Page 28 of Dare to Love

“It’s not like that!” she shot right back.

Except it was exactly like that, Ian thought, and they both knew it.

“You’re home from LA, right?” she asked.

Whatever his answer, he’d lowered his voice, and Ian could no longer hear.

“Okay then. I’ll see you this afternoon. In the meantime, calm down.” Silence followed, then, “Love you too. Bye.”

Resisting the urge to punch something, Ian waited for her to turn back toward him. When she did, she appeared much more subdued than he’d have liked.

“He hates me that much?” Ian asked her.

She shook her head. “No matter what he said, it’s not all about you. It’s about me and Alex. And me keeping this from him for the last week.”

“You said he’s your family.”

She looked up at him, eyes wide and glassy. “He is. Alex and my stepmom. They’re all I have.”

Ian wanted to be included in that short list. It didn’t matter how little he really knew her; what he did know had only convinced him she was special. The right person for him in an otherwise empty personal life. Other than family, who he’d do anything for, he hadn’t had anyone he’d felt so strongly for—ever. Losing her before they ever got started wasn’t an option.

“What about your parents?”

She swallowed hard. “My mom died when I was sixteen. And my father... I don’t have a relationship with him, and I don’t discuss him. Ever.”

Ian accepted that declaration. For now.

“Can you take me to get my car?” she asked.

“Sure.” The morning had imploded in a way he’d never expected, and he saw no way of salvaging things.

Until she made her peace with Alex, no amount of coaxing by Ian would make things better. Which made Ian’s overture to his half siblings tomorrow night that much more important.

Chapter Seven

Riley stripped out of her clothes and stepped into the shower, eager to wash away the stress of the day. But all the hot water in the world couldn’t erase the knowledge that Alex wasn’t pleased about her relationship with Ian. To say he hated it would be an understatement. He wouldn’t stand in her way, but he couldn’t say he was happy. He didn’t trust his half brother, and she understood why.

From the time they were kids and Alex had found out he had an older brother, he’d been eager to get to know him. Someone to have his back for a change, not the other way around, like it was with his siblings. Ian had played football in high school, like Alex. Ian had gotten a scholarship to the University of Florida, like Alex. But no matter how many similarities they shared, Ian froze Alex and his family out.

It made sense, of course. Alex’s sister Sienna and her childhood leukemia had exposed their father’s affair with their mother, Savannah. Sienna had needed a bone marrow donor, and Robert Dare had revealed the truth in the hopes that one of his other children would be a match. Avery had been, which had led to Avery, Olivia, and Sienna bonding during hospital time.

The sad thing was, Savannah had always known about Robert Dare’s wife and kids. She’d accepted it because his marriage to Emma St. Claire had been one of convenience, but their relationship was different—he truly loved Savannah. And though Alex had been anoopsbaby, their relationship had taken hold, and he’d built a family with them. Spent time with them. More time than he had with his real family.

So Sienna’s illness had been the catalyst for destroying Ian’s family. Of course he wanted nothing to do with the kids his father had with another woman. Even Alex rationally understood that, but as they grew to be adults, instead of getting beyond their father’s mistakes, their competition only grew, with Alex being drafted by the Tampa Breakers, while Ian had already begun his climb within the Thunder organization. Just another rivalry to separate the men.

And now, just when Ian had reached out, Riley stood between the two men. Which meant she had to do whatever she could to make it possible for Alex to accept Ian’s overture.

To start with, she wouldn’t go to the Sunday dinner, giving them time together alone. And she would keep her distance from Ian until the two men got used to each other. Until then, she had no other choice but to pray they could learn to get along.

***

Although Riley had planned to eat at home on Sunday night, when her stepmother called and invited her for dinner, Riley had agreed to go. Anything to keep her mind off what was going on at Ian’s between him and his half siblings. She worried the two men would come to blows as much as she worried they’d ignore each other and nothing would get worked out. Going out with Melissa meant she had something else to concentrate on.

Melissa chose Nobu, a sushi restaurant at the Shore Club on Collins Avenue. Riley dressed for the occasion, pulling on a white sundress with silver flat sandals and funky jewelry. Melissa picked her up and drove them to the restaurant.

Melissa had just returned from her honeymoon with her second husband, a neurosurgeon at University of Miami Medical Center. Her blonde hair was even lighter from the sun, her fair skin pink, her expression relaxed and happy. She looked younger than her years and always had.

They were escorted to their table in the center of a room with low lighting and surrounded by white curtains. Melissa ordered a glass of Chardonnay, Riley a club soda.

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