He joined his siblings in front of the television, but as the next half hour passed with no company and no phone call or explanation, anger burned in his gut.
He walked into the living room and looked over the city, seeing the view of Miami that usually brought him peace. Not today.
“Hey.”
He turned to see Avery coming up beside him. “Hi,” she said, pulling him in for a hug.
“Hi, yourself.” He kissed her forehead.
“I’m sure they’ll be here soon,” she said.
She’d always been the most naïve of them all, and he loved her for her innate goodness.
“I don’t know. Maybe they wanted to make a point, and they did. They want nothing to do with me.” How better to be obvious than to stand him up in front of his siblings?
She shook her head. “It’s not like Sienna to just not show.”
“Did you talk to her?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I was so excited she’d said yes when Olivia invited her, I called to talk. But she didn’t get back to me. Which isn’t like her.”
“Alex,” he muttered.
“What about him?” Avery asked.
Ian let out a rough exhale, thinking about his half brother and his feelings about Ian being with Riley. “He’s not too happy with me right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if he were behind everyone’s no-show.”
“Give it time. Alex isn’t a bad person, Ian. He just—”
“I don’t want to hear it,” he bit out, cutting her off. Whatever justification she was going to make for how Alex hadn’t had it easy either, Ian didn’t want to know.
Avery nodded, looking up at him with sad eyes.
“I don’t mean to take it out on you,” he said. “Go hang with everyone. I’ll be in soon.”
“Just remember, you always have us.” She hugged him again.
Because she was the youngest, he often forgot to take her seriously enough, but she was his sweet sister, and she had a big heart.
“Thanks.” He squeezed her hand, and as she headed back to the family room to join their sister and brothers, he turned to the windows once more.
As more time passed, it became clear they weren’t coming. The more Ian thought about it, the more he was sure Alex was responsible for his half siblings’ rejections. The son of a bitch was pissed about Ian’s relationship with Riley, and he was making his feelings known in the most conspicuous way possible. Although what Alex had to resent Ian for was beyond him.
As clear as day, he remembered the days after he’d found out about his father’s
other
family. Ian had taken a friend’s car his father wouldn’t recognize and driven the two hours out of his hometown, wanting to see for himself. And sure enough, there was the father who had no time for Ian and his siblings, playing football on the front lawn with his other son.
With the memory vivid in Ian’s mind, embarrassment and frustration rose larger inside him. Embarrassment that he’d gone to such extremes, ordering in an expensive menu, and opening his home, as well as himself, to Sienna, Alex, and Jason, only to be humiliated in front of the people he loved the most.
And if it wasn’t enough that they all weren’t here, where the hell was Riley? He’d made it clear he wanted her here. Thank God he hadn’t outright told her he needed her to hold his hand through this damned thing or he’d feel even worse.
Once again, when a choice had to be made, Ian had lost out to his half brother.
* * *
Once home from dinner, Riley couldn’t stop wondering how things had gone with Ian and Alex. She decided to check in with her friend, hoping he’d give her good news about how he and his half brother had made inroads in their relationship.
She dialed his cell, and Alex answered on the first ring. “Hey, Ri!”
She heard his teammates in the background and frowned. “Where are you?”
“Had some of the guys over.”
“After you came home from Ian’s?” she asked.
He laughed hard. “Are you kidding? Why the hell would I go over there? He screwed you—literally.”
She cringed. “You’re wasted.”
“You could be too if you’d come party with us,” he said.
She closed her eyes and groaned. For a man who stepped up when she needed him, he could also be such an overgrown child. The result of his big contract and the fact that his parents hadn’t been all that strict.
“You waited years for an opening with your half brother,” she said, trying to reason with Alex. “Why wouldn’t you meet him halfway?”
“Be right back!” he called out to his friends.
She assumed he was going somewhere quiet, because the noise level surrounding him died down.
“Because I don’t trust his motives. I don’t trust him with you. What if he’s using you to piss me off?”
She winced at the implication behind his words. “Flattering. Very flattering.”
“You know what I mean! He doesn’t deserve you. And the fact is, I don’t fucking trust him, period.”
Riley glanced heavenward. “You can’t begin to know whether you can trust him until you get to know him. If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for me.”
Heavy silence followed, which meant, at the very least, he was listening.
“Don’t know if I can do it, Ri.”
Pain twisted her heart.
Although she hadn’t known Ian long, she wasn’t finished getting to know him. She didn’t want to be. But she didn’t want to lose Alex either. She couldn’t imagine her life without him in it.
“How did the night go for your sisters?” she asked, hoping that at least Ian had made progress with the females on Alex’s side of the family.
His answer sounded muffled.
“Say that again?” she asked, hoping she’d misheard.
“They didn’t go to Ian’s either,” Alex said, sounding more subdued than earlier. Maybe because he’d heard in her voice how much this subject meant to her.
Riley shook her head, her throat full. She couldn’t bring herself to ask Alex if he’d told his sisters not to go to Ian’s either. She didn’t want to know, didn’t need another reason to be disappointed in him.
“Call me in the morning when you’re sober,” she said, unable to stay on the phone any longer.
“Riley, come on. Don’t put him between us.”
She shook her head. “You’re the one doing that. Not me. Night, Alex.” She hung up, her emotions veering all over the map.
From anger and disappointment at her best friend, to genuine worry about how Ian had handled their rejection. She’d promised herself she’d keep her distance, but knowing he’d extended himself to his
other
family, in a sense for her, she had to see him. To know if he was okay.
* * *
Riley drove to Ian’s and left her car with the valet then approached the man sitting behind the desk to give her name. She wished she could go right up without him announcing her beforehand, but if she wanted to see Ian, she had no choice but to let him call ahead and get his permission.
“Riley Taylor to see Ian Dare,” she said to the older, uniformed man.
He typed in her name. “You’re on his list, Ms. Taylor. Go right up.”
She narrowed her gaze, taken off guard, until she realized Ian had probably added her because he’d invited her to his family gathering. And she hadn’t shown up either. Of course she’d counted on Alex and his attitude to provide the explanation for her—never thinking he wouldn’t come and get his sisters to go along with him.
When the elevator let her off inside Ian’s apartment, he was waiting for her, arms folded across his chest.
“A little late for the party, aren’t you?” he asked in a sarcastic voice.
“I can explain.”
“Don’t bother,” he told her.
“Ian!” a horrified female yelled at him.
Olivia, Riley thought, recognizing the other woman’s voice. She should have realized Ian wouldn’t be alone.
Olivia strode into the room from the direction of the kitchen. “Hi, Riley,” she said, subdued.
“Who’s here?” another woman asked from the other room.
“Come here, Avery. I want to introduce you to someone. Drag Scott and Tyler with you,” Olivia called back.
“This is a waste of time,” Ian said. “Riley’s not staying.”
Olivia scowled at him.
“What’s up?” A younger version of Olivia joined them, equally as attractive.
“Riley, this is our sister, Avery.”
Riley smiled at the other woman.
“Nice to meet you!” she said in return.
“Av, I think it’s time we all get going.” Olivia gave both Riley and Ian a pointed stare.
“Do I look like I’m leaving?” a tall, gorgeous man with dark hair strode in, raising his burger in his hand. “I’m just getting started.”
“Take it to go,” Avery said, obviously having picked up on her sister’s meaning.
Riley appreciated the girls’ attempts to give her and Ian some privacy.
Ignoring his sisters’ request to leave, the taller brother stepped closer to Riley.
“What’s up?” another man asked. He carried a beer.
Avery and Olivia let out a joint sigh.
If Riley weren’t so upset, she’d laugh at the dynamics between these siblings. She only wished she had a close family like this.
“These two Neanderthals are our brothers, Scott and Tyler,” Olivia said.
Riley studied them. Although they resembled Ian, they each had more playful qualities that were evident immediately by the twinkle in their gazes and the warmth in their faces. Ian at his most relaxed always looked tightly wound. His siblings had dark hair, but their eyes were bluer, and each was drop-dead good-looking. Damn, their parents made gorgeous kids, she thought.
“Nice to meet you,” Riley said to them.
“Sorry to say hi and run,” Olivia said, nudging one of her brothers in the ribs.
“Hi, Riley. I’m Tyler,” he said, ignoring his sister. “And it’s always nice to meet one of my brother’s—”
“Shut up, Ty,” Ian warned in a tone that Riley had never heard from him before.
Scott grinned, unfazed by his brother’s anger. “I told you he was serious about this one.”
Riley’s gaze shot to Ian, whose expression remained passive and expressionless, at odds with the strain in every word he spoke.
“I’m sorry, but all my brothers can be such asses,” Avery said. “It’s nice to meet you, Riley. I just wish it was under more fun circumstances.”
“I feel the same way,” Riley murmured, liking this sister as well.
Ty walked up to Riley with a swagger that reminded her more of Alex than Ian. “I wish I’d met you first,” he said with a charming grin.
Ian’s growl told Riley he didn’t like the attention his brother paid her even if he was still upset with her.
“Even if we’d have met first, I still think Ian’s more my type.”
Tyler let out a loud laugh, as did Scott.
“I like her,” Scott called over his shoulder to Ian.
Riley managed a smile despite Ian’s continued glare.
“Come on, guys. I’ll make you doggie bags,” Avery said to her brothers.
Olivia chatted with Riley while Ian bored holes into her with his hurt gaze. Her stomach churned at the thought of being alone with him, but if nothing else, she wanted the chance to explain.
A few minutes later, the sisters shepherded the grumbling men, packed-up burgers with them, out of Ian’s apartment.
Before getting into the elevator with her siblings, Olivia paused by Riley’s side. “He’s hurting,” she said softly.
“I didn’t know they wouldn’t show up.” Riley spoke equally quietly.
Olivia studied her face. “I want to believe you—because I think you’re the only one who can get through to him.”
“What do you mean? You’re all so close.”
The other woman frowned.
“If you’re going, then go,” Ian said before Olivia could reply.
Olivia leaned in closer. “If you hurt my brother, I’m going to have to fire you, and that means we’ll lose a damned good assistant.”
“Is that my new title?” Riley asked, joking out loud when, deep down, she appreciated the other woman’s protective nature. In fact, it reminded her of how she and Alex took care of each other.
Olivia laughed. “Actually your new title might be Assistant Travel Secretary, but we’ll talk on Monday. Good luck here,” she said, sobering, before she turned and walked into the elevator.
Riley waited until the doors shut behind them before turning to face Ian.
Alone.
He didn’t look at her, and his rejection stung.
“Why are you here?” he asked.
She swallowed hard. “To explain why I didn’t come earlier. I knew if I were here, I would only be a point of contention between you and Alex, so I stayed home. I thought if you got a chance to know each other, it would be easier for us to be together.”
“But it didn’t happen, did it?” he asked bitterly.
She’d had it with his attitude. She strode over to him, getting into his personal space. “I didn’t know Alex wouldn’t show,” she said, her voice rising with her frustration.
He gritted his teeth. “I all but begged you to come today.”
“I told you I’d talk to Alex, and I did. He was upset and distrustful. I thought things would go more smoothly if I wasn’t here.”
“You thought wrong.”
She reached out and placed her hand on his arm. Her palm burned on contact. She wanted to get through to him. She needed him to understand.
“Ian, please.”
When he didn’t crack, she glanced away, her gaze falling on the mirror on the nearby wall. She saw herself, hand on his arm, pleading with him to forgive her for something she hadn’t done intentionally. Suddenly the sight transformed, replaced in her mind by her mother on her knees, begging her father to forgive her for some minor transgression that wasn’t worth the anger or emotion invested.
It always ended the same way. He’d backhand her hard, sending her sprawling—into the wall, onto the floor.
Nausea and panic swamped Riley, and she ripped her hand away from his arm. “You know what? Screw you, Ian.” She took another step back, tremors shaking her body. “You obviously don’t want me here, and I sure as hell don’t need to beg you for anything.”
She beat a hasty retreat for the elevator, pressing on the button over and over, willing the car to come faster. “Come on, come on,” she muttered, unwilling to look over her shoulder at the man behind her.