Rand finished chewing his food. “Please excuse my bluntness, but what’s the deal with you two?” I saw Brooklyn’s head spin as she turned to glare daggers at him. “You’re not together or anything, are you? Because I see the way you’re eye-fucking one another.” He chuckled as he stabbed at another bite of his food.
“Rand Shepard, you can’t just say that to people you just met!” Brooklyn warned.
He shrugged. “Sorry, darlin’, I can’t help myself. I know I’m southern and I’m supposed to be nice, but the heat coming off the two of them is hot enough to burn my face.” He grinned at her.
“We broke up,” Hutch answered. “I’m married with a daughter now, and it’s...fucking complicated.”
“Complicated is not the word, man, you two look like—”
“Stop it,” Brooklyn cut him off.
Rand grimaced. “Sorry, sorry, I can be a bit much at times,” he admitted.
“It’s fine,” Hutch muttered, but he didn’t say much the rest of the meal, and when Rand tried to pay the bill, I thought Hutch might actually throw a punch. What was it they say about meeting your idols?Never meet your heroes, because they're sure to disappoint you?
After we finished eating, the guys went down to Zed’s Automotive while Brooklyn and I went back to my studio. Hutch assured me that he would be fine now with Rand, but I told him if he needed me, all he had to do was call or text. I hoped that he wouldn’t freeze up or freak out, but something told me he was comfortable now after what had happened.
“Can I be nosey?” Brooklyn placed her phone in her back pocket after texting her friend to check up on her son.
I let out a nervous laugh. “It’s that obvious?” I had hoped I had kept my feelings hidden.
“He knows you still have feelings for him.” She dragged her teeth across her bottom lip.
I let out a slow breath. “I left him without saying goodbye the night we confessed our love to one another, and broke his heart. Hutch is a gentle soul, and I have never met another man like him, Brooklyn.” I dropped my head down so she couldn’t see the tears that threatened to fall.
“First of all”—Brooklyn touched my arm—“we’re friends now that you’ve cried in front of me, and since my friends call me Sully, I insist you call me that.” She pulled a tissue from her purse, which I took to dab at my eyes. “The man I was with before Rand was a horrible, terrible person, Jillian. I was so closed up to anyone when I met him, and I had said no to dating any more NASCAR drivers, too.” She pulled me into a hug. “The whole friends thing seems to be working out alright for the two of you.”
“He told me we can’t be friends.”
The look on Brooklyn’s face was priceless when she pulled back to look at me. “Then why did he want you to come today?” She looked confused.
“Because I would do anything Hutch asked me to do.” That was the truth. “Anyway, I’m glad he did because we got to spend time together.”
We talked for a while as she snapped off some pictures with her camera she took out of her giant purse. She told me she had a sister named London, and how they grew up in Connecticut but now lived in North Carolina since that’s where all NASCAR race shops were located. She liked it, but sometimes got homesick. I told her I grew up here, lived in New York for the past four years, but wasn’t planning on going back. I hated it.
Hutch stuck his head in the door. “I’m sorry to just barge in, but Rand wanted me to ask if Brooklyn could take a few pictures?” His eyes darted nervously around the studio as he avoided looking at me.
“That’s what I do best!” Brooklyn exclaimed as she waved her camera.
Hutch blushed. “This wasn’t my idea.”
“It’s my job, and trust me when I tell you that I love taking pictures, so don’t even try to apologize.”
We went down to the shop where Brooklyn did just that. She took a few pictures of Rand and Hutch together, which I did too, with my phone, and then she took a few of a couple of the cars that Hutch happened to be working on in the shop for his own personal use. She took a couple of me, had Rand take some of us together, and that was right around when Madison made her appearance with Hazel.
It was the first time I had actually seen Hutch’s daughter, and even though she was sleeping, I could already tell she was the most beautiful baby on the planet. Her blonde hair fell in twisted curls around her chubby baby face, and it made me realize another thing I was missing out on with Hutch.
“What’s going on here?” Madison’s blues eyes moved around the room before they landed on me. “Having a party without me?” A smirk spread across her face as she fussed with her baby in the stroller.
Hutch took a step forward. “I told you I was going to have breakfast this morning,” he reminded her.
“You forgot to tell me that it would also include Jillian.” Madison said my name as if I had run over her family’s cat or something.
Hutch squared his shoulders. “No, with Rand and his wife. Jillian was—”
“Why is she here then?” Madison’s nostrils flared as she placed the baby seat on the floor. “She’s your ex-girlfriend, Hutch, and in case you’ve forgotten, I’m your wife. This is our daughter, and I don’t think you should be spending any time with Jillian.” She bared her teeth like an animal.
“I invited her,” Brooklyn spoke up.
