Game On (20 page)

“Have you ever been tempted to adopt one of
those kids?”

“Of course, but with my lifestyle, it would
be a struggle. I know lots of musicians who find a way to make it work, but
something’s gotta give, and I don’t want that to be my relationship with your
brother.”

“I think it’s great that you guys are still
so into each other after all these years.”

Tori threw her head back and laughed. “It’s
true what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder.” She lifted an
eyebrow, a salacious grin spreading across her face. “The longer I’m away, the
more I look forward to coming home.”

Brianna covered her face and laughed. “Do
you ever wish he could still travel with you?”

“He does sometimes, but his job at Titan
keeps him busy. Plus, he always wants to be available if any of the kids need
him. It’s not easy for them to make the transition into a permanent home and he’s
the only person a lot of those boys have to look up to.” She smiled. “Besides,
we’ll have plenty of time together next year.”

“Really? You’re not touring next year?”

“No, I’m gonna work on writing material for
the new album, so I’ll be home a lot more.”

“That’s great.”

“Yeah, so if you and Ryan wanna think about
planning a wedding…” She winked. “That would be a good time.”

Brianna shook her head. “Let’s not get
ahead of ourselves.”

***

Ryan sat back on the couch and brought his
beer to his lips. “So, things at work goin’ okay? Anything I need to be aware
of?”

“I don’t wanna talk about work,” Mike said,
looking him in the eye. “I wanna talk about you and Bri.”

Ryan resisted the impulse to shift under
Mike’s intense scrutiny. He hadn’t done anything wrong, yet Brianna’s brother
had a way of making him feel as though he’d better pray he hadn’t. He and Mike
had always been close, but that was before he was planning an intimate weekend
with the man’s kid sister. “What do you wanna know?” Ryan grinned, trying to
lighten the mood. “Is this the part where you ask me whether my intentions are
honorable?”

“Somethin’ like that,” Mike said, glaring
at him. “So are they?”

“Listen, man, I’m in love with your sister.
It’s as simple as that.”

Mike sized him up before he asked, “Is that
so? Not sure I’ve ever heard you throw that word around before, Spencer.”

“That’s ‘cause I’ve never said it before.
Hell, I’ve never felt this way about a woman before, not even close.”

Mike lowered his head when a ghost of a
smile appeared on his lips. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“Have you talked to Bri about us?” Ryan
knew he should ask the woman herself how she felt about him, not her brother,
but if Mike was willing to give him a hint as to what was going on inside her
head, he’d gladly listen. “She told you where she sees this goin’?”

Mike chuckled. “Even if she had told me,
you think I’d tell you?”

“Come on, man. I thought we were friends.”

“We are friends,” Mike said, raising his
beer bottle. “But Brianna’s family, and that trumps all.”

Ryan leaned his head back and sighed. “I
hear ya. It’s just hard, ya know? I’m crazy about her, and I’d like to know she
feels the same way about me.”

“I’m pretty sure she does.”

“Then she did say something to you?”

Mike laughed. “You do have it bad, don’t
you?”

“Don’t mess with me,” Ryan muttered. “If
you know something, just tell me already.”

“I know that you two are on the same page,
and that’s all I’m gonna say about it.”

Ryan grinned and tapped his bottle against
his friends. “That’s enough. Thanks.”

“My father told me you went to see him,
talked to him about how he would feel about you and Bri hookin’ up,” Mike said,
putting his feet up on the leather ottoman. “I respect that, Ry. That was a
good thing to do.”

“Hey, you guys are family. That’s not gonna
change just ‘cause me and Bri are together.” He hesitated, picking at the paper
label on his bottle before he said, “I don’t want it to change no matter what,
Mike. I love your sister; I want to be with her. But even if she decides that
I’m not the guy for her in the end…” It was difficult for him to even
acknowledge that was a possibility, but he had to be honest with himself. “I
don’t want that to change things between us… I mean, y’all are my family. I’d
never want that to change.”

“It’s not going to,” Mike said, setting his
cowboy boots on the floor as he leaned forward. “Unless you do somethin’ to
hurt or disrespect my sister.” He looked him in the eye. “You do that, and all
bets are off.”

“No worries, never gonna happen.”

Brianna reached for Ryan’s hand over the
gearshift. “I think that went well, don’t you?”

Ryan laughed. “You were worried? It’s not
like we haven’t known each other for years, Bri.”

“I know, but I was worried it might be a
little weird, you know, since we’re a couple now.”

Ryan shot her a side-long glance and
smiled. “Is that what we are? A couple?”

She blushed and turned her head to hide her
embarrassment. She hadn’t intended to make assumptions, but after their talk at
Jimmy’s, she’d just assumed…

“I’m just messin’ with ya,” Ryan said,
laughing. “In fact, I gave Avery a statement about us today. I hope that’s
okay?”

Her head whipped around. “What do you mean,
an official statement about our relationship? Why would you do that?”

“Is there a problem?” he asked, looking at
her as he pulled up to a stop sign. “I know we should have talked about it
first, but there wasn’t time. She came into my office reamin’ me out about some
pics that were posted online over the weekend. She said we had to say
somethin’. The press was all over it because of those pictures they took of you
and Clint at the party.”

“Oh God, Clint,” Brianna said, covering her
forehead with her free hand. “I haven’t even had a chance to talk to him since
he got back. He called me as I was leaving the house tonight, but I told him I
was going to my brother’s for dinner. I said I’d call him when I got home.”

“You’re worried about what he’s gonna say
about this?” Ryan asked, tightening his grip on her hand.

She saw the tension in his jaw and shifted
to face him. “I think he deserved to hear it from me instead of reading about
it online, don’t you?”

“You had two goddamn dates with the man;
you don’t owe him anything, Bri.”

“Oh no,” she groaned when they pulled into
her parking lot. “There he is.”

“Who?” he asked, scanning the parking lot.
When his eyes landed on Clint, he said, “You can’t be serious.” He pulled into
a parking spot, threw his car into park, and cut the engine.

She reached for his arm. “What do you think
you’re doing?”

“I’m gonna set him straight.”

Before she could stop him, he was out of
the car, walking toward Clint.

Brianna grimaced as she watched the two men
shake hands. She wasn’t fooled for a second by her boyfriend’s conciliatory
gesture. She knew from the set of his shoulders, he was seething. Running up to
them, Brianna gave Clint a quick hug, which earned her a scowl from Ryan. The
fact remained they had to work together, and she didn’t want things between
them to be awkward.

“Um Ryan, why don’t you head on home?” she
asked, laying a hand on his forearm. “I’m sure Clint wouldn’t mind walking me
up. I’d like to have a word with him in private.”

“Nice try,” he said, shaking her off.
“That’s not gonna happen, baby.” He shoved his hands into the pocket of his
jacket and inclined his head toward the front door of her small apartment
complex. “I do agree we should go inside, though. I’d like to have a word with
Clint. If you don’t mind?”

“Of course not, boss,” he said, tipping his
cowboy hat.

Brianna hated that she’d put Clint in the
awkward position of having Ryan spell out the nature of their relationship, but
she knew Ryan well enough to know he wouldn’t rest until Clint promised to back
off. “Well, let’s go inside then,” she said, reaching into her purse for her
keys. “I’ll make some coffee.” She only hoped she wouldn’t be parading two
handsome men into her apartment under the watchful eye of her nosy neighbors.
That would really give them something to talk about at the next social
gathering.

The small elevator barely gave her room to
breathe as she watched Ryan punch the button for her third floor apartment. His
head was bent in concentration as he scanned his emails, but the set of his jaw
told her he was still on edge.

“So, Clint,” Brianna said, smiling up at
him. “How was your trip?”

“Good. Productive.”

She’d already learned Clint was a man of
few words, and given the uncomfortable atmosphere, she wasn’t surprised he
seemed reluctant to converse. He was probably waiting to find out whether his
dreams of a successful music career were about to go up in smoke thanks to his
poor choice in women. She wished she could say something to put his mind at
ease, but she knew saying anything in front of Ryan was a bad idea until he’d had
the opportunity to say his piece.

“You’ll have to fill me in on that trip at
the office,” Ryan said, barely sparing a look at Clint. “That’s not what I
wanna talk about tonight.”

Brianna sucked in a breath. Ryan wasn’t a
man to mince words. In spite of his easy-going disposition, he was his father’s
son. When backed into a corner, he always came out fighting.

She led them off the elevator and her hand
trembled as she fit the key into the lock. She hated confrontations, and she
felt guilty that her actions had contributed to this situation. If only Ryan
wasn’t so stubborn, she could have explained her relationship with him to Clint
in private and spared them all the embarrassment of having this little chat
with an extra person thrown in to the mix.

Ryan stood behind her and took the key from
her when she struggled to open the stubborn old lock. “Let me do that,” he
whispered, his hot breath tickling her hair. He may sound calm, but he wasn’t
fooling her.

“Have at it,” she said, stepping out of his
way.

He turned the key effortlessly and opened
the door, gesturing for her and Clint to enter the apartment ahead of him.

Her tiny two bedroom had never looked so
small with two large men crowding the miniscule entry. Her mother continued to
lecture her about the importance of investing in real estate. She intended to
take her advice just as soon as she had saved the down payment. “Um, why don’t
you two have a seat while I make some coffee?” Even though the galley kitchen
with a see-through window was only a few steps from the living room, she wasn’t
sure that leaving them alone was a good idea.

“Sounds good,” Ryan said, slipping his
jacket off and tossing it on the back of the armchair he claimed.

He’d visited her apartment numerous times
in the year and a half since she’d lived there, but she would usually offer to
go to his place rather than inviting him to her apartment. His home was
spacious, open concept, professionally decorated, everything that hers wasn’t.
One day, she told herself, one day she would be able to afford a place like
his.

Ryan was trying to hold his temper. He kept
reminding himself that Clint had done nothing to warrant his jealousy or rage.
Clint didn’t know Ryan was interested in Brianna when he asked her out, but
Ryan couldn’t wipe the image of him kissing her out of his head.

He propped a boot on his bent knee and
leaned back. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re here, Clint?”

“I, uh…” He tipped his cowboy hat back and
looked Ryan in the eye. “Thought me and Bri should talk.”

“About?” Ryan asked, crossing his arms.

Clint ran his hands over the armrests of
his chair and said, “Look, I don’t want any trouble with you, man.”

“We won’t have any trouble as long as you
understand that Bri’s
mine
.” Ryan knew Brianna probably wouldn’t appreciate
him being so territorial, but he didn’t care at the moment. Clint wasn’t
leaving this apartment until he understood that making a move on Brianna would
be akin to professional suicide.

“I didn’t know you two were, uh…” He flexed
his hands, looking uneasy. “You know, I didn’t know you two had anything goin’
on. That is, until I started hearin’ rumors about it today. I just wanted to
talk to Bri to find out if there was any truth to them.”

Ryan grit his teeth at the other man’s
casual use of Brianna’s nickname. “It’s true. She and I are together now.”

“You mind if I ask you a question?”

“Depends on the question.”

“Were y’all havin’ a fight when she agreed
to go out with me? I mean, was she just usin’ me to make you jealous, or what?”

Some of the anger dissipated as Ryan tried
to put himself in Clint’s place. He’d met an incredible woman and came home to
find out he’d arrived on the scene just a little too late. “No, we just started
seein’ each other. We’ve been friends forever, but…”