“You look too young to have a kid who’s going to be fifteen.”
“Thank you. You’re now my favorite person in the whole world.”
Gavin winked. “I need to head out. Got a few things to do before tonight. See you at the bar later?”
“Yeah,” Mick said. “Thanks, Gavin.”
“Anytime. Thanks for coming to the game.”
“WHO’S THE CHICKLET? ANOTHER MOVIE STAR?”
Mick laughed and leaned over the bar to press a kiss on his sister’s cheek. “Not at all. She’s an event planner, not an actress, not a model.”
Jenna gasped. “You mean she’s a normal, everyday person like you and me? Well, like me. You’re a bona fide stud and star. I’m the nobody of the family.”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re the star of Riley’s, pumpkin.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I always dreamed of being when I was a little girl.”
“Well, with those tattoos and ear piercings, I’m thinking rock star, but since you haven’t yet stood in line for American Idol, I have no idea what you’re dreaming of.”
She tapped her finger on his nose and winked at him. “I’m just totally fulfilled being the head bartender at my family’s restaurant.”
He snorted. “Yeah, I’ll bet.”
Jenna was gorgeous, and she really did look like a rock star with her short black hair spiked up all over the place and dyed at the ends with—purple, he supposed. She had a wild array of tattoos on various parts of her body and probably other parts that as a brother he just flat-out didn’t want to know about. Her left ear was pierced within an inch of its life, and she had a tiny little diamond pierced at the side of her nose that even he thought was kind of cute. But he really had no idea what Jenna was about or what she wanted out of life, since she seemed content enough to run the bar at Riley’s. Then again, at twenty-three, maybe she just hadn’t figured it out yet.
“And she has a kid, too?”
Mick’s gaze traveled to where Tara and Nathan hung out with his dad over at the video games.
“Yeah. Nathan is fourteen. Almost fifteen.”
“Ready-made family. How utterly unlike you, Mick. What’s up with that?”
He leaned against the bar. “I have no idea.”
“So, will I like her?”
He turned to Jenna. “Yeah. I think you will.”
TARA HAD ALREADY HAD A WONDERFUL DAY, AND SO HAD Nathan. Mick’s brother was amazing. They looked very similar, though Gavin was more slender and his eyes were an emerald green like Kathleen’s.
Nathan had been in heaven after the game and the tour, and getting the jersey was the icing on the cake. And now the bar tonight.
She didn’t know what she had expected when she’d been told the Rileys had a family bar, but it wasn’t this. Riley’s was an incredible upscale sports bar and restaurant.
Tara thought she was going to be tense tonight, but so far it was going well, even if she had lost sight of Mick. But at least Nathan was in heaven. He was in an actual bar, for one thing, and it was noisy and atmospheric. There were vintage video games like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, and he and Mick’s dad had bonded in a major way. Nathan having no grandparents had been something Tara regretted, but there was nothing she could do about that. She’d cut off all contact with her parents long ago, and not a thing had changed between her and them after all these years, so there was no point in exposing Nathan to their style of parenting. Or lack thereof.
Being around Kathleen and Jimmy was good for Nathan. They were warm and nurturing, and Nathan naturally gravitated toward an older couple that offered unconditional love with no expectations.
“You going to hide against this pillar all night?”
She lifted her gaze to Mick. “Just making sure Nathan is settled.”
“My mom and dad will see he’s taken care of. And if not them, I have a lot of uncles and aunts and cousins you haven’t even met yet. Once Nathan’s introduced to them, the kid won’t stand a chance of being alone for even a second. He’ll be watched like a hawk. My mother will make sure of it, since he’s a minor in their bar.”
She believed him. She pushed off the wooden pillar to face him. “You have a big family?”
“Just my brother and sister, but yeah, lots of extended family. You’ll meet a bunch of them tonight.”
She looked around the bar, which was already filling up with people waving to and hugging each other. Riley’s was warm and inviting, with polished wood floors and paneling, tables and booths set up near all the TVs—and there sure were a lot of those spread throughout the place—as well as a couple pool tables and video games and a very long bar where a stunning young woman was pouring beer.
“Is that Jenna?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“She’s beautiful.”
“She is, but don’t tell her that. She already has an overinflated ego.”
Mick took her hand and led her to the bar, where Jenna was setting up glasses and pouring drafts of beer.
“Jenna, this is Tara.”
Jenna leaned across the bar and held out her hand, her smile genuine. “Nice to meet you, Tara. Welcome to the insanity that is Riley’s Bar and the Riley family.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Jenna. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“No, but thanks for offering. You’re obviously nicer than my brother.”
“Hey, you don’t offer to play football for me.”
Jenna snorted. “I could probably throw better than you.”
Mick arched a brow. “Is that a challenge?”
“Maybe. You know I’ve got an arm.”
“In your dreams, pumpkin.”
“Wuss. You’re just afraid I’ll show you up because I’m a star with the long pass and you’re an old man now.”
“You and me. Backyard. Tomorrow.”
Jenna grinned and nodded. “You’re on. Now go away so I can get some work done. Tara, great meeting you.”
“You, too, Jenna. I’ll be there to see you kick his butt.”
Jenna looked up at Mick. “Oh, I like this woman.”
Mick flicked his gaze to Tara. “I can’t believe you’d root against me.”
Tara shrugged. “Girl power, you know.”
Mick laughed and put his arm around her.
“So where’s the birthday boy?”
“He’ll stroll in late as usual so he can make an entrance. He likes to be the center of attention. Middle child syndrome, I think.”
While Jenna went off to serve some drinks, Tara looked to Mick. “You and Gavin seem to get along well.”
“Heh. You should have seen us when we were kids. There was no getting along then. We competed over everything, from sports to toys to attention from our parents.”
“Some boys outgrow that.”
He grinned at her. “Some do.”
“And what about your sister? She must have had it hard having two big brothers. Were you overprotective of her?”
He shook his head. “She never gave us a chance. She just tossed herself in the pile and mixed it up with the two of us. Or tried to, anyway. The girl has no fear.”
“Obviously, if she can handle herself with the two of you, she can probably handle anything.”
“Yeah, we never had to worry about her taking care of herself.”
Over the next hour or so, Tara was introduced to Mick’s aunts and uncles and cousins and more people than she could ever possibly remember. The good thing was, there were some kids around Nathan’s age, so Mick made a point of introducing him to them. They seemed to hit it off, and Tara breathed a sigh of relief that he wouldn’t be the only teenager here tonight.
At the moment he was sitting at a table with a group of about six kids ranging in age from twelve to seventeen, all of them shoveling food into their mouths, drinking soda, and laughing. God, she loved seeing her son smile and laugh. It was all too rare these days.
“He’s fine. Quit worrying.”
“I’m not worrying at all. I’m ... blissful, I guess is the word.” She turned to Mick. “You have an amazing family. Thank you for this weekend.”
He cupped her cheeks and brought her face to his. “You’re welcome. Thanks for coming with me.”
He brushed his lips across hers, and Tara breathed in his scent, wishing she could do more than lightly kiss him. While this weekend had been fun and she’d loved meeting his family, they hadn’t had more than a few seconds of alone time. She missed that, craved having time to do more than hold hands and steal a few short kisses.
When he pulled back, she saw the heat flare in his eyes and knew he thought the same thing.
“We’re going to need to steal an hour in a closet or the basement or something.”
She laughed. “I’d be down with that.”
“And if I keep thinking all the dirty thoughts I’m thinking about you, I’m going to get a hard-on in front of my entire family.”
She batted her lashes at him. “I’m not making you think those thoughts.”
“You don’t have to do anything but look at me like you want to eat me. Or f**k me.”
Tara shuddered an inhale, lightly pressing her fingertips against his chest and leaned in to whisper to him. “Stop talking like that. You’re making me wet.”
Mick looked around the room, then back at her. “I have an idea. How about we—”
“Well, I finally get to meet this mystery woman you’ve been spending all your time with.”
“Elizabeth.”
Tara spun around to face one stunningly beautiful woman. She wore a black suit that fit her perfect curves. Her red hair was pulled up in a French twist, her nails manicured, and the shoes she wore were not at all knockoff, but designer, with killer heels made to show off her dyn**ite legs. Tara might be a woman, but she could appreciate another beautiful woman, and Elizabeth was sex on stilettos. And she was a sports agent? Good Lord, those poor owners never stood a chance once they locked onto her ice blue eyes.
“Hi, sweetie,” she said to Tara, holding out a creamy hand. “I’m Elizabeth Darnell, Mick’s agent.”
Warning bells went off in Tara’s head right off the bat. From the scrutinizing look in Elizabeth’s eyes, she could tell the woman didn’t like her. She plastered on a professional smile and shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Miss Darnell.”
“Oh, call me Liz. All the women in Mick’s life do.”
Zing. Clearly she wanted Tara to know that she was one in a string of many women Mick was f**king. “How nice.”
“Why are you here, Liz?” Mick asked.
For some reason Tara was pleased that Mick didn’t seem happy. And she was doubly pleased when he slipped his arm around her waist and tugged her next to his side, a movement that made Liz narrow her eyes.
“I had some paperwork I needed Gavin to sign, and he insisted I attend his birthday party tonight.”
“Insisted, did he? You and Gavin being so close?”
Liz threw her head back and laughed. “Why, we’re practically married, didn’t you know?”
“Elizabeth, no man wants to be married to you. You’d eat him for breakfast.”
“Mick, why would you say that? Someday I hope to settle down and raise two point two children as is expected of my gender.”
Mick snorted. “No. Can’t picture it, sorry. You love your career and all the money all your clients make you. Can’t see you giving that up for any man. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you dating any man. You don’t have time for love in your life, Liz. You’re too busy chasing money and success and trying to beat the big boys you compete with.”
Liz laughed. “You’re probably right. What would I do with a man other than slap a contract in his hand and hope to God he could do something with a ball or drive a race car, right?”
Tara caught a flash of something in Elizabeth’s eyes, but just as quickly it was gone. It might have been regret or sadness, but she didn’t know the woman all that well, so she couldn’t be sure.
Liz turned back to Tara. “So, I hear you have a little boy?”
“Teenager, actually. Nathan. He’s over there in the Saint Louis jersey hanging out with Mick’s cousins.”
“Oh, I see. Well, you must have started when you were young.”
“Yes, I did, as a matter of fact. I was pregnant at fifteen.”
Elizabeth arched a perfect brow. “Are you from a ... rural area?”
“Liz, Jesus. That’s enough.”
“No. From a fairly large city, actually.”
Elizabeth waited, no doubt thinking Tara was going to spill her guts about her background. Wrong. It was time she told Mick about it, though.
“Hey there, gorgeous. Glad you came by.”
Gavin spun Liz around, and Tara’s jaw could have dropped at the way Elizabeth’s face changed. The haughty, holier-than-thou cemented expression disappeared and the icy chill in the air melted. The woman even sported a genuine smile. She looked about sixteen years old when she smiled at Gavin. Her eyes just melted.
Holy cow.
“Hi, there, handsome. Happy birthday.” She did maintain distance and gave him what Tara would consider a professional hug, but Gavin pulled her into his arms, put his lips on her, and gave her a kiss that wasn’t at all professional. When she pushed back, her cheeks were flushed. She licked her lips. And she couldn’t quite tear her gaze away from Gavin’s face.