“I’ll give it more thought. See you soon.” He disconnected.
She threw a load of laundry in and dressed casually in jeans and a sweatshirt before heading to see her dad. All the while, she kept thinking about Mack. He’d been happy when she’d told him to fuck off yet mad because she’d let him steal the ball a few times?
Men. She’d never understand them.
She pulled up to her parents’ house and entered, content to receive a hug and to see the house decorated for the holidays. At least this she understood.
“Come in, come in.” Her dad wrangled her out of her coat and ushered her into the kitchen.
On the island, two plates had been set out, each with a footlong sub full of meat and veggies. And two iced teas as well.
Cass wondered if she should unbutton her jeans now or later. She sighed. “Thanks, Dad. I needed this.”
“Eat. And tell me what’s on your feeble mind.” He grinned.
She grinned back. “I love you, Dad.”
“Aw. I love you too, honey. Now tell me what’s troubling you.”
She told him everything, including how she thought she might be falling for Mackenzie Revere, even though it should be ridiculous, since she hadn’t known him all that long.
Her father, for once, didn’t look overjoyed to hear about his daughter having feelings for a man. He wore his serious therapist face. “You can’t see it, can you?”
“What?”
“You’re afraid of losing this one.”
“I don’t know…”
“Ah, but you have to ask yourself, why did you try to let him win?”
“That’s an easy answer. I tried to make him feel good.”
“Did you?”
“What do you mean?” She swallowed some iced tea, feeling parched. “I like Mack a lot. I tried to do a nice thing for him. But he’d rather I told him to fuck off—excuse my French—than be nice to him.”
“Cassandra, please.” Her dad seemed disappointed. “You’re not being honest with yourself. That’s why Mack is angry.” He smiled. “I like that boy more and more.”
She groaned. “I knew it was a little dishonest to pretend I wasn’t as good on the field as I could have been. But it was just a game.”
“Cass, with you, it’s never ‘just a game.’ Mack knows that. You know that. You respect strength and integrity. As does your boyfriend.”
When she didn’t refute the label, her dad’s grin grew wider.
“Stop it.”
“Sorry.” He cleared his throat and tried to stop smiling. “You and I both know why Mack was angry. But we don’t know why you treated him the way you once treated Sean.”
She tried to listen to herself, to see the bigger picture as she talked it out. “I guess… I guess I was afraid that since Mack and I are new, and it’s so happy and fun right now, that I know the feeling will fade. And it would be easier if it faded faster. Mack didn’t ask me to be less than I am. I just did it.” She paused. “I was mad at myself a little afterward.” She thought about it. “And that anger would fester, and I’d blame Mack for making me do something I really made myself do. So it’s almost like I’m trying to break us up before we can really be a thing.”
Her father bit into his sub and said a muffled, “Go on.”
“It’s like I’m self-sabotaging.” Huh. She hadn’t thought she’d ever do that. Cass had never been afraid of success. Afraid of failure, sure, but she strove to achieve victory in all things.
“Mack saw your making yourself seem less for what it was, even if he doesn’t fully understand why you did it. He likes you for you. That’s why when you weren’t so nice, he seemed pleased.”
“Isn’t that a little destructive on his part? Wanting to be with a woman who cusses him out?”
