felt ready.
A moment later, she stopped pacing. Her eyes filled with sadness and her brows pinched.
He couldn’t take another minute of it. “Bree?” He reached for her, and she sank to the couch. “You’re worrying me.”
She blew out another breath. “I like you a lot.”
But…He held his breath. He finally met a woman who sparked the emotions he hadn’t been sure he’d ever feel, and now his heart was going to get crushed? This couldn’t be happening. Hugh wasn’t the dumpee. He had always been the one to walk away. This was all wrong, and no matter what, he didn’t want to walk away from Brianna—or Layla.
“Bree—”
“Let me get this out, please. Hugh, seeing you with Layla made me realize how much I like you, and I’m afraid it’s a lot more thanlike.”
Hugh closed his eyes for a breath.Oh thank heavens.When he opened them again, she was holding her lip captive again.Damn.
“It’s just…Can we talk about our lives for a minute?”
“Of course. Whatever you want to know. My life is an open book.” He’d been asked all sorts of intimate questions by previous lovers, and none of it worried him. He’d always been careful, protected himself from sexually transmitted diseases, and though he’d slept with many women, he’d promised Brianna that he’d always be honest, and he intended to honor that commitment.
“Tell me about your schedule.” She tilted her head, her brows still knitted together.
