Chapter 21
Since I’m the expert in Austin dining, I was in charge of picking the restaurant. I settled on the same Mexican restaurant I was supposed to take Liam to the night of the flat tire. The atmosphere there was low-key and fun and I figured everyone liked Mexican.
What I didn’t anticipate is that Liam would recall the name of the restaurant—and that the fiery look in his eyes for the first ten minutes of our meal would make it obvious to me that he was remembering exactly why we had never made it here that night, and how we’d eaten pizza naked in bed instead.
“You have to stop,” I muttered to him, leaning closer under the pretense of picking up my fallen napkin.
“Stop what?” he whispered back.
“Looking at me like that!”
“This is the way I always look at you.”
“And that’s the problem!” I straightened and found his mother’s eyes on me, that same knowing glint in them. Dear Lord, this could be a long night.
To my surprise, Andy seemed much more comfortable with our companions than I was. He grinned wickedly while he told Josie all the embarrassing stories about me as a kid, Liam occasionally chiming in to add his own.
“Well, this is a fun conversation,” I muttered after a laughing Andy told Josie all about the time I got so excited for a school field trip to the history museum that I ended up puking on the bus, causing the other 4th graders to call me Gross Grace for the rest of the year.
“Anyone else need more wine? I need more wine.”
“Josie, don’t you listen to them,” Leigh said. “Grace was absolutely delightful as a young lady.”
“Your grandmother is very wise,” I told Josie, and she giggled.
“Don’t worry, Miss K. I won’t tell any of the other kids at school about your barf breath.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You better not. Remember who grades your report card.”
Andy nudged her shoulder. “I’m just teasing. That’s kind of my job as her brother.”
“Who’s older?” Josie asked, looking between the two of us.
“I am,” I said smugly. “By seven whole minutes.”
“How does it feel to have a billionaire little brother?” Jay asked, and Andy grinned.
I leaned over to pat his shoulder. “I taught him everything he knows.”
Josie gave a melancholy sigh. “I always wished I could have a little brother.”
Liam’s hand found my thigh under the table and he squeezed. An image of a little boy with Liam’s blond hair flashed through my mind and my breath caught.
Where in the hell had that come from?
Thankfully conversation moved away from the greatest hits of my embarrassing youth as Jay started telling stories about the various teams he’d played for over the years. I had no idea he’d moved around so much.
“That can’t have been easy,” I said.
He shrugged. “Let’s just say I’m hoping to settle down here for a good long while.” He stiffened, looking over at Andy as if he’d suddenly remembered that he was technically his boss. “I mean, uh, if things work out that is.”
Andy reached for his water, seemingly unconcerned. “We made you an alternate captain for a reason,” he said. “You have a lot of experience and that makes you valuable.”
I could tell the compliment caught Jay off guard. He cleared his throat before saying, “I’ll do my best.”
“What about my daddy?” Josie asked. “Why did you make him captain? He only ever played for one other team.”
“Your dad and I played hockey together in high school,” Andy said, the corner of his mouth tilting up. “He was our team captain.”
“Yeah, and you never listened to a word I said,” Liam muttered. Andy’s lips tilted another degree.
“I know first-hand how bossy he can be,” Andy continued. “Figured that would come in handy. Plus, most of the guys on the team are pretty young, and your dad is really getting up there in years.”
Even my tension over the situation couldn’t stop the grin from spreading over my face at the delighted expression Josie wore hearing my brother tease her dad.
“We’re the same age, doofus,” Liam muttered, but there was no real heat to it. I knew that he too was pleased by the clearly happy look on his daughter’s face—even if it did come at his own expense.
He squeezed my thigh under the table again and this time he didn’t remove his hand. I squirmed in my seat, both wishing he’d take his hand away and that he would slide it just a little bit higher.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Andy’s sharp gaze on my face and I straightened, determined not to be the one to give us away with my reaction to Liam’s stupid body.
Once Andy had redirected his attention back to Jay, who was telling the table a story about his and Liam’s college team, I smacked Liam’s hand under the table.
He only squeezed tighter, a smirk tugging up the corners of his mouth.
“Relax,” he muttered into my ear. “The only thing that looks suspicious right now is how tense you obviously are.”
I took a deep breath, trying to relax my admittedly hunched up shoulders.
Liam was right—there was no reason to get so worked up.
It was no secret to my brother that Liam and I had been friends in high school or that I’d been close with his parents as well.
It only made sense that I would join them for a dinner out when they came to town.
That didn’t mean he was going to be able to guess that I had banged his team captain in his downstairs powder room less than forty-eight hours ago.
Gah. Do not think about the bathroom.
I did my best to follow the conversation and even managed to contribute a little bit.
Josie seemed absolutely fascinated by my brother, and I had plenty of good stories to pay him back for embarrassing me earlier.
The O’Conners were as warm and sweet as ever, and Jay seemed like the type of guy who was easygoing enough to smooth over any situation.
Liam’s hand remained firm on my leg throughout the meal, but I didn’t let that get to me. Much.
We lingered over dessert until Josie’s eyes became heavy. The next time our waiter came by, Liam raised his free hand. “I’ll take the check when you have a minute.” He ruffled Josie’s hair. “This little lady seems about ready to faceplate into her brownie sundae.”
“I’m not tired, Daddy,” she argued, then let out a huge yawn. “Well, not that tired.”
We all chuckled, even the waiter. “The check’s already been taken care of,” he murmured to Liam, whose eyes flashed to my brother. I knew he was thinking the same thing I was—Andy must have paid the bill when he went to the bathroom earlier.
My brother held up a hand as if to stave off any potential argument about paying.
“I’m afraid I need to head home to get ready for that call,” he said, standing.
As he buttoned his suit jacket, he turned to the O’Conners.
“It was great catching up with you all. Thank you for inviting me.” His tone was pleasant enough but I could see that his mask was back on.
There just weren’t that many people in life who my brother was able—or willing—to trust.
“Andrew, it was lovely to see you,” Mrs. O’Conner, said, moving to stand. He waved her off.
“Please, don’t get up. Enjoy your dessert. Hopefully I’ll see you all again before the end of the season.” He nodded towards Jay and Liam. “Nice goals tonight, boys.” Then his eyes landed on me. “Walk me out, Ace?”
My stomach clenched with nerves. Liam gave my leg a final, encouraging squeeze before I stood to join my brother.
He waited until we were at the door to say anything—and it wasn’t what I expected. “Does your school have any written policy on dating the parent of a student?”
My mouth dropped open and Andy rolled his eyes. “You’re a terrible actress.”
“We’re not dating!” I insisted. Which was true, I realized with a pang. We hadn’t been on a single date, and it was hard for me to imagine that changing any time soon.
Andy studied my face for a long moment. “You should check with your union rep,” he finally said. “Before things go any farther than they have.”
“Andy—”
He held up a hand, eyes flashing. “I don’t want your career hurt over this guy.”
“And what about his career?” I blurted out before I could stop myself.
Andy’s eyebrows went up. “You think I’m going to trade him for making eyes at my sister?”
I crossed my arms. “I think you’ve never liked him.”
“And I had damn good reason not to. I haven’t forgotten what happened the last time he hurt you.”
My stomach twisted at the memory, even as I scoffed. “We were teenagers, Andy. You can’t hold a grudge forever.”
“Which is exactly why I put the good of my team over my own personal feelings and brought him here,” he said, voice sharp.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered. Insinuating that my brother was still caught up in high school drama when millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs were at stake was uncalled for.
His face softened as he looked down at me. “I just don’t want you getting hurt again.”
“I won’t,” I told him, even though I knew it was a promise I couldn’t keep. Not where Liam O’Conner and my heart were concerned.
For a moment my brother looked like he wanted to say more but eventually he sighed, pulling me in for a hug. “I’ll be in Palo Alto for the rest of the week. Call Deb if you need anything.”
I smiled against his expensive suit coat. It was the same thing he said every time he left town. What, exactly, he thought might happen that I couldn’t handle on my own remained a mystery.
“I love you, little brother.”
He released me, his familiar smirk back on his face, replacing the smooth, cultured facade he’d been wearing around our dinner companions all evening.
“Be good, Ace.”
“You too, Andy.”
I stood there for a long moment after my brother left, trying to parse through the conversation we’d just had. He hadn’t flat out told me it would hurt Liam’s career if we started something, but the flash in his eyes when he talked about the way I’d been hurt before made my stomach tighten.
It was with these worries flooding my brain that I felt familiar, strong arms wrap around me from behind. “You okay?”