Winning the Right Brother (3 page)

He crossed the parking lot toward her, noticing that the cool evening breeze was ruffling her hair, teasing strands out of the complicated bun. He came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head quickly, and when she saw it was him she pulled away, just like she’d done after the game. He dropped his hand and took a step back.

“Need some help?” he asked, gesturing toward the flat.

“No,” she said, reaching into the trunk for the spare and laying it on the ground. She set the iron and jack down next to it and shrugged out of her jacket, tossing it into the car.

“Come on, Holly. Changing a tire is a two-person job. Admit you need help.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he knew they were the wrong ones. Holly stiffened as she knelt down on the ground, grabbing for the tire iron.

“I do
not
need help. And even if I did, I wouldn’t need yours.”

Her words stung, childish as they were. “Fine,” he said. There was a pickup truck parked next to them and he leaned back against it, folding his arms.

She glared up at him as she placed the iron over the first wheel lug. “That was your cue to go back to your adoring fans. Why are you still here?”

“On the off chance you come off your high horse and realize you need me. That’s a moment I don’t want to miss.”

“I hope you enjoy disappointment,” she said before using both hands to bear down on the tire iron in an effort to loosen the nut—to no avail.

She sat back on her heels.

“I can bench press two hundred and eighty pounds,” he said.

She gave him a dirty look before picking the iron up again.

Her blouse was silk, a soft peach color, and through it he could see the outline of her bra. Her hair was starting to come down, tendrils clinging damply to the back of her neck. Perspiration made her skin glow.

Thirty seconds later, the nut hadn’t budged.

“I eat lugs like that for breakfast,” he told her.

She glared at him over her shoulder. “Do you mind? I’m trying to concentrate.”

“I could change that for you in a minute flat.”

“No, you couldn’t.”

He grinned at her. “Twenty bucks says I can.”

She turned her back on him and picked up the iron again. And this time, after a breathless, all-or-nothing effort, she actually succeeded in loosening the nut.

He didn’t need to see her face to know she was feeling triumphant—he could read it in the line of her shoulders and the satisfied tilt of her head.

“Very impressive. But you know you have to do it three more times, right?”

“Shut up, Alex.”

Maybe it was the flush of success, but she didn’t have any trouble with the other three lugs. She ignored him
completely as she moved the jack underneath the car and began to crank it up.

But when she was struggling to position the heavy spare over the wheel studs, he decided enough was enough.

“Okay, you’ve made your point. Now let me hold that up for you while you get it aligned.”

She set the spare down for a moment and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand—her first sign of weakness. But when he moved to pick it up she slapped his hand away.

“No,” she said. “I’m not a damsel in distress.”

“I’m not trying to rescue you,” he said in exasperation. “Just let me hold the tire while you fit it over the studs. Teamwork.”

“I can do it myself.”

“Come on, Holly. You’re just being stubborn.”

“I’d rather be…stubborn than…
helpless,
” she panted as she finally managed to get the wheel in position. It only took her a few more minutes to tighten the lugs and lower the jack.

“There,” she said in satisfaction, tossing her tools in the trunk and using an old rag to wipe off her greasy hands. “That wasn’t so hard.”

“Right,” Alex said, shaking his head. “Of course, you’d be halfway home by now if you’d just let me—”

“I can take care of myself, Alex. I don’t need anybody’s help.”

Something else about her that hadn’t changed.

The summer after their graduation, he’d heard that Holly was pregnant. He figured she and Brian would just step up their plans to get married and have the
perfect yuppie life together. But when he found out how wrong he was, that Brian was turning his back on her, something inside him had snapped.

He’d broken Brian’s jaw first. Then he’d gone over to her house and asked Holly to marry him.

It was crazy, of course. A white knight impulse that had hit him out of the blue. There’d been no reason in the world to think she’d say yes, and considering their history of mutual dislike, every reason to think she’d say no.

Still, her scornful refusal had stung.

Just like it did tonight. The stakes had been higher then, but the feeling was the same.

“I know you don’t need my help, Holly. You’ve made that pretty clear. But that doesn’t mean you can’t accept it. What’s so terrible about being rescued once in a while? Why are you so damn stubborn?”

She glared at him. “You’re calling
me
stubborn? I told you I didn’t need any help, but you insisted on staying out here, anyway. Why are
you
so damn stubborn?”

“Uh…guys?” It was Will, standing a few feet away.

How long had he been there? Alex glanced at Holly, who was looking as uncomfortable as he felt, and then back at Will, who was obviously confused by the tense conversation between his mom and his coach.

“So,” Will said after a moment of awkward silence. “I guess you guys weren’t best friends back in the day, huh?”

Holly took a deep breath and let it out again. “Not exactly,” she admitted. “But that was a long time ago, and I’m sure we can keep from arguing every time we see each other now. Can’t we, Alex?” she asked pointedly.

Not in this lifetime.

“Sure we can,” he said out loud.

He glanced back at the restaurant and saw parents and their kids beginning to come out. “Is the party over already?”

“Well, yeah. You guys were out here a long time.”

“It wouldn’t have been so long if—no, I won’t start.” He shook his head. “Good night, Holly. Take it easy driving on that spare, okay? And, Will, I’ll see you in practice next week.”

Lying awake, staring up at the ceiling, Holly kept replaying Alex’s words in her mind. What would it be like, she wondered. To let someone help her. To be rescued.

She hated herself for even asking the question. She’d been strong and independent for so long. The moment she let herself think about some man sweeping in and taking care of her, it would be over. She’d be lost. She’d be giving in to weakness, and it would destroy her.

She knew that. She knew it. And in case she was in any danger of doubting it, all she had to do was remember the day she’d gone to Brian with the news that she was pregnant.

Yes, it was unexpected. Yes, it was years sooner than they’d planned. But Holly had never doubted that Brian would support her, marry her now instead of after law school like they’d talked about. She’d gone to him trustingly, sure he’d take care of her and their unborn child.

It had been a long time since she’d thought about that day but the memory still hurt. The way he shouted at her that she was trying to ruin his life—his career.

He wouldn’t have to quit school, she said. She could work part-time, and his parents might be willing to
help. Her own parents hadn’t taken the news well when she first told them, but they’d come around. And her grandmother would help as much as she could.

All she really wanted was to hear him say he loved her. That everything would be all right. That they’d figure things out together.

“If you go through with this, Holly, you’re on your own. I won’t have anything to do with you or the baby.”

Holly could still remember the pain of that rejection. It had felt like the end of the world.

But it would never happen again. Because that was the last time she’d rely on someone else for any part of her happiness or welfare.

She hadn’t spoken to Brian for four years after that. They seldom spoke now, although he saw Will once in a while. And she rarely spoke to her parents, who ended up kicking her out of the house after she refused to “take care” of the situation. They’d relented a few years later, asking to know their grandson, but Holly herself wasn’t close with them anymore.

After Will was born, her friends had told her she should get a lawyer and sue Brian for child support. But she had refused. She had learned the one lesson that would become the cornerstone of her life: the only person you can trust is yourself. She wouldn’t ask Brian for a damn thing.

Somehow she’d survived, even though she hadn’t let anyone help her that first year or two—not her friends, not even her grandmother. Once she’d proven to herself she could stand on her own feet, she was able to accept her grandmother’s love again, and be grateful for the way she doted on Will. And by that time Gran was nearly eighty and needed her almost as much as Will
did, so Holly didn’t feel as if she was in any danger of losing her hard-won self-reliance.

Except for Will, there was nothing more important to Holly than the independence she’d worked so hard to achieve. That’s why she could never let herself fantasize about some man rescuing her…including Alex McKenna.

Especially
Alex McKenna. He was already too dangerous to her sense of stability.

As maddening as he was, he was also one of the few people who could get past her defenses. He caught her off guard. Made her feel things. Her heart rate picked up whenever he was around.

Holly rolled her shoulders and tried to let go of some of the tension keeping her awake. So what if Alex had come back into her life? So what if he hadn’t lost his uncanny ability to get under her skin, to make her question herself? She’d been doing just fine before he came back to town, and she’d continue to do fine, thank you very much.

She’d avoid him from now on, that was all. She’d go to Will’s games but she’d stay away from Alex, and with any luck, he’d stay away from her, too.

She remembered how hard it had been to change that tire with him standing behind her, his presence making her hands tremble as she struggled to loosen the lugs. Knowing his eyes were on her had made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck.

She shivered now, thinking of those blue eyes. Then she thought of his chest, his shoulders, his smile, and her muscles turned to water. Damn her body, anyway. What kind of primitive programming made her stomach tie itself in knots whenever she saw him?

It didn’t matter, she reminded herself firmly. Because from now on, she was going to stay away from Alex McKenna as if her life—or at least her sanity—depended on it.

I
t would be a lot easier to forget about Alex if Will would stop talking about him day in, day out. How was she supposed to stop thinking about the man when he was her son’s favorite topic of conversation?

The worst part was that the stories Will told made it harder to hate him. Will was a good judge of character, and he was crazy about Alex. Coach has such a great work ethic. Coach has so much integrity. Coach is so tough and smart and funny and—

It was Sunday afternoon, and Holly and Will were eating pizza in front of the TV and watching—big surprise—a football game. During the commercial breaks Will treated her to more rave reviews of Alex the Great.

“Mom, are you listening? Isn’t that amazing? Don’t you think Coach is—”

“Amazing?”

“Well, isn’t he?”

Holly popped a mushroom into her mouth and licked tomato sauce off her fingers. “You bet. He’s a paragon.”

Will folded his arms and frowned at her. “Why do you always do that when I talk about Coach?”

“Do what?”

“The sarcasm. The eye rolling. Did you guys really hate each other that much when you were in high school?”

Holly sighed and leaned back against the sofa cushions. “Yes, we really did. Sorry. It’s just hard for me to see Alex the way you do. When I remember the way he used to be.”

Will looked interested. “So, what was he like back then? When you were teenagers.”

Holly pulled the purple-and-yellow crocheted throw off the back of the couch and tucked it around her knees. Her grandmother had made it, and it always gave her a feeling of security.

“He was…irritating. So are you going to watch this game or what? ’Cause if not, I’m going to put on the financial news.”

“Geez, Mom. If you don’t want to talk about Coach just say so. You don’t have to threaten me with unholy torture.”

That Friday night, Will got to play for most of the second half. He completed seven passes, and Holly was pretty sure she’d never seen him so happy in his entire life.

Of course she also saw Alex, but she was getting used to that. Seeing him down there on the sidelines, fired up and intense, was becoming part of her Friday night routine—just like avoiding him was. But it was worth it to see Will so happy, so confident.

She wasn’t ready to admit it yet, but she was actually starting to enjoy going to the games. She understood them better, for one thing, thanks to constant tutoring from her son. Then there was the crisp autumn air, the excitement of the crowd…and the fact that the Weston Wildcats were kicking butt.

Of course there was still a little too much pummeling for her taste, especially when her only child was on the receiving end of it. But still, all in all, Holly was starting to enjoy Friday nights.

So when a friend started off a sentence one day with, “I know you hate football, but—” she was surprised to hear herself say, “Oh, football’s not so bad.”

Gina looked at her skeptically over her turkey club sandwich. “Since when is football not so bad?”

Holly shrugged as she poured vinaigrette over her salad. “My son’s on his high school team and he’s sort of getting me into it. What were you going to say?”

“Well.” Gina’s eyes sparkled as she leaned over the table. “You know my fiancé?”

Holly raised her eyebrows. “Pretty well, yes. Considering the fact that I’ve worked with Henry for six years and actually introduced the two of you.”

Gina grinned. “Okay, you get all the credit for my future marital bliss. And now I’m going to return the favor.”

Holly took a bite of salad. “Uh-huh. And you’ll be doing this how?”

“By fixing you up with your future husband, of course.”

Holly sighed. “Gina, I love you, but we’ve been through this before. Do you remember the last time you fixed me up with my future husband?”

Gina waved it away. “Mark looked good on paper,
didn’t he? Nice guy, stable job, easy on the eyes. I thought he was perfect for you. And you liked him in the beginning.”

“Sure I did. And he liked me, too—until I cancelled a date one night when Will was sick. That’s when he told me that Will would always come first in my life and I’d probably never get married. He also mentioned something about dying alone.”

“Okay, so he turned out to be a jerk. He couldn’t handle the fact that you’re a single mom. But there are plenty of guys out there who can, and Will’s older now.”

Holly shook her head. “He still comes first. Mark was right about that. The truth is, I’m not looking for anything serious. That doesn’t seem to work out for me. I just want to have a little fun. I haven’t been out with anyone since Mark, and that was three years ago.”

Gina looked surprised. “You want to have fun? I don’t think I’ve heard you use that word before.”

Holly wadded up her napkin and threw it at her. “If you think I’m so boring, why are you friends with me?”

Gina grinned. “Because you do my taxes for free every year. Now let’s get back to your love life. If you want fun, we can do fun. We’ll still go with my plan, only you’ll date Rich instead of marrying him. Can I at least do my sales pitch?”

There would be no peace until she did. “All right, go ahead.”

“He’s really cute. Kind of a receding hairline, and he could stand to work out a little more, but definitely kissable. I happened to meet him because Henry’s been his financial adviser for years, and they’ve gotten to be friends. He’s the Bengals’ play-by-play announcer.”

She actually knew who that was, which meant she
was spending way too much time watching football with Will. “Rich Brennan?”

Gina looked delighted. “See? You’ve even heard of him. This is a match made in heaven.”

Holly pushed her empty salad bowl away and reached for the dessert menu. “I’m a thirty-four-year-old single mother. He’s a sportscaster on TV. Why would he want to go out with me?”

Gina glared at her. “Maybe because you’re wonderful? Not to mention gorgeous? Henry and I ran into Rich the other day, and when he heard we were engaged he started talking about wanting to settle down, how he’s done with the bar scene and playing the field and all that, and how hard it is to meet a nice woman. I told him my best friend is a beautiful redhead and the nicest person I know, and he asked if he could meet you. So what do you say?”

Here was her chance to walk on the wild side—or at least to go out on a date. Hadn’t she been wanting to get out of her rut? And maybe Rich Brennan would turn out to be someone she could think about at night, alone in her bed when the lights were out.

Someone who wasn’t Alex.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

Gina breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m really glad you said that, because I already set it up. The Bengals have a bye week and Rich is free this Saturday. Now we just have to figure out what you’re going to wear, since your own wardrobe is obviously impossible.”

“My wardrobe is not—”

“Yes, it is,” Gina said firmly. “We’ll go shopping after lunch.”

Holly sighed. “Fine. Now, can we talk about some
thing important? Do you want to split the cheesecake or the chocolate truffle thing?”

It was Saturday night, and Alex was having a good time. The bar was hopping, and with the bye week most of his former teammates were there. Some of the Bengals cheerleaders were there, too, and he did a healthy amount of flirting. It was great to be back in Cincinnati for a night, great to hang out with the guys.

He also enjoyed listening to the girls commenting on the other patrons of the bar, including a well-known sportscaster who’d just picked up a karaoke mike to sing “Climb Every Mountain” from
The Sound of Music.

“And, omigod, check out his date! He sure rebounded from Cherry in a hurry. Why does Rich always go for redheads? And where did he find this one? She’s really pretty.”

Alex glanced over at the table they were pointing at and nearly fell off his chair.

It was Holly Stanton.

What was she doing, laughing and clapping as Rich Brennan belted out a Julie Andrews song with alcohol-induced abandon?

“There’s someone over there I’ve got to say hello to,” he told the girls.

Alex made his way through the crowd toward Holly’s table. She was sitting with her back to him, giggling at Rich’s performance on the karaoke stage, and Alex wondered how much she’d had to drink. He’d never heard Holly giggle before.

He tapped her on the shoulder and she twisted around to see who it was. Her hair was loose tonight and
it hung down her back in a rippling waterfall, framing her face in coppery waves.

“Alex!” she cried, rising to her feet and throwing her arms around him as if he were a long lost friend. For a few dizzying seconds she stayed like that, her slender curves pressed against him and her perfume surrounding him—something delicate, like roses—before she took a step back, swaying slightly.

His heart was pounding from the unexpected contact.

“Alex, Alex, Alex.” She looked up at him solemnly, her lips parted. “I was thinking about you before, but now I can’t remember why.”

A curvy brunette came from the direction of the restroom. “Holly, who is this gorgeous man?”

Holly gestured with a flourish. “Gina, this is Alex. Alex, this is Gina. Gina’s getting married soon,” she said as a dark-haired man at their table tugged Gina down onto his lap. Gina planted a kiss on his forehead.

“That’s Gina’s fiancé,” Holly said helpfully. “His name is Henry.”

“Nice to meet you, Gina and Henry,” Alex said before turning back to Holly. “So, how much have you had to drink tonight?”

“Not nearly enough,” a familiar voice announced, and there was Rich, a guy Alex had known casually for years and had always liked. He slung a heavy arm around Holly’s slender shoulders, and Alex found himself liking him less. “I’ll know she’s had enough when she lets me undo this button, and maybe a couple more. It’s been driving me crazy all night.”

He fiddled with the button in question, and Alex’s jaw tightened. Holly smacked his hand away but she didn’t seem very serious about it.

“It’s nice to see you again, Alex,” Rich said, holding out a hand. His other arm was still around Holly’s shoulders. “What have you been doing with yourself since you left the league?”

“Coaching,” Alex said, taking his hand briefly.

“Join us for a drink?”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Alex answered, taking a chair next to Holly after she sat down.

“So,” he asked casually. “Are you two…dating?”

Rich was taking a long swig of beer, and it was Holly who answered him. “We met for the first time tonight. Gina fixed us up,” she added, which made him think less kindly of Gina.

“It’s about time Holly went out on a date,” Gina said. “She’s been living like a nun.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Alex asked, glancing at the woman in question. “If Holly wants to live like a nun, you shouldn’t try to talk her out of it. There’s nothing wrong with celibacy.”

She was wearing a pair of jeans that hugged her hips, and a black cashmere sweater that was, thankfully, buttoned up to her neck. The curve of her breasts beneath the soft material was incredibly enticing, and if she’d been any other woman he would have sympathized with Rich’s urge to undo a few of those buttons. But this wasn’t just any woman, it was Holly. And he’d rather see her in full-body armor than with Rich drooling all over her.

Rich laughed loudly. “I know you’re not speaking from personal experience. You’re a great guy, Alex, but you’re not exactly a shining example of the celibate lifestyle. I bet if we survey the crowd here tonight, we’ll find at least twenty women who’ve been through Alex
McKenna’s revolving door.” He rose clumsily to his feet. “Now if you folks will pardon me, I’ve got to visit the little boy’s room.”

It was hard to believe he’d ever liked Rich Brennan.

Holly had picked up an empty beer bottle and was fiddling with the label, peeling it away from the glass. “You were like that in high school, too,” she said. “A different girl every week.”

“Were you ever one of those girls?” Gina asked, leaning back against her fiancé.

Holly looked horrified, and Alex winced.

“Of course not,” she said. “We don’t even get along. It’s his fault,” she added. “He’s very annoying.”

“Hey!” Her comment stung more than it should, even though he knew she’d had a few drinks. “I’m sitting right here. And I’m not the annoying one.”

“Yes, you are,” she said, twisting the label around her fingers. “You said I should be a nun.
That’s
annoying.”

Gina was no longer paying attention to them, distracted by something Henry was whispering in her ear.

“Okay, I take it back,” Alex said, moving his chair closer to hers. “I don’t think you should be a nun. So…how’s the date with Rich going?”

Holly was tearing the label into pieces now, working methodically, a little crease between her brows. “All right, I guess,” she said.

“Just all right?”

She bit her lip. “I don’t…feel the way I thought I’d feel. The way I want to feel.”

His heart skipped a beat, which probably made him a very bad person. He shouldn’t be happy that Holly’s date was a dud. “How do you want to feel?”

The label was in tiny silver pieces on the table. Holly
propped her chin on her hand as she thought about the question. “I don’t know. I guess I was hoping for…magic.”

Magic, he thought, remembering how his body had reacted when Holly had hugged him. “What would that feel like?”

She glanced at him. “Why are we talking like this? Like we’re friends or something? We don’t even like each other.”

“Alcohol,” he explained. “It’s the great equalizer.”

She considered that. “I’ve had three shots of tequila and two beers. When I stand up, the room kind of swoops.” She blinked. “You know, it’s possible that I’m drunk.”

He held back a smile. “So what would magic feel like?”

She looked down at the table. “Well…goose bumps. Shivers. Your heart beating faster, your knees feeling weak. But I think I’m expecting too much.”

She looked so vulnerable as she said that, her expression a little embarrassed, her cheeks turning pink. He wanted to tilt her chin up so she was looking right at him, he wanted to lean in close and—