Hearts at Play(17)

“Well, I feel bad. Shouldn’t I pay for the tow truck or something?”

“He owns the equipment, and he’s a friend. I do things for him all the time. There’s no charge.” He looked up at the JC Penney sign. “Shall we?”

They headed inside the store and up the escalator to the children’s section. “I want to get her a winter coat.”

He followed her to the children’s outdoor clothing section and watched her leaf through the coats, biting his tongue about his feelings on buying a little girl a coat for her birthday. She was turning six. Wouldn’t she prefer a game or something more fun? He had no experience at parenting, but he respected Brianna’s financial position, and he assumed that she was buying Layla something she needed instead of a frivolous gift.

“What do you think?” She held up a pretty little pink coat with fuzzy pockets and a fuzzy hood.

“I think it’s adorable. When’s her birthday?”

“That was easy,” she said. “Next Thursday.”

Hugh made a mental note of the date. “Let’s look around. We can get a coffee or a soda in the mall.” He wasn’t into shopping, but he’d do whatever it took to keep their time together from ending.

“Sure.” She looked at her watch. “How far away is my car?”

“It’s at my place. They dropped it off about half an hour ago.”

Her jaw dropped open. “They dropped my car off at your house? That’s a really good friend.”

“It’s my pit crew chief, Art. He’s a nice guy.” Except when he tries to set me up on blind dates.

“Now I feel bad. You asked your employee to do it? He probably felt obligated.” She rolled her eyes as she paid for the jacket.

Hugh laughed. “It’s not like that at all. I’ve never asked Art to fix anyone’s car besides my own, and only the cars I race. He’s a friend, Bree. I’d do the same for him if he needed it.” Art hadn’t given him an ounce of grief about fixing her car, and he knew Art had a litany of questions he’d been holding back, but that was how their relationship worked. Respect above all else, and after the mistake Art had made with the blind date, he owed Hugh a favor.

They made their way back downstairs and into the mall. Hugh noticed two teenage boys following them, and he tightened his grip on Brianna’s hand. He’d counted himself lucky not to be recognized the last time they were out together. It appeared his luck had ended. When they slowed to look in the window of the Gap, one of the boys tapped him on the shoulder.

“Um, excuse me, but aren’t you Hugh Braden?” The lanky teen looked at his heavyset friend, then back at Hugh with a nervous smile.

“Yeah. Want an autograph?” The quicker he got it over with, the less chance he had of others taking the opportunity to gather around. He faced the window of the store as the boys looked at each other. “Either of you have a pen?”

They shook their heads.

“I do.” Brianna snagged a pen and notebook from her purse and handed it to Hugh.

“Are you here for a race?” the taller of the two boys asked.

“Just practicing and relaxing. Hey, I’ll let you watch me practice if you don’t draw any attention to us. Deal?” He handed them each an autograph.

“Cool. Yeah. You’re awesome,” the heavyset boy said.

“Call this guy. He’ll hook you up.” Hugh wrote down his public relations rep’s name and number and handed it to them.

“Thanks, man. We really appreciate it.”

Hugh watched them walk away and breathed a sigh of relief when no one else stopped for an autograph. Without his jacket on, he rarely got stopped in public.

“Wow. That was kinda cool,” Brianna said.

Hugh rolled his eyes. “I guess.” He pulled her close. “But I’m a little spoiled. I don’t want to share my time with you.” He felt a pang of guilt, thinking about Layla. “I mean, with strangers,” he added.

“I know what you meant.” Brianna stopped at Gap Kids to look at a dress in the window. “Does that happen a lot?”

“Thankfully no. Not unless I’m at a race or wearing my racing jacket.” Her eyes were serious, and he felt her dwelling on the autograph. “Let’s go in,” Hugh suggested.

“No. I can’t go in there. They’re a little expensive for me, and I can’t walk out without a whole new wardrobe for her. It’s a seriously dangerous store for me.” She took a step away from the window.

He grabbed her hand. “Am I allowed to just buy her a pair of sparkly shoes? I noticed that she had a few pairs lined up by the door in your apartment, and look.” He pointed to row of sequined ballet flats in various colors. “You can tell her they’re from you, or from a friend.”

“I can’t let you do that. You haven’t even met her yet.” Brianna shook her head.

“It’s not like I’d be buying her a car. It’s a pair of shoes. We can even get her pink to go with her new coat.” Hugh hadn’t expected to be excited about buying any kid a present, but now that he’d spotted those little sequined shoes that were so similar to the ones Layla had at the apartment, and he saw the idea dancing in Brianna’s eyes, he really wanted to buy them for her.

“She would love them.” She put her hand on the window and looked at the shoes.

Hugh took her hand. “That decides it, then.” He pulled her into the store and picked up a pair of the pink flats, turning them over in his hands. “What size does she wear?”

“Two.”

“They make shoes in a two?” Hugh laughed. “That seems impossible.”

“Everything seems impossible until you have a baby.” She looked through the boxes and found the right size.

Hugh went to a display of dresses. “Does she like dresses?”

“She’s a girl. Of course she likes dresses.”

“I noticed in the pictures she was wearing mostly leggings and long shirts,” Hugh said.

Brianna narrowed her eyes.

“What?”

“You noticed that?” she asked.

“Of course. We were going shopping for her, so I had to see what she liked. I also noticed that she’d made a few clay pots and stuff that you had on the bookshelves. Would she like arts and crafts? There must be a craft store in the mall.”

“You’re so thoughtful, Hugh. I can’t believe you noticed all of that in the short time we were at my apartment.” Brianna crossed her arms.

“I knew we were going shopping for her.” He shrugged. “What size is she?”

Hugh caught a glimpse of a young family by a display of sweaters. The little girl appeared to be around the same age as Layla. She picked up a sweater and rubbed it against her cheek, turning the sweetest blue eyes up to her father, who swooped her into his arms and kissed her cheek. His wife placed her hand on his back. Hugh felt a tug in his heart and knew that sharing Brianna with Layla could never be an issue. Treat’s voice sifted through his mind. Family knows no boundaries. He’d heard it a million times from his father and from Treat, and it had never quite hit him the same way it did now, as he glanced at Brianna and thought of her and Layla.

“Seven,” Brianna said. “She likes arts and crafts, but she’s really into drama and plays right now.”

He looked through the dresses for the right size.

“Wait, no. I just got carried away with the idea. We said a pair of shoes, not a dress, too, Hugh. That’s way too much.” She reached for the dress.

Hugh lifted it out of her reach with a laugh, Brianna’s reaction was so different from that of the money-grubbing women he used to date that he found himself wanting to buy things for Layla and for her.

She shook her head. “You can’t buy me, you know.”

Hugh put the dress back on the rack. “You don’t really believe that’s what I'm doing, do you?”

“Not really, but guys don’t just buy stuff for women’s kids unless they want something in return.”

He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close. “Brianna Heart, you have a very poor image of men in your head.” He leaned back and looked down at her. “I’m going to do everything I can to change that.”





Chapter Fifteen


BRIANNA WAS THINKING of the morning when they reached Hugh’s house. He hadn’t wanted to stop kissing her before they’d left that morning, and he hadn’t tried to kiss her—really kiss her—since they’d gotten out of the car at Claude’s studio, and now that their time together was coming to an end, she wished he would.

“I had a lot of fun today. Thanks for driving me to work and to the mall, and for buying Layla those cute shoes, and for getting my car fixed.” She laughed and rested her head back against the seat. “You’ve done more for me in twenty-four hours than anyone’s done for me in twenty-eight years.”

“I’m sure anyone would have done the same.” He leaned closer to her and she sat up straighter. “May I be so forward as to ask for your cell phone number?” He grinned, and it made her laugh.

“Oh my God, you don’t have my number and I’ve already spent the night at your house. I’m such a tramp.”