Page 106 of Bursting With Love
ALL HUGH BRADEN wanted to do was disappear in the fog of a few drinks, then go back to his house and chill. Instead he was stuck waiting for a blind date, and with a race around the corner, there’d be no drinking for him. A beautiful woman with the most contemplative eyes and the sweetest face he’d ever seen had taken his drink order. At least he could look forward to seeing her when she brought it to him. He had planned on ordering seltzer water, but one look at her and he was unable to remember what he wanted. Sidecar came off his lips like he ordered it all the time, and he’d had a sidecar only once—and that was several years ago. Now he’d have to stare at the damn drink all night.
It had been a grueling day. Hugh didn’t know why he’d let his agent talk him into the stupid photo shoot, and just as he’d anticipated, it had been a painful few hours. They’d taken the photos at the track and had scheduled another shoot for Saturday morning. The photographer was cool enough, but fake smiling and posing in positions he’d never stand or sit in made his already sore body ache. Ever since he won the last three Capital Series Grand Prix races, he’d been hounded by the media. Damn sponsor obligations. As much as he was thankful for the sponsors, he rued the attention, and he needed another racing magazine cover like he needed another expensive car or another house.
A blond waitress set his drink on the table. “Hi. I’m Kat. Enjoy your sidecar.”
Really? This is definitely not my night. “Thank you.” He peered around Kat, looking for the dark-haired beauty who had taken his order. Bree. He spotted her taking a drink order from a stocky blond man in a flannel shirt. The first thing Hugh had noticed when she’d taken his order was that she looked as if she was thinking about a hundred things and taking his order was white noise to her internal thoughts. In the space of a breath, she’d struck him as interesting, beautiful, and intense in a way that had nothing to do with sexuality— which in and of itself struck him as strange that he’d notice something like that. But he had. And now he was unable to look away as she moved from one customer to the next, focused and efficient and completely oblivious to him.
Hugh had picked the Old Town Tavern to meet the blind date because it was out of the way. A little bar with a smaller restaurant. The last thing he wanted to deal with was another group of sex-craved or money-hungry women eyeing him like they hadn’t eaten in a month and he was a big juicy steak. He’d hoped he could go unnoticed. When Brianna had finally lifted her eyes to his and her jaw dropped open, he’d worried that she’d recognized him. But she’d ditched him and sent Kat as a replacement. Hell, she hadn’t even taken a second look. He might not want to be recognized for who he was, but being noticed as a man rather than a race car driver and then rejected by Brianna was a whole different story. This was definitely not his night.
He’d accepted the damn blind date only because his buddy and crew chief, Art Cullen, had claimed he had the perfect woman for him—smart and beautiful, and best of all, she had no clue who he was. Now, as an overdeveloped redhead slid into the booth across from him, he questioned that decision.
“Hey, sugar. Are you Art’s friend?” The redhead put her glass on the table between them and ran her red fingernail around the rim of the glass. “I’m Tracie. That’s with an I E, not a Y.”
I’m going to kill Art. Tracie looked like a dime-store hooker with overprocessed hair and a tight red dress that was three sizes too small across her rounded hips and breasts. Hugh pressed his lips together and forced himself to lift his cheeks into a smile. “Hugh. Nice to meet you.”
“Art said you were handsome, but I never expected you to look like that guy on television. McDreamy? McSteamy?”
She laughed, and Hugh sighed. At least Art had promised not to tell her what he did for a living. No more fan girls. Based on the other patrons’ eyes locked on the pre-playoff show on the large-screen televisions, and the lack of attention from any of the guys in the now-packed bar, Hugh assumed he was safe from being identified. Might as well make the best of it.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that. Patrick Dempsey,” he answered. He was already bored. He glanced at the group of guys coming into the bar, each one louder than the next as they approached the bar. The blond waitress, Kat, picked up a tip from a table, then headed back in his direction, seating two more people on her way across the floor.
Kat appeared by his side and scowled at Tracie, then flashed a smile at Hugh. “What can I get you, darlin’? Another sidecar?”
