Page 101 of Love Game

Danny looked at him quizzically. The only person he might not want to see would be the big boss, and only because he was getting tired of that guy looking down his nose at him. “Chancellor Martin?”

“No, it’s not the chancellor.” Mike shot a glance at the back of the barroom. “Danny, your mom couldn’t make it. She said that the travel was too much for her, and she wanted you and Kate to come up to see her when you get back from your trip.”

Danny nodded. “I kind of figured. She’s having trouble with her hip, and I knew she wasn’t crazy about the idea of flying.”

“But she sent a proxy,” Mike said darkly.

It took only a moment for Danny to key in on his friend’s pointed look. “Tommy. She sent Tommy,” he concluded flatly.

The fixed smile Diane wore melted off her face. “Yeah, she did. And LeAnn is with him.”

“Of course she is,” Danny muttered.

He looked down at the floor for moment, digesting this latest development in the McMillan family drama. A couple of hours. If he could take hit after hit from massive defensive linemen, he could handle a couple of hours in the same room with his brother, right?

“I can make them leave,” Mike offered.

“But I don’t think you should,” Diane interjected.

When both men turned to look at her, she raised her hands in a gesture of futility. “What does it matter anymore?”

Danny blinked, and Mike scoffed, but Diane went on undeterred.

“Seriously, Danny, does it matter?” she prodded. “You’re happy, right? You have everything you want right here. They have everything they want out in Seattle. Think of them as just another couple of boosters. Smile, nod, move on.”

Unhooking the hanger from the bar, Danny draped the suit over his arm, nodded to his two oldest friends, and started toward the back of the bar. Along the way, he shook hands with new friends and colleagues, accepted back slaps and high fives from the few students in the bar, and, with each step, came to realize that Diane was right. As usual. This was his turf now. His home. He had the woman of his dreams and a future he couldn’t wait to share with her.

He and Tommy didn’t have to be close. Hell, they didn’t even have to see each other, unless their mother organized some kind of command performance. All he had to do was be polite and cordial. He’d shake the man’s hand and treat LeAnn with the same respect he’d give any acquaintance’s spouse.

The crowd shifted, then parted as he neared the table Kate and her friends usually occupied. His baby brother sat with his back to the bar. Danny used the opportunity to take in the changes the last few years had wrought. Though he’d always been smaller than Danny, Tommy was now thicker through the waist. His hair was the same dark brown. Maybe a bit thinner than it had been, but no gray yet. Unconsciously, Danny ran his hand over his own hair. He still had the thick waves he’d inherited from their mother, but he could almost feel the strands of silver tickling his palm.

Tommy.

He’d carried him around as a baby. Carried him his whole life. In a way, Danny understood his brother’s need to break free from the fraternal grip. He just wished Tommy hadn’t felt total annihilation was the only option.

LeAnn spotted him first. She looked exactly the same. Young, bright as a copper penny, and sharp as a tack. As he approached, it occurred to Danny that his ex may have once been a grad student ten years his junior, but she had to be at least a year or two older than his brother.

“LeAnn,” he said, drawing to a stop beside the table. Tommy looked up, startled by his sudden appearance, but Danny didn’t wait for him to adjust. “Tom.” His heart ached as he looked into his brother’s eyes, but he held it together. “I understand Mom couldn’t make it, but thanks for coming.” He extended his hand, and Tommy gave it a long stare before returning the grip.

“You’re welcome. Congratulations.”

“We’re very happy for you, Danny,” LeAnn chimed in. “And so glad we could make it out here for this. I promised your mom I’d take lots of pictures.”

Danny forced a tight smile. “Great. She’ll love that.” He took a step back and held the suit bag up like a shield. “Sorry, I have to get changed.”

Always fast on her feet, LeAnn recovered first. “Oh! Yes. Go,” she said, making a shooing motion. “We can’t wait to meet Kate. I’ve always admired her.”

The tightness in Danny’s cheeks eased at the mention of his wife’s name. “Yes, well, there’s a lot of her to admire,” he said, his nerves getting the best of him at last. “A lot of things about her,” he corrected in a rush. Turning to his brother, he inclined his head. “Thanks for coming.”

Tommy returned the nod. “We’re happy to be here.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Avery making a beeline for him, and thank God she hadn’t heard his slipup. “I have to go,” he repeated. “We’ll catch up after.” He raised a hand to halt Avery’s march. “I’m going. I’m going.”

“You have exactly five minutes to be out in front of that jukebox, or I’m coming in after you,” she warned.

He glanced at the relic from the 1980s, then back at Avery. “That’s where we’re having the ceremony?”

“I have it all queued up to play ‘I Am Woman’ the second I pronounce you woman and chattel.”

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