Brianna laughed. “Thanks. She’s my girl.”
He set it down and picked up another photo of Layla sitting on a woman’s lap at sunset. The woman looked too much like Brianna not to be her mother, but it was the colors and the angle that caught Hugh’s eye. “Your mom?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you take this one, too?” He watched her tuck her hair behind her ear again.
“Yeah. It was a long time ago.”
“Bree, these are magnificent. Did you study photography?” Hugh set the frame back on the bookshelf and watched as her face flushed.
“In college.” She fiddled with the edge of her sweater. “Do you mind if I shower and change quickly so we’re not late?”
He set the photograph down. Brianna stood in a stream of sunlight at the edge of the living room looking so damn pretty that just the idea of her one room away, naked and washing that gorgeous body of hers set Hugh’s desires aflame. He shook the thought from his head and then cleared his throat to find his voice. “Uh…Go right ahead. I’ll wait here.” And try not to think about you.
Brianna’s cell phone rang. She dug through her purse for it, then put it up to her ear.
“Hi, baby. Are you having fun with Grandma?” A smile spread across her lips. “Really? For breakfast? She does spoil you.” She listened for a moment.
He loved how her voice softened when she spoke to Layla.
Brianna continued talking to Layla. “I’m sorry, baby. I must have been in the bathroom. I’ll keep my phone with me from now on. I know. Okay, I love you. I’ll see you in a little bit. Be good for Grandma and enjoy the play.” She listened again. “Always.” She ended the call and let out a sigh. “See? I’m not a great mother. Layla called me this morning and I forgot to call her back.”
“You’re a great mother. That was probably my fault because I kept kissing you. From now on we’ll make sure you keep your phone by your side and that it’s turned up loud, so you don’t miss her again.”
She tucked her hair behind her ear again—a nervous habit Hugh already found adorable.
“You okay?” he asked.
She nodded before heading down the hall to her bedroom, but Hugh had seen the worry in her eyes. He scanned the room and saw Layla everywhere, from the sparkly little sneakers lined up by the door to the coloring books on the bar between the kitchen and the living room. He listened to the bedroom door close, then began to pace. Damn, he liked her. She was smart, responsible, family oriented. She tugged at all the right places in his heart. He picked up another picture of Layla and searched the little girl’s eyes. Day by day. That’s how he’d have to take things with Brianna, although just thinking about the man on the balcony set a fire through his veins. He was way past day by day.
“WHAT AM I gonna do? He said we. He didn’t say that I had to keep my phone on; he said we’d have to make sure,” Brianna whispered into her cell phone to Kat. She hoped Kat would set her racing heart straight.
“I don’t see what the big deal is. He likes you, Bree. Hell, if you’d let a man near you, you’d know that wasn’t a horrible thing.”
“I did. Remember?” Brianna sighed.
“That was years ago. I say…You have some time before Claude’s expecting you. Invite him into the shower with you,” Kat teased.
Brianna stripped off her clothes as she spoke. “Kat! I’m serious. I almost had sex with him. I need you to tell me to stick to my plan. Tell me he’s not a great guy, or he’s a player, or something. Please.”
“Okay, well, you didn’t have sex with him, so that tells you something, right? He’s not a dick, because if he was, you’d have had sex. He’s not banging down your door when he knows you’re naked in the bathroom, and that tells you he’s not a bad guy, right? So, I can’t do it. I can’t tell you not to at least go out with him a few times. I can watch Layla.”
Brianna stood in front of the mirror with her eyebrows knitted together. “Oh, Kat, I’m in trouble.”
“You know what they say. If you can’t be good, be careful.”
“Yeah, well, that’s why I went on the pill after Layla was born. Just in case.” She glanced over her shoulder at the bathroom door and thought of Hugh. A pulse of heat flared between her thighs. “I gotta go. Thanks for not helping,” she teased.
“You’ll thank me later.”
Brianna stepped under the warm spray of the shower and closed her eyes. She could feel Hugh’s whiskers against her cheek, his lips pressing on hers, his tongue swiping her mouth. She slid her fingers between her legs and let out a frustrated sigh at how wet she was. She bit back a moan as she stroked herself and imagined Hugh’s hands touching her, his lips trailing down her body, his tongue taking her up, up, up. Knowing Hugh was only two rooms away heightened her excitement. She held on to the tile wall as the orgasm gripped her body and clenched her teeth to keep from calling out as Hugh’s name fell from her lips.
Chapter Twelve
“YOUR CAR WILL be ready by two, but I don’t want you to feel trapped with me, so I can take you to pick it up or I can pick you up after my appointment and we can shop for Layla’s gift together.” Hugh leaned casually on the console as he drove toward town.
Brianna’s mind told her to shop by herself and spend less time with Hugh, but her heart—and her body—refused to listen. The words fell out of her mouth without hesitation. “Let’s go together, if you really don’t mind.” She’d thought her little shower release would help her stop thinking about Hugh in that way, but all it did was make her want him more. She’d even taken extra time with her makeup, and after seeing him smile at her boots the night before, she’d purposely worn them again, this time with black jeans and a flowing white blouse that was just see-through enough that it showed a hint of her laciest bra. Sitting in the confined car only increased her desires toward him. His cologne filled the air, and each time he shifted gears, his triceps jumped. She had the urge to run her finger along the defined edge of the muscle, where it curved toward the back of his arm.
“Bree?”
Shit. She didn’t realize he was even talking. Get a grip! “Sorry, yeah?”
“You said you were helping your friend today. We’re coming up on Main Street. Where to?”
She’d been so lost in him that she’d totally forgotten about directions. “Up here on the right.” She pointed to the end of the block.
“Wait. CD Studios?” Hugh laughed. “No way.”
“No way what?”
“That’s where my appointment is. I had a photo shoot with CD Thursday for my sponsors, and we’re wrapping up the last of them this morning.”
No freaking way. “You’re taking pictures here? Today?” How am I going to manage this?
“Yeah. This is great. We can spend more time together. What do you do for CD?” He opened his eyes expectantly, and then his goddamn dimples appeared again.
Why do you have to be so good-looking? Brianna tucked her hair behind her ear. “I…uh…I help Claude…CD. I do the lights, help make sure the models clothes and props are set right, you know, that kind of stuff.”
He pulled into a parking space. “That’s great. It’ll make the shoot even more fun. I really don’t like getting my picture taken, but now I’ll have you to smile at.”
Or I’ll die of embarrassment from not being able to focus. “Yeah, great.”
Hugh came around and opened her door. He pressed a kiss to her lips. Brianna’s hands found his waist as he deepened the kiss, and when he pulled away, she felt light-headed again.
“Hugh.” She cleared her throat.
“Yeah?” He opened the trunk and grabbed his driving suit, helmet, and gloves.
“You can’t kiss me like that.” Shit shit shit.
His smile faded. “I’m sorry. I just assumed…”
“No, it’s not that. I like when you kiss me, but I can’t concentrate in there if we’re…” Shit. I sound like an idiot. No woman on earth would tell you not to kiss her.
“I’d never kiss you like that at your workplace. We’re on a side street. No one can see you.”
Now she felt like a fool as heat rushed up her cheeks. “I know. Never mind. I just get flustered.” She started for the building, and Hugh reached for her hand.
“Brianna, am I pushing myself on you?”
His eyes were serious, laden with concern. She couldn’t play a game of push-pull with herself anymore. It wasn’t fair to either of them. She was used to being completely in control of hers and Layla’s lives. Organizing them, maintaining their crazy and tight schedules. And now she felt it slipping away, as if a door had opened and she wasn’t sure if she should slam it to contain their orderly lives or leave it ajar and allow the chaos of the rest of the world to seep in and see what happened. Hell. This was such a mess. She could no better let the chaos in than she could lie to Hugh—or to anyone else for that matter.
“Hugh, I really like you, and I know you said we could take things day by day, but in my head I’m wrestling with everything. You travel all the time; you’ve got a dangerous and sexy job that makes women want you. I’m a boring, busy mom with no interest in competing with anyone, and what I want more than anything is stability for my daughter.” She looked down, feeling her chest tighten at the thought of turning him away—again.