I leaned over to pat his shoulder. “I taught him everything he knows.”
Josie gave a melancholy sigh. “I always wished I could have a little brother.”
Liam’s hand found my thigh under the table and he squeezed. An image of a little boy with Liam’s blond hair flashed through my mind and my breath caught.
Where in the hell had that come from?
Thankfully conversation moved away from the greatest hits of my embarrassing youth as Jay started telling stories about thevarious teams he’d played for over the years. I had no idea he’d moved around so much.
“That can’t have been easy,” I said.
He shrugged. “Let’s just say I’m hoping to settle down here for a good long while.” He stiffened, looking over at Andy as if he’d suddenly remembered that he was technically his boss. “I mean, uh, if things work out that is.”
Andy reached for his water, seemingly unconcerned. “We made you an alternate captain for a reason,” he said. “You have a lot of experience and that makes you valuable.”
I could tell the compliment caught Jay off guard. He cleared his throat before saying, “I’ll do my best.”
“What about my daddy?” Josie asked. “Why did you make him captain? He only ever played for one other team.”
“Your dad and I played hockey together in high school,” Andy said, the corner of his mouth tilting up. “He was our team captain.”
“Yeah, and you never listened to a word I said,” Liam muttered. Andy’s lips tilted another degree.
“I know first-hand how bossy he can be,” Andy continued. “Figured that would come in handy. Plus, most of the guys on the team are pretty young, and your dad is really getting up there in years.”
Even my tension over the situation couldn’t stop the grin from spreading over my face at the delighted expression Josie wore hearing my brother tease her dad.
“We’re the same age, doofus,” Liam muttered, but there was no real heat to it. I knew that he too was pleased by the clearly happy look on his daughter’s face—even if it did come at his own expense.
He squeezed my thigh under the table again and this time he didn’t remove his hand. I squirmed in my seat, both wishinghe’d take his hand away and that he would slide it just a little bit higher.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Andy’s sharp gaze on my face and I straightened, determined not to be the one to give us away with my reaction to Liam’s stupid body. Once Andy had redirected his attention back to Jay, who was telling the table a story about his and Liam’s college team, I smacked Liam’s hand under the table.
He only squeezed tighter, a smirk tugging up the corners of his mouth.
“Relax,” he muttered into my ear. “The only thing that looks suspicious right now is how tense you obviously are.”
I took a deep breath, trying to relax my admittedly hunched up shoulders. Liam was right—there was no reason to get so worked up. It was no secret to my brother that Liam and I had been friends in high school or that I’d been close with his parents as well. It only made sense that I would join them for a dinner out when they came to town. That didn’t mean he was going to be able to guess that I had banged his team captain in his downstairs powder room less than forty-eight hours ago.
Gah. Do not think about the bathroom.
I did my best to follow the conversation and even managed to contribute a little bit. Josie seemed absolutely fascinated by my brother, and I had plenty of good stories to pay him back for embarrassing me earlier. The O’Conners were as warm and sweet as ever, and Jay seemed like the type of guy who was easygoing enough to smooth over any situation.
Liam’s hand remained firm on my leg throughout the meal, but I didn’t let that get to me. Much.
We lingered over dessert until Josie’s eyes became heavy. The next time our waiter came by, Liam raised his free hand. “I’ll take the check when you have a minute.” He ruffled Josie’s hair.“This little lady seems about ready to faceplate into her brownie sundae.”
“I’m not tired, Daddy,” she argued, then let out a huge yawn. “Well, notthattired.”
We all chuckled, even the waiter. “The check’s already been taken care of,” he murmured to Liam, whose eyes flashed to my brother. I knew he was thinking the same thing I was—Andy must have paid the bill when he went to the bathroom earlier.
My brother held up a hand as if to stave off any potential argument about paying. “I’m afraid I need to head home to get ready for that call,” he said, standing. As he buttoned his suit jacket, he turned to the O’Conners. “It was great catching up with you all. Thank you for inviting me.” His tone was pleasant enough but I could see that his mask was back on. There just weren’t that many people in life who my brother was able—or willing—to trust.
“Andrew, it was lovely to see you,” Mrs. O’Conner, said, moving to stand. He waved her off.
“Please, don’t get up. Enjoy your dessert. Hopefully I’ll see you all again before the end of the season.” He nodded towards Jay and Liam. “Nice goals tonight, boys.” Then his eyes landed on me. “Walk me out, Ace?”
My stomach clenched with nerves. Liam gave my leg a final, encouraging squeeze before I stood to join my brother.
