Page 10 of And Then There Was Us
“Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry.” Brianna reached across the bar andaccidentallyknocked Hugh’s sidecar over, splashing a second drink onto Tracie’s already wet dress. “Oh goodness!”
Hugh stifled a laugh, which spurred Brianna’s smile into motion.
“It’s not funny. Now I have to go home and change. Ugh!” Tracie stomped out of the bar.
“I’m so sorry,” Brianna said to Hugh as she mopped up the counter. She noticed Mack standing at the entrance to the restaurant, shaking his head. She cringed and mouthed,Sorry.
“That was brilliant,” Hugh said with a laugh.
His smile lit up his face and lightened Brianna’s anxiety. “You looked like you needed saving.”
“That, I did.” Hugh lifted his water to her and took a sip.
“I’ll get you another sidecar.” She took a step away, and he touched her hand as it trailed the edge of the bar.
“Don’t.”
She glanced back.
“I’d rather talk than drink.”
Brianna scanned the other customers. No one was asking for a drink. Kat had the booths and tables covered. She had no excuse not to talk to him—and she’d been looking for one only halfheartedly. Another quick glance at Hugh’s dark eyes sent the search for an excuse away for good. “Okay.”
For a moment he just looked at her. She was hyperaware of every breath. Every second passed as if it were in slow motion, every movement magnified—the slight lift of his lips, the sparkle in his eye, the way he licked his lower lip, leaving his lips parted just enough that she could see the glistening stripe where his tongue had just passed.
“Hello?”
Brianna blinked out of her trance and realized that the older man standing next to Hugh with an angry look in his eyes had already tried to get her attention several times. “Sorry. What can I get you?” She felt Hugh’s stare like heat from a laser.
“Bud Light.”
“Coming right up.” She focused on filling his drink. Her mind ran in seventeen different directions. Her life was work and Layla. What could she possibly talk to any man about? She handed the angry man his drink and then served a couple and a single woman. One of her favorite customers, Bill Carson, a gray-haired man with thin, gangly shoulders sat beside Hugh. Brianna felt Hugh’s eyes following her, and the emotions she’d been stifling for so many years came tumbling forward. Her stomach fluttered. Each breath felt too loud. She tried not to look at him, afraid she’d be mesmerized into stupidity again.
She handed Bill his usual Jim Beam on the rocks. “Haven’t seen you in here this week. Are you okay?” Her heart hammered against her chest as she forced herself not to look at Hugh.
Bill nodded. He was a retired postal worker, and Bree swore the flattening of his fingertips was caused by years of dealing envelopes across the postal counter. Bill had aged ten years in the last three, since his wife, Millie, had died. A road map of wrinkles covered his cheeks and forehead.
“You sure? Missing Millie?” she asked.
“Oh, you know. I miss Millie every day. My son was in town. I spent a few days with my grandson, but they went back to California.” He sighed. “How are you, Brianna?” Bill looked around the bar. “Busy tonight. They treating you okay? Because if they’re not, why, I’ll—”
Brianna loved how Bill pretended he’d stand up for her, when in reality he was so old and thin that a strong wind could blow him over. She was used to dealing with drunken men, and she didn’t feel she needed protecting, but she found it cute that he offered—and she wondered if Hugh was the kind of guy who would fiercely protect his girlfriend.Stop, stop, stop.
“They’re fine, Bill. But I know you’ve got my back.” She touched his hand. “Excuse me.” She went to serve another customer. The three that followed amped up her anxiety.
A table of guys in the middle of the bar began playing quarters, and between thewhoops, cheers for the game, the searing heat from Hugh’s gaze, and Kat rushing in and out of the bar area, Brianna could barely hold on to a coherent thought. By the time the game ended and the crowd thinned, she felt as if she’d walked a hundred miles and, still feeling drawn to Hugh, felt as if she could walk a hundred more.
“What a night,” Kat said with a loud sigh. “That was insane. How are you holding up?” She rinsed a rag and squeezed it out in the sink.
“Okay.” Brianna glanced at Hugh. “He’s still here.”
“Of course he is. The man came to see you. He’s watched you like a hawk all night. You might as well talk to him. I’m going to mop up the booths.” She leaned in close. “Stop being afraid. It’s a conversation, not sex. Give the hot man a thrill.”
It’s the thrill I’m worried about.
HUGH LEARNED A lot about Brianna by just watching her, and he hadn’t enjoyed an evening as much in a very long time. She handled the customers with kindness and strength, pulling away when her professional attentiveness was met with flirtatious advances. She was nothing like the women he was used to. The models and fans he used to date would never have given the likes of these guys the time of day, and there she was, asking the old man beside him if he was missing his wife. She came around the bar to pick up money a customer had dropped and gave it back to him.
When a young guy grabbed her wrist and pulled her close, leading with his lips, Hugh stood from his stool. His chest expanded with a deep breath.I’ll kill you.Before he reached the guy, Brianna smiled like she was going to allow the kiss. Then she snapped her wrist over, breaking his hold, and grabbed his thumb and twisted it back and down—hard, causing him to writhe in agony and beg to be released. Hugh watched Mack escort the numskull out of the bar and then brought his attention back to Brianna, who was wiping down the bar once again as if nothing had happened. Hugh noticed the slight tremble in her arm, and the light that had found her eyes was gone again, replaced with a serious darkness.
