Game On by Cheryl Douglas Read Free Book Online Page B

and you’re like the daughter my mama would have gladly traded me for.”
    “Liar.” She slapped his leg. “But I will miss
your parents.” She looked up at him, her eyes shining. “Tell them I love them,
okay? Tell them I’m sorry things had to turn out this way.”
    “You could tell them yourself. Just because
Evan’s not a part of your life anymore doesn’t mean we can’t be.”
    “I think it’s best if we keep our distance
for a while. It’ll just make it harder to move on if I stay in touch with his
family.”
    “You’re sure this is what you want?” he
asked, kissing the top of her head.
    “Of course it’s not what I want. I want
things to be the way they used to be when I mattered to him. But since that’s
not gonna happen, this is the way it has to be.”

Chapter Five
    Ryan knew his brother was at the office.
He’d seen his car parked in his reserved spot near the main doors. He was
dreading this conversation, but if he could help Evan and Erika find their way
back to each other, he had to try.
    Evan slammed the phone down and glared at
him. “I was just tryin’ to call you. Where the hell have you been? We have a
meetin’ with a client in half an hour, and he’s thinkin’ about jumpin’ ship. We
need to strategize.”
    “I just came from seein’ Erika.”
    “You did? What did she say?” He propped his
elbows on the desk and dropped his head into his hands. “I’ve been tryin’ to
call her for hours. She won’t take my calls. Just tell me what she said.” In a
rare moment of weakness, he said, “Please tell me it’s not too late.”
    Ryan sat down across from him and folded
his hands in front of him. “It will be if you don’t make some changes.”
    He sighed. “If you’re talkin’ about my
workload-”
    “You were right about that Jeff guy. He
wants her.” Ryan knew that bit of information would get his brother’s attention
faster than another lecture about finding a healthy balance in his life.
    “She didn’t… they’re not…” He rubbed his
eyes with the heels of his hands. “I can’t even say it. I can’t even think
about her bein ’with someone else, Ry. She’s mine .”
    “Not anymore she’s not.” Ryan knew it was
harsh, but subtlety had never been the best approach with Evan. Sometimes he
needed a shot between the eyes, and lucky for him, Ryan didn’t mind being the
one to deliver the blow, when need be. “If you don’t do something, fast, that
dude’s gonna take advantage of the fact she’s still reelin’ from your break-up,
and he’s gonna find a way to get her into bed. We both know if that happens, it
really will be over for you two.”
    Evan fisted his hands on his desk. “If he
so much as lays a hand on her, I’ll kill him.”
    “That’s just it, man. You can’t do shit.
She’s not your girlfriend anymore, remember?”
    “You think I need you to remind me of that?”
He swallowed as though the words were stuck in his throat. “I rolled over this
mornin’ to an empty bed. I walked into a half-empty closet where her clothes
belong. Jesus…” he said, lacing his hands behind his head. “I can’t do this. I
don’t know how to do this without her. That woman is everything to me.”
    Ryan thought of his relationship with
Brianna. That’s exactly how he would have described her. She was the first
person he called to share good news or commiserate about a lousy day. He
couldn’t lose that. Even if it meant keeping his feelings for her to himself so
they could go on being friends. It beat the alternative. Not having her in his
life at all was unimaginable.
    “She’s my best friend.”
    Ryan was surprised to hear his brother
echoing his own thoughts and it took a minute for him to realize that he was
talking about Erika. “I know.”
    “No, you don’t know,” he said quietly. “You
can’t possibly know what it’s like to lose the person who makes your life worth
livin’.”
    “Don’t say shit like that.” Aside