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losing battle to win the attention of
the man she loved.
    “No, I don’t think she would, but there’s
this guy they hired at the clinic. He’s another vet. I’ve met him a few times
and I got a weird vibe.”
    Ryan braced his elbows on the bar behind
him and tried to ignore the scene playing out in front of him. Clint was
whispering in Brianna’s ear, making her laugh as he nuzzled her neck. It took
everything in him not to go over there and pry them apart. “What kind of vibe?”
    “The first time I met him, he told me I was
a lucky man. Just the way he said it pissed me off. Son of a bitch had the
nerve to tell me I’d do well to remember that.”
    Ryan couldn’t deny his brother was lucky to
have a woman like Erika in his life. She was beautiful, smart, sexy, and
totally devoted to Evan, or so his family thought. They’d all seen signs over
the past year that their relationship was in trouble, but everyone wanted to
believe they would work it out. “You think she’s been confidin’ in him about
your relationship?”
    “Yeah, I do,” Evan said, the muscle in his
jaw flexing. “Instead of talkin’ to me about our problems, she was cryin’ on
his shoulder. She said they were just friends, but…”
    “You don’t believe that?” Ryan turned away
from the dance floor when Clint brushed a kiss across Brianna’s cheek. His
brother’s problem deserved his full attention now. He knew if the situation
were reversed, Evan would set everything else aside to help him.
    “I think it started out that way.” He
sighed. “I know she’d never cross any lines, but I think he was wearin’ her
down, tellin’ her she deserved better than a guy who was never gonna make her a
priority in his life.”
    Ryan hated to say it, but the point had
merit. “Man, I know how much you love her, but maybe this is for the best.”
    “How can you say that to me?” Evan asked,
his blue eyes darkening with suppressed rage. “I love her. She’s my life.”
    Ryan knew if he didn’t force Evan to face
the harsh reality, no one else would. “If that was true, you wouldn’t have put
work first for so long. You would have made it a priority to marry the girl and
start the family you damn well know she wants.”
    “You don’t get it, do you?” Evan asked,
rocking back on the heels of his custom dress shoes. “If I don’t give
everything I have to this company, we could lose everything. The company our
old man spent his life building could be gone.” He snapped his fingers. “Just
like that.”
    Ryan tried to remember his brother was
hurting, and he couldn’t take his comments personally, but it was difficult to
grin and bear it when he implied he wasn’t pulling his weight. “Titan is on
solid ground and you know it.”
    “That’s what you think. Artists hate
change. They like to know that their careers are in the hands of someone who
knows how to manage them. Our father earned his reputation in this business the
hard way. We were born into it, and I know damn well everyone’s holding their
breath just waitin’ to see whether we’ve got what it takes to take this company
to the next level.”
    Ryan brought the beer bottle to his lips. Everything
he said made sense, but it still didn’t seem fair that Evan had to sacrifice
everything that meant anything to him for the good of the company their father
built. “I know you’ve scarified a lot. I appreciate that, we all do. But when
is it time for you to find a little time for yourself?”
    “I don’t know. I told myself the first year
would be the hardest, but we’re nearing the end of the first year and it’s not
gettin’ any better. If anything, it’s gettin’ worse.”
    “What do you mean?”
    Evan sat down on the stool behind him and
said, “The old guard is nervous, Ry. Sure, we have a few people like Nikki,
Trey, Ty, and Tori who will stand by us through the transition, but I know a
lot of our artists will jump ship at the first whiff of trouble.