High Stakes (21 page)

“I am, sir.”

“Well, we can’t wait to meet her,” Elaine
said. “When do you think you’ll be able to bring her out?”

Liam glanced at Alisa. “Um, I’m not sure.
Soon, I hope.”

“Does she like to ride horses?” Jared
asked, sliding a hand into the pocket of his dress pants.

“I can’t say she’s ever been riding,” Liam
said.

“Well, we’re gonna have to do somethin’
about that,” Jared said. “You bring her out to our ranch anytime; we’ll show
her how it’s done.” He patted Alisa’s back. “Couldn’t get this one off her
horse at that age.”

“Is that so?” Liam asked, grinning at
Alisa. “I’d love to see her ride sometime.”

Alisa’s face flushed when she thought of
last night, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of rattling her in front
of her grandparents. “Maybe I can arrange that sooner rather than later, Mr.
Bryson.”

He raised an eyebrow as he responded,
tongue in cheek, “I look forward to it,
Mrs. Bryson
.”

Alisa quickly realized she would never tire
of hearing him call her that. She’d hesitated to use her married name on her
new business cards, but when the printer called about her order, she knew she
had to prove to Liam that she was willing to meet him halfway if she wanted
this marriage to work.

“Well,” Jared said, slapping Liam on the
back, “it sure was nice meetin’ you, son. I hope we’ll be seein’ a lot more of
you.”

“You can count on it, sir,” Liam said,
shaking his hand.

“Does that mean you’ll be moving to
Nashville?” Elaine asked, looking hopeful.

Alisa knew it would make more sense for her
to move, especially if her business was a success. Her expansion plans included
branching out to another major city within a year, and San Francisco would be
an excellent option, but leaving her family would be difficult. After spending
so many years away at school, she’d realized that Nashville was the only place
she wanted to call home. But if she had to choose between her husband and her
hometown, Liam was the obvious choice.

“We’re still working that out, Mrs.
Turner,” Liam said, casting a quick glance at Alisa. “Hopefully we’ll be able
to figure it out soon.”

“Wouldn’t be easy for you to make the
move,” Jared said, brushing a hand over his thick shock of white hair. “Your
business is in San Francisco, right?”

“To be honest, my business takes me all
over the world.”

Elaine reached out for her granddaughter’s
hand. “I know it’s none of my business, but I sure would hate to think of you
living there all alone, without your friends and family to lean on, especially
since Liam’s gone so much.”

Liam suddenly looked ill at ease for the
first time since he walked in. “I wouldn’t ask your granddaughter to do
anything that made her uncomfortable. That, I can assure you.”

Elaine smiled as she reached for Liam’s
hand with her free hand. “I know that, honey.” Her bright eyes shone as she
smiled at Alisa. “It’s just that this girl is so special to me, to both of us.
It’s difficult to imagine her not bein’ around all the time. When she was away
at school, we missed her somethin’ fierce, but at least she came home for all
the holidays. This way, she’d be gone for good.”

“I do have a private jet,” Liam said,
quietly. “It certainly makes impromptu trips easier, and I’d be happy to have
my pilot pick you up whenever you felt like visiting.”

Alisa felt the cold grip of fear begin to
take hold as she began to realize Liam expected her to make the move to San
Francisco. Obviously, in his mind, that was the only way for them to be together.
Of course, she’d considered the possibility, and she was prepared to follow
through if that was their only option, but living in a strange city, without
her family and friends, with a husband who traveled more than he was home was a
daunting prospect.

“I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves,”
Alisa said, squeezing her grandmother’s hand. “Liam and I haven’t even
discussed the possibility of me moving.”

He shot her a curious glance. “Um, no, we
haven’t discussed it, but…”

That single word hung in the air until they
all looked at each other awkwardly, waiting for someone to break the silence.

“Well,” Jared said, finally. “Whatever
y’all decide, your grandmother and I’ll support your decision. Won’t we,
Elaine?”

Elaine’s eyes traveled back and forth
between Liam and Alisa. She was a very intuitive woman, and the tension between
the newlyweds was obvious. “Of course we will.” She reached for her husband’s
hand. “Why don’t we give these kids a few minutes alone?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jared muttered,
heading off in the direction of the buffet tables.

“I think this is something we need to
discuss in private,” Alisa said, taking his hand to lead him out to the pool
area. It wasn’t easy to make a quick getaway when everyone was anxious to offer
their congratulations, but Alisa was determined.

Once they’d wandered far enough from the
house to ensure some privacy, Liam gently pulled on her hand, forcing her to
stop. “Sweetheart, I don’t want to upset you, especially not tonight. Maybe we
should table this conversation until next weekend, when we have more time to
discuss our options.”

Alisa didn’t want to argue with him,
especially since he was flying out in a few hours, but she needed to let him
know how she felt. She ran her hands over his chest. “I meant it when I said I
love you, Liam. I want to be with you. We’re married now, so obviously one of
us has to be willing to make the move.” She sighed. “I realize I’m the logical
choice, given your commitment to your business, but I have responsibilities
here, too.”

“I understand that.” He kissed her
tenderly. “I wouldn’t want to do anything that would make you unhappy. I know
how much your family means to you and how hard you’ve had to work to start this
new business.” He brushed her hair off her shoulders. “No one knows better than
I do how demanding that can be. Most new businesses succeed or fail within the
first year…”

She couldn’t help but feel defensive when
he reminded her of the depressing statistics. “I have no intention of failing.”
She crossed her arms. “So, if that’s what you’re hoping will happen—”

“Stop,” he said, leaning in to kiss her.
“I’ll do anything and everything I can to help you succeed. I may not know a
lot about fashion, but I do know a lot about business, and that could serve you
well. If you’re willing to accept my help.”

She slipped her arms around his waist and
leaned her head on his chest. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“I understand. A hell of a lot has happened
in a short period of time. It’ll take us some time to adjust to all these
changes.”

“I want this marriage, and I want you.
Don’t ever doubt that.” No matter what happened, she wanted him to leave here
tonight knowing she was committed to making this work.

Liam locked his hands behind her neck. “I’m
glad to hear you say that. When I flew in last night, I didn’t know what to
expect.” He chuckled. “To be honest, I was just hoping you wouldn’t be angry
that I’d crashed your party. We’ve already come so much further than I ever
expected to, in terms of making decisions about the future. We know the most
important thing: that we want to be together. The rest will work itself out.
I’m not worried, are you?”

As long as she had him in her life, she
felt confident she could face any challenge. He gave her an inner strength and
peace she hadn’t even known she could possess. Until she met him, her life had
been a series of forks in the road that seemed to lead nowhere. Now, her
destination seemed so clear. She was meant to be with him. “I’m not worried.”

“Good.” He leaned in to kiss her when Trey
opened the French door in the kitchen.

“Okay, you two, get your butts back in
here. You’re not allowed to bail on your own party.”

Liam laughed and raised his hand. “We’ll be
right there, Trey.” He brushed his lips back and forth over hers as he gripped
her hips. “Next weekend can’t get here soon enough.”

“My sentiments exactly.”

Liam was pulled in a dozen different
directions as everyone who cared about Alisa wanted to know more about him. The
CEO of Titan Records, Luc Spencer, finally cornered him by the bar.

“So,” Luc said, handing Liam a scotch.
“Everyone knows you’re in the hotel business, never been married, have a
daughter, give a good amount of money to charity…” He sized him up with one
shrewd glance. “Tell me something the background check didn’t.”

Liam tried not to choke on Luc’s words as
he swallowed the scotch. “I expected Trey to give me a hard time, but you too,
huh?”

Luc smiled, but he obviously wasn’t amused.
“I love Alisa like she was my own daughter, so when she leaves for Vegas on a
business trip and comes back married to a guy twenty years older, you better
believe I’m gonna have questions.”

“Fair enough,” Liam said, leaning an elbow
on the bar. He dealt with men like Luc every day, and he’d learned a long time
ago how to win these battles. “Ask me anything you want.”

“Why haven’t you ever been married?”

“I have some trust issues, and I’m a workaholic.”
He smiled at Luc over the rim of his crystal glass. “Is that reason enough?”

Luc tipped his head to the side. “You say
you have trust issues, yet Alisa tells me you didn’t ask her to sign a prenup.
Why?”

“I trust her.”

“That’s stupid. You don’t even know her.”

Liam grinned. He liked this man. He was
used to people standing on ceremony with him because of his money and perceived
power. The fact that Luc was also successful gave them the freedom to be
straight with one another. “Like you, Luc, I’ve learned to trust my gut. We
wouldn’t be able to build our businesses if we didn’t trust our instincts. I
always knew when or if I met the right woman, I’d know instinctively that she
was the one. I’m not prone to making stupid mistakes.” He glanced at his wife,
who was entertaining two small children across the room. “Marrying a woman I
wasn’t sure about without benefit of a prenup would have been stupid.”

“You’re tellin’ me,” Luc said, bringing his
glass to his lips.

“So, that should tell you one thing. I
don’t intend to divorce Alisa, nor do I intend to let her divorce me.”

Luc frowned. “What the hell does that mean?
You can’t force her to stay married to you if she doesn’t want to.”

Liam laughed. “I met your lovely wife
earlier. If Marisa wanted to divorce you, would you let her?”

“Hell, no!”

“My point exactly. I realize I can’t force
Alisa to stay married to me, but I can give her every reason to
want
to
stay married to me.”

Luc sneered. “You can give her material
things, but that’s not gonna be enough to keep a girl like Alisa satisfied for
long, you need to know that.”

“I wasn’t talking about material things. I
knew if I ever got married, it would be once, and only once, which is why it
took me so long to make that decision.” He smiled when he caught sight of Alisa
dancing with a pretty little five-year-old girl with dark ringlets and big blue
eyes. “I can show her how much I love her every day, support her in every way,
prove to her that she can trust me and count on me, be her best friend, lover,
and her shoulder to cry on. I think if I do all that, the fancy houses and
trips around the world will just be the icing on the cake, don’t you?”

Luc laughed out loud, drawing the attention
of the few people standing around them. “Damn, Trey was right about you. You’re
a straight shooter, and I like that. What’s more, I respect it.” He raised his
glass. “I wish you and Alisa a lifetime of happiness, Liam.”

“Thanks,” Liam said, tipping his glass
against Luc’s. “That means a lot.” He turned toward the bar, away from the
other guests, prompting Luc to follow suit. “So, this Nick Sinclair, he’s with
your label, right?”

Luc scowled. “For the time being. I hate
what he did to Alisa. If I’d known what a worthless piece of shit he was, I
never would’ve signed him.”

“He makes you a lot of money though,
right?”

“Why the hell do you think I’m keepin’ him
around?” Luc smirked. “If he was dead weight, I would’ve taken pleasure in
cutting him loose. I talked to both Trey and Alisa about it, and they know
keepin’ him on was just a business decision.”

“I can respect that,” Liam said, quietly.
“Since you were so curious about me, I have to assume you know everything there
is to know about that guy.”

Luc raised an eyebrow. “What do you want to
know?”

“For starters, what’s it gonna take to get
him to leave my wife alone?”

Luc chuckled. “I wish I knew. I’ve told him.
Trey’s told him; he just doesn’t wanna back down. He seems to think she’ll give
him another chance someday.”

Liam hated that he felt the need to ask, but
Luc probably knew Nick better than anyone else in this room. “You think she
would have, if she hadn’t met me?”