Page 78 of And Then There Was Us
“You know Marissa will be there today, right? We left you a message.”
“Yes, we’re looking forward to it.” Brianna glanced at Layla. “You okay, honey? You should get going.”
Layla pushed her face over the front seat and kissed Brianna’s cheek. “I love you.”
“Love you too, princess.” She watched her run out the door and into a pack of classmates, all with bright backpacks strapped to their backs like turtle shells.
“Will he be there?” Cheryl whispered.
“He who?”
Cheryl lifted her eyebrows and looked around, then pushed her head into the window and whispered, “Hugh Braden.”
“How do you know about Hugh?”
“Oh please. Do you really think you can hide a man like that?” She whipped the morning newspaper from behind her back, and on the front page of the Local News section was a photograph of Hugh’s smiling face, Brianna staring up at him like a star-struck groupie.
Holy smokes.
She noticed two of Layla’s other classmates’ mothers heading for her car.
“Um, I don’t know, Cheryl, but I have to get to work. Sorry to be rude.” She rolled up the window and hightailed it out of the school parking lot.
She parked behind the tavern and dug through her purse for her phone.Darn it.She’d left it on vibrate and had three messages from Hugh. Her heart raced as she listened to them.
Hi, beautiful. Don’t freak out, but we’re in the newspaper. Complete with my proclamation of being off the market. Love you. I’ll call you later.
She groaned.
Hey, babe. Just trying to catch you before my appointment. I’ll see you tonight at Layla’s party, and I’ll try to call you later. Love you.
Why wasn’t it Friday night? Getting out of town would be so much easier.
Hey, still trying to reach you. It just dawned on me that you might be freaking out and I wanted to say…Sidecar. Love you. Don’t be scared. Nothing can ever come between us.
A call from Hugh rang through and she switched over.
“Hey there,” she said, thankful that he’d reached her this time.
“Sidecar.”
She let out a breath and felt her lips curl into a smile. “I’m not freaking out too badly.”
“I’m on my way into my meeting, so I can’t talk long, but I wanted to…no, I needed to know that you were okay.”
“I’m good. I’m not going to let my insecurities or fear come between us. How do you usually handle this stuff?” Layla’s lunch was sitting on the backseat.Sigh.
“I don’t pay it any mind anymore. At first it was kind of exciting, then it became a pain in the butt. But to be honest, I’m kind of glad about this picture. Now the world knows I’m with you. That’s a good thing, because I’m ready to shout it from the rooftop.”
She pictured his eyes lighting up and his deep dimples on his perpetually unshaven and way-too-sexy cheeks. Then it hit her like a punch to the gut. “Layla. Oh gosh, Hugh. They’ll be all over her at school. I’ve got to get over there.”
“I wish I were there. I’m sorry, Bree.”
She heard the distress in his voice. “It’s fine. I can do this. I’m not a wimpy weak girly girl.” She touched her locket. “I’m a brave, strong girlfriend.”
“Yeah, you are. Love you, babe.”
“Love you, too. I’ve got to go save my daughter, who is probably drama queening it up for the entire class about Prince Hugh.”
