Page 9 of And Then There Was Us
Brianna’s voice softened. “Not really.”
“Fine, Brianna. But I think I’ll hang around the bar tonight just the same.”
“You don’t have to do that.” She snagged a clean towel, tucked it into her belt, and followed Mack into the bar. She watched him eyeing the customers, then glance at her, scrutinizing who held her attention. Brianna made a conscious effort not to look at gorgeous, heart-stopping, breath-stealing Hugh.
Thankfully, more customers had arrived, and there were at least a dozen men between the tables and the bar.
Mack looked around again. “I’ll be back. If you need me, come get me.” He headed into the restaurant, and the constriction in Brianna’s chest eased a little. She took a deep breath and grabbed an order pad to wait on the booths. Kat grabbed the pad from her hand and pushed past her.
“I’m on booths tonight.” She was halfway to the corner booth by the time Brianna called out her name.
Darn it, Kat.Brianna busied herself behind the counter, serving drinks and purposely not making eye contact with Hugh, who was talking to the guy next to him about baseball.Oh, I love his voice. What is wrong with me? He’s a man. That can only mean trouble.When he held his hand up in a little wave meant for her, a chill ran through her. She smiled despite herself, then dropped her eyes to the bar and began wiping it down. She noticed his water was empty, but his sidecar hadn’t been touched—again. He hadn’t touched his drinks the night before, either. She opened another bottle of Perrier and set it alongside a glass of ice in front of him.
His hand grazed hers when he reached for the glass. She drew her eyes to his.
“Thank you, Bree,” he said.
“Sure,” she managed.
“You look nice tonight.”
She felt her cheeks flush again.Darn it.She felt like a schoolgirl blushing all the time.
“Thank you.” She eyed the alcohol in his glass. “Was your drink made poorly?”
He didn’t even look down at the glass. “No. It’s fine.”
Then why aren’t you drinking it?Brianna saw Tracie enter the bar, silencing her before the question left her mouth. Tracie’s eyes ran from table to table, lingering over a group of two handsome men, then traveled to the bar and locked on Hugh.
“Your girlfriend’s here,” Brianna said before walking away.
“What?” Hugh turned just as Tracie sat beside him.
“Why did you leave him alone with her?” Kat whispered with her side pressed against Brianna’s back at the counter behind the bar.
“What am I going to do, stand there and gawk? I can’t even speak when I’m near him.” She looked at Kat and bit her lower lip. “Kat, you can’t let this happen. Don’t let my stupid hormones ruin my ability to think straight. Please. Layla is counting on me.”
Kat rolled her eyes. “Layla wouldn’t care if you dated a cute guy. You just use her as an excuse and you know it.”
“Not true. Look at my mother. My father left when I was eight. Todd was a weekend fling who clearly wanted nothing more, and look at your own father. He left when you were twelve. Men suck. They’re great for alleviating our needs, so to speak, but that doesn’t mean we have to mess up our lives for them. I’d rather go without, thank you very much.” She looked over her shoulder at Hugh and Tracie. Tracie leaned in close and Hugh leaned back, stiff, with a pained look in his eyes. Brianna groaned at Tracie’s brazenness and turned back to Kat.
“Not all men are like that. Look at Brad Pitt.”
“Great example.” Brianna rolled her eyes.
“Oh yeah. I totally forgot he was married when he met Angelina. Shoot. And now even that marriage is history.” Kat laughed. She peeked at Hugh. “Go save the poor guy before she eats him alive.”
Brianna took a deep breath.Why is it my job to save him?Hugh awakened all her girly parts and prodded emotions she hadn’t felt in a long time, and besides, he seemed like too nice of a guy to be preyed upon by Tracie. She handed another customer his drink and headed for Hugh.
“What are you having?” she asked Tracie.
“Cosmo,” she said, inching her long red fingernails toward Hugh’s hand on the bar.
Hugh slid his hand off the bar and lifted his eyes to Brianna’s. She read,Help me, in his gaze, but heard,Kiss me, in her head.
Brianna’s stomach tightened. “Coming right up.”I can’t believe I’m going to do this.She carried the cosmo in her shaking hand. Tracie leaned toward Hugh and her dress fell open, exposing a deep valley between her enormous breasts. Brianna narrowed her eyes, took a final step and then stumbled. The drink flew from her hand into Tracie’s lap.
“Hey!” Tracie jumped up with her hands held out to the sides, her dress dripping with the pink cocktail. “What the heck?” She grabbed a handful of napkins from the bar.
