Free The Tempting Mrs. Reilly by Maureen Child Page A

him. “What?”
    Aidan sneered at him and jutted his elbow intoLiam’s side for emphasis. “D’ya hear that?” he demanded. “He’s not even willing to admit to us that Tina’s getting to him.”
    â€œShe’s not,” Brian lied and didn’t even feel guilty for it. What was between he and Tina wasn’t anyone’s business. Not even his brothers.
    â€œRight,” Connor said from beside him and reached for a tortilla chip out of the basket in the center of the table. “You’re just avoiding going home because you hate the dogs.”
    â€œI do,” Brian reminded him.
    â€œUh-huh,” Liam put in, “but they’ve never kept you away from home.”
    â€œFine.” He threw both hands up in mock surrender, then reached for his beer. Taking a long swig, he swallowed, then said, “You guys win. Tina’s making me nuts. Happy now?”
    While his brothers grinned and nodded knowingly, Brian shifted his gaze to the crowd dotting the tables at the Lighthouse. Always, there were families. Kids, of all ages, parents, grandparents. He’d never really paid attention to them before, and maybe that was because it hurt too much to see happy families when his own marriage had ended.
    But for some reason, the last few days, all Brian had been noticing were families. His friends and their kids. Military wives driving into Parris Island to hit the Commissary for groceries. And he couldn’thelp wondering if he and Tina would have had kids by now if he hadn’t insisted on a divorce. But following that thought, he wondered if he hadn’t saved them both a lot of heartache by ending things when he had.
    What if they had had kids, and then divorced? How much harder would everything be? And how unfair to children, torn between two parents.
    His gaze fastened on a little girl, no more than two or three. She had dark, curly hair and big brown eyes and looked just as he imagined a daughter of his and Tina’s would have looked. She was beautiful, he thought, just a little wistfully. And if a ping of regret sounded in his heart, then he was the only one who would know it.
    â€œI don’t know about the rest of you,” Aidan said, snagging a chip for himself, “but I’m real happy to hear it.”
    â€œOh, me, too,” Connor put in. “Good to know I’m not the only one suffering here.”
    â€œYou guys are lightweights,” Liam said with a sly smile.
    â€œHey,” Connor argued, “you’ve had a few years to deal with this whole, ‘no women’ thing. We’re new to it, thank God.”
    â€œAnd not long for it,” Aidan remarked, pointing his beer at Brian. “At least, one of us isn’t.”
    Brian bristled. Sure, things were tougher than he’dthought and damn, he’d come close to losing the bet—and himself—in Tina the other night. But he’d stayed strong. Stayed dedicated.
    Stayed frustrated.
    â€œDon’t worry about me, boys,” he said tightly. “I’m doing fine.”
    â€œRight. That’s why you’re here with us instead of at home.”
    Brian ignored Connor and looked at his older brother. “You enjoying this, Liam?”
    â€œI am,” he said and cradled his bottle of beer between his palms. Slanting a look at Brian, he said, “You know, maybe there’s a reason Tina’s in town right now.”
    â€œSure. It’s fate, huh?” Brian said with a snort.
    â€œWould it be so surprising?”
    â€œYeah, it would. I don’t believe in fate,” Brian said flatly. “We make our own decisions.”
    Aidan and Connor exchanged a glance and a shrug, then kept quiet and listened.
    â€œAnd if you make the wrong decisions?” Liam asked.
    â€œThen you pay for them.”
    â€œLike you’re paying now?” Liam mused.
    â€œWho says I’m paying?” Brian argued and when his