Game On (19 page)

He pointed to the door. “Don’t push it!”

She lifted her chin. “Fine, we’ll discuss
it later.”

“Don’t count on it,” he muttered.

Trying to re-focus on work seemed like a
lost cause, so when the cell phone on his desk vibrated again, he snatched it
up.
Johnny.
He was the last person Ryan wanted to talk to right now, but
he knew from experience that if he didn’t answer, he’d persist all day.

“Hey, man, what’s up?” Ryan asked, kicking
his feet up on the edge of his desk.

“What’s this I hear about you and little
Miss Cooper?”

Given what Bri had told him about Johnny’s
attempts to seduce her in college, he knew better than to think he was just
making conversation. “What’s it to you?”

“I’m just curious. I saw the pics online
and I wanted to know if what they say is true. Is my good buddy finally ready
to be fitted for the old ball and chain?”

“Let’s just say Bri and I are seein’ each
other and leave it at that for now.” He wasn’t stupid enough to discuss the
personal details of their relationship with a man who had shown an interest in
her in the past. Johnny’s character was suspect at the best of times. If he had
a vested interest in the outcome of a situation, Ryan knew he wasn’t above manipulation
to get his way.

“Hey, I thought we were friends.”

That was a stretch. He’d never been more
than a friendly acquaintance, someone Ryan hung out with when he was looking
for a good time. Johnny had never been someone he’d been willing to confide in
about his deepest, darkest secrets.

“Look, I’ve got a lot of work to do. If
that’s the only reason you called-”

“No, I wanna know if you’re still
interested in buyin’ my place.”

Johnny had recently placed his vacation
home on the market, and Ryan was prepared to make an offer. “Hey, you mind if I
go up there this weekend, spend a night or two? If it’s as great as I remember,
I’ll have Sela prepare an offer.” It would give him a chance to spend some
alone time with Brianna in a romantic, secluded spot and get her opinion on the
place before he made the offer.

“Sure, I got no problem with that. Just
stop by my place and pick up the keys anytime.”

“Sounds good. Thanks, man.”

***

A knock on her door interrupted Brianna’s
third attempt to re-read the same clause in a contract. She felt silly when the
little flutter in her stomach died at the sight of her brother, Mike.

“Hey you,” she said, smiling. “This is a
nice surprise. You don’t often make your way down to the legal department to
visit your little sister.”

“Tori wanted me to invite you over for
dinner tonight.”

“Oh, I’d love that,” Brianna said, folding
her hands on top of her desk. “I didn’t even know she was back in town.”

“Yeah, but she’s headin’ out again in two
weeks.”

“I still don’t know how you two do it.
Still so much in love after all these years in spite of her crazy schedule.”

“Hey, I knew what I was gettin’ myself into
when I married her,” he said, grinning. “One day with her is worth a month with
any other woman I can think of.”

“Awww, that’s so sweet,” Brianna said,
smiling. “Who knew my big, tough brother was such a hopeless romantic?”

He pressed his finger against his lips.
“Just me and Tori know, so don’t tell anyone else. It would ruin my rep.”

Brianna laughed. “Your secret is safe with
me.”

He sat down across from her, stretching his
long legs out in front of him. “So listen, I came by for another reason.”

Brianna tried to ignore the tightening in
her stomach. This was her brother; she had nothing to fear from him. “What’s
that?”

“I wanna know what the hell’s goin’ on
between you and Spencer.”

She tried to sound nonchalant when she
asked, “Dad told you?”

“No, I saw the pics online. That was some
kiss at Jimmy’s the other night. Was it just an impulsive thing after a few too
many drinks or was there more to it than that?”

She couldn’t lie to Mike. He was a retired
police detective and the head of Titan security, which meant he made his living
seeing through lies. “Ryan and I are seeing each other.” She stared him in the
eye, trying to act braver than she felt.

He looked at her closely before he said,
“You know Ryan is one of my favorite people in the world, but he’s not the man
I would chose for you, Bri. He’s reckless, self-centered. Hell, I’m not even
sure he’s mature enough to take on a real relationship.”

“I know it may seem that way,” she said,
determined to hold her ground. “But there’s a lot about Ryan that people don’t
understand.”

“Okay,” Mike said, lacing his hands over
his stomach. “So, fill me in. Tell me why you’re willin’ to risk everything for
a guy who’s proven himself to be a lousy bet when it comes to women.”

“I think I’m different.” Mike scoffed, and
she tried to ignore the sharp pang of uncertainty that accompanied his
skepticism. Was her brother right about Ryan? Was she just seeing what she
wanted to see or was he really ready to change and make a commitment to her? “I
don’t think he’d be willing to risk what we have if he wasn’t serious about
taking things to the next level. You can’t deny we’ve been an important part of
each other’s lives for a long time.”

“That’s what worries me,” Mike said
quietly. “I wonder what’s gonna happen if things goes south a few weeks or
months down the road. You wouldn’t just lose some guy you’ve been datin’. You’d
be losin’ someone who’s been a big part of your life forever. Are you really
willin’ to risk that?”

“If I don’t, I might spend the rest of my life
wondering if he was the one. Can you understand that?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I can.”

“So, we have your approval?”

“You’re a grown woman. You don’t need my
approval.”

“Still, it would be nice to know we have
your blessing.”

He got up and came around the desk. Pulling
her into his arms, he said, “Like I said, Ryan’s one of my favorite people, but
if he does anything to hurt you, I’ll have to kill him.”

Brianna laughed. “I’ll tell him you said
so.”

“I have a better idea,” he said, kissing
her on the top of the head before making his way to the door. “Bring him to
dinner tonight. That way I can tell him myself.”

“Do you promise to be on your best behavior?”
she asked, pointing at him.

He threw his head back and laughed. “Honey,
I’ve known Ryan as long as you have. If I was on my best behavior, he’d know
for sure somethin’ was wrong.”

He winked as she shook her head and sank
down into her chair. Sometimes having three over-protective older brothers was
a nightmare. But she was grateful to know they would always be on her side when
she needed them.

Ryan pulled his car up in front of Mike and
Tori’s sprawling home as she squeezed his hand. “You nervous about tonight?”

He chuckled. “This is Mike we’re talkin’
about. I’ve known him all my life, been here dozens of times for dinner…” He
drew a dramatic breath for effect. “Hell yeah, I’m nervous. The man carries a
gun.”

The words she longed to say, the words she
knew he needed to hear, were on the tip of her tongue, but before she could
force them past her lips, he reached into the backseat to retrieve the bottle
of wine he’d brought.

“Okay, let’s do this.” He reached for his
door handle and winked. “Come on, lady, before I lose my nerve.”

He walked around to her side of the car and
opened her door just as Mike appeared on the front porch.

“You’re gonna have to do a hell of a lot
better than that if you expect me to believe you’re good enough for my little
sister, Spencer.”

Ryan laughed as he helped Brianna out of
the car and linked his hand with hers as they walked up the steps to meet her
brother. “How ‘bout if I double your salary?” Ryan asked, offering his hand to
Mike.

Brianna put her hand on her hip, pretending
to be outraged by his offer. “Why do I feel like I’m being sold to the highest
bidder?”

“Don’t worry,” Mike said, leaning in to
kiss her on the cheek. “I haven’t accepted yet.” He slapped Ryan on the back as
they walked into the house, side by side. “Triple it and you’ve got yourself a
deal.”

Brianna elbowed Mike in the ribs and
laughed when he doubled over.

“Uh oh,” Tori said, coming out of the
kitchen. “Did you say something stupid already?” She looked at Ryan, a twinkle
of amusement in her eye. “Ya just had to take a shot at him now? You couldn’t
have waited until y’all had a chance to enjoy my pecan pie?”

Ryan laughed as he swept her up in a hug.
“You look gorgeous, as always.”

“And you’re full of it, as always,” she
said, planting a loud kiss on his cheek. “Well, would you look at this,” she
said, reaching for one of Brianna’s hands. “How does it feel to land the
sexiest, most eligible bachelor in the state?”

“Yeah, how does it feel, Bri?” Ryan asked,
nudging her with his hip. “Gotta feel pretty damn good, right?”

Brianna rolled her eyes at her
sister-in-law. “Must you encourage him? As it is, he has trouble getting
through the door with that over-inflated ego.”

“See that, honey,” Tori said, poking her
husband in the stomach. “You and Ryan have even more in common than y’all
realized.”

“Ha ha,” Mike said, trying to keep a
straight face. “Don’t think I’m gonna forget that. I’ll punish you later.”

Tori fanned her face with one hand. “Now
that’s a promise I intend to make sure you keep.”

“Lalalalala,” Brianna said, sticking her
fingers in her ears. “Too much information.”

Ryan grinned at her and she stuck her
tongue out at him.

“Come on you,” Tori said, hauling Brianna
toward the kitchen. “It’s time to take Mama’s homemade biscuits out of the
oven. Besides, I’m sure your brother is dyin’ to read your man the riot act.”

Brianna shot a look over her shoulder and
laughed when Ryan pretended to bite his nails. Mike put him in a headlock and
led him toward the adjoining family room. She could hear them discussing hockey
scores as Tori slipped an arm around her waist.

“Okay, I want the details, girl. You and
Ryan? When did all this happen?”

Brianna leaned over the granite counter as
her sister-in-law slipped an oven mitt on and pulled a tray of biscuits out of
the oven. Moaning appreciatively, she said, “If I’d known Mama Warner was gonna
send a batch of her biscuits over, I wouldn’t have eaten today.”

Tori laughed. “Quit trying to change the
subject. I wanna hear about you and Ry.”

“There’s not much to tell,” Brianna said,
toying with the gold ring on her right hand. “We just wanna see where this might
lead. Obviously, we like each other. We’re attracted to each other.”

Tori set two wine glasses on the counter
and reached for an open bottle of red on the counter. Pouring a generous amount
into each glass, she handed one to Brianna. “You
like
him? That’s all
you’re gonna give me?”

Tori had been her sister-in-law for more
than a decade. She felt fortunate that her brothers’ wives quickly became the
sisters she’d always wanted, but she still didn’t feel comfortable sharing
everything with Tori just yet. She wanted to give it a little more time to see
how their relationship progressed before she went public with her feelings for
him.

“He’s an incredible guy,” she said,
smiling. “He makes me laugh, we have fun together. He’s sexy as hell, too smart
for his own good. Who wouldn’t be attracted to a guy like that?”

“I agree,” Tori said. “So, why’d it take
y’all so long to figure it out?”

“I don’t know,” Brianna said, shrugging.
“Maybe the timing wasn’t right. Now that we see each other almost every day,
it’s gotten harder to deny that we’re attracted to each other.”

“Help me understand why you’d even want to
deny it.”

“He’s my best friend, Tori. I’m afraid of
losin’ what we have.”

“Sure, it’s a risk,” Tori said, propping
her hands on the counter behind her. “But think about all you stand to gain.”

“I know; that’s what I keep reminding
myself.”

“Speaking from experience, I can tell you
there’s nothing better than being married to your best friend, Bri.”

“You and Mike are so lucky,” she said
wistfully. “You have it all. You love each other, you like each other, have fun
together. You get to travel the world...” Brianna looked at her a long time,
hesitant to ask such an intensely personal question. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, you can ask me anything, sweetie.”

“Do you ever regret not having a family of
your own?”

“No, we really don’t.” She smiled. “Mike
and I have talked about it a lot over the years and we’re really happy with the
choice we made. Once I got to know Victoria and Lena and learned more about the
foster care system in this country, I saw a need that we could help fill. I’ve
loved being a foster parent, giving kids who really need it a stable and loving
home.”