Page 53 of And Then There Was Us
“Then don’t you want something more for Layla?” He wrinkled his forehead.
“Is this what I have to look forward to? She’ll wrap you around her little finger and you’ll spoil her rotten and then I’ll have a monster on my hands? She’ll expect life to be one big fairy tale.”
Hugh wrapped his arms around her waist. “Look at that face.” He looked at Layla sitting sleepily in the booth across the bar. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Does she look like she could ever be a monster?” He kissed Brianna and felt her stiffen within his arms. “Bree? I thought you told me not to hold back.”
She pried herself from his arms. “I did, and I meant it. But…” She nodded at Layla. “I need to explain to her that we’re seeing each other or she’s going to be mighty confused.”
“Of course.” He’d been so wrapped up in Brianna’s desire for him not to hold back his emotions that he wasn’t thinking straight. “Do you want me to be there when you tell her?”
Brianna looked at her daughter and sighed. “I think I’d better talk with her first.” She leaned against the booth, fidgeting with the towel. “Hugh, before I talk to her, I think we need to talk. Can we talk after she goes to bed?”
“Sure. Should I be worried?”
“No. It’s just that telling her is a huge step, and I want to be sure we’ve thought things through before we do that.” She touched Hugh’s arm, but her eyes remained trained on Layla.
“Do you want me to wait and walk you to your car, or would you rather I didn’t?”
“Yes, please. I want you to.”
Hugh breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll go wait with Layla.”
BY THE TIME Brianna finished cleaning up, Layla had fallen asleep across Hugh’s lap. He sat with his head back and one arm protectively around her.
“I’m sorry.” Brianna slid in across the booth from him. “The night ran much later than I expected.”
Hugh spoke softly. “My only plans for the night were to work out and think about you.” He reached across the table and held her hand. “I got to meet Layla and I was near you. Double bonus.”
“It seems like you’re always rescuing me, and before I met you, I never seemed to need rescuing.” Brianna had been protective of Layla for so long, and with Hugh the introduction came so easily. Naturally. She’d anticipated Layla being confused or at the least upset when she met Hugh, but he’d woven his way into their lives seamlessly. And from the look of Layla sleeping peacefully on his lap and Hugh looking perfectly content as her pillow, she realized it was because it washim. Everything about Hugh felt right.Even this.
“Sometimes it’s the people who don’t know they need rescuing that need it the most. But the truth is, you didn’t need rescuing at all. I have no doubt that you would have figured out your car situation, and you would have figured out tonight, when Layla showed up, too. But it never hurts to have someone to help share the burden of these little snags as they arise. Come on. Let’s get this little princess home.” Hugh gathered Layla’s stories and put them in his pocket; then he picked up Layla and covered her with his coat. She snuggled against his shoulder. With one arm around Brianna’s shoulder and the other safely holding her daughter, they left the bar.
Brianna wished she had a working camera. Layla’s cheek rested beside Hugh’s, and the moonlight cast a romantic glow across them both. She imagined the angles she’d shoot and envisioned the finished photograph hanging on the wall above his fireplace.I’m getting way too far ahead of myself.
He settled Layla into her booster seat and hooked the seat belt, then covered her with his jacket. “She’s out like a light.” He closed the car door softly. “Did you decide if I can do something princessy for her?”
He looked so hopeful that she couldn’t say no. “One princessy thing. Deal?”
“Deal. Every little girl should have one princessy dream to hold on to. Why don’t I follow you home and carry her upstairs?”
The image of Hugh carrying Layla to her apartment incited thoughts of a future together, and Brianna’s stomach fluttered again. “I can do it. I’ve been carrying her since before she was born.”
“I know you can. Let me ask you another way. Is it okay if I come with you and carry her upstairs? That’s kind of what boyfriends do.”
“You’re so…chivalrous.”
“You’re so…beautiful.” He stepped closer to her. “Smart.” He kissed her lips. “Sweet.” Hugh kissed her neck. “Loving,” he whispered against her ear.
Brianna’s fingers grazed his stomach. “Hugh,” she whispered as he lowered his mouth to hers again, pressing his body to hers. Her back met the cold metal of the car. His arms enveloped her, stealing the cold and replacing it with excruciating heat that radiated from his body right through hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the feel of his body, the taste of his lips, the passionate swipe of his tongue. His hands roved over her back to her hips, her bottom, and back up again. Every caress pulled at her most sensitive areas. He had to feel the way her legs lost their strength as she clung to him for support. When he settled his mouth around her neck again and buried his hands in her hair, tugging her head back, she could barely contain the begging moan that welled within her. His hips gyrated against hers, and another rush of heat settled between her legs. With a final—Oh, my—hot stroke of his tongue, he pulled back from her.
Come back.Brianna’s eyes fluttered open, and when he whispered in her ear,Should I follow you home?It took all her focus to manage a nod.
Chapter Twenty-Five
DUCK DYNASTY WAS outside when Hugh and Brianna arrived at the apartment complex. Hugh carried Layla, and when his eyes met the bearded man’s, the man went inside.Darn right.He reached for Brianna’s hand and mounted the stairs with a little stronger peace of mind.
Layla awoke when Hugh laid her down. She looked from Hugh to Brianna, and a smile crept across her lips.
“Good night, Mommy.” She reached her arms up for a hug.
