Page 1 of Players Like Us (Reunion Gap #7)

N eal Alexander could never say “no” to his sister.

She was the best part of his world, the one who still believed everyone deserved second and third chances and “destiny” would guide them to their special someone.

Everyone has a special someone out there, Meredith insisted .

The key is being open enough to recognize them when they appear.

Right. His kid sister by thirteen minutes said a lot of things, most smothered in dreams and the inability to see the downside of a situation or a person—even when the truth glared back at her with laser-beam precision.

She’d spent too many hours trying to convince Neal that people and situations were more hopeful than hopeless.

Maybe she’d been referring to him and the reckless behavior that made people discount his ability to be a stand-up guy who knew how to make the right choice.

Those people included his father and brother.

Lucky him to have such a supportive family unit.

Meredith was the only one who’d never given up on him.

No doubt it was her persistent belief in goodness and second chances that got her past the disaster with Daniel Reese, made her realize the guy really did love her despite his lies.

Sure, she forgave him and okay, he had somewhat redeemed himself when he named a hand-carved wood collection after her, even pledged the whole “I do’s” amid nature and close friends and family.

But that didn’t mean Neal wasn’t going to have a long conversation with Meredith’s new husband when he made it back to Reunion Gap.

The when Neal would return was the tricky part.

Meredith was still sad and “not happy” as she put it that he hadn’t made it to her wedding.

He had planned on returning to Reunion Gap, home of bad memories, a pathetic childhood, and a tyrant father.

Not that he wanted to set foot in that place again, but he would have done it for his twin sister.

Had he looked forward to the cold stares, the scrutiny, and the inquisition he’d no doubt face from his brother, Tate?

Of course not. Tate resided in a black-and-white world where a person lived by a code and never betrayed it.

Good for him. Glad he got the life he wanted and the girl he loved.

Meredith said the guy even had a dog. Ten cheers for him.

Maybe he’d write a book about relationships and how to make them work.

Sure, why not? And it would be a bestseller, too.

At least Neal’s siblings had gotten past the mess that marked their childhood and found a way to trust someone who wasn’t family.

Hard to do when you grew up in a household where the patriarch was the one doing the damage to your psyche, your self-worth, and your ability to believe everyone wasn’t out to screw you over.

Their mother had tried to protect them, but her genteel demeanor hadn’t been enough to challenge a man like Harrison Alexander.

Unfortunately, that left the children to find their own ways to deal with the fallout of a messed-up childhood and a tyrant father.

Tate dealt with it by creating a life in the business world, embracing integrity, truth, the value of his word—the exact opposite of their father.

And Meredith? Neal’s twin had lived in a pretend world of do-gooder-love-will-triumph mantras wearing blinders to the nasty underbelly of people using each other, relationships gone bad, lies stuffed with betrayal.

She’d gone through her periods of trusting too much, getting taken advantage of and trying to find her place—and then she met Daniel Reese.

Neal hadn’t liked the way the guy lied to her, but even a nonbeliever in the whole love and destiny nonsense could figure out those two belonged together.

She hadn’t told Neal everything about the problems that tore them apart, and she certainly hadn’t overshared like she usually did, but he’d pieced enough of the story together to realize the guy had hurt her.

Two conversations ago, she mentioned children… again.

What do you think about being an uncle?

Can I be the fun one?

Would you be anything else?

Of course not. Why would anyone think him capable of a serious thought when he’d spent most of his life acting as though the world existed for his pleasure?

That might have been true years ago, but he wasn’t still twenty-two, and while pleasure was not to be ignored, it was no longer his primary focus.

His world had changed three years ago and yet his family had no idea.

Actually, most of the people he loosely called “friends” had no idea.

There were only a handful who knew the truth, and Neal planned to keep it that way.

There were a lot of reasons he didn’t want to share what he was doing with anyone, especially his family.

Tate might try to critique his choices, or at least readjust his business plans.

Meredith would cheer him on, just because.

.. Oh , she’d say. You decided to invest in a restaurant?

How wonderful. You know what that means, don’t you?

You’re ready to settle down. Finally. She’d gush all over him like he’d just saved the world and then she’d spout off all of the benefits of a long-term relationship that ended in marriage.

See, I told you , she’d say, destiny does exist and yours is ready to be found.

No, just no. He didn’t want to be seen as a do-gooder, a savior, and certainly not a family man.

He was still the same guy deep down, two steps away from a major screwup, incapable and disinterested in a long-term relationship—certainly not marriage.

And a kid? What would he do with one of those?

Nope. He liked his life, liked his choices, and he liked making money—his money— not his family’s.

No sense denying the other truth—he liked having a best friend and business partner, one who’d come to him out of desperation…

One he’d saved from financial disaster who ended up saving Neal.

Those truths would remain hidden for now, maybe for good as Neal and Dominic Lombardi expanded their business ventures and grew more profitable each quarter.

What would Neal’s family say if they knew he was co-owner of one of the most popular restaurants in the city? And if they could imagine that , how about co-owner of three others with plans to continue expansion into other cities?

Tate would definitely want to see the business plan, the projections, the rate of return, and the guy would have something to say about all of it—a critique, a comment, a suggestion or ten.

Meredith would start a list of potential love interests, most falling into the bleeding-heart category, all marketed as “must meet”.

If the first three potentials didn’t work out, she’d find three more and then three more after that.

Between her “help” and Tate’s business scrutiny, Neal would be exhausted, and that’s why neither could learn that he was on his way to becoming a decent human being who actually liked himself.

He’d never thought he’d say it, but here he was, an almost normal guy.

He was still thinking about his sister when she called.

Meredith had been very touchy-feely with the phone calls lately, so she must have sensed something was going on with him.

But there was no way she could know he was on the verge of landing another huge restaurant deal.

Still, twins had that sense about one another, and if he weren’t careful, she’d start poking around in his business, which she promised she wouldn’t do as long as he also promised to work on finding his “passion and purpose”.

She loved those words, had formed a business from them and was really helping people. For a girl who once spent hours matching her lip gloss to her clothing, this was impressive. Apparently, even Tate thought it was a big deal and coming from “Mr. Perfect” that was something.

“Neal? Hey, are you listening to me?” A huff and a loud sigh slipped through the phone line. “I swear, I might as well be talking to Tate’s dog.”

“Huh?” Neal rubbed the back of his neck, tried to focus on his sister’s words.

Meredith was the only person he’d ever met who could carry on three conversations at once—all in her head.

You never quite knew which one found sound, sometimes all three touched her lips and shot out in rapid staccato, leaving the listener confused and his sister annoyed.

“You definitely weren’t listening.”

More neck rubbing, a deep breath and an attempt to soothe his sister’s hurt feelings. “I’m sorry, just busy.”

“Oh.” Her voice gentled in the way it did when she wanted to hear details. “Busy, huh?”

He pushed aside the spreadsheet he’d been studying. “A little. Is everything okay?”

“I miss you.”

He couldn’t ignore the whoosh of emotion in those words, or the guilt and regret that pinged his brain.

Guilt that he hadn’t been a better brother, regret that he’d been incapable of the task.

Neal pushed aside a past he couldn’t rewrite and let his heart speak.

“I miss you, too. Look, I’m really sorry I couldn’t make the wedding. ”

“I know.”

But the sadness in her voice said she didn’t “know”.

He hadn’t wanted to disappoint her, but he couldn’t leave Dominic alone with a ruptured appendix.

The guy had no family and Neal was his closest friend.

“I wasn’t carousing around and forgot the date, and I wasn’t too drunk to get on a plane.

” Overindulging had never stopped him from traveling before and he knew every cure for a killer hangover.

No, the reason he hadn’t been there was actually an honorable one, and that alone would make it appear unbelievable.

Neal Alexander, an honorable man? Meredith would never buy that one.