Game On (14 page)

“I can’t say I know the answer to that,”
Liam said quietly as he placed a tissue box in front of her. “Alisa’s the only
woman I’ve ever loved, but I know one thing: I could never let her go. Not for
anything.”

Brianna closed her eyes as the hot burn of
tears left a trail on her cheeks. “I want that, Liam. God, I want that kind of
relationship so much.”

“So, what’s preventing you from having it?”

“I’m afraid I’ve fallen in love with a guy
who’s all wrong for me.”

Liam laughed. “The media seemed to think
your cousin was all wrong for me in the beginning. Twenty years younger, with a
reputation as a party girl…” He grinned. “Who ever thought she’d be the best
damn wife and mother a man could ever hope to find?” His smile slipped as he
faced the sadness in her eyes. “People change, Bri. Besides, it doesn’t matter
what other people think of him. It’s what you think of him that counts.”

“I think he’s amazing.” She tucked a lock
of hair behind her ear. “He’s sweet and smart, funny… sexy.  He makes me laugh,
he holds me when I cry. Hell, he’s my best friend.”

“We’re talking about Ryan?”

“How’d you know?”

“How could I not know? It was obvious to me
from the first time I met you two that you had an incredible connection. I
remember asking Alisa why you two hadn’t figured it out yet.”

“We’ve never…” Brianna blushed. “I mean, we
don’t have that kind of relationship.”

“Honey, whether you’ve been physically intimate
or not is irrelevant. You’ve shared more with him than any man you’ve ever
known. Am I right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s more important than anything that
might happen between you two in the bedroom. He knows you, everything from your
deepest, darkest secrets to your most embarrassing moment. He knows how many
kids you want, what their names will be, the places you hope to visit, and your
biggest regrets in life.”

Brianna’s mouth dropped open. “How do you
know that?”

“Because that’s the kind of stuff you share
with the person you love.” He settled his hand on top of hers. “You may not
realize this, but you’ve been in love with him a lot longer than you think.”

“You really think so?”

Brianna tried to remember when her feelings
for him started to change. Last summer when they went jogging together, he’d
strip his tank top off and wipe his forehead with it before sticking it in the
waist band of his shorts. He’d give her that cocky grin when he caught her
looking at his defined abs and she hid her embarrassment at being caught with a
joke intended to deflate his ego.

“I do.” He squeezed her hand. “I saw the
way he looked at you when we were together at Christmas. There’s no doubt in my
mind he’s in love with you.”

“It’s not that I doubt his feelings for
me,” she said with a sigh. “It’s just that we’re so different. I can’t imagine
him settling in to my life and I can’t imagine being thrust into his.”

“How have you made it work for this long?”

“What do you mean?”

“It seems to me you’ve been meshing your
lives for years. How have you made it work?”

“That was different. He wasn’t my
boyfriend.”

“Are you saying you didn’t treat him like
your boyfriend?”

“No, of course not. Our relationship was
strictly platonic.”

“Huh, I seem to recall Alisa telling me you
guys do everything together. You go to the movies, dinner, shopping. Hell, you’ve
gone on vacation together, haven’t you?”

“Well yeah, but that’s just because I
wanted to go to the Cayman Islands and none of my girlfriends could get away.
Ryan knew I was disappointed, so he offered to go with me.”

“So, that’s the only trip you’ve taken
together?”

“No, there have been others.” She suddenly
started to feel defensive. Everything Liam said made sense, and he was
beginning to make her question the excuses she’d given Ryan last night. “But
that was just because there were places we both wanted to visit. I didn’t want
to go alone and I knew I’d have fun with him…” She lifted a shoulder. “It just
made sense for us to go together.”

“You enjoy the time you spend with him?”

“Of course I do.” She smiled, thinking
about how much he made her laugh. “I have more fun with him than anyone else.
It doesn’t matter what we’re doing, it’s easy and comfortable, and it feels…”

“Right?”

She nodded slowly. “Yeah, it feels right.”

Liam flashed a quick grin. “Honey, I hate
to tell you this, but the only thing you and Ryan haven’t been doing together
is the one thing you’re probably both dying to do by now.”

The heat moved up her neck, flooding her
cheeks as Liam threw his head back and laughed. She reached for a dish towel on
the counter and threw it at him, trying to conceal her smile as she said, “Shut
up! It’s not funny!”

“What’s not funny?” Alisa asked, walking
into the room. She gave Brianna a kiss on the cheek. “This is a nice surprise.
What brings you by?”

“Is our son all tucked in?” Liam asked.

“He is,” Alisa said. “Don’t you dare go up
there and wake him.”

“Would I do that?” he asked, smiling.

“I know you,” Alisa said, propping a hip
against the granite breakfast bar. “You’re going to take him out of his crib
and rock him in the chair until he falls asleep. I thought we agreed we had to
let him start falling asleep on his own?”

Liam looked like a petulant child as he
hung his head. “Just this one last time?”

Alisa pointed at him. “Just this one last
time. You promise?”

He made the Boy Scouts symbol and tried to
look serious. “Scout’s honor.”

“Don’t think you’re fooling me with that,”
Alisa called after him as he walked down the hall. “I know you were never a Boy
Scout.”

Liam’s laughter rang out through the house
as they heard him running up the stairs.

“He’s impossible,” Alisa said, rolling her
eyes. “He’s spoiling our son rotten.”

“But he’s a good dad?” Brianna asked,
already knowing the answer. Anyone who had seen Liam with his son could tell he
worshipped the infant.

“The best,” Alisa said, smiling. “Okay,
enough about us. I want to hear what’s been happening with you.”

“Believe me, you don’t want to know.”
Brianna got lost in her thoughts, thinking about the points Liam had made.
Everything he said made sense. Why hadn’t she seen that herself? For years
they’d been making it work, finding a way to be a part of each other’s lives.
Ryan was still able to do his thing and she was able to do hers. Why did that
have to change just because they were a couple?

“Okay, tell me what you’re thinking,” Alisa
said, reaching for her cousin’s hand and dragging her into the family room.
“Sit,” she said, guiding her to the oversized leather couch. “I want to hear
everything. What, or should I say who, has put you in this melancholy mood?”

“I’m fine,” she said, faking a smile.

Alisa rolled her eyes as she sat down and
folded her legs under her. “Hon, if you’re gonna lie about it, you’d better
start wearing waterproof mascara.”

“Shit,” she whispered, swiping her hands
over her cheeks. She groaned when she pulled her hands away and saw the dark
streaks. “Your husband could have told me I looked like a rabid raccoon.”

“You don’t look like a rabid raccoon. You look
like a cute raccoon. In fact, I’ve been reading Trey this story about a raccoon
who doesn’t want to leave his home in the woods. It’s called…” She pressed a
fingertip to her lips and grinned when her cousin swatted her with a cushion.

“Shut up! Not everyone can look as gorgeous
as you 24/7.” She gestured to Alisa’s black yoga pants and hot pink fitted
hoodie. “Just look at you. Even in sweats you look hot.”

“Yeah, right. Did you forget your glasses
again?”

The designer reading glasses she’d left on
her desk made her think of Ryan. He always teased her that she reminded him of
a hot librarian when she wore them.

“Okay,” Alisa said, reaching for her hand.
“You’re gonna tell me what the hell is going on with you… right now.”

“It’s Ryan,” she said, combing her fingers
through her hair. “Things have gotten so complicated.”

“How so?”

“He says he has feelings for me.”

Alisa covered her mouth to contain her
squeal of excitement. “I knew this was going to happen,” she said, stomping her
socked feet on the Persian rug. “I’m so excited for you guys.”

“Slow down,” Brianna said. “I didn’t say
anything happened between us. We’ve just been talking about the possibility of
maybe taking our relationship to the next level.”

“What is there to think about? You two are
perfect for each other. Anyone can see that.”

Brianna rolled her eyes at her cousin’s one
dimensional view of the situation. Everyone who knew Ryan loved him, that was a
given, but that didn’t make him a safe bet when it came to relationships. In
fact, those who knew him best understood that he was anything but a safe bet.

“Ali, he hasn’t had a girlfriend for more
than a week since we were in high school. Don’t you see a little problem with
that?” she asked, holding her thumb and forefinger a fraction of an inch apart.
“He gets drunk too much, he forgets to go into work when he’s hung over, he
drives too fast, sleeps around, gambles too much, hangs out at strip joints,
jumps out of airplanes for fun-”

“Yeah, but he’s also funny as hell, sexier
than sin, loyal to a fault, smart…” Alisa ticked items off on her fingers with
a wicked gleam in her eye. “And he loves you. You and only you.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“Oh please,” Alisa scoffed. “I’ve known
that man his whole life. He’s got it bad. He could barely take his eyes off you
at Christmas.”

“What is it with you and your husband? You
were busy having a baby, yet you were able to pick up on some vibe between me
and Ryan? What’s up with that?”

“Honey, you’d have to be completely
clueless to miss the chemistry between you two.”

“You really think so?” Brianna asked,
biting her nail.

Alisa slapped her hand. “Stop doing that.
You’re not six years-old anymore.”

Brianna stuck her tongue out. “Just because
you’re older doesn’t mean you can boss me around.”

“That’s exactly what it means, and I’m
going to tell you exactly what to do to straighten this mess out with Ry, so
start taking notes.”

“Just because you’re an old married lady
now you think that gives you the right to start doling out relationship
advice?”

Alisa grinned. “Yes, now shut up and
listen!”

“Fine,” Brianna said, pulling her knees up
to her chest. “Tell me, oh wise one. What should I do?”

“See, here’s the thing you need to
understand about men,” Alisa said, smiling. “They think they know what they
want, but they haven’t got a clue. They need to find the right woman to clue
them in.”

Brianna’s slapped her cousin’s thigh. “You’re
terrible.” She giggled. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

Alisa shrugged. “It’s true. Take Liam for
example. He thought he was happy working himself to death, stealing a few
moments for his daughter in between trips. It wasn’t until I came into his life
that he started to believe he could have more. That he deserved more.”

“I don’t think Ryan has that problem, Ali.
I don’t know of anyone who has more fun than Ryan. Hell, if he was having any
more fun, they’d probably have to throw him in jail or rehab.”

“How do you know he’s having fun?” Alisa
looked her in the eye. “Has he told you that? Has he told you that he likes his
life exactly the way it is, that he doesn’t want to change a single thing?”

“No, but-”

“So, you’re just assuming?”

“Yes, but I know Ryan. He’s never talked
about settling down.”

“Liam had never even considered slowing
down until he met me. Hell, I suggested it and he went ballistic.”

“But his heart attack changed things?”

“No, we finally realized we were in love
and wanted to be together. We knew that would mean making sacrifices, so that’s
what we did. Honestly, I was fully prepared to move to be with him, but when he
told me he planned on stepping down and moving to Nashville to be with me, I
knew that no matter what we had to face in the future, we’d get through it,
together.”

“Weren’t you afraid that he’d end up
resenting you? You know, because he had to give up so much to be with you?”

Alisa nodded. “Sure, I was terrified at
first, but as time went on, I began to see how happy he was here. It was his
home, because I was here.”

“That’s so sweet,” Brianna said, trying not
to feel a stab of envy at the picture her cousin painted.

“You assume that either you or Ryan would
have to make all the changes. Why couldn’t you meet half-way?”