Free The Tempting Mrs. Reilly by Maureen Child Page B

voice got a little loud, he winced and hunched his shoulders as a woman at the table next to them gave him a quick look. “Damn it, Liam, Tina has nothing to do with this bet.”
    â€œI’m not talking about the stupid bet, Brian,” his brother said softly, as if only the two of them were at the table. “I’m talking about you letting Tina walk out of your life.”
    â€œThat’s over and done,” he murmured, refusing to look at any of his brothers. Instead, he stared at the label on his beer bottle and picked at the edges of it with a thumbnail.
    â€œIs it really?” Liam said on a sigh. “I wonder. If it were really over, wouldn’t you feel safe going home?”
    Brian snapped him a look then swept his gaze over Connor and Aidan who were both doing their damnedest to look invisible.
    Scowling at his sudden discomfort, Brian reached for his wallet, pulled out a bill and tossed it onto the table. Then standing up, he looked down at his brothers, but focused solely on Liam. “I’m trying to stay away from Tina for her sake, if you’ve just really gotta know what I’m doing.”
    â€œOkay,” Liam said nodding. “I’ll buy that, if you can.”
    â€œWhat’s that supposed to mean?”
    â€œI think you know, Brian. You just don’t want to admit it.”
    â€œI don’t remember asking for advice, Father, ” Brian pointed out, feeling his temper spike.
    â€œYou’re right,” Liam said and he smiled again, even wider this time, as if to prove to both of themthat Brian’s temper didn’t worry him. “But consider this a freebie.” He leaned forward, forearms on the table and stared steadily into Brian’s eyes. “You’re not avoiding Tina for her sake, Brian. You’re doing it for your own. You’re hiding from her because you don’t want to admit that you never should have let her go.”
    â€œBullsh—”
    â€œAh,” Liam said grinning, “fascinating, well-thought-out argument.”
    Brian huffed out a breath, dug in his pockets for his car keys, then glared at the booth full of Reillys. “You guys are making me even more nuts than Tina!”
    He stomped off, and after a second or two, Aidan held up one hand toward the waitress and silently ordered another round of beers for the table. Then he glanced first at Connor, then at Liam. “Brian’s a dead man,” he said, smiling.
    â€œOh, yeah,” Connor said, “a goner.”
    â€œI’ll drink to that,” Liam said and lifted his beer. “A toast. To Brian. May Tina make him suffer before taking him back.”
    â€œAmen.”
    â€œOoh-rah.”
    Â 
    Tina sat on the edge of the bathtub in the tiny bathroom, dressed only in a towel and reminded herself that this was what she’d come home for. Sinceshe’d first hit town, Tina had started off every day the very same way—taking her temperature. And every day, she’d waited, wondering if this was the optimum day for conception or not. Then every day, she’d faced a mixture of disappointment mingled with relief.
    Until today.
    She pulled in a deep breath and let it slide from her lungs in a slow rush. Nerves twisted in the pit of her stomach, but she resolutely squashed them. Her temperature was right. Her eggs were ready. The time was now. If she was going to do this, she’d never have a better day than today.
    And if she was a little nervous about the romantic ambush she’d been forced to plan, well, that was Brian’s fault. He’d been sneaking into his apartment and sneaking out again in the mornings, avoiding her at all costs. “So what other choice did I have?” she asked, more to hear the sound of her own voice in the stillness of the apartment than anything else.
    She crossed her legs, uncrossed them, then crossed them again in the other direction. Her stomach twisted and pitched