Читать книгу Desiring the Reilly Brothers: The Tempting Mrs Reilly / Whatever Reilly Wants... / The Last Reilly Standing - Maureen Child - Страница 8

The two spoiled mutts sent up a racket the minute Brian pulled into the driveway. Scowling, he shut the engine off and shot a grim look toward the backyard where the little bastards were probably trying to scratch through the gate to get at him.

Shaking his head, he climbed out of the car and wondered again why the little dogs hated him. Maybe in a past life he’d been a dogcatcher or something and they could still smell it on him.

“Knock it off, you guys,” he bellowed, not expecting his shout to do a thing about shutting them up. And he wasn’t disappointed. If anything, the noise level climbed and the frantic urgency in their yips and high-pitched barks escalated.

One downside to living in the garage apartment at Angelina Coretti’s house was putting up with those dogs. But, it was the only downside as far as Brian was concerned.

Renting that small, one-bedroom apartment worked out well for both him and Angelina. The older woman liked having him around—knowing he was handy if she needed help. And he had privacy, no worries about losing his apartment when he was deployed for months at a time, and a sweet old lady who enjoyed cooking, to make him the occasional home-cooked dinner.

On the whole, a situation worth putting up with Muffin and Peaches.

And there was another good point to his living arrangements. Since Angelina was his ex-wife’s grandmother, Brian could keep a tenuous connection to Tina Coretti Reilly. It wasn’t much, and probably wasn’t real healthy, but Tina, even though they’d been divorced for five years now, was never too far out of his thoughts.

The barking got sharper, louder, as he stalked up the driveway toward the stairs at the side of the garage. Brian tossed another scowl at the whitewashed wooden gate and the hell hounds beyond. Then the back door opened and that scowl froze on his face.

It was as if all the air had been sucked from his lungs. His guts twisted and a hard ball of something hot and needy and just a little pissed landed in the pit of his stomach.

“Judging by that expression,” Tina said, over the din of the dogs, “you’re not real happy to see me.”

Afternoon sunlight lit her up as brightly as if she’d been an actress standing at center stage. Her wide brown eyes danced with amusement. Her long, thick black hair hung down around her shoulders. She wore a pale green tank top that bared her tanned arms and chest, and he was only grateful that the gate was there, minimizing his view of her. He wasn’t at all sure he’d be able to take seeing miles of long, tanned leg.

“Tina.” He swallowed hard and cleared his throat. Damn it, if he was shaken to find her standing practically on top of him, he wouldn’t let her see it. “What’re you doing here?”

“I’m here to take care of the girls while Nana’s in Italy.”

The girls being Muffin and Peaches.

“Angelina didn’t tell me you were coming.”

“Any reason why she should?”

His eyes narrowed as he watched her. “Any reason why she shouldn’t?”

“Ah,” Tina said smiling, as she let the back door swing closed behind her. “Same ol’ Brian. Answer a question with a question. Stall for time.”

The dogs kept barking and he and Tina were shouting at each other just to be heard. His head was buzzing, brain racing. And he didn’t want to think about the jolt his heart had just gotten. Damn it.

Angelina should have warned him.

Should have given him the chance to get the hell outta Dodge.

And, he admitted silently, since Angelina knew him well enough to know that he would have left, that’s probably exactly why she hadn’t told him about Tina’s visit. The older woman had never made it a secret that she thought the two of them still belonged together. It would be just like Angelina to try for a little long distance matchmaking.

Too late to do anything about it now, anyway, Brian thought and told himself to get a grip. It wasn’t easy.

Tina took the steps down from the back porch, opened the gate and the minute she did, the two little fleabags were on him. Stalking and pouncing as though they were the size of wolves instead of especially hairy rats, they attacked the laces of his tennis shoes and grabbed at the hem of his jeans. He glanced down at them, almost grateful for the distraction. “Cut it out.”

“They really don’t like you, do they?” Tina mused. “I mean, Nana told me they weren’t very fond of you, but I figured she was exaggerating.”

Brian heard her, but he wasn’t listening. Instead, he was watching her and wishing to hell she’d stayed behind the safety of that gate. It was just as he’d thought. She was wearing denim shorts that hugged her hips and displayed way too much smooth, tanned leg.

Blood pumped and rushed to the one spot in his body that had always responded to Tina. From their first date, the attraction between them had been electrical. And time hadn’t changed a damn thing.

Which just made his black mood even blacker.

It had been two solid weeks since he’d made that stupid bet with his brothers. Two full weeks of no sex and he was already a man on the edge. By the end of three months, he’d be a gibbering idiot. And Tina’s presence wasn’t going to help anything.

“Damn it, Angelina should have warned me you were coming.”

She stiffened slightly and lifted her chin in a defiant, I’m ready to rumble pose he remembered all too well. Damn. Their fights had been almost as good as the sex. And the sex had always been incredible.

“I asked her not to tell you.”

“Why in the hell would you do that?” he demanded, and kicked his foot, trying to dislodge Peaches from his ankle. It didn’t work. She managed to hang on.

“Because I knew if she told you that you’d find a way to disappear.”

That rankled a little, but only because she was right. He would have signed on for extra duty, pleaded for a top-secret mission, asked to be deployed to a base several thousand miles away.

When, Brian suddenly wondered, had he become a coward about Tina?

Then he dismissed the question, because it wasn’t relevant at the moment.

“Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know, Brian,” she said and cocked one hip as she folded both arms across her chest.

Well, under her breasts, pushing them higher, giving him a closer look at the smooth, tanned curve of flesh peeking up from the top of her low-cut shirt. He forced himself to lift his gaze to meet hers.

“But,” she continued, keeping her gaze locked with his, “you always do. Every time I’ve visited Nana in the past couple of years, you’ve ‘coincidentally’ been called away.”

Nothing coincidental about it. Ever since the divorce, he’d purposely avoided running into Tina. He reached up and shoved one hand across the side of his head. “I just wanted to make it easier on you. Visiting family without having to—”

“—see the man who divorced me without an explanation?” she finished for him.

She was still mad. Easy enough to see in the sparks shooting out of her dark brown eyes. He couldn’t really blame her, either. “Look, Tina…”

“Forget it.” She waved whatever he’d been about to say away and shook her head until her hair whipped back behind her shoulders. “I didn’t mean to start anything. I just wanted to see you. That’s all.”

Brian studied her and wished to hell he could read her mind. Dealing with Tina had never been easy, but it had always been an adventure. And if he knew her, then there was something else going on besides just wanting to say hi to her ex.

Still, he told himself, did he know her anymore? They’d been married for one year and divorced for five. So maybe he didn’t. Maybe she’d changed. Become a stranger. The thought of which left him a lot colder than it should have.

“Why’d you want to see me?” His eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Her eyes went wide and innocent. “Jeez, Brian, lighten up. Can’t an ex-wife say hello without getting the third degree?”

“An ex-wife who flies in all the way from California to say hello?”

“And to take care of two sweet little—”

“—furry monsters,” he finished for her and snarled at Peaches who was trying desperately to crawl up his leg. Probably wanted to bite through his jugular.

Tina laughed and everything inside him went still.

He looked at her from the corner of his eye and watched her like a hungry man eyes a steak. Divorced, he reminded himself, but still just the sound of her laughter could reach down inside him and warm all the cold, empty spots.

Five years since the last time he’d touched her and his fingertips could still feel the softness of her skin. Her perfume, a soft blend of flowers and citrus, seemed always to be with him, especially in his dreams. And the memories of their lovemaking could make him groan with need.

Hell.

Especially now.

Man, he so didn’t need Tina in town with this stupid bet going on.

“I don’t know why they don’t like you,” Tina said as she bent down to scoop Muffin into the crook of her arm. The little dog quivered in excitement and affection and gave Tina’s neck a couple of long swipes of its tongue.

Brian wouldn’t mind doing the same.

He spoke up fast, to keep that image from coalescing. “Because they know it’s mutual.”

Tina scratched Muffin behind her ear, giving the dog a taste of heaven and giving herself something to do with her hands. If she hadn’t picked up the dog, she might have given in to the urge to grab Brian. Her mouth watered just looking at him.

His black hair was still militarily short, showing off the sharp angles and planes of his face to model perfection. His dark blue eyes were still as deep and mysterious as the ocean at night. His black USMC T-shirt strained over broad shoulders and a muscular chest and his narrow hips and long legs looked unbelievably good encased in worn denim.

She’d forgotten, God help her.

She’d forgotten just how much he could affect her.

Maybe Janet had been right. Maybe this wasn’t

such a good idea after all.

She wanted a baby, sure.

And she wanted Brian to be its father.

But if simply standing beside the man could make her weak in the knees, what chance did she have to keep herself from falling back into the stupid-withlove category?

As soon as that thought flitted through her mind though, she firmly pushed it aside. She could do this. It had been five years. She wasn’t in love anymore. She wasn’t a kid, trusting in one special man to make her dreams come true.

She’d worked long and hard at her career. She was respected. She was mature enough to handle Brian Reilly without getting her fingers burned again. And if she was still breathlessly attracted to him, that was a good thing.

It would make seducing him that much easier.

“Look, Brian,” she said, keeping a tight grip on Muffin while Peaches scrabbled at the hem of Brian’s jeans again, “there’s no reason we can’t be civil to each other, is there?”

“I guess not.”

“Good.” It was a start, anyway. “So, I’m going to barbecue a steak tonight. Want me to add one for you?”

For one small second, she thought he was going to say yes. She could see it in his eyes. The hesitation. Then he apparently got over it.

“No, thanks. Gotta go see Connor tonight. He’s uh…having some problems with his uh—”

Tina smiled and shook her head. “You never were much of a liar, Brian.”

He stiffened. “Who’s lying?”

“You are,” she said, smiling. Then she turned for the gate leading to the backyard and the house. “But that’s okay, I’m not taking it personally. Yet. Come on, Peaches. Dinner.”

Instantly, the little dog released her hold on Brian and scuttled for the backyard and her food dish.

“Tina,” Brian said.

She stopped at the gate and flashed him a smile. It was good to know she could still get to him so easily. If he hadn’t been worried about being alone with her, he never would have lied about having to meet Connor.

And now, he looked…confused. Also good. If she could just keep him off his guard for a week or two, things would work out fine.

“It’s okay, Brian,” she said, giving him a shrug and a brighter smile. “I’m going to be here for almost three weeks. I’m sure we’ll be seeing plenty of each other.”

“Yeah.” He shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and hunched his broad shoulders as if trying to find a way to balance a burden that had been dropped onto him without warning.

She wasn’t sure she liked the analogy much, but it seemed to fit.

“Have a good night,” she called out as she closed the gate behind her, “and say hi to Connor.”

“Right.”

Tina went into the house with the dogs, and once the back door was closed, she fingered the edge of the white Priscilla curtains until she could see the stairway leading to the garage apartment. Brian climbed those stairs like a man headed for the gallows.

And when he reached the landing, he paused and looked back at the house.

Tina flinched. It was almost as if his gaze had locked with hers instinctively. She felt the heat and power of that steady stare and it rocked her right to her bones.

Long after he’d gone inside his apartment, Tina was still standing in the kitchen, looking out the window. And she couldn’t help wondering which of them was really off their guard.

Two hours later, Brian was finishing dinner and listening to Connor laugh at the latest development. It was his own fault. Not that he’d been expecting sympathy, but outright hilarity was a little uncalled for.

“So, Tina’s back in town,” Connor said, grinning. “Man, I can almost feel that money sliding into my wallet as we speak.”

“Forget it,” Brian snapped, still feeling the effects of Tina’s smile hours later. “She’s not going to help you win this bet. I divorced her, remember?”

“Yeah,” Connor said and signaled to the waiter for another beer. “Never did understand why, though.”

None of his family had understood, Brian thought, momentarily allowing himself to drift down memory lane. Hell, even he’d had a hard time coming to grips with the fact that divorcing Tina had been the only right thing to do.

It hadn’t been easy. But it had been right.

He still believed that.

If he didn’t, he wouldn’t be able to live with the regrets.

Tina Coretti still haunted him. At the oddest times, his brain would suddenly erupt into images of her. Cooking, laughing, singing off-key with the radio while on one of their notorious road trips. He remembered arguing with her, both of them shouting until one of them started laughing and then how they’d tumble into bed and rediscover each other.

The sex had always been amazing between them.

Not just bodies coming together, but in his more poetic moments, Brian had convinced himself that even their souls had mated.

And once she was gone from his life, he’d had to believe it, because he’d been left hollow. Empty. His heart broken and his soul crushed, despite knowing that what he’d done, he’d done for her.

That hadn’t changed.

He shoved what was left of his burger and fries to the edge of the table for the waiter to pick up, then leaned back in his seat.

The Lighthouse Restaurant was packed, as it generally was. Families crowded around big tables and couples snuggled close together in darkened booths. Overhead, light fell from iron chandeliers bristling with hanging ferns and copper pots.

Studying his brother across the table from him, Brian shifted the talk from himself by asking suddenly, “So how’re you doing on the bet front?”

Connor choked on a swallow of beer and when he was finished coughing, he shook his head. “Man, it’s way uglier than I thought it was going to be.”

Brian laughed.

“Seriously,” Connor protested. “Getting to the point where I’m hiding from women completely.”

“I know what you mean,” Brian said, though for him, hiding had just gotten a lot harder. Staying away from women at work was easy. There weren’t that many female pilots or female personnel assigned to the F-18 squadrons. And those that were there made a point of avoiding the guys. Couldn’t blame them. They had to work twice as hard as the men just to be accepted and they weren’t going to blow a career by flirting with their fellow officers.

So work was safe and Brian had planned to hide out at home, staying away from the usual spots, bars, clubs and whatever, to avoid women in his off-duty hours. But now, home wasn’t a refuge. Instead, with Tina in town, home was the most dangerous territory of all.

“It’s only been two weeks,” Connor admitted, “and already, I’ve got way more respect for Liam.”

“I’m with you there,” Brian said.

“Talked to Aidan last night and he says he’s thinking about joining a monastery for three months.”

The thought of that was worth a chuckle. “At least he’s suffering, too.”

“Yeah.” Connor narrowed his eyes, nodded at the waiter, who stopped by to deliver their check, then said, “At least I get to take out my frustrations by screaming at the ‘boots’ every day.”

Brian smiled but couldn’t help feeling sorry for the new recruits under Connor’s charge in boot camp.

Then his brother spoke up again.

“Have you noticed the only one who’s not suffering is our brother the priest?” Clearly disgusted, Connor shook his head. “He’s just sitting back laughing at the three of us. How’d he talk us into this, anyway?”

“He let us talk ourselves into it. None of us could ever resist a challenge. Or a dare.”

“We’re that predictable?”

“To him anyway. Remember, priest or not,” Brian said, “he’s still the sneakiest of us.”

“Got that right.” Connor reached for his wallet and pulled out a couple of bills, tossing them onto the tabletop. “So, what’re you gonna do about Tina?”

“I’m gonna stay as far away from her as I can, that’s what.”

“That was never easy for you.”

Brian tossed his money down, too, then grumbled, “Didn’t say it was gonna be easy.”

Connor stood up, looked at his brother and gave him a smile. “We could try the old switcheroo trick. Since you have a hard time being around her, I could talk to her. Ask her to leave.”

Brian looked at him and slowly slid out of the booth. They hadn’t used the switcheroo since they were kids. The triplets were so identical, even their mother had sometimes had a hard time keeping them straight. So, the three of them had often used that confusion to their advantage, with one of them pretending to be the other in order to get out of something they didn’t want to do. They’d fooled teachers, coaches and even, on occasion, their own mother and father.

But, Brian reminded himself, as the idea began to appeal to him, Tina had always been able to tell them apart. They’d never once fooled her as they had so many others. Still, he thought, watching Connor smile and nod encouragingly, it had been years since she’d seen the three Reilly brothers together. Years since Tina and Brian were close enough that she’d been able to pick him out of a crowd of three with pure instinct.

“I’m willing if you want to give it a shot,” Connor prodded.

What did he have to lose? Brian asked himself. If Tina didn’t catch on to the trick, maybe she would leave, making Brian’s life a little easier. And if she did catch on…well, it had been a long time since he’d seen Tina Coretti’s temper.

And as he remembered it, she looked damn good when she was fighting mad.