Chapter Twenty-Six
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. Damn 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.
Brianna kissed her forehead. “Good night, princess.”
Layla reached her arms up toward Hugh. “Good night, Prince Hugh.”
Hugh brought her covers up to her chest and kissed her cheek. “Good night, Princess Layla.”
She curled around her Piglet doll, and within seconds, she was fast asleep again. Brianna took Hugh’s hand and led him out to the living room, closing Layla’s door behind them.
Hugh tried not to notice how sexy Brianna looked with her sleepy eyes and graceful movements, but damn it, how could he not? Brianna nibbled on her lower lip, and he went to her. She wanted to talk and he wanted to kiss. How could he be expected to want to do anything else so soon after she’d given him the green light to act upon his feelings? That’s all it had taken for a flood of emotions and desires to surge forward. Her whole damn body had reacted to the kiss in the parking lot—and left him wanting more. A taste of Brianna just wasn’t enough. With one hand on her waist, he glanced at Layla’s toys on the counter and it returned his mind to what mattered most.
“You wanted to talk?” He buried his face in her neck, taking one small taste to hold him over.
“Yeah,” she whispered.
He reluctantly pulled away. “Let’s sit down.”
The scent of her perfume called to him. She was close enough that all it would take was leaning over a handful of inches and his lips would meet hers, a few more and their bodies would be intertwined. Jesus. What am I doing? Just because she said it was what she wanted didn’t mean he needed to go into full-on make-out mode.
He brushed her hair from her shoulder and rubbed the knot at the back of her neck. “What did you want to talk about?”
Brianna sighed. “That feels so good. Thank you.”
“You worked hard tonight.” Brianna had glided through her busy night at the tavern without so much as a complaint. She didn’t fall apart when Layla showed up unexpectedly, and she didn’t get flustered when she had five booths and two tables of rowdy couples to wait on. She was one of the most in-control women Hugh knew.
She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. When she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, Hugh knew that whatever she wanted to discuss was not only important, but unsettling.
He held her hand between his. “Tell me.”
She let out a loud breath. “I’m probably jumping way too far ahead here, and I feel stupid even bringing it up, but…” She glanced toward Layla’s room.
Hugh drew her face back toward his. “You’re worried about Layla? I shouldn’t have offered to stay with her at the bar. I’m sorry, Bree.”
She shook her head. “No. That’s not it at all. I love that you did that."
Hugh never claimed to be an expert at understanding women, but he was pretty sure he didn’t suck at it. However, at that moment, he had no clue what Brianna was trying to tell him. “You’re totally confusing me.”
“I know. It’s because I’m confused, so how can I be clear if I’m not even sure what I’m thinking?” She withdrew her hand from his and rose to her feet. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pinched tight.
Hugh’s stomach knotted. He forced himself to remain seated, giving her space to pace, as she was doing now, with her arms folded over her stomach. He wanted to take her in his arms and tell her that whatever it was, they’d work it out, but as she took her lower lip between her teeth again, he held back, allowing her to tell him whatever was eating at her when she felt ready.
A moment later, she stopped pacing. Her eyes filled with sadness and her brows pinched.
He couldn’t take another minute of it. “Bree?” He reached for her, and she sank to the couch. “You’re worrying me.”
She blew out another breath. “I like you a lot.”
But…He held his breath. He finally met a woman who sparked the emotions he hadn’t been sure he’d ever feel, and now his heart was going to get crushed? This couldn’t be happening. Hugh wasn’t the dumpee. He had always been the one to walk away. This was all wrong, and damn it, he didn’t want to walk away from Brianna—or Layla.
“Bree—”
“Let me get this out, please. Hugh, seeing you with Layla made me realize how much I like you, and I’m afraid it’s a lot more than like.”
Hugh closed his eyes for a breath. Oh thank God. When he opened them again, she was holding her lip captive again. Shit.
“It’s just…Can we talk about our lives for a minute?”
“Of course. Whatever you want to know. My life is an open book.” He’d been asked all sorts of intimate questions by previous lovers, and none of it worried him. He’d always been careful, protected himself from sexually transmitted diseases, and though he’d slept with many women, he’d promised Brianna that he’d always be honest, and he intended to honor that commitment.
“Tell me about your schedule.” She tilted her head, her brows still knitted together.
My schedule? She didn’t want to know about his past lovers, or if he’d told women this or that. Of course she didn’t. Brianna was practical, responsible. She had a daughter to worry about.
“What do you want to know about it? We race February through October, typically two races each month. I used to do the larger circuits and race weekly, but recently I’ve cut back and joined the Capital Series.”
“Capital Series. What does that mean?”
“It’s just the name of the race series. What it really means is that I have an innate need for speed and I thrive on the thrill of racing at mind-blowing speeds.”
Brianna nodded and pressed her lips together again. Hugh could practically see the gears in her brain processing and conjuring up the best way to ask whatever was on her mind.
“If you love it, why did you cut back?”
Hugh leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. He rubbed one hand with the other. He hadn’t shared the truth of his answer with anyone. When the press questioned him, he gave them an off-the-cuff answer. I want to try a different circuit. Don’t want to get stale. I’m looking into other endeavors.
Brianna’s trusting eyes pulled the truth right from his heart. “Please don’t repeat what I tell you, because I haven't been forthright with the press, and managing public relations can be a nightmare.”
“I promise. But before you tell me, is it some awful reason that will make me want to turn away? Something scandalous that if I knew about it, I’d want to protect Layla from it?”
There they were again. Her mama instincts taking over. God, I love that. He shook his head, wanting to smile and assure her with a happier face, but the truth was not easy to spell out, and he felt as solemn as he knew he looked.
“It’s nothing like that.” He stretched one arm over the back of the couch, more for something to hang on to than for comfort. “You know I grew up without my mom.”
“Yes,” she whispered, and at the same time, she placed her hand on his thigh.
Hugh’s chest tightened. “I’ve always been the live-fast, no-tethers guy in the family. I breezed in and out of family gatherings like the wind, even though my family is the most important thing in the world to me. But I think it’s because I know they’ll always be there. To be honest, I did the same with women.”
Brianna dropped her gaze.
“Please look at me, Bree. I will always be honest with you, and this isn’t easy for me. I need to know that you see me when I say it, and that you don’t see an image of me that my admission conjures up.”
She met his gaze.
“I’ve stopped doing that crap, so before I continue, just know that that’s who I was, not who I am.” He ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath. “I’ve never brought a woman home to meet my family, and when discussions grew deeper—with family or women—I've always made light of them. Then my father had some heart problems, and something in me clicked.” He paused, thinking of how his father’s illness had hit him like a knife to the chest. “Life moves fast, and my life moved even faster than most people’s. Without anything to ground me, I had no limits.”
Brianna pulled her hand from his leg. “Drugs?”
“No. Bree, I’ve never been a guy who wanted to ravage his body with drugs, so you don’t have to worry about that. Nothing illegal. Just…life. Ride hard, play hard. That’s who I was.” He leaned forward again, rubbing his hands together. “My dad still lives every day for my mom. He talks to her, and I swear, sometimes I can feel her around, you know?” He drew his eyes to hers. “She had this horse. Hope. My dad still has Hope, and he treats her like Mom is part of her.” He knew how crazy it all sounded, but even as a lump swelled in his throat, he continued. “So there I am, looking at the man who is everything to me. The man who filled the hole my mother’s absence left, and I’m thinking, What happens when you’re gone?” Hugh’s eyes welled with tears, and he pressed his finger and thumb to them. “I haven’t learned enough from him yet. God, I sound like a fool.”