Hearts at Play(36)

“What did you just say?” she asked tentatively.

“It’s madness, I know. I don’t want a night here or there, a date when we can fit it in. I’m not pushing, and I don’t think I’m crazy. I just know I never want to be without you, and I want to take care of you and Layla with every piece of my heart and soul.”

Her lips curled up and her eyes filled with more love—if that were even possible. She took his face in her hands. Her lips parted, as if to speak, before a tear dropped from her cheek and she lowered her forehead to his. As she slid down his body and took him in her mouth, the anxiety from the morning evanesced, leaving his heart whole and his mind free to embrace the woman that he loved.





Chapter Thirty


THE BEGINNING OF the week went by in a blur of work, romantic phone calls and texts, and nervous excitement. Brianna was finishing up her shift Wednesday evening at the tavern when Kat sidled up to her.

“So, any more bride talk?” She leaned back against the bar and lifted her eyebrows. Today she wore a coral-colored lipstick, which gave her a fun, youthful appearance.

“I haven’t seen Hugh since Monday.” She had hoped to see him before work that morning, but he’d had to meet with a sponsor. Each time they’d spoken since Monday, they’d talked about Layla and caught up on what each of them had done that day. They swooned about how much they missed each other and both professed how they couldn’t wait to see each other again. Brianna should have been over the moon, but she realized that morning that Hugh hadn’t brought up what he’d said while they were making love—I’m gonna make a bride out of you one day— and the worry had expanded like a sponge in water throughout the day, lodging itself in her chest. The clock couldn’t reach five fast enough.

“Does this mean you’re going to move away from me? What will I do all alone here with no one to talk to?” Kat smacked her gum and dropped her gaze.

Brianna tucked her hair behind her ear and let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t think that’s what it means, Kat. I really don’t know what it means.” She threw her towel down on the bar.

“Whoa. What’s up with that?” Kat picked up the towel and folded it, then tucked it back into Brianna’s belt.

“Ugh. I don’t know.” She bent down and whispered, “He hasn’t brought it up again. At all. Should I worry? I mean, what does that mean? Does he regret it?”

“Shit, no. The man’s crazy about you. He rented a freaking carousel, Bree.” She poked Brianna in the side of her head. “Think. Use your head for a minute. He told you he’s gonna make a bride of you. The guy who rented out an entire park, who fixed your car, who bought your daughter a hundred-dollar game. Do you really think he says things he doesn’t mean? Or…do you think he can’t bring it up again unless he’s really ready to propose? In case you haven’t noticed, this guy doesn’t do things halfway.”

“Maybe.” Brianna looked up at the ceiling. “But he could regret it,” she said quietly.

“You’re insane. What does your mom think?”

Brianna bit her lower lip.

“Brianna! You didn’t tell your mother?” Kat crossed her arms. “You are worried.”

“I just want to know he’s sure. I don’t want to get all”—she waved her hands up over her head and used a high-pitched voice—“I’m getting married! only to find out that he said it in the heat of passion and didn’t really mean it.” The damn lump she’d been fighting all morning lodged itself in her throat and pressed tears to her eyes.

Kat put her arm around her shoulder. “Bree? Has he done something to make you think he doesn’t adore you?”

Brianna shook her head. “No. He’s great. Better than great, and it’s scary as shit. What if I’m in some dream world and I screw up Layla? She talks about him nonstop after spending only one evening with him. What if once he spends more time with me he finds out how complicated my life really is and he decides that it’s not for him? What if he decides—”

Kat pulled her close. “Honey, he’s not your dad, and he’s not Layla’s father, either. Take a deep breath. You’ve got yourself stuck in a tunnel of doubt.”

Brianna nodded as she pulled away. “Jesus, Kat. I never cry. I’m like a bundle of nerves and girlie emotions. What has happened to me?”

“You fell in love, Bree. That’s what it does to you. It turns you inside out and fucks with your mind…and your body.” She sighed dreamily. “I can’t wait until it happens to me.”

Brianna laughed. “You’re a glutton for punishment.”

Kat smacked Brianna’s butt. “Maybe, but only sometimes.” She winked.

That little tap veered Brianna’s mind to the sex-tip articles she’d been reading, which made her think about making love to Hugh. Her nipples perked up as she wiped the last of her tears from her eyes. It turns you inside out and fucks with your mind. I’m totally fucked. No. I’m totally in love with Hugh Braden.





Chapter Thirty-One


LAYLA AND HER grandmother were sitting on the floor playing with Barbies when Brianna walked into her mother’s house.

“Mommy! Is it time for our date?” Layla rose to her feet and jumped up and down.

Brianna kissed her on the cheek and ran her hand over Layla’s silky hair. “Almost, princess. Why don’t you put the toys away and get your shoes on?” She watched Layla gather her dolls and pulled out her phone to read a text.

Hi, beautiful. I’ll be there at seven thirty. Can’t wait to see you both. Xox, H.

She texted back. Us too. Xox.

Her mother rose to her feet. “Can we talk in the kitchen?”

“Sure.” Brianna stuffed her phone into her pocket and breathed deeply to calm her erratic pulse. By the serious tone of her mother’s voice, she assumed Layla had said or done something that concerned her, which did nothing to help her calm down. “What’s up, Mom?”

“I received a phone call today from Maureen Hooper.” Maureen Hooper had worked for the city of Richmond for the past twenty-five years, and she was the biggest gossip on this side of town.

“Yeah. And?” Relieved that Layla hadn’t picked up some bad words at school or said something off base, she was completely thrown by her mother’s serious eyes and pinched lips.

“Bree, why didn’t you tell me about what Hugh did for you?”

Brianna’s breath caught in her throat. What she saw wasn’t seriousness at all; it was hurt. How the hell did I miss that? She was too damn wrapped up in herself.

“I’m sorry, Mom. I thought it might upset you because of Dad.”

Her mother put her hand over her mouth and shook her head. The sadness in her eyes was now unmistakable. She pulled Brianna into a hug, startling her.

“Mom, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, honey. I’m sorry.” She crossed her arms. “When Maureen told me about the carousel and the park, I put two and two together and realized how much you must have hurt from your father’s leaving. I mean, that’s the last time you were on a carousel, so it wasn’t hard to figure out why he chose that. Let’s face it. That night made a huge impact on you.”

“So did the next morning, Mom, when he left. Remember?”

Her mother dropped her eyes. “Yes. Of course, and I’m sorry for anything I’ve done to make it even harder.”

“Mom, you didn’t make it harder.” At least not on purpose. She clenched her eyes against the tears that threatened. Was her entire night going to be spent in tears?

Her mother nodded. “Yes, I did. I was so angry at him. I know what I did, and I was aware of it at the time, but I couldn’t stop myself from saying all those things about him. I never should have said a negative thing. I should have just said the marriage ended and it was both of our faults.”

“You never said much, Mom. You just said he couldn’t stand the heat or something.” She remembered every word her mother had said and how it had struck her like a brick to the chest, but there was no need to make her mother relive that too. She knew her mother had been overwhelmed, and the pain in her mother’s eyes was apology enough.

“Yes, but sometimes it’s not what you say. It’s how you say it.” Her mother hugged her again.

It’s not what you say. It’s how you say it. Shit. She’d spent the afternoon in a tizzy of worry over nothing. Every word Hugh said over the phone, every text he sent, was laden with love. She had been too worried to see them for what they were. He didn’t need to hammer home the idea that he wanted to marry her with those very words. He’d already done it in a hundred different ways. Everything was happening crazy fast, and even if he wanted to slow things down, that wouldn’t mean that he felt any differently about her.

“I know, Mom.”

“Okay, well, you didn’t tell me how romantic he was.” Jean brushed Brianna’s hair from her face.

“I know. I still can hardly believe it.”

“Well, I fed Layla, and I hope tonight is wonderful for all of you.”