Hearts at Play(27)
“What’s your plan today?” Hugh asked as they pulled into the parking lot of her apartment complex.
“I work from three to eight at the tavern, so I was gonna hang out and play a game with Layla, but I think I’ll take her to the park. She’d like that.”
Hugh parked the car and opened the door for Brianna. “Is your mom watching her while you work?”
“Not tonight. Her neighbor Mrs. Cranston is taking her. I’ve known her forever. She’s like seventy years old and Layla loves her. She watches her sometimes when my mom can’t.”
“Do you get a dinner break?”
“Twenty minutes around seven. You don’t have to walk me up to my apartment. I’m just gonna change my clothes and then pick up Layla.”
“I want to. What kind of boyfr—”
Boyfriend? She pretended not to notice his use of the word, even though her skin tingled with excitement. Boyfriend. She loved the sound of it.
He pulled her closer. “Boyfriend.” He looked at her and smiled. “Do people still say that when they’re my age, or is that a high school word?”
“You’re asking the wrong girl.” Yes! Use it!
“Is it too possessive? Too limiting for a girl like you?”
She saw the tease in the lifting of his brows and decided to tease him right back. “Well, it is a bit limiting.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” He focused on the building with a serious look in his eyes.
She’d expected him to laugh. Disappointment filled her heart. Did he think she’d meant it? Hugh put his arm around her and pulled her close, his eyes trained on the bearded guy who watched them from his balcony. She hated the way he stared at her. She had become so used to it that she usually just stared at the ground or put a protective arm around Layla and hurried past. She was glad when Hugh had insisted on walking her inside.
Upstairs, Brianna fumbled for her keys, chewing on the idea that he’d nixed the use of the word boyfriend. It’s just a word. So why does it hurt so much? She dropped the keys, and Hugh bent down and picked them up, then found the proper key and unlocked the door.
He pushed the door open. “After my girlfriend.” He waved a path for her to enter.
She couldn’t keep the silly smile from her lips, then kissed him as she walked past. “I like that,” she admitted.
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her again. “So do I.”
The apartment smelled like fresh roses. Brianna added fresh water to the vase. “I hope these last forever.”
“I would say nothing lasts forever, but I’m not sure I believe that anymore.”
She glanced at his profile as he went to the glass doors in the living room. He was nothing like the man she’d thought he would be. He flipped the lock on the slider, and it dropped without clicking.
“Doesn’t this lock?”
“No. It never has. But we’re on the third floor, so I’m not too worried.” She set the vase down on the counter.
“Do you have a screwdriver?”
“Sure.” She dug through a kitchen drawer and handed it to him. “It’s really fine. I don’t think anyone’s gonna go Spider-Man on us and scale the wall.”
He was already taking the lock apart.
“I’m gonna change real quick.” While she changed her clothes, she called out to him, “What are you doing today?”
“I’m going to the track. I’ve gotta meet my pit crew and spend a few hours practicing and going over things for next weekend.”
“Are you excited about it?”
“I love to drive, but I’m not excited about not being with you,” he said.
Brianna pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater. She put on makeup, spritzed perfume, and found Hugh looking over the photographs on the living room shelves. “You really didn’t have to wait for me.”
“I wanted to walk you back down. Besides, I’ll take whatever time I can get.” He held up a black-and-white photo of Layla in a red wooden frame. “You’re really good at photography. Maybe we can get your camera fixed.” He set the frame down on the bookshelf.
She shook her head. “It was old and not a very good one.” She slid her feet into a pair of flat boots. “One day I’ll get another one, and when Layla’s a little older, I’ll take pictures again. Right now there’s no time anyway, so I’m not missing much.”
He drew his brows together and spoke softly. “You’re so patient, Brianna.”
“Moms have to be.”
“I put your screwdriver back in the drawer. The lock is missing a piece. It’s like it’s been taken apart and put back together without a key element. I can fix it for you while you’re at work if you want.” He put his arm around her as they locked the apartment and headed back downstairs.
“You don’t have to do that. Even the maintenance guy couldn’t fix it. They offered to replace the door, but it was really pricey.” I love that you want to fix my lock.
“I’m a little smarter than a maintenance guy. I can have it fixed before you guys get home tonight.”
“Sure.” As she took her key off of her keychain, she realized that she didn’t have an ounce of hesitation about giving him a key. She trusted him completely, and the ease with which that realization came shocked her.
“Wait. You’ll need it to get in before work.”
“I have a spare at my mom’s. I’ll pick it up when I get Layla.”
“Okay, and I’ll bring this one back to you at work.”
He smiled and she knew he didn’t mind, but she felt guilty after everything he’d already done for her. “Hugh, you don’t have to do that. I can get it the next time I see you.”
“Good, because that will be the next time you see me.”
He walked her to her car, and she felt like she was in high school, waiting for the cutest boy in school to kiss her goodbye, even though Hugh wasn’t a boy and they’d moved way beyond goodbye kisses. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and leaned back against the car.
“Can I text you later?” Hugh put his hands on her waist and a thrill ran through her.
“Of course. You can call if you’d like.” As much as she appreciated his consideration of her, she wished he’d take for granted that he could call her, kiss her, or hug her anytime. Only she knew he couldn’t, and she’d made that clear outside of Claude’s studio. Talk about sending conflicting messages. But hadn’t everything changed since then? Or was that only in her head?
“I don’t want to complicate things for you and Layla. Your life runs like a finely tuned automobile, and I know how a tweak in the wrong direction can make for a bumpy ride.” He kissed her cheek. “I had a great time last night.”
“I’ve never had a better time, and I hate that we have to be apart.” She touched his stomach with her fingertips. The memory of their lovemaking snaked its way into her head, and a shiver trailed down her back.
“It’ll make our time together that much sweeter when we see each other again.”
HUGH WATCHED BRIANNA drive away before heading back toward her apartment. He took the steps two at a time to the second floor. He pulled his shoulders back and stood up to his full six-foot-three inches before knocking on the door of apartment 202, the only one on the right that faced the parking lot. The last time Hugh had challenged a man about a woman was when Savannah was a sophomore in college. She’d come home for spring break and some jackass from out of town had been visiting his cousin. He made a comment to Savannah when she was riding by on her horse, and by the time Savannah arrived home, she was livid. With Treat, Dane, Rex, and Josh away at school, it was up to Hugh to set the guy straight. All it took was staring down his nose at the squirrely kid and Savannah had an apology within the hour. Now, as he stood outside the bearded man’s door, Hugh had no idea what he might say to him. The man hadn’t done anything more than leer at Brianna, but it was enough to give Hugh a bad feeling about him. For all Hugh knew, he was a nice guy, but he’d stake his claim and make sure that Brianna and Layla didn’t run into any trouble.
The door swung open, and the scent of body odor wafted out the door. The bearded man looked like he belonged on Duck Dynasty with his thick, unkempt beard and beer gut that threatened to rip his dark T-shirt at the seams. The guy narrowed his beady green eyes and looked Hugh up and down. “Wadda you want?” He stood a solid eight inches shorter than Hugh with soft, doughy arms and an unwashed face.
Arms crossed, Hugh flexed his biceps. “Saw you eyeing my girlfriend.”
His eyes shifted to the left, then back to Hugh. “And?”
Hugh lowered his chin, set his jaw, and pinned the man with a rottweiler’s death stare. “And there’s nothing but trouble waiting for you there.”
The man swished his jaw from side to side, his long, straggly beard moving along with it. He pushed the door closed.
Hugh reached out with his left hand and stopped the door, then closed the gap between them. He looked down at the man and gritted his teeth. “Make no mistake about what I’m saying. If she or her daughter so much as feel uncomfortable coming home at night, I won’t ask questions.” His chest expanded with each breath. He felt his nostrils flare as he tried to rein in the urge to grab the man by the throat and throw him up against the wall. “We straight?”