Up by Five (29 page)

They filed in as the Divas came from the bedroom.

Everyone started talking at once.

“Ricky is really excited to meet you,” Michael said. “He tweeted about it—and you—specifically.”

“Which dress is more distracting?” Isabelle asked, holding up the pink and the black to the men.

“Pizza will be about thirty-five minutes,” Shane announced.

Gabby loved him best at the moment.

“Who wants a beer?” Cody asked, holding up the twelve-pack he’d carried in.

Gabby changed her mind to loving
him
best.

“Then Ricky checked up on you,” Michael went on as if there weren’t six other people talking. “He tweeted that article about you from the paper. From the big car accident on the interstate a few months ago. The one with the picture of you carrying that little boy and girl.”

Gabby groaned as Cody handed her a beer. She’d gotten so much attention from that article. She understood that it was a great story. Gabby had coached the kid and his sister how to hold their hands on their mother’s abdominal wound while the firefighters worked to get into the car. Their efforts had saved their mother’s life. But the photo and quotes from the kids was an over-the-top attempt to sell papers, in her opinion. An attempt that had expanded to the local news stations and eventually Facebook, where it spread like crazy.

“His tweet was something about getting to play poker with a hot kick-ass girl and how he was a little intimidated but that he couldn’t wait.”

Gabby glanced at Olivia who just grinned and mouthed
kick-ass
.

Everyone moved toward the couches and love seat in the living area. Nate grabbed two chairs from the dining room table and Shannon and Michael settled on the floor.

They were all still talking.

“I don’t think Gabby should take Mac with her,” Isabelle was saying.

“Yeah, Ricky’s got this crush on Gabby. She should milk that. Get him to let his guard down, distract him a little,” Emma said.

Shane was shaking his head. “She can’t go all alone.”

“We’ll be there,” Emma said, pointing to her and Nate. “Nate’s invited.”

“So are we,” Michael said. “Ricky loves me for tweeting him about Gabby.”

“But I still feel like she needs someone really
with
her,” Shane said. “A boyfriend is perfect.”

“Explain to me why Conner’s not going with her?” Michael asked.

Everyone looked at one another, then over at Gabby.

She sighed and took another drink of her beer.

She didn’t want to involve him. This wasn’t his problem. But mostly she wasn’t going to ask him to go to the poker game with her because…he wasn’t here with all of them.

She was shocked that it hurt so much. She hadn’t even known
they
were all going to be here. How could she be disappointed that he wasn’t? Especially when
she’d
left
him
.

They’d argued, she’d more or less told him to butt out, and…he had.

That wasn’t like Conner.

That was what hurt.

His sisters had told him to butt out numerous times, but he hadn’t listened. His friends had told him to mind his own business—especially when they were seducing and falling in love with his sisters—but he hadn’t listened.
She’d
told him not to worry about her after her apartment fire, but he hadn’t listened.

But now maybe he really was tired of it all. Maybe it had sunk in that she came with some baggage. Maybe he had realized he was glad to have his space back, now that her stuff was out of his apartment. Maybe common sense had returned, now that the boobs he’d finally realized were under her uniform were out of sight.

He had his girl-free zone back.

Maybe he’d missed that more than he would miss her. “It’s Gabby’s decision,” Olivia finally said. “And I agree with Shane. I think Mac needs to be there.”

“Okay, Mac will go. But he has to hang back some of the time and give her a chance to flirt,” Emma said. “She’ll have to stroke Ricky’s ego. Maybe even make him think that she and Mac are on the verge of a breakup.” Her face lit up as she plotted. “Oh, I’ve got it. Michael, you can tip him off that she’s wanting to break up with Mac. That would be another distraction for Ricky—he’ll be watching Mac and gauging how things are between Gabby and him, maybe worrying about showing Mac up.”

“I can do that,” Michael agreed.

The plotting and planning continued around her until the pizza delivery showed up.

And after.

Long after.

The plotting turned to teaching. Michael, the computer genius, had pulled information about every player attending the party.

Part of poker was the cards and luck, part of poker was having nerves of steel, and part of poker was reading your opponent.

The more she knew about each of the other players, the better chance she had of figuring them out.

The group grilled her until she knew several bits of trivial information about each player, knew her and Mac’s backstory, knew enough about Ricky Donovan to write his biography, and knew which dress and heels she’d be wearing.

She also knew that she would trust Shane to order pizza anytime, but that she’d stay away from Cody’s beer in the future.

She looked around the room at the people gathered and it suddenly hit her.

None of these people were people she would have called friends yesterday. Conner, Ryan and Sierra weren’t here. None of the others worked with her or were related to her. In fact, she wouldn’t know any of them if it weren’t for Ryan and Conner.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked.

The group stopped talking and looked at her.

“What do you mean?” Emma asked.

“Why are you all here doing this? We’re not coworkers or friends or family.” Yeah, so she’d had three of Cody’s crappy beers and it was making her blunt.

“Because you’re important to Conner,” Olivia said with a shrug.

“And Ryan,” Shane added.

“And you’re doing it for your brother,” Isabelle added. “We understand family.”

“And for me there’s the added bonus of seeing that cocky asshole, Ricky Donovan, get his butt beat in poker by a girl,” Michael said.

Shannon elbowed him. “It’s important that she’s a girl?”

Michael grinned. “It will be to him.”

Gabby didn’t know what to say. Except, “Well, now I have even more incentive to kick his butt.”

Michael grinned.

Gabby’s cell phone chimed with a text message. From Mac.
Can’t wait to smell you.

She smiled and glanced at the clock. The butterflies kicked up a ruckus in her stomach when she saw that it was ten.

“Okay, ladies,” Gabby said to Conner’s sisters, “it’s showtime.”

Chapter Eleven

The knock at the door made Conner’s heart thump.

Coming home to an empty apartment had sucked. It had been three days and he was already used to Gabby being there.

But he’d told himself it was for the best that she was at Sierra’s. If she didn’t want to lean on him, then fine. He could watch some TV and kick back, worry-free.

Besides, he was still worked up from practice and all the truths the guys had shared about his sisters and them keeping things from him and taking care of themselves. He’d wanted to be alone. He’d been thrilled to have his girl-free zone back.

For about twenty minutes.

Then he’d missed her.

He crossed the room in five strides and pulled the door open…and tried not to look disappointed when Amanda was on the other side.

“You okay?” he asked, automatically shifting into big-brother mode in spite of being irritated with his sisters. He stepped back to let her in.

“I’m okay.” His sister entered and turned to face him. “How about you?”

“Fine. Why?” He wasn’t fine at all.

“I understand that you’re in love.”

Conner groaned and swung the door shut. He shouldn’t be surprised
that
news had spread quickly. “Ryan has a huge mouth.”

“Shane told us, actually.”

“Us?” But he knew exactly who she meant. “He told all of you?”

“The guys already knew.”

Yeah, he’d spilled his guts to them all at once. “I know.”

“Why didn’t
you
tell us?”

“I just…kind of…found out myself,” he said honestly. “Like a day ago.”

Amanda nodded. “But it’s real? For sure?”

Conner sighed. “Well, like loving the other four beautiful, independent, strong-willed women in my life, I’m sure it’s going to make me old before my time and give me an even bigger ulcer but…yeah. It’s real. For sure.” He smiled at his sister, then frowned and peered closer. “Are you
crying
?”

“I’m just really happy for you, Conner. I’ve wanted you to fall in love so badly, but I didn’t know if you’d ever let yourself.”

He shook his head. “I’m not sure I really
let
myself.”

“But you are in love.”

He nodded. “With a stubborn, independent woman who doesn’t need me at all.”

Amanda sniffed and smiled. “I think that’s great.”

“That I’m feeling worthless and unnecessary?” he asked. “Which brings up something I’d like to talk to
you
about, sis, and all the stuff you girls have been keeping from me all these years.”

“You’re hardly worthless and unnecessary, Conner,” Amanda said, looking truly offended.

“Apparently there’s all kinds of stuff about Isabelle that I don’t know.”

Amanda crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Uh-huh.”

“And Emma’s freaked out about the pregnancy.”

“A little.”

“I had to go to
her
to even talk about her being pregnant in the first place,” Conner pointed out.

Amanda uncrossed her arms and put her hands on her hips. “Why do you think you should always be the first one to know things?”

“Because I’m…the brother.” It sounded stupid, even to him.

Her eyes narrowed further. “That sounds so stupid.”

“It’s not even that I should be first,” he said. “There are apparently things I don’t know at all.”

“Conner, there are things
I
don’t know about Isabelle’s fibro.”

“What about Emma’s pregnancy?”

“I know that she’s a little freaked out. But she tells Isabelle more than she tells me.”

“Tell me something about one of the girls that you know that I don’t.”

“You don’t really want me to do that.”

“I do.”

“You don’t.”

“Amanda.”

“You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, Olivia has filled up two punch cards at Tease in the time it’s taken me
and
Emma
and
Isabelle to fill up one.”

He stared at her, letting the words begin to sink in. Then he adamantly shut the thoughts down. “There have to be a million
other
things you could have told me.”

“I was making a point.” She looked pleased.

“And what’s that?”

“It’s not your job to make us happy. In fact, it’s first and foremost
our
job to make ourselves happy.”

He grimaced. “We’re talking about sex toys? Really?”

She laughed. “You asked. But no, not sex toys. Well, not
just
sex toys.”

“Then what?”

“We should all be in charge of making ourselves happy first.”

“But…”

She gave him a soft smile. “But what?”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

“Use all of this crazy energy and creativity to make yourself happy.”

That sounded suspiciously like something Gabby would say. Of course, she’d use sex and breakfast food to illustrate that he deserved to have what he wanted and to be happy too.

“So you’re happy?” he asked.

“Very.”

“Without any help from me.” A lot like Gabby.

“Dammit, Conner,” Amanda exclaimed. “No. Not without any help from you.”

“But you don’t come to me.”

“Conner, you taught us—by example—how to be there for the people we love and how to support them. We’ve formed a huge support system including each other and friends and boyfriends and coworkers to tell things to and to ask things of. We’re a
family
. Not just your younger sisters.”

He looked into her eyes. Okay, that made him feel a little better. She was right. But… “So you’ve never intentionally kept anything from me?”

“Sure I have. Because you’re someone I love too, and sometimes keeping stuff from you is protecting
you
.”

“Amanda,” he said warningly.

She sighed. “Okay, yes, I have kept things from you. Yes, to protect you, but also sometimes to protect
me
or one of the girls because I didn’t want you to be mad or disappointed or regretful. But for a long time I felt like everything weighed on you and like if you had any chance for a normal life of your own, then you needed some help.”

He swallowed. Clearly he hadn’t done a great job of
happily
being there for his sisters if Amanda felt the need to protect him.

“But you’ve changed in the past few months,” she went on. “You took things seriously when you—and we—were younger. And I can admit that you probably needed to. But you’ve lightened up over the past few months. Do you know why?”

He absolutely did. “Because the guys are there for you now.”

She looked surprised that he’d realized it. “Yes, you finally understand that you don’t have to do it all.”

“It’s because I finally realized that there are people who can love you as much as I do.”

She teared up again and Conner sighed.

“I also realized I don’t have to be the one always figuring out why it makes you cry when I say nice things.”

She sniffed, but smiled. “And they’re the guys that you didn’t want getting involved with us,” she had to point out.

He rolled his eyes. “I know. Makes you wonder about my judgment, huh?”

Amanda didn’t say anything for a moment, but gave him a look that said it all.

“You are questioning my judgment?” he asked.

“In relationships, maybe a little,” she admitted.

“And this has to do with Gabby?”

“It does.”