High Stakes Read online

  Alisa could care less about his money. The look on his face when she’d walked out on him still haunted her. “I don’t care about that, Lena. He’s a good guy, a really good guy, and I think I hurt him, a lot.” She closed her eyes and tipped her head back. “I wish he’d never sat down beside me on that flight yesterday.”

  Lena closed the laptop and looked at her a long time before asking, “Is that really how you feel?”

  “No… Yes… I don’t know.” She drew her legs up, wrapping her arms around them. “He’s incredible. I’ve never met anyone like him—”

  The door flew open and Trey stood in the doorway, scowling at her. “You wanna tell me what the hell you were thinkin’, girl?”

  Lena jumped up. “I think I’ll give you two a little privacy.” She tugged on Trey’s sleeve as she walked past him. “Go easy on her. She’s not feelin’ too well.”

  Trey had unofficially adopted Lena when she was just a teenager, and he was the only father figure she’d ever known. They loved and respected each other immensely, but Alisa knew not even her friend could save her from her father’s wrath.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” he muttered, waiting for Lena to leave before he closed the door behind her. He stared at his daughter as he braced his hands on his hips. “Okay, I’m waitin’. Let’s hear it.”

  She couldn’t tell him she loved Liam, that would be absurd, but she wouldn’t pretend he meant nothing to her, and she wouldn’t indulge her father by admitting that she’d already told her new husband that she intended to file for divorce. “I’d say congratulations are in order, Daddy.” She winked, trying to lighten the mood. Like that was possible. “You could’ve done a lot worse, as far as son-in-laws go.”

  “He’s twenty years older than you.”

  She tried to avoid squirming in her seat. “Technically, he’s only nineteen years older.” She cleared her throat. “Closer to eighteen, really, since I have a birthday coming up soon.” Of course, she didn’t know when Liam would turn forty-five, but she didn’t think it would help her case to admit as much to Trey.

  “He has a teenage daughter. Did you know that?”

  “Of course I knew about Abby. He showed me a picture of her. She’s lovely, don’t you think?”

  Trey dropped down in the swivel chair and stared at her a long time before he said, “I can’t tell you how disappointed I am in you right now. I thought you were finally gettin’ back on the right track, but to marry a guy you don’t even know…” He raked his hands through his hair. “There’s no excuse for that.”

  Alisa blinked back the tears. She hated disappointing her father, but this was her life, and whether she chose to stay married to Liam or not had to be her choice, not Trey’s. “I’m sorry you feel that way. In spite of what you think, I didn’t do this to hurt you or Mom. I love you guys, but I have to live my own life.”

  Trey leaned forward, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “Why are you so hell-bent on ruinin’ your life?”

  “I’m not.” She brushed aside the tear sliding down her cheek. “That’s not what this is about.”

  “Does it have somethin’ to do with Nick? Were you trying to pay him back for cheatin’ on you?”

  “No!” She knew that’s what people would think, but it wasn’t fair to Liam to allow people to assume he was her rebound guy. “What I feel for Liam is nothing like what I felt for Nick. I know I can trust him not to cheat on me. No matter where he is, no matter how many beautiful women proposition him, I know he’ll be faithful to me.”

  Trey rolled his eyes. “How the hell can you know that? You don’t even know this guy.”

  “I don’t know. How does Mom know you’re not screwin’ around on her when you’re out on the road?”

  Trey glared at her as he raised a finger in warning. “Watch your mouth, young lady. I would never disrespect your mama that way, and she knows it. That’s not to say we didn’t go through some tough times before you were born, but she’s the love of my life. Everyone who knows me knows how I feel about her.”

  Alisa knew that was true, and she admired her parents’ marriage and the trials they’d gone through to find their way back to each other, but it hurt that her father assumed a man couldn’t feel about her the way he felt about Sierra. “You don’t know anything about Liam.”

  “You’re right, but I sure as hell am gonna find out.” Trey stood up. “Now.”

  Alisa bounded off the couch too quickly and her pounding head reminded her she needed to slow down. “What’re you gonna do?”

  “I’m going to pay my new son-in-law a little visit.”

  “No, you can’t do that!” She grabbed his arm. “Please, Daddy, just let me figure this out for myself.”

  “Sorry, sugar, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

  Liam drew a deep breath before he fit the key into the lock at his house. He didn’t want to have this conversation with his daughter over the phone. He needed to see her so he could reassure her that his marriage to Alisa wasn’t going to change their relationship. Abby had been the center of his universe since the day she was born, and he needed her to know that nothing and no one had the power to change that.

  Not surprisingly, she was sprawled out on the couch in the great room talking on the phone when he walked in. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but when he realized his marriage was the topic of conversation, he couldn’t resist the urge to listen.

  “No, I’m serious. Don’t know her, never even heard him mention her name.” Abby laughed. “Yeah, I saw her pic online. He has good taste in women; gotta give him that, right? Yeah, I know she’s young, but so what? Missy Handlon’s old man married her nanny!” She laughed. “I know, right?”

  Liam flinched before he cleared his throat to draw her attention.

  She had the grace to blush at being caught as she bit her lip. “Uh, Steph, I’m gonna have to call you back. My dad just walked in. Yeah okay, later.”

  Liam claimed the chair across from the sofa as she turned to face him. “Where is Mrs. Foster?”

  “She just had to run out to the grocery store. She said she’d be back in a bit.”

  “Good, that’ll give us a chance to talk about…” He looked his daughter in the eye. She looked so much like him—same dark hair and eyes, sun-kissed skin, and the same formidable personality. “Obviously you’ve heard.”

  She set the phone down on the coffee table. “Yeah, I’ve heard. So, what’s the deal?”

  He covered his mouth with his hands as he tried to figure out how to explain to his daughter what he didn’t even understand himself. His feelings for Alisa didn’t make sense, but that didn’t make them any less real. “I care for her a great deal.”

  “Well, duh…” she said, grinning. “You wouldn’t have married her if you didn’t. So, how long have you guys been seein’ each other on the sly?”

  This was going to be the difficult part to explain. Of course, he could lie and tell her they’d been seeing each other for months, but he wouldn’t. He demanded the truth from her, and he taught her to expect no less from him. “I just met her yesterday.”

  She threw her head back and laughed. “Good one, Dad.”

  “I’m serious.”

  Abby gave him a sidelong glance, as though she was trying to read his expression. “Wait a minute, you married a woman the same day you met her?”

  “I know I’m not setting a very good example, honey, and I’m sorry about that… but I acted on impulse when I asked Alisa to marry me. I wasn’t thinking about the consequences. I just knew I wanted to be with her.” He’d always treated his daughter like a mature, intelligent person capable of thinking for herself, so he wasn’t about to start sugarcoating things to try and protect her now.

  “And you never thought about dating her, getting to know her, before you put a ring on her finger?” She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Dad, but this is just so out there. It’s not like you to act first and ask questions later. Hell, you’re so anal about everything
.”

  He smirked at his daughter’s accurate assessment. She’d always been mature beyond her years, and he respected that about her. “You’re right. I can’t deny this is out of character for me, but it feels so right. Being with her…” He didn’t finish his thought. There was no need. He had no doubt she could read the expression on his face.

  “Does she feel the same way about you? I mean, she must if she was willing to marry you, right?” She scowled when he didn’t respond right away. “She’d better not be a gold-digger. Is she? Now that she’s got a ring on her finger, is she makin’ noise about you buyin’ her stuff and…” The color drained from her face. “Oh God, Dad, you didn’t…”

  He knew Abby understood about prenuptial agreements. It was impossible to live in their world of private schools, trust funds, and divorce without having heard of them and how important they were. “I didn’t ask her to sign a prenup, baby, but that doesn’t mean you have anything to worry about. Alisa doesn’t want my money, and even if she did, I’d do whatever I had to… to protect you and what’s rightfully yours—”

  She held her hand up. “Stop! I don’t care about the money. I care about you.” She walked over and sat on the ornate wood table in front of him. “Is this girl gonna hurt you, or what?”

  He lowered his head. He couldn’t look his daughter in the eye and lie to her. “I don’t know. She could, if she walks away without giving us a chance.”

  “Is that what she’s gonna do?” She reached for his hand when he didn’t respond right away. “Answer me. Is that what she’s gonna do?”

  “I don’t know yet.” He brought her hand, so small and fragile, to his lips. “It’s too soon to tell.”

  “Well, you can’t let her do that.” She smiled. “You’re Liam-freakin’-Bryson. You get what you want, when you want it.” She nudged his knee with hers. “If anyone knows that, it’s me, right?”

  He smiled for the first time since Alisa walked out on him. No matter how dire things in his life seemed, his daughter was always able to make him smile because he knew no matter how bad things got, he always had her. “And don’t you forget it.”

  “Like you’d ever let me,” she muttered. “Look, I don’t want you to be alone, Dad. I kept hoping you’d find someone, but you haven’t, until now. If this woman is the one you want to be with, you need to fight for her.”

  “I intend to,” he said quietly with more conviction than he’d felt in the hours since he let her leave.

  “I’m gonna be going off to college in a few years, and I hate thinking of you in this big house all by yourself.” She reached in to hug him. “I love you. I just want you to be happy.”

  He placed a hand on either side of her head. “How did I get so lucky?” He kissed her forehead. “You’re the best damn kid…” He cursed the moisture pooling in his eyes.

  “You made me who I am.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Since his daughter clearly didn’t want him moping around the house, Liam decided to go in to the office. He had a mountain of work to wade through, but he was too tempted by the lure of the phone at his side to get anything done. He just wanted to hear her voice, to know that she was thinking about him, too. He picked it up, but his brother threw the door open before he had a chance to dial.

  “I thought you were in Barbados.”

  “I had to come home when I realized my brother was going through one hell of a midlife crisis.” Matt walked to the minibar in the corner of Liam’s office suite. “You want one?” he asked, holding up a bottle of scotch.

  “No, thanks.”

  “Okay, tell me everything,” he said, turning to face him. “When, where, how, and for the love of God… why?”

  “You know I met her yesterday on the plane. I told you when we talked on the phone she was… special. What I feel for her is unlike anything I’ve ever felt for anyone. I want to be with her.” It was the first time in years, maybe ever, that he’d wanted to spend time with a woman. His thoughts kept drifting to her when he should be working, wondering where she was, what she was doing, who she was with, whether she was thinking about him.

  Matt thrust a hand into the pocket of his tailored dress pants. “Okay, so she’s gonna move here?”

  “We haven’t gotten that far yet. We’re still trying to figure out where to go from here.” If Liam received those divorce papers she’d promised, he didn’t know how he’d respond. He told both Alisa and his daughter that he intended to fight for his marriage, but he couldn’t force her to feel something she didn’t.

  “What does that mean?” Matt narrowed his eyes as he looked at him. “Is she having second thoughts about marrying you?”

  “You could say that.” Liam’s pride made it difficult to acknowledge the truth, but he’d always been a straight shooter. Besides, he knew his younger brother would see right through him if he tried to evade the question.

  “Damn it, if you’d just had her sign a prenup, you wouldn’t be leaving yourself open to this kind of risk. If she’s only after your money…”

  “I can assure you, she’s not,” said an unfamiliar voice with a distinctly southern drawl.

  Liam looked up to see Trey Turner crowding his doorway. Shit. He knew he’d have to face Alisa’s father sooner or later, but he didn’t expect the man to fly four hours to confront him in person. When she said her father kept her on a tight leash, she wasn’t kidding.

  Liam stood and walked around his desk. He braced for the impact of the left hook he was half-expecting. When it didn’t come, he offered his hand instead. “Sir, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Trey just glared at the hand he offered. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Listen,” Matt said to Trey, “if you’ve got a problem, you need to take it up with your daughter.”

  Trey turned his anger on him. “Who the hell are you?”

  “His brother.”

  “Get out,” Trey said, moving farther into the room.

  Liam tried to remind himself that this man was his father-in-law now, and if he and Alisa had a prayer of making this marriage work, he couldn’t afford to piss him off, but he wasn’t used to anyone else issuing orders in his territory.

  Matt took a step toward Trey. “Who the hell do you think you are, telling me to get out of my brother’s office? I’ll leave when—”

  “I tell you to.” Liam shot his brother a warning look. “Leave, now.”

  Matt glanced at Trey over his shoulder. “Fine, but call me later. I’ll schedule a conference call with your lawyers so we can figure out how the hell to get you out of this mess without it costing you a small fortune.”

  “Out!” Liam shouted, pointing toward the door. He took a deep breath before turning back to Trey. “Can I get you a drink?”

  “I’m a recovering alcoholic, smart-ass.”

  “Does that mean you can’t have water or a soft drink, either?”

  Liam reclaimed the chair behind his massive, hand-carved, walnut desk. If Trey Turner thought he was going to storm into his domain and rattle him, he was deluding himself. He’d made a habit of taking on the biggest, toughest, meanest men in business and he always came out on top. This would be no exception. If Trey forced him into a corner, he would have no choice but to come out fighting. For Alisa’s sake, he hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

  “The only thing I want from you is answers.” Trey braced his fists on the desk and leaned in, getting in Liam’s face. “You took advantage of my little girl after she’d had too much to drink. You really thought you were gonna get away with that, boy?”

  Liam smirked as he crossed his legs and plucked a speck of lint off his designer pants. “I haven’t been a boy in twenty-five years, Trey.” He laced his hands behind his head and tilted his chair back. “You’re used to people jumping when you beckon. Well, guess what; so am I.”

  “You arrogant son of a bitch.”

  “Not arrogant, just honest.” He looked Trey in the eye. “You want the truth, you’re
gonna get it. I’m crazy about your daughter.”

  Trey started pacing the floor of the expansive office with the million-dollar view of the city. “How the hell do you know how you feel about her? You just met her.”

  “I’m a pretty decisive guy. I’ve had to be to succeed in this business. Sometimes I have to make split-second decisions that could cost me millions of dollars. That’s what I did last night with Alisa. I made an impulsive decision, but I don’t regret it.” He watched Trey work off some of his excess energy. He almost felt sorry for him. If, in ten years, Abby did what Alisa did, he’d be doing exactly what Trey was now: demanding answers.

  Liam leaned over his desk. “Look, Trey, I get where you’re coming from. I have a daughter myself, and if she pulls a stunt like this someday, I’ll probably hunt the guy down, too.”

  Trey turned toward him and threw his hands up in the air. “What the hell am I supposed to do about this? I know she’s a grown woman, so I legally can’t stop her from marryin’ anyone she damn well pleases, but y’all can’t expect me to stand by and do nothin’ while she marries some guy she just met.” Trey sank down in one of the guest chairs on the opposite side of the desk. “Look, you may be a good guy for all I know, I haven’t heard anything to the contrary, but this is my baby girl we’re talkin’ about. My only child. I can’t just stand by and watch another guy do a number on her.”

  “I understand how you feel. I do. I’d wanna kill any guy who hurt my daughter, but you gotta believe me when I tell you I’m nothin’ like that dirtbag who cheated on her.”

  Trey looked at him a long time before he asked, “She told you about that, huh?”

  “Yeah, she did.”

  He heaved a sigh. “Damn near killed me to see her goin’ through that and know I couldn’t do a thing to help her. I swore I’d never let her get caught up in a mess like that again. I told my wife, from now on, I wanna know everything there is to know about every guy she’s datin’.” He frowned. “’Course you kinda robbed me of that chance, now, didn’t ya?”