I blink. No one’s ever offered to stand up to my dad before. I have no idea what that outcome might look like but I adore the idea. “O-okay.”
“I say we blow this popsicle stand. This market is right in the town where we all live. I feel like we need to go somewhere elsetoday. Somewhere we can talk and feel like we have a modicum of privacy.”
“Agreed.” I look around and spot Kelly laughing with Viktor and the other guys. She’s old enough to be their mother but seems completely at ease—I might have to ask her how she does it. But not now. “All right. Just let me tell Kelly the plan.”
He pulls out his phone while I pull out mine.
Five minutes later we’re in his SUV heading north.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“There’s a place called Avalon, with shops and restaurants. I figure we could walk around there, get some lunch. And talk.”
“Sounds like a good plan. I’ve been there. Good restaurants, nice shops.”
“Okay.” He reaches across the center console for my hand. “So, what do you think?”
“About which part?”
“All of it? How we met. The coincidence. Your dad.”
“That’s a lot of info to process,” I say, chuckling, though my fingers curl with his.
“Your dad told West and me about your ex. Someone he coached?”
I grimace. “Jesus. Why would he tell you about that?”
“He felt it necessary to explain that hockey players are shit human beings and how his little girl is too good for all of us.”
“That’s terrible!” I say. “I mean, my ex, Cal, was certainly a jerk, but that doesn’t mean all hockey players are.”
“I was a little offended, to be honest, but I chalked it up to him making a point about staying away from his daughter. I mean, he’s my head coach. I have to get along with him no matter what I think of him as a person.”
“That’s my concern. Once hockey season starts, I’ll barely see him. And he won’t pay attention to me at all. It’s different for you.”
“I guess we just have one big question then.”
“Which is?”
“Whether or not us dating is worth the risk.”
Chapter
Fifteen
Bodi
I’m unconsciously holding my breath as I wait for her to answer. But she surprises me.
“It has to be your decision,” she says without hesitation. “He could ruin your career, but what’s he going to do to me? Kick me out? Ground me? I’m twenty-three years old. I mean, good luck with that. I’d be broke, but I’d figure it out. He could really hurt you, though. And from what I read online…you can’t risk that.”
I sigh. “You read about my disaster of a season?”
“It wasn’t adisaster,” she says patiently. “You just didn’t produce the way you did in the playoffs. But the regular season is long. It’s a totally different animal and it was your first time playing a full season in the big leagues. Anyone who knows hockey understands that.”
I smile at her astuteness. “Maybe, but I still have a lot to prove to your dad.”
“That’s why I’m leaving it up to you to decide if we see each other again. I want to, but again, he has less control over me than you.”
