The waitress glanced at Brett, and he nodded. Zach shifted to talk to someone else, and Brett and Spence took seats at one of the tables.
“Any photos of your brunette sweetie?”
“I don’t need your appraisal.”
“I’m just curious.” Spence shrugged. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you with a brunette.”
Brett considered, then found a photo of him and Dani on his phone. Shelby had taken it at the banquet. “Again, we’re not dating.”
Spence studied the photo and nodded approvingly. “Not sure Zach won that round, buddy.”
“He thought he did. And I wasn’t in the mood to argue.”
“So why aren’t you dating her?”
“Just not interested.” Brett gulped his soda and looked around at the Gallagher regulars. Their numbers had dwindled significantly over the years. Some had moved away, but most were married now. They had children. Mortgages.
A life he’d have scoffed at only a few weeks ago. But now?
“How about introducing her to me?” Spence asked.
Taken aback by the unexpected question, Brett almost spilled his drink. “You want to go out with her?”
“Sure.”
“She’s not a . . . a box of candy to be passed around to whoever wants her.”
“Come on, Brett. It wouldn’t be the first time one of us has dated someone else’s reject.”
“She’s not a reject.”
A slow smile cut across Spence’s features. “You’ve got a thing for her. Don’t you?”
“Aren’t you already dating somebody?”
“Nothing serious.” Spence stiffened and shifted his gaze to a platter of nacho chips and spinach dip. “She’s a nurse at that children’s hospital. You know the one I mean?”
The back of Brett’s neck tingled, his senses on full alert. “Yeah, I know it.”
“She told me something interesting.” He lowered his voice. “About you.”
“How does she even know who I am?”
“She saw a photo of us at my apartment. Remember when we did that charity golf event earlier this summer?”
“Yeah.”
“That picture.” Spence coated a chip with the thick dip.
“What did she tell you?”
“That you were arguing with the mom of one of the patients. A little guy who looks a lot like you.”
A lot like me. Shelby said the same thing. “It’s a personal matter.”
“About as personal as it gets.” Neither spoke for a few moments, then Spence leaned closer. “We’ve been friends a long time, Brett. Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
Brett spread his hands and sighed. “I just found out myself.”
Spence’s eyes widened as he ate another chip. “The risk we take, I suppose. Too bad you got caught.”
“It happens.” Brett forced a lightness in his tone he didn’t feel. He twisted in his seat and found Zach regaling a couple other guys with some crazy story. He turned back to Spence. “I’d appreciate it if you kept this between us.”
Spence looked over his shoulder in Zach’s direction. “I think having a child is a major penalty according to Zach’s rules. It might get you kicked out of The Game.”
“I don’t care about that.” Brett hesitated, surprised to realize he really didn’t. A couple of these guys, like Spence, were good friends. But the others were arrogant. Condescending. Self-absorbed—he ended the thought, not wanting to admit he was one of them.
He bit the inside of his lip as disgust rose in his chest. They’d been playing this game for years—buying beers for the guys who had the hottest dates at major events, inviting women into their lives, then counting down the weeks until they were tossed aside. Awarding points for a string of made-up rules he now recognized as cold and heartless.
He’d been among the worst.
“I’ve got to go.” He abruptly stood and handed a couple of twenties to Spence. “Take care of my tab, will you?”
“Why are you leaving? If it’s because of—I promise. Not a word.”
“I’m just tired of it, Spence. Tired of . . . not having any answers.”
Before Spence could reply, Zach joined them. “You can’t go, Brett. It’s against the rules.”
“I’ve got things to do.”
“If you leave now, you’ll owe us all a round next week.”
Brett pulled several bills from his wallet and laid them on the table. “I won’t be here. But this should cover it.”
Zach reached for the money, but Brett flattened his palm on the bills. “Spence will see to it.”
“Sorry. I can’t.” Spence stood. “I won’t be here either.”
“What is this?” Zach lifted his lip in his familiar smirk. “A mutiny. Are you really that sore of a loser, Somers?”
“I didn’t lose anything, Shrouder. I’ll see you around.”
As he walked away, Zach called after him. “Tell Cinderella the guys said hello.”
Brett fisted his hands but resisted the urge to turn around. Nothing he said to Zach would make a difference. He’d pulled enough similar antics over the years to know.
Spence followed him to the street. “You all right?”
“Fine.”
“You know how Zach is. Don’t let him get to you.”
“I don’t care what he says. But I’m not doing this anymore.”
“You’re really not coming back?”
“No. At least not for a while.”
“How about if we try someplace else? Me and my nurse, you and your brunette cutie?”
“Forget it. I’m not setting her up with you, Spence.”
“I don’t want you to.” He stared off in the distance for a moment. “All that in there was a joke. To tell you the truth, this thing with Kristen—it’s getting serious. I’m not trading her in for anybody.”
“Cupid finally got you, huh?”
“All I know is that she’s the best thing that ever happened to me. So how about a double date?”
“I’m not sure I’ll be seeing Dani again.”
“Whoever then. You’ve got my number.”
“Sure.”
“Guess I better go back in and settle the check. See you around.”
Brett said good-bye, then ambled toward the parking lot. Zach’s leering face juxtaposed with Spence’s unexpected admission. Another of their group headed for the altar.
As he angled toward his car, a tall spire caught his attention. Changing direction, he sauntered across the lot to the sidewalk. The summer heat lingered between the buildings, but he scarcely noticed. When he reached the church, he gazed up at the elaborate statues set into the architecture. Ionic columns graced the portico.
All he needed to do was walk up the steps. Go inside the open door. Sit in a pew.
It’s something Gran would have liked to see him do when she was alive. He wished he had. But instead he’d left the churchgoing to AJ. That kind of life wasn’t for him no matter how much Gran had wished it.
His life was his own—all mapped out—and there had been no place for God in it.
Until Meghan returned with Jonah.
Now things didn’t seem so clear. The map held hidden pitfalls he’d never anticipated. Beginning with Meghan’s deceit.
He closed his eyes. That wasn’t fair. He was the one to blame for what happened. He’d only seduced her because she was dating AJ. Just a way to hurt his cousin for being Sully’s favorite. The heir apparent and namesake.
He’d succeeded more than he could have imagined.
Sully died without mending the rift between him and AJ. Brett hadn’t minded that either. With AJ out of the picture, he did as he wished with Sully’s business. It all had worked out fine.
Until now.
He looked up at the half-open door again. AJ had found answers in a place like this. Enough to bring him peace from the past.
But Brett found it hard to believe that would be true for him too.
He returned to his car and
, without giving it much thought, drove to the hospital.
What color would Jonah’s window be tonight?
Meghan straightened Jonah’s blankets, then placed Brett’s birthday monkey beside his pillow. “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt” softly played, one of Jonah’s favorite silly tunes, and she could almost believe a slight smile touched his pale lips.
If only that were true.
“What color of lights do you want tonight, my sweet boy? Would you like yellow for the sunshine or blue for the sky? Or how about orange now that autumn is coming?”
She stroked his soft blond hair, then raised her eyes to the open door as Aaron stepped inside.
“How is he?” he asked.
“No change.”
“How are you?”
“About the same.” She gestured at the monkey. “Much as I hate to admit it, this was a great idea. The music seems to relax him.”
A shadow flickered across Aaron’s features, but it was quickly dispelled by his congenial smile. Perhaps she’d imagined it.
“Brett would be glad to know that,” he said.
She frowned and plucked an imaginary piece of lint from the blanket. “I tried writing him a thank-you note. But I couldn’t get the words right.”
“How hard is it to say thank you?”
From anyone else, the question might have sounded like a rebuke. But not from Aaron.
“You could tell him for me.”
Aaron hesitated, then shook his head. “You can’t put off facing him forever.”
“But I can put it off as long as possible.”
“To what end? Like it or not, he’s Jonah’s dad.”
“I don’t like it.” She crossed her arms and stuck out her lower lip.
Aaron chuckled at her pouty-face. “Writing a thank-you note is a good first step.”
“I don’t know his address.”
“I do.”
“And then what?”
“Let him see his son.”
A sudden chill raised goose bumps on Meghan’s arms. It was the right thing to do, yet the thought of Brett in the same room as Jonah terrified her. She’d tried to sort through the fears, to put them in perspective and consider them rationally.
But that never worked. Brett had money, and he had power. So far he hadn’t taken any legal steps to establish his paternity, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t. Her deeper fear, though, was that he’d seek custody. He might, especially if he blamed her for Jonah’s accident.
From the moment she learned of her pregnancy, she’d vowed to be a good mom. To protect her child from harm.
And then this had happened.
Brett couldn’t blame her any more than she blamed herself.
– 21 –
Brett ran his eyes up and down Amy’s thin frame as she stood in the doorway. Even though she was wearing one of his cast-off sweatshirts, she obviously had lost weight. Once again, he berated himself for not noticing sooner.
“Aren’t you going to let me in?”
“Why are you here?”
“Nice to see you too.”
She snorted, then padded into her apartment and lounged on the sofa, her slippered feet propped on the coffee table. He lowered himself into a nearby chair as guilt squeezed his gut. The last time he’d been here was the day Shelby had discovered he and AJ were cousins. Unwilling to go home and face Tracie, he’d sought refuge on Amy’s couch.
That had been weeks ago.
“I stopped by your office. Turns out my phone calls aren’t the only ones you’re not returning.”
“Don’t lecture me.” She pulled a throw pillow onto her lap, then studied her nails. Bright pink polish had replaced the chipped purple.
“You can’t blame me for being worried. What did the doctor say?”
“I’m just overtired, needing a rest. That’s it.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Please don’t give me that ‘I can tell when you’re lying’ look.”
“I can tell when you’re lying.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You’ve got a tell.”
“So you tell me, but you never tell me what my tell is.”
“Why would I do that?”
She scooched further into the sofa’s soft cushions, clearly annoyed. “Why are you here? Don’t you have work to do? Multimillion-dollar deals to make?”
“Actually, I do.” He’d gone to the office that morning. Had tried to focus on the paperwork in his inbox and pay attention to the callers on the other end of the phone. But he’d been unable to concentrate on even the most mundane task.
Jonah and Amy commandeered his thoughts. And much as he dreaded admitting it, Dani preoccupied his heart. He hadn’t talked to her since leaving her at the banquet, even though he’d promised to call.
Broken promises didn’t bother him much. Not usually.
Maybe it was better she realized he was a conceited jerk. Exactly the sort of man she had first accused him of being.
“Then leave me alone and go do it,” Amy said.
He mentally shook away his dreary thoughts and inwardly sighed.
“Who is he?”
She didn’t even bother to answer, just closed her eyes and leaned her head against the back of the couch.
“You won’t see him again, will you? After what he did?”
“See who?”
“He’s not worthy of you, Amy.”
Silence surrounded them. When she spoke, her voice was as small as a child’s. “Maybe I’m not worthy of him.”
He reached for her hand and squeezed it gently. “That’s not true. How could you ever think that?”
She lifted her eyes to his. “Why is it so easy for you to change?”
“It’s not . . . I haven’t.”
“One day, we’re partners. Conniving against AJ. Now you’re doting on his fiancée and her children as if we can be one big happy family. But we can’t.”
“Why can’t we?”
“Since when do you like children?”
“Since . . .” He searched his memory, trying to pinpoint the moment Elizabeth and Tabby were no longer an annoyance. But there wasn’t one moment—only a string of moments that led them straight into his heart.
“Since I found out how easy they are to like. No complications. No secret agendas. I swing them around and bring them pizza and they like me.” He let go of Amy’s hand and plopped back in the chair. “I can be the uncle they’ve never had.”
“Uncle? Won’t they be some kind of cousin? Actually, they’re not going to be related to us at all. Not really.”
“Maybe not. But I like them thinking of me as an uncle. And you know what, they’ve never had an aunt either.”
“I’m not exactly aunt material.”
“When they’re all grown up, what are they going to remember about you, Amy? Because the memories they have—those are up to you.”
Her features briefly softened, and for a moment, she was once again his lovely little sister instead of the world-hardened adult she’d become. But the veil returned, and her mouth tightened. “I don’t care what they think of me.”
“Then don’t be surprised when they don’t.”
Her eyes narrowed, and he could almost see the steam coming from her ears. The comment must have stung.
Good.
Somehow he had to get through to her, had to convince her to stop shutting them out. She’d never find peace by alienating those who loved her. Why couldn’t she see that?
The hypocrisy of his thoughts gripped his temples. Their situations might not be exactly the same, but it hadn’t been that long ago that he’d protected his heart as fiercely as she now protected hers.
“You don’t have to babysit me, you know.”
“Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“Stay if you like. But I’m going to take a nap.”
“Can I get you anything? Bring you anything?”
“I’m fine.”
He stood, pulling his keys from his pocket. “I’ll stop by tomorrow. Text me or call if you want me to stop somewhere on my way.”
She simply nodded, avoiding his gaze.
He started for the door, then turned back. “I’m here for you, Amy. Always have been. Always will be.”
She merely nodded.
Brett closed the door behind him, then leaned against the outer wall.
How do I help her?
The question surprised him, not because he’d had it, but because he hadn’t asked himself. He’d asked God. And he desperately needed God to answer.
– 22 –
Dani left the interview shortly before noon on Friday and hurried to her car. Once inside, she texted Shelby. Running late. Be there soon.
She’d done well enough at Monday’s interview with the bank manager to get this second one. They’d hinted the job was hers but said an official offer couldn’t be made till next week. She hoped she’d soon be earning a paycheck instead of depleting her meager savings.
So why wasn’t she more excited?
Peering through the windshield at the imposing structure, she imagined walking through its doors every weekday for the rest of her life.
The thought filled her with dread.
It’s temporary. Something to pay the rent on a real apartment. To make do until something better comes along.
She parked in an empty space not far from the downtown restaurant where she was meeting Shelby. The invitation had been a welcome surprise, and the yes was out of Dani’s mouth before she could stop it. Now guilt nibbled at her spirit. She liked Shelby, and under other circumstances perhaps they could have been friends.
To ease her conscience, Dani promised herself not to pump Shelby for information about Brett. At least then Shelby wouldn’t be involved in any scheme Dani concocted to teach Brett a lesson.
Especially now that she was even more determined to do so.
Despite his reluctant good-bye and promise to call, almost a week had gone by without even a text. Why had she expected anything else? He’d been lonely and invited her to the movie. He’d needed a date and invited her to the banquet. No doubt someone else had caught his eye, maybe a nurse at the ER or a friend of his sister’s, and driven all thoughts of Dani from his mind.
Men like him never kept their promises.
When Love Arrives Page 14
