Straddling the Line(13)

"Yeah, yeah. Love you."

"Love you, too."

Haven felt wrapped up in all the affection between Trevor and Zane. As  they walked to the car, she looked over at him. He had a small smile on  his face.

They got in the car and drove off, and she made several mental observations.

"So, what did you think?" he asked as he pulled onto the highway.

"I think you really love your brother."

He cocked a brow. "And that surprises you?"

"I don't know. It shouldn't, I suppose, but I never pictured you with  family before. And then you were so adamant about them not being  mentioned, so I didn't expect this open affection between you and Zane."

"My issue isn't with Zane. Or with my mother."

He was in such a good mood, she didn't want to delve into his father-a  topic that would obviously ruin that mood. "Zane's a great guy. Very  smart."

Trevor visibly relaxed. "Yeah, he is. Much smarter than me."

"Why do you say that? Just because he chose medical school and you chose  sports? That doesn't make someone smarter. That's just a different  career choice."

"Trust me, he's a lot smarter."

She decided not to debate the issue with him.

"But I can kick his ass in sports."

She laughed. "Ever the competitor, aren't you?"

He slid a smile in her direction. "Always and forever."





SEVEN




AFTER SUNDAY'S GAME-WHICH THE RIVERS WON, thankfully, after losing that  tough, close game on Saturday-Haven and Trevor went back to the house to  change and get ready for the party at Alicia's.

"Do we need to bring a gift?" she asked after she'd showered and found  Trevor waiting for her downstairs in the living area. She'd decided on a  dress, something casual, along with heels, since it was going to be an  evening event.         

     



 

He didn't answer right away, and she took a moment to admire him. So far  he'd dressed pretty casually at the house, wearing either workout pants  or shorts, depending on the weather. Tonight he had on dark jeans and a  Henley. His dark hair was getting a little long, and the ends brushed  the collar. Her fingers itched to wind their way into the thickness of  his hair, to brush his hair back from his forehead.

She intensely avoided that urge and brought her focus back to his face, noticing he was staring at her.

"What? Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing? Too casual?"

"Uh, no. That dress is perfect. And, damn, Haven, you have spectacular legs."

She smiled at the compliment. It wasn't like she'd never heard that  before. She'd dated-casually-since college. Had a few boyfriends, one  serious relationship that she and the guy had ended mutually when he'd  gone off in one direction and she in another, and she hadn't been broken  up about it.

That had been a while ago-before things with her dad had gotten bad and  she'd put all her energy and time into seeing to his welfare. She hadn't  thought about men a lot in the past year and a half.

Now?

Well, now there was Trevor, and she sure as hell wasn't going to have a  relationship with him, but she definitely enjoyed the way he looked at  her. Probably because he'd never even noticed her in college.

He was noticing her now, and she liked it. There was nothing wrong with that, right?

"Thank you."

"And, no. Alicia said no gifts. It's just a party, a little get-together  for each of them and their friends. They have a new house that they  bought and they want to show it off, just relax a little before the big  day. At least that's the way Alicia described it."

Haven nodded. "Sounds fun."

"Great. Let's go."

They got in the car and Trevor drove to another beautiful neighborhood,  located only about twenty minutes from his place. Alicia and Garrett's  house was a gorgeous brown-and-white two-story in a new subdivision,  with a large front yard containing incredible landscaping. They stepped  up onto the wide, welcoming front porch and rang the bell.

Alicia was right there to open the door. She looked so pretty wearing a  sleeveless white dress that clung to her curves. She smiled when she saw  them.

"I'm so glad you're here. Come on in and make yourselves at home."

They stepped in, and Haven marveled at the expansive foyer, the high  ceilings, and the amazing décor. It had a modern, contemporary feel to  it, yet very warm and comfortable.

"Your house is beautiful."

Alicia grinned as she walked them through. "Thank you. We spent some  time building the place. I have to admit, I had a lot of fun choosing  everything. It's like every woman's dream come true to pick out flooring  and wall colors and furnishings."

"I can imagine what fun that was," Haven said.

She led them into the living area. "Drinks are in the kitchen. Help  yourself. There's also plenty of food in there as well as in the dining  room. Feel free to wander and check out the house. Garrett's . . .  somewhere around here. I have no idea where."

"We'll find him," Trevor said. "Don't worry about us. And thanks for the invite."

"You're welcome. And if you need anything at all, come find me."

"We will," Haven said.

After Alicia wandered away to see to her other guests-and there were a lot of them-Haven turned to Trevor. "Beautiful house."

"Yeah. The Rileys always have to have a big place."

"Really. Why's that?"

"Big family. There's Alicia and her brother Cole, and then the  cousins-Gavin, his brother Mick, and his sister Jenna-and all their  spouses and the parents and the kids."

"Really. That does sound like a big family."

"All the guys play sports, too," he said as he led her into the kitchen.  Someone was bartending, so Trevor turned to Haven. "What would you  like?"

"I'll just have a club soda with lime."

"Beer for me," Trevor said to the guy at the bar, who fixed their drinks and handed them over.

"All the guys in the Riley family play sports?"

"Yeah. Gavin and Garrett, of course, play baseball. Mick and Cole are football. Jenna's husband, Tyler, plays hockey."

Haven tried to take that all in. "Um, wow. That's a big, sports-minded family."

"It is. And the Riley family has a sports bar, too."

She laughed. "Of course they do."         

     



 

"Jenna used to manage the sports bar, but she's a singer and has a club catering to musicians."

"Oh, really? I'd love to hear her sing sometime."

He led her to an open spot in the living room where they could take a seat. "Maybe I'll take you sometime."

She sat, pondering a family like the Rileys. "Now there's a family in  dire need of having a feature story. An entire family of jocks. What a  story that could be."

"And you're just the person to do it."

"I could. It would be an amazing piece. All those sports? What it must  have been like growing up in that family, and to have all the guys end  up playing professionally. Even Jenna ends up marrying a professional  hockey player. And Alicia is engaged to a baseball player. What are the  odds of that happening?"

Trevor took a long pull of his beer, then shook his head. "No idea. But hey, you have to work on me first."

She patted his knee. "Believe me, you're going to take up enough of my  time. But I'm filing the Rileys away for later. I'm definitely going to  revisit the topic."

"The Rileys are an interesting topic for any day. We're never dull, that's for sure."

Gavin took a seat next to them.

"Hey, Gavin," Trevor said.

"Hi, Gavin. Trevor was just telling me about your family-everyone who  plays sports. It's pretty amazing to have a family like yours."

Gavin sprouted a grin. "On most days it is. But there's a lot of ego, too."

"You are not talking about me, are you?"

A beautiful redhead sat beside Gavin.

"This is my wife, Elizabeth. Liz, this is Haven Briscoe. She's with Trevor tonight."

Liz held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Haven."

"You, too, Liz."

"Liz is in the business, too," Gavin said. "She's a sports agent."

And the wheels in Haven's head continued to turn. "Seriously?"

Liz smiled. "Seriously. Why?"

"I was telling her about the ties all the Rileys have to sports," Trevor explained.

Liz nodded. "Ah. Mind-boggling, isn't it?"

"Just a little."

"I used to represent both Mick and Gavin. But of course, I don't now  that Gavin and I are married. I still represent Tyler and Cole, though.  And I'd like to get Trevor to come over as well."

Gavin put an arm around her. "You are still on maternity leave. No shop talk."

Haven smiled. "I heard you had a baby. Congratulations."

Liz grinned. "Thank you, yes, in August. A little girl named Genevieve.  She's upstairs sleeping right now. I'm not at the point yet where I'm  ready to leave her with a sitter. Plus, I'm still breast-feeding."

"Yeah, on that note, I'm off to get another beer," Trevor said, making a hasty exit.