Free The Comeback by Abby Gaines Page A

in years. Yet again, he wondered if it was a wise idea having the boys here while he met Amber Blake, Julie-Anne’s daughter, for the first time.
    Julie-Anne was desperate for the meeting to go well, which put Brady on edge. She’d insisted Amber would feel less threatened if she was in a big group, rather than one-on-one.
    Threatened. Brady cursed under his breath. He wanted to like his stepdaughter, he really did. But she sounded neurotic. She’d better not try to come between him and Julie-Anne.
    Yet she already had. Julie-Anne had insisted on going to the airport alone yesterday to greet her daughter. Not unreasonable—except mother and daughter had spent the night at Julie-Anne’s cottage in Charlotte. It was the first night Brady and Julie-Anne had spent apart since they married.
    He’d missed his wife.
    And Julie-Anne had missed Amber the past few years, more than most people knew. Brady sighed. He needed to be the better guy about this.
    “Dad, we’ll be on our best behavior,” Zack promised, unusually cooperative.
    Brady snorted. “With you, that means you’ll either ignore her or you’ll blow up at her.”
    Dammit, he always said the wrong thing to Zack. Sure enough, his middle son’s eyes hardened, his chin jutted. Brady braced himself for an argument he didn’t need right now. Sometimes he thought life was easier when Zack wasn’t talking to the family.
    Gaby, Zack’s PR rep, put a hand on Zack’s arm. He glared down at her, but it seemed to distract him from retaliating.
    Brady let out a relieved breath. He hadn’t realized Zack was dating his PR rep—the boy was secretive—but if she managed to curb his moodiness, Brady was all in favor.
    The crunch of tires on the gravel driveway alerted him. “They’re here.”
    He hurried onto the porch. Amber got out of the car, and he was relieved to see she looked a lot like Julie-Anne, with her long dark hair and curvy figure. If she was like her mother personality-wise, this wouldn’t be so bad.
    Julie-Anne planted a quick kiss on Brady’s mouth; as always, he wanted more. “Darling, this is Amber,” she said.
    Brady shook the girl’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Awkwardly, he leaned in and kissed her cheek.
    She stiffened a bit, then smiled. “You, too, Brady.”
    “I, uh, I got you something.” He reached over to the porch swing and handed her a large, white teddy bear holding a Welcome to Charlotte sign.
    Right away, he knew it was a bad choice. Sure, she thanked him, but he could see from her raised, then quickly lowered, eyebrows that she thought he was crazy buying her a stuffed animal.
    “Libby, the receptionist at the race team, it was her idea,” he explained hurriedly.
    Behind him, Trent groaned. “Dad, everyone knows Libby has a stuffed animal fetish. Most grown women don’t want a teddy bear.”
    Brady felt heat at the back of his neck.
    “It’s sweet,” Amber insisted. “It really is.”
    “Hi, I’m Trent.” Trent stepped forward and shook her hand, which at least took the pressure off Brady for a minute.
    He and Amber had talked on the phone a couple of times, but it didn’t seem to make this any easier. Not when Julie-Anne was hovering anxiously, worried he might offend the girl.
    He cleared his throat. “Come inside and meet the other boys.”
    Thankfully, his sons managed to dredge up impeccable manners from somewhere, and Brady started to breathe easier.
    “Are you pleased to be home?” Zack asked Amber.
    She glanced around the spacious, high-ceilinged living room. “Charlotte hasn’t been my home in a long time.” Obviously realizing how ungracious she sounded, she blushed. “But I’m pleased to see Mom again.”
    “Not half as thrilled as I am to see you, honey.” Julie-Anne put an arm around her daughter. Amber didn’t exactly melt into her mother’s touch. Julie-Anne was right, Brady thought—her daughter was still holding on to some resentment.
    As Julie-Anne served the meal, a