Chapter 12
TWELVE
I needed a drink. Scratch that—after tonight, I needed fifteen drinks. Mari was lucky I loved her, because after the stunt she pulled, all future family dinners were in jeopardy.
I should’ve known something was up when my sister called before I left the house, asking me to wear one of my nicer outfits, and then again after I pulled into the driveway and saw an unfamiliar car parked in my usual spot.
After years of Mari’s meddling, you'd think I’d recognize the signs of a set-up.
But no, not me. I walked in blind, and now, I was eyeing the exit like a dying man.
“Did you enjoy dinner?” my sister asked as she grabbed the plate from her guest.
“Oh yes, everything was delicious,” she said. “I haven’t had a home cooked meal since I moved.”
Glancing across the table, my date’s eyes met mine, and she blushed, staring back down at her food.
Shit; what the hell was her name? Fuck, Mel was right—I’d crossed into asshole territory.
Gemma. Nice girl, the kind of woman I wouldn’t mind spending more time with normally.
She worked with Mari at the veterinary clinic as an assistant and had just moved into town.
She was smart, witty, and my nieces all seemed to love her.
But as we spoke, there wasn’t a connection, no spark between us.
Unlike Brianna.
Fuck. I ran my hand over my face, trying to push the picture of her from my mind.
It should have been easy; I’d done it plenty of times before.
Maybe it was shitty of me, but there was a long list of women I’d left alone in their beds, barely thinking about them after I left.
It was different with Brianna. I couldn’t forget the sight of her pleasure; it was etched in my memory from the night we spent together.
Every time I tried to block it, she popped up again, stronger than before.
Maybe it was a good thing Melanie banned me from all women and clubs after the all-star game. I needed to get my head together.
“Damien?” Mari called from the head of the table. “Can you help me with dessert please?”
All my nieces cheered as we stood, unaware of the glares Mari and I shot at each other.
At least the promise of sugar would help the awkwardness of the night.
Knowing my sister, she’d made her signature flancocho cake.
It was an update of our grandmother’s classic flan recipe, but my sister had put her own twist on it, interweaving the classic dish with moist layers of vanilla cake.
We all loved it, especially the girls. It was one of the few indulgences I allowed myself during the season.
As Mari pulled me into the kitchen, she kept up her usual jovial smile, but as soon as we were out of everyone’s eye-line, she gave me a hard pinch on the underside of my arm.
“Shit, Mari,” I snapped. “What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you?
” My little sister glared at me as she walked further into the kitchen.
She mumbled something under her breath as she walked over to the fridge and pulled out the cake.
“I set you up with a nice girl—tell her all about my charming, very single, big brother, and you show up like that? Like a robot has drained all your personality?”
“If you’d told me about this blind date—”
“Don’t feed me lies,” my sister bit out. “If I told you about Gemma, you would have found a way out of it. Claimed some practice ran over or another excuse.”
Okay, she had me there.
“I’ve told you, Mari. It’s not her. I’m not interested in dating anyone.” As she pulled the knife out of the drawer and placed it on the tray next to the cake, I hugged her. “Why is this so important to you?”
She sighed and dropped her head onto my shoulder. “You’ve given up so much already, brother. First for baseball, then for me. I want you to be happy too.” She turned in my arms, looking up at me. “Tell me the truth. Don’t you feel it? That missing piece inside your heart?”
I studied her eyes, the ones that almost completely matched mine. If people didn’t already know we were siblings, it wasn’t hard to figure out. We had the same tanned skin tone, the same tilt to our smiles, but the eyes gave it away the most.
And right now, the concern reflected in them almost made my knees buckle.
Exhaling sharply, I weighed her words. If she’d asked me months ago, my answer would have been a flat no. Though my engagement fell apart, my life never seemed lacking, even if there were a lot of lonely moments.
But lately, the voice in the back of my mind had me questioning my own rules.
Maybe it was Brianna, maybe it was Mel calling me out on my shit.
Either way, I’d stopped going out and looking for something temporary over the last couple weeks.
Did that mean I wanted more? Wanted to be in a relationship?
Did I even know how?
Even if I wanted to be with someone, my schedule would always be an issue. Baseball came first. There wasn’t any other option. I refused to let my focus flounder, refused to coast into retirement and obscurity. I’d worked too damn hard to settle for that life.
Instead of giving Mari empty promises, I held her a little tighter. “You know I’m your big brother, right? I’m supposed to be the one worrying about you.”
“Please,” Mari snorted. “The only thing you have to worry about are the girls destroying every inch of this house. Carmen figured out how to undo all the child locks and decided to paint a masterpiece for the twins on their bedroom wall.”
I shook my head. “And that’s what you want for me? The chaos you have to experience every day?”
“If you want that, D, then yes. I’m not saying have kids, because we both know it's not the right path for everyone, but I want you to have a family, someone you can confide in when life gets too heavy.”
“I have you, Mari.”
She shook her head. “And you always will. But it's not the same as what I have with Angie. She’s my person—the one I can lean on when life gets heavy, but who also shares in all our joy. It’s not just having someone, it’s finding that other half of you, the person who makes your life better, even when it’s falling apart.
” She pulled back and searched my gaze. “You give everything your all, Damien. Me, the kids, especially baseball. Don’t you think you deserve someone who will do the same thing for you? ”
My throat tightened at her words, unable to respond.
For so long, the idea of opening myself up terrified me, sure it would be another failure.
But maybe Mari was right. Maybe after years of hiding myself in one-night stands and baseball commitments, it was time to step out of my comfort zone and try for something more.
“Mi vida?” Angie called out, breaking the moment between my sister and me. When she rounded the corner and spotted us hugging, she smiled. “Oh good. You had us worried there for a minute. I thought I was going to find you two fighting.”
“No fighting.” I sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of my little sister’s head. “But no more set-ups either. I promise, Mari, when I’m ready to settle down, you’ll be the first one I call.”
She rolled her eyes, knowing the words were a lie as much as I did, but at least it was enough to get her off my back—for now.
After we settled back at the table, the rest of the night went smoothly.
Gemma and I exchanged an awkward goodbye in the driveway, polite but firm enough that she didn’t expect a phone call.
As I drove back into the city, anxious energy radiated through me, and I wasn’t ready to call it a night just yet.
My usual clubs and bars were a no-go, marked off-limits by Melanie. Phase one of getting my shit together, I supposed. Without any of my vices, there was no way I’d be able to sleep, at least not yet. One drink couldn’t hurt, right?
Driving by a couple of sports bars, I kept going.
My face was too recognizable in those circles.
But when I found a small dive bar on the edge of the city, I slowed down and pulled into its empty parking lot.
Grabbing my hat from the backseat, I ambled inside, not bothering to look around before taking a seat at the counter.
As I signaled to the bartender for a drink, a loud laugh came from the back corner.
I turned over my shoulder, catching the eyes of the last person I expected to see here.
Brianna. She had to be a hallucination. Lord knew I’d conjured her image plenty of times over the past few weeks, but I saved my memories for when I fisted myself in the shower, remembering the sight of her at my mercy, begging for more of my cock.
I wiped my hand over my face, trying to fix my vision.
However, when it dropped away, Brianna remained, her hazel eyes wide in shock.
My face twisted in a surprised smirk, taking in her features.
A knot tugged in my chest, desperate to move closer to her.
It had only been two weeks since I’d been in her bed, but it seemed like longer.
It’d been too long since her fingernails traced my thighs as her mouth swallowed my length, since I sank deep inside her and finally understood nirvana.
All I could do was stare, taking in Brianna’s subtle features. The way the light toyed with her hazel eyes, the soft cupid’s bow in her upper lip. I wanted to trace the freckles that lined her nose and cheek, to memorize every hidden detail about this woman.
Fuck, this was too much. I turned away from Brianna as the bartender dropped off my beer.
Distance. I needed distance from her. After all, I was no stranger to one-night stands.
Even though Brianna clung on a little longer than most women I met, her memory had to fade eventually.
There’d be a day when I’d see her across the room and my dick wouldn’t instantly get hard—at least I fucking hoped so.
Just as I gathered all my resolve to finish my beer and walk away, a group of guys crashed into my side, ordering another round of shots.
They must have slipped in while Brianna held my attention.
There were only three of them, but they were louder than when the entire team filled the locker room.
They glanced around the bar, stopping when they spotted Brianna in the corner.
One made a comment I couldn’t pick up, but the slimy look on his face made my blood pressure rise.
When they started walking toward Brianna and her friend, I couldn’t help myself, standing and blocking their paths.
As they muttered curses at my back, I kept moving toward the table.
Brianna’s eyes jumped to meet mine, and she shook her head before ducking down in the seat.
Her voice squeaked out from under the table, “Do you think he saw me?”
“Yup,” I answered for her friend as I slid into the booth next to Brianna. “Although, that was pretty smooth. No one’s ducked me like that in a long time.”
She lifted her head and gaped at me. “Damien? Wh-what are you doing here?”
“Getting a drink,” I mused, holding up my beer. I glanced at the empty glasses on the table in front of her. “Same as you.”
A snort echoed from the other side of the table, and I turned, finding Ollie smirking at me. She beamed hello, her eyes darting between me and Brianna. “How did you even know about this place?”
“Parker mentioned it last week, said it was a good place to go if you wanted to keep your head down. I’m trying to keep a low profile.
” I motioned for Brianna to move over and slid into the spot next to her.
All night, I’d waited for sparks, to see if my sister’s set-up was more than met the eye, but there’d been nothing, not even little interest on my end.
She was smart, kind, and beautiful, all the things I should want.
However, as I slid in next to Brianna, every inch of my skin prickled with awareness.
Ollie’s smile turned downright devilish as she looked between the two of us, me with my easy smile and Brianna with the most adorable blush filling her features. “I knew it! You two totally hooked-up in Dallas. No way you found some random guy when Damien was around.”
I arched my brow as I turned to Brianna. “Random guy?”
She groaned then turned back to Ollie. “Fine. I might have made that part up. We, uh…” Brianna looked over at me, silently pleading for permission. I nodded, suddenly not caring who found out.
But she didn’t get a word out before Ollie held up her hand. “Actually, no. Don’t tell me anything. I need plausible deniability if Park asks.” She winked at Brianna. “Buuut…this does give me some new ideas.”
Brianna shook her head, her cheeks now that delicious red hue I liked so much. As she stayed silent, I looked in Ollie’s direction, seeing her scribble on a piece of paper in front of her. When I tried to get a closer look, Brianna grabbed it, moving it far from me.
“What are you hiding from me, angel?” I asked, lowering my mouth to her ear.
God, as much as I wanted to stay away, being close to Brianna felt better, like when two magnets finally collided.
Her floral shampoo filled my senses, and I stared at the column of her throat, disappointed that the marks from our night together had faded from her skin. It made me want to mark her up again.
“Nothing,” she blurted out. “At least nothing you should concern yourself with.”
“Aww, I think you should tell him,” Ollie said. “He might help you out.”
“I don’t need his help.”
The bite in her tone made my hackles rise. I turned to face her, taking in her sour expression. “Are you okay, Bri? What’s wrong?”
If possible, she blushed even harder. “It’s not like that… I’m fine. It’s just a project Ollie is helping me with.”
Now that I knew nothing was wrong, I leaned back in the booth and un-bunched my shoulders. “Sure you don’t want to tell me about it? I can be very helpful, after all.”
“See, Bri,” Ollie said, smirking wildly. “He is very helpful. You never know what he might think.”