Charlie sees it though and smothers a laugh with her hand.
“Seriously?” Beck glares at her, and she glares back.
“Excuse me. Don’t look at me like that.” She nudges him.
“Babe, I’m struggling to sit through this. This is my baby sister.”
“See, that’s the problem. I’m not a baby anymore, and I think you guys forget that sometimes. You can’t always protect me from things that may or may not hurt me.” The sass is back inBrooke’s voice, which is starting to turn me on, and now is not the time for me to get a hard-on.
“Okay, you two. Back to the point. Brooke, start talking.” Ryan waves a hand in the air.
So, Brooke starts talking and lays out the course of our night for him, minus the naughty parts. And by the time she’s done, I can tell by her tone that she’s tired, so I wrap my arm around her waist and tug her to me.
“You’re telling me this was your idea, Brooke? You weren’t pressured? This wasn’t just an extended adrenaline rush from winning the game?” He says the last line, looking at me.
I shake my head. “No, sir.”
“No, Dad. Silas didn’t pressure me. If anything, I pressured him.”
“Well, it didn’t take but a minute to answer you, so trust me, Cupcake, I wasn’t pressured.” I can’t help but place a kiss on her temple.
“Aww,” Charlie sighs.
Silence stretches while Ryan looks between me and Brooke.
His gaze settles on me. “Silas, do you understand what this means for you? I assume you’re entering the draft this year, right?”
“Yes, I am. But I don’t see how any of that will change the way I feel. And if anything, having Brooke by my side will make it easier. She also knows what to expect from this lifestyle, so I feel like we can both make adjustments when we need to.”
“Right, but she just started college. You don’t expect her to leave all of that behind and follow you, do you?” he asks me.
“Dad, he’s not asking me to give anything up.” Brooke twists and takes my arm from her waist and wraps hers around mine, like she’s protecting me or something. It’s so fucking cute.
“Brooke”—Beck drags a hand down his face—“you skipped dating. You skipped the engagement. You skipped every normal fucking step of all of this.”
“Well, I mean, I don’t think anyone can say I’m exactly normal.” I try to make light of the moment.
“Not funny.” Beck rolls his eyes.
“I am pretty funny actually, but this isn’t a joke to me.” I turn to face Ryan, and I reach for Brooke’s hand. “Sir, I’m not asking for your blessing after the fact. I’m asking you to judge me on what I do next, how I treat your daughter.”
“And what is it you plan to do?” He crosses his arms over his chest again.
“I’ll protect her,” I say immediately. No pause. No hesitation. “She will always be my priority.”
Beck’s jaw tightens, but I keep going.
“And as far as my career and hers, that’s between us to figure out, but I will never let the rough parts of mine touch her. Ever. She comes first.”
Beck steps forward, not directly in my face, but close enough that his following question feels like a challenge. “What if she changes her mind?”
The answer is already on the tip of my tongue.
“Then I’ll support her.” My voice stays steady. “In any way she needs. Even if it costs me.” I don’t blink because I mean it—because my loving her doesn’t mean owning her, even if walking away from her would tear me apart. “I’ll fight for her, yes. But I won’t trap her.”
That does it.
Beck exhales a long, tired sound, and his shoulders slump, the fight draining out of him. “You realize if this goes sideways, I’ll never forgive you, right?”
