“I know, Coach,” Preston placates. He runs his hand through his hair in obvious distress by the situation. “It was only five days. Quick down and back. I had no idea this would happen or else I wouldn’t have left. You know how dedicated I am. This is our year. I will be back soon and I will be ready.”
Why am I the one freaking out?It’s his career I could have put in jeopardy. Not because he’s with me but because this is a conversation that he should have owned.
“You bet your ass you will be. If not, your ass is grass. And I’ll tell you something right now—if you so much as try anything with my daughter, I will trade you faster than you can board that plane. Do you understand me?”Wait, what?
“Dad. Don’t be ridiculous. Preston has been nothing but kind and treated me with respect.”
“Good,” he harrumphs, rubbing a hand down his face.
“Coach, I swear I’ll be back in two weeks.”
I need to defuse this situation. Dropping a hand to Preston’sknee so Dad can’t see the contact, I silently ask him to stop talking.
“I was getting bored here in my villa alone so Preston and I hung out today. It was fun. It was normal.” My emphasis on the word ‘normal’ has him softening. He knows how important that is to me. No one ever wants to hang out with me for me. Preston does and I need him to understand how much that means, especially in such an uncomfortable situation.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, dad takes a deep breath. Followed quickly by another. The red in his face clears a little. Finally looking back at the phone, he’s back in dad mode instead of Coach mode. “Normal.” I nod. “That’s great, bug. I’m glad you’ve been having a good time. It sounds like it’s what you’ve needed. Except the being stranded part.”
“Except that part.” I laugh.
“Preston, keep an eye on her, okay?” Preston looks shell-shocked at the one eighty in dad’s demeanor.
“Yes, sir,” Preston chokes out. They hold eye contact for a beat longer before dad seems satisfied.
“Okay, well I need to go. Have fun, bug. Love you.”
“Love you too.” I quickly disconnect the call, tossing my phone onto the table.
Preston groans, dropping his head back.
“I am so sorry.” Not sure what to do, I squeeze Preston’s knee. He lifts his head to look at me. “I didn’t mean to actually hit call when I did. I don’t know what I was thinking even considering it in the first place.” I feel so stupid.
“It’s fine. I let Miller talk me into this getaway. I didn’t think I would get stuck here, but I should’ve known better. It wasn’t smart to begin with.”
“But still. That wasn’t cool.” I hate that Preston is taking this on his shoulders. He made a bad call but from what he said, he also needed a vacation. I didn’t see the point in punishing himself for it.
“Maybe not. But you didn’t do it out of malice.”
“Of course not.”
He pats the back of my hand, still on his knee.
“Ivory, it’s okay. I promise.” His thumb strokes the back of my hand. I get lost in his blue eyes, begging me to believe him. Chills spread up my arm. “I should go.” It’s barely a whisper but enough to break me from my trance.
“Yeah, me too. To bed, I mean…inside.” I flush.
Preston smiles and pushes to stand. He looks down at me one more time before he walks off. Embarrassment and guilt settle on my shoulders.
Before he gets too far, Preston turns and asks, “I’ll see you tomorrow, maybe?”
“Yeah, maybe.”
He returns my small smile, raising his hand goodnight.
CHAPTER NINE
Ivory
March 29
