“Oh, like it’s that simple.”
“Sure it is. You imagine your life in the future. Five years. Ten. Fifty. Is she in it?”
“Is Riley?” Judd shot back.
Yes. Liam could see the years unfolding, imagine the life, the family they’d make together. He waited but didn’t feel a trace of the panic flashing in Judd’s eyes. Just rock steady certainty. How about that? But admitting that fact just now would turn attention back to him
“We aren’t talking about me and Riley.”
“We weren’t talking about me and Mary Alice either. Jesus, how the hell did we get off on this shit?”
“Hey now, save it for the ring,” Reuben warned.
Mitch whistled. “Touchy. Touchy.”
Because he’s with the wrong woman. But some things you didn’t say, even to your closest friends.
Judd scowled and tipped back his beer. “I’m not touchy. I just came to play poker.”
“Don’t get your panties in a wad, Hamilton. Come sit down and take your chips. I’m going to get the brats off the grill. Liam, you wanna grab that plate?”
Liam picked up the platter and followed Mitch outside to the one cooking appliance he did use.
Mitch lifted the top off the Big Green Egg and nudged the fat, sizzling sausages with his tongs. “You’re skating on thin ice in there.”
“He’s making a mistake.”
“It’s his mistake to make.”
“Even if it hurts more than just him? You and I both know Mary Alice isn’t the woman he’s built his life around.”
Mitch began loading brats on the plate. “Does Riley realize you’re building your life around her? Do you?”
Liam kept his face impassive, just lifting a brow in mild interest. “Did you drag me out here to talk about my relationship? Are we gonna braid each other’s hair, too? Because Riley and I are good.”
His friend studied him. “Yeah, I think you are. You may take forever to make up your mind, but once you’ve decided, you move quick.”
“What’s quick?”
“Your poker face isn’t that good, Montgomery. You’re serious about Riley. Like, long-term, marriage and kids serious.”
“That tends to be the ultimate point of relationships.”
“Are you sure she wants the same thing out of a relationship as you?”
Liam narrowed his eyes. “What the hell kind of question is that?”
“A rational one. Anybody with eyes can see the two of you have chemistry, but you’re really different people. Riley’s a single minded, intensely driven woman. She’s been on her path for a really long time, and that path didn’t include you.”
“So? I’m not asking her to change it for me. I’m really fucking proud of what she’s accomplished.”
“I’m not saying you’re not.”
“Then what are you saying?” How the hell had this become about him?
“I’m saying you’ve been looking for something since you came home. And it seems like you think Riley is it. If she is, great. But be sure before you rush too far down that path.”
What the fuck? He and Riley were fine. “Are we done with this back yard episode of Dr. Phil?”