Page 3 of And Then There Was Us
“Oh, please. He’s a guy. She’s easy.” Brianna shrugged. “What’s not to get?”
“You’re so cynical. That could have been you walking out with him, Bree.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been off the dating train for quite some time.” When it came to men, Brianna was a master at turning off her emotions. She’d been doing it for six years, and she planned on doing it for another twelve.
“All I’m saying is that you don’t have to be a witch about it. You could have smiled, waved. I don’t even get why you’re on an eighteen-year celibacy plan anyway. That makes no sense to me.”
“Excuse me. Can I get a drink?” a tall guy hollered from the bar.
“Sure, darlin’. Just a sec.” Kat brushed Brianna’s hair from her shoulder. “You take him. Patrick Dempsey left a great tip. I’ll share it with you.”
“You don’t need to do that.” She smiled at Kat. When Brianna came back home after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, where she’d focused on photography, she hadn’t known she was pregnant. She’d put the pieces together two months later, after failing to find a job and writing off her nausea and missed periods to stress. Her mother was not exactly thrilled that she’d gotten knocked up at a graduation party by Todd, a guy she’d dated only a few times, and Brianna had to admit that she wasn’t thrilled either. But the minute her doctor had told her she was pregnant, her hand instinctively went to her belly, and there was no question in her mind about what she was going to do. Layla had become a part of her at that moment, and even though she and her mother had a falling out shortly thereafter and she’d stopped looking for a job in the arts and took the bartending job so she could make the rent payments on her new apartment, she’d never regretted her decision. Not when Layla was a colicky infant and stayed up for hours on end and not when she was two years old and colored with crayon all over the walls.
She looked at Kat and sighed. During those early months of Brianna’s pregnancy, when Brianna’s mother had been less than supportive, Kat had always been there. She’d supported Brianna’s desire to keep her baby, held her hair back while Brianna had bouts of nausea, and she’d never once judged her for getting pregnant. Kat had been the sister Brianna always wished she’d had.
“I’m not dating because Layla needs a stable mother, not a mom who’s caught up in the drama of worrying about a man. I brought her into this life, and she’s the best kid in the world. I don’t want to mess her up. It’s the least I can do.”
Kat hugged her. “I wish you’d have been my mom. Now go help the hunky dunk over there. Yummy.”
Brianna didn’t mind Thursday nights. With the noise of the game and the cheering of the drunken fans, the hours moved fast.Another twenty minutes and I’m out of here.Brianna bent over a barstool as she wiped it down.
“This seems to be the only free seat. Do you mind if I take it?”
She froze at the sound of that rich, delicious voice.Get a grip.She lifted her gaze to see that the handsome man who had left with Red was back and she was staring at his broad, muscular chest. She swallowed hard. At five foot five, Brianna was not a short woman, but next to this guy, who was almost a foot taller than her, she felt petite and feminine…and like her heart was on speed.
“Sure. Sorry,” she managed.
“Thank you.” He took off his jacket and folded it over his arm, his gaze never wavering from hers.
His eyes weren’t just brown; they were a warm shade of cocoa. She also noticed that his five-o’clock shadow wasn’t all black after all; it had a little lighter shade of brown sprinkled in. Oh, how she’d love to photograph him in black-and-white. Profile shot, maybe. He smiled, revealing the cutest dimples she’d ever seen.Patrick Dempsey. Definitely Patrick Dempsey. Only hotter. Sexier. Stronger. For heaven’s sake, shut up!Brianna realized she was staring, and a flush heated her cheeks. She spun on her heel and returned to the safety of the opposite side of the bar, racing heart and all.
She eyed Kat fixing drinks and flirting with a group of guys at the other end of the bar, wishing she were beside her. Kat could tease her out of her momentary lustfulness—or she’d give her a hard time for not acting on it. Brianna took a deep breath and focused on wiping down the counter.
“What’ll it be?”Don’t look at him.She felt like she was standing in front of the real Patrick Dempsey and if she looked again she’d be awestruck, she’d go mute, and embarrassed beyond recovery. That was the stupidest thing in the world, and she knew it. She forced herself to lift her eyes and clenched her jaw to keep from making an idiot of herself.
He smiled again and—Oh wow—when it reached his eyes, he didn’t look like a jerk at all. Maybe she was misjudging him.But he just left with Red and he’s back for more already!She clenched her jaw tighter.
“Seltzer water, please,” he said.
Seltzer water?She took a few steps away and focused on pouring his drink at the back counter. Kat was by her side half a second later.
“He’s back? Already? That doesn’t say much about his bedroom skills,” Kat whispered.
Brianna glanced back at Hugh. Thankfully, between the noise of the customers and the distance between them, there was no way he’d heard her. “Shut up.”
Kat touched her arm. “You’re shaking.” She drew in a loud breath. “You’re shaking. Bree. Oh my gosh. Because of him?” she whispered.
“No. I’m tired, and I need to go home.”
Kat gave the guy at the bar a quick once-over and then waved as three large groups left the bar. “Twenty minutes. Can you handle it? Want me to take him?”
“Nah. I’ve got this.” Brianna wasn’t about to let some guy get the better of her. She’d learned her lesson six years earlier. She headed back toward the far end of the bar, where Hugh appeared to be people watching. “Here you go. Enjoy.” She handed him his drink and picked up a tip from the bar.
“Is it always like this in here?” he asked.
It took a second for Brianna to realize he was speaking to her. “Ah, I guess. On Thursdays, anyway.”Where’s Red?
He nodded. “Happy crowd.”
