Love Storm (3 page)

She wasn’t, but at least making dinner would give her
something to do.
 
“Starving,” she
lied.
 

“There are steaks in the fridge,” Ryan said, pushing himself
away from the counter.
 
“I could throw a
couple on the grill out back.”

“Sure, that sounds great,” she said, stepping out of the way
as Ryan moved toward the refrigerator.
 
“I can put a salad together and fix a couple of baked potatoes if you’d
like,” she offered.

“Perfect,” Ryan said, as he pulled out the steaks and set
them on the counter.

“I’d better give Kate a quick call and let her know that I’m
here,” Brooklyn began, “and then I’ll get the salad and potatoes started.”

Ryan nodded, then immediately left the kitchen in search of
his coat and snow boots.

“Wade’s going to kill me,” Kate moaned on the other end of
the line.

“It’s no big deal Kate, really.
 
This house is definitely big enough for the
two of us, and I’m sure Ryan and I can manage to stay out of each other’s way
until this storm lets up and I can head back to Denver.”
 
She tried to sound upbeat.

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right, it’s just…”
 
Her voice trailed off.

“It’s just what?”

“Oh, never mind, it’s nothing.”

“Kate?”

“Well, it’s just that…,” she sighed, “you know Wade.
 
He’s always been so protective of you.”

“Protective of me?
 
What’s that supposed to mean?” Brooklyn asked a touch defensively.

“Well,” Kate hesitated for a moment.
 
“We all know what a huge crush you used to
have on Ryan.”

Brooklyn felt her cheeks grow warm.
 
“Seriously?”
 
She tried to sound blasé.
 
“Come
on Kate, that was four years ago.”
 
Thankfully her sister and brother-in-law had never discovered just how
far her “crush” had taken her, for if they had ever learned about the night
she’d snuck into Ryan’s room she never would have heard the end of it.

“I know, I know,” Kate said with a little laugh.
 
“I’m being silly, aren’t I?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact you are.
 
I was eighteen for goodness sake,” Brooklyn
replied with an exaggerated sigh.
 

“You’re right.
 
I’m sorry,
I shouldn’t have said anything.
 
Besides,
Ryan is a great guy.
 
It’s not like he’s
still wild and reckless like he was in his rookie days.
 
I mean, I know that he would never try to
take advantage of the situation or anything.
 
That’s not to say that he ever would have before, oh, you know what I
mean,” she said, sounding flustered.

Yeah, no kidding!
 
She knew exactly what she meant.
 
“Honestly Kate, I am well-over my infatuation
with Ryan Landry, and I can assure you that I have absolutely no intention of
throwing myself at him,” she added drolly, keeping her voice low.
 
“And, I can pretty much guarantee you that
he
still has no interest in
me
whatsoever.”
 
That was certainly true.
 
Despite all that she’d done, Ryan Landry had
never been the slightest bit interested in her, and it was pretty clear that
nothing had changed in that regard.

“Okay, Okay, you’ve made your point.”

“Good.
 
So you’ll stop
worrying?”

“I promise,” Kate answered.
 
“Oh hang on a second, Allison wants to say hello.”

“Hi Auntie Brook,” her three-year-old niece said into the
phone a few seconds later.

“Hey Alli-bear, what cha doin’?”

“Eatin’ animal crackers.”

“Mmm, sounds yummy.”

“You should see Mommy’s belly.
 
It’s gettin’ real big.”

“Oh yeah?” Brooklyn chuckled.
 
“Are you getting excited to meet your baby
brother?”

“Uh huh.
 
Daddy says
he’s almost done in there, and when he comes out I get to hold him,” she said,
the words slightly muffled as she continued to munch on her animal
crackers.
 
“Do you wanna hold him too?”

“You bet I do.”

“Okay, bye.”

Brooklyn grinned as she pictured her blonde-haired,
blue-eyed niece.
 
She was short and
sweet, just like her telephone conversations.
 
“Bye sweetie pie.”

“Alli, take those to the table please,” she heard Kate say
as she got back on the line.
 

“So Mommy’s tummy is getting real big huh?”

“Ugg, I swear this kid is going to weigh at least twelve
pounds when he’s born,” Kate lamented.

“Hang in there Katie.
 
You’ve only got five more weeks to go.”

“Humph, that’s easy for you to say.”

“Listen, I’d better get going.
 
Ryan is grilling some steaks for dinner and
I’m supposed to be making a salad.”

After she’d hung up with her sister, Brooklyn quickly
finished off the simple garden salad and then stuck a couple of potatoes in the
microwave, knowing they’d take too long to cook if she put them into the
oven.
 
Pulling a package of dinner rolls
from the cupboard and a tub of butter from the fridge, she figured they had
enough to make for a decent meal.

When Ryan entered the kitchen several minutes later,
Brooklyn looked on as he sat the large covered plate onto the center of the
island and then shrugged out of his coat, tossing it onto a nearby kitchen
chair.
 
She’d laid out a place setting
for each of them on opposite sides of the granite-topped island, rather than
the kitchen table, making for what she hoped was a more casual dining
atmosphere.

“Looks good,” Ryan said, smiling as he eyed the spread.
 
Lifting the cover from the steaks, he then
grabbed a fork and speared one, setting it onto her plate, and then did the
same for himself, as Brooklyn settled onto one of the leather-covered
barstools.

“Umm, the steaks look delicious,” she said appreciatively,
as Ryan sat down upon the other barstool.
 
“Oh, I forgot drinks,” she then realized, and started to rise.

“That’s alright, I’ve got it.”
 
Ryan motioned for her to sit as he rose from
his stool.
 
“Red wine okay?” he asked, as
he moved toward the cupboard.

“Sure, that’ll be fine.”
 
She had to admit that she was a little surprised that he was willing to trust
her with alcohol, considering what had happened the last time they’d seen each
other, but she wisely kept the observation to herself.
 

Returning with two wineglasses and a large bottle of Merlot,
Ryan regained his seat and then poured them each a hefty serving of the dark,
fragrant liquid.

“Thank you,” she said politely.

“So, were you able to get ahold of Kate?” Ryan asked as they
filled their plates.

“Yes, and she asked me to apologize for her, about the mix
up.
 
She feels terrible about it.”

Ryan shook his head.
 
“She doesn’t need to apologize.
 
It’s no big deal, really.”

“Well, in any event, I’ll head back to Denver just as soon
as the storm clears,” she assured him.

“Brooklyn, you can stay as long as you want.
 
I don’t mind the company, honestly,” Ryan
said with sincerity.
 

“Um, okay, thanks.
 
I
was originally planning on leaving next Saturday, but we can just see how it
goes I guess.”
 

Seven nights
,
yikes.
 
Stranded on a mountain top for
seven nights with one of the best-looking women he’d ever laid eyes on, who
also happened to be a close relative of one of his very best-friends,
terrific
.
 
It might not have seemed quite so daunting if
it weren’t for the fact that he had been celibate for the past two months, but
after amicably ending a one year relationship with his former girlfriend
Michelle Reese, he’d decided to remove himself from the dating scene for a
while, a decision he very much regretted at the moment.
 
Although he’d enjoyed the company of a fair
number of women early on in his career, one of the many perks of being a
professional athlete, he’d mellowed over the past few years and now preferred
more serious, longer-lasting relationships.
 
Shoving a bite of steak into his mouth, Ryan simply nodded.
 
Suddenly he had the feeling that it was going
to be a very long week.

“Wow, this is really good?” Brooklyn said after taking her
second bite of the juicy T-bone.

“Yeah, I’m a master griller,” Ryan said with a lighthearted
grin.

She smiled back.
 
“How’s your head by the way?’

“My head?”

“Kate mentioned that you got a mild concussion in your last
game.”
 
Of course she’d actually known
about it long before her sister had mentioned it, as had every other
football-loving Colorado resident.
 
It
had been big news in the Denver sports pages, as Ryan Landry was the team’s
star wide receiver, and his being temporarily knocked out of commission was
going to be a significant blow as they headed toward playoff season.
 
She didn’t let on though, for the last thing
she needed was for Ryan to think that she was still obsessed with him and
followed his career like some groupie.

“Oh right,” he said, tapping his index finger against the
side of his head.
 
“I get the occasional
headache, but otherwise it’s not too bad.
 
A few more weeks and I should be back on the field.”

“That’s good.”
 
She
poked her fork into her baked potato and tried to think of something else to
say as she lifted the bite to her mouth, but her mind was blank.
 
Suddenly she was immensely glad for the wine,
because it looked like she was going to need a little liquid fortitude to get
through the night.
 
She was still a
bundle of nerves.
 
After swallowing the
potato, she lifted her glass and took a healthy sip.
 
Fortunately however, she now knew her limits,
and she wasn’t about to make a fool of herself like she had four years ago.

“So tell me about yourself,” Ryan said, not only to break
the sudden silence, but because he was genuinely interested.
 
“Are you still in school?”

“Not currently.
 
I
graduated last spring with a BA in Art History and I’ve been interning at the
Denver Museum of Art for the past several months,” she began.
 
“I’ll be entering into a master’s program in
the upcoming semester.”

“Really, hey that’s great.”
 
Beauty and brains
, why wasn’t
he surprised?
 
Reaching for his glass, he
quickly tossed down the remaining wine and then reached for the bottle and
refilled the empty goblet.

“Thanks.”
   

“Believe it or not, I started out as an art major myself,
but then I switched to finance in my sophomore year.”

“You’re kidding.”
 
She’d had no idea that he had an interest in art.

“Nope, I’m totally serious.
 
My mom was a high-school art teacher.
 
She still is actually,” he said.
 
“She’s had her own art studio set up in the house for years, and she
used to take me and my sister to art museums all the time when we were kids.”

“So why did you switch to finance?”

“Well,” he said, shrugging his shoulders, “the truth is,
although I did inherit her love of art, unfortunately, I didn’t inherit nearly
enough of her artistic talent to make a career out of it,” he admitted
ruefully.
 
“I guess finance just seemed
like a smarter decision at the time.”

Oh man
.
 
If possible, Ryan Landry just got even
sexier.
 
Tearing her gaze from his
glorious green eyes, she eyed her nearly-empty glass, mentally cautioning
herself once again not to overindulge, for fear that she would literally start
drooling over him like the love-struck teenager she’d been four years ago.
 
Unfortunately Ryan noticed the direction of
her gaze, and misinterpreting it, immediately refilled her glass.
 
“Thank you,” she murmured, and then took
another small sip of the delicious red wine.
 
He had good taste too.

They ate in silence for another couple of minutes; both of
them enjoying the simple but tasty meal, and then her cell phone rang, breaking
into the quiet.
 
Grabbing it from the end
of the counter, she glanced at Ryan apologetically.
 
“Sorry,” she said as she looked at the
number, and then sent the call to voicemail.
 

“Boyfriend?” Ryan asked, his brow rising inquisitively.

Brooklyn blinked in surprise.
 
“What, er…no.”
 
A friend of mine,” she said shaking her
head.
 
“I’ll call her back later.”
 
Hopefully Julia wasn’t on the verge of
another bout of hysterics and could get by until she had a chance to call her
back.
 

“So, do you have one?”
 
Ryan asked a few seconds later, despite the tiny warning bell that
sounded in his head.