Game On (12 page)

“Yeah, but we’re your sons,” Ryan said,
setting his glass down on Luc’s desk. “Shouldn’t that count for somethin’?”

Luc looked at him a long time before he
responded. “It’s not my job to try and make things easier for you boys. Nobody
was around to pave the way for me when I was buildin’ that company.”

Ryan sighed. “Are we back to that again?”

“Listen,” Luc said, pointing at him. “I
handed a successful company over to you and your brother. What you choose to do
with it is up to you.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You and Evan told me a while back that you
needed me to step aside so you could run the company the way you wanted to. I
agreed. You can’t have it both ways, kid.”

“So you didn’t tell us about Trey because
you wanted to watch us stumble? That’s real nice, Dad.”

Luc laughed. “Son, I can guarantee you’re
gonna fall flat on your ass more than once, but you guys are smart enough to
pick yourselves up and keep movin’ forward.”

“I know you think Evan is, but…” It hurt to
acknowledge the truth. Their father had always thought Evan was smarter and
more capable than Ryan. Ryan often used humor and sarcasm to mask the sting,
and he’d often rebelled, to try and prove to his father that his low opinion of
him didn’t matter. But it did, more than he was willing to admit.

“You always frustrated the hell out of me,”
Luc said, leaning forward and clasping his hands on the desk in front of him.
“Guys like me and your brother always have to work our asses off to be half as
good as you are without even tryin’.”

“What’re you talkin’ about?” Ryan had never
heard his father acknowledge that he was good at anything.

“Everything came easy to you. School,
sports, girls, and you took it all for granted. You were lazy, and I hated
that. I always tried to push you to be better because I saw so much potential
in you.”

“Gee thanks. What’re you sayin’? I turned
out to be a big disappointment?”

Luc shook his head. “No, I’m not sayin’
that at all.” He glanced at a framed family picture on his desk. “You were
nothin’ like me, and I hated that.”

“Thank God for small favors,” Ryan
muttered, smiling when his father scowled at him.

“See, that’s another thing,” Luc said,
pointing at him. “Why do you do that?”

Ryan shifted in his seat again, not because
he was physically uncomfortable this time. He knew his father intended to put
him on the spot and demand answers he couldn’t give. “Do what?”

“Why do you deflect that way? Why is
everything a big joke to you?”

“Not everything’s a joke, but you can’t
take life so seriously all the time. If I did that, I’d end up like Evan: alone
and miserable.”

“Last time I checked, you were alone.” Luc
held his hand up. “And I’m not talkin’ about those transients in mini-skirts
that wander in and out of your life.”

“Ouch, that’s harsh,” Ryan said, clutching
his chest. Too bad he couldn’t deny it. “It might interest you to know I’m
tryin’ to rectify that situation. That’s another thing I wanted to talk to you
about.”

“I’m listenin’.” Luc leaned back in his
seat and reached for his glass.

“I talked to Josh about this last night, so
I wanted you to hear it from me.”

Marisa appeared at the door, a smile
lighting her face when she saw her son. “I saw your car parked out front, and I
thought maybe you came to use the sauna.”

“No,” Ryan said, getting up to kiss her
cheek. “I wanted to talk to you and Dad about a couple of things.”

“You were sayin’ somethin’ about Josh,” Luc
said, gesturing with his hands. “Carry on.”

This shouldn’t be as difficult as it was.
Josh hadn’t disapproved, why should his own parents? “So, I, uh…” He could
actually feel the heat creeping up his neck. This was mortifying. He felt like
the five year-old boy who’d been sent home with a note from the teacher because
he stuck his foot out and tripped a classmate at recess. “Have feelings for
Brianna.”

“What kind of feelings are we talkin’ about
here?” Luc asked, eyeing him carefully.

Marisa slipped her arm around her son’s
waist in a silent show of support. “Don’t pretend you don’t know what he’s
talkin’ about, Luc.” She looked up at Ryan, smiling. “I’m so happy for you two,
honey. You couldn’t have picked a better girl. And I’m just so relieved that
you’re finally thinking about settling down-”

“Hold on,” Ryan said, extricating himself
from her grip. “I don’t want anyone orderin’ weddin’ invitations. I just wanna
take this slow-”

“I knew it,” Luc said, glaring at him. “I
can’t believe you’re even considerin’ this. What the hell’s wrong with you?”

Ryan tried not to lose his temper, but his
father tried his patience at the best of times. “I’m not askin’ your
permission. I’m tellin’ you what the deal is…” he said between clenched teeth.
“Before you hear it from someone else.”

“You’ve been friends with Brianna forever.
Why can’t that be enough?”

“Because I want more.”

“What you want is to get in her pants,” Luc
said, scowling at him.

“Luc!” Marisa said, reaching for Ryan’s arm
when he took a step toward his father.

“Don’t you ever say anything like that to
me again,” Ryan said, pointing at Luc. “That girl means the world to me, and I
want to be with her,
only her
.”

Luc looked at his wife. “Sweetheart, can
you give us a few minutes?”

Marisa looked back and forth between her
husband and son. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“We need to work this out on our own,” Luc
said, getting up and ushering his wife to the door. He leaned down and kissed
her. “We’ll be on our best behavior, I promise.”

She flattened her hand on his chest before
glancing over his shoulder at Ryan. “Just see that you are. And that goes for
you too,” she said to Ryan.

Luc closed the door and turned to face his
son. “You said she’s the only one you want to be with. Did you mean that?”

“Of course I did. I wouldn’t have said it
if I didn’t mean it.”

“Sit down,” Luc said, pointing to the
leather club chair by the fireplace. “I want to hear more about this.”

Ryan followed his direction, not because he
wanted to have a heart-to-heart, but because he wanted to get this over with so
he could make it back to the office before Brianna left for the day. He was
hoping he could talk her into going out for a drink with him so they could talk
outside of the office. His mother would understand if he bailed on dinner.

“What do you want to know?”

“I wanna know when you started having these
feelings for her.”

Ryan shrugged. “Does it really matter?”

“Yeah, it matters to me. Have you been
feelin’ this way for days, weeks, months…”

“Try years.”

“Jesus,” Luc said, sinking into the chair
across from his son. “Why the hell didn’t you say anything about it before?
More importantly, why didn’t you act on it? That is, assumin’ you haven’t?”

“We haven’t slept together if that’s what
you’re askin’.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “I’ve loved her forever,
Dad.” He looked Luc in the eye. “But I was afraid.”

“Afraid of what?”

“Losin’ her. She’s the best friend I’ve
got. I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

“Does she feel the same way about you?” Luc
asked. “I mean, does she want to try takin’ this relationship to the next
level?”

“I think so.”

Luc sighed. “Jesus, Ry, this is a helluva
risk. If things don’t work out, you will lose her as a friend. You can’t go
back to what you have now, not once you’ve crossed that line.”

That’s what terrified him the most. “Don’t
you get it, Dad? If I don’t take this risk, I’ll have to stand by and watch her
marry some other guy. She’ll have his babies, share her dreams with him. I want
that guy to be me. I need for that guy to be me.” He took a deep breath when he
realized he was raising his voice. He was surprised to look up and see a wide
grin on Luc’s face. “What the hell are you smilin’ about?”

“Do you know how long I’ve been waitin’ to
see you this passionate about somethin’?”

“What’re you talkin’ about?”

“I’ve been prayin’ that something or
someone would come along to light a fire under your ass for years. I never
thought it would be Bri, but I couldn’t be happier that it is. You know your
mama and I already love her.” He chuckled. “You got my blood runnin’ through
your veins, kid. If you want that girl, I know you’re not gonna let anything
get in your way.”

***

Ryan made it back to the office just as
Brianna turned the light off and closed her door.

“Hey, I caught you just in time,” he said,
moving in behind her. “I was hopin’ I could talk you into havin’ a drink with
me.”

She glanced at her watch. “A drink? I
probably shouldn’t. I haven’t even had dinner yet.”

“Even better; dinner it is.” He took her
hand and led her toward the elevator. As they were waiting for it to reach
their floor, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and buried his
face in her neck, inhaling the subtle scent of her perfume mixed with vanilla
shampoo.

“Stop,” she said, slapping his forearm as
she leaned her head back on his shoulder. “The cleaners are here. I heard the
vacuum cleaner in the reception area a little while ago.”

“So what?” He wanted the world to know how
he felt about her. He was tired of lying to her, himself, and everyone around
them.

He didn’t hesitate to pull her into the
elevator and hit the stop button as soon as the doors closed. He backed her
into the wall and framed her face with his hands, pausing long enough to look
into her eyes. He’d dreamed of this moment hundreds of times, having the
freedom to claim a kiss from her without worrying about the repercussions. Now
that everyone knew how he felt about her, and he had the blessings of the
people who mattered most, he had the courage to set his fears aside and go
after what he wanted.

“What are you doing?” she asked, slipping
her arms around his waist.

“What does it look like I’m doin’,
beautiful?” he asked, threading his hands through her hair as he tipped her
head back to invite his kiss. “Don’t tell me you haven’t been thinkin’ about
this. You know you can’t lie to me. I know you too well.”

She sunk her teeth into her lower lip and
looked up at him through her lashes. “I may have thought about it a time or two
since the other night.”

He smiled. “You’ve thought about it a hell
of a lot more than that.”

She hooked her thumbs through his belt
loops and tugged him even closer. “Awfully sure of yourself, aren’t you,
Spencer?”

“Where you’re concerned? Yes.” He lowered
his head and slid his tongue over the seam of her lips, groaning when she parted
for him. The kiss quickly escalated from gentle and teasing to fiery and
intense. Every swipe of her tongue stoked his hunger for her, but he forced
himself to pull back. He’d waited too long to allow their first time to go down
like this.

“Wow,” she said, struggling to catch her
breath. “You continue to surprise me.” She blushed when he smirked. “I can’t
believe I let it go that far.” She glanced at the security camera in the corner
of the elevator. “I have a feeling we just put on a show for poor old Harry.”

Ryan laughed as he took her hand and
reached for the button to activate the elevator. “Harry won’t say anything.
He’s nothin’ if not discreet.”

She looked at him out of the corner of her
eye. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience. Is this where you usually
bring women when you want an audience?”

“Don’t do that,” he said, bringing her hand
to his lips. “Don’t belittle what we have. You’re nothin’ like the other women
I’ve been with, you know that.”

She turned into his arms and looped her
arms around his neck, smiling up at him. “I do know that.” Her smile trembled
when she asked, “What the hell are we doin’ here, Ry? We both know this is a
bad idea.”

Knowing that she still had reservations
about their relationship hurt, but he knew she was pragmatic. Of course she
would want to weigh the pros and cons of getting involved with him before they
took that leap. “Sweetheart, we could have it all. Can’t you see that?”

She closed her eyes, and he knew she was
afraid to let him see how much she wanted to believe in the fairy tale.

“I do want it all with you. But that
doesn’t mean we have to rush it.” He brushed his thumb across her cheek and
smiled. “Hell, it’s taken us this long to have our first date. I’m willin’ to
wait another year before we take it to the next level.”

Her eyes flew open and she laughed when she
saw his smile. “Somehow I can’t imagine you swearing off sex for a whole year.”

He knew now was the time to come clean. “I
haven’t been with anyone since before Christmas, Bri.”