“Well, if you want me in your house, you’re going to have to let Aiden in,” I say. “And I’d rather have this conversation inside rather than out on the doorstep.”
Mom nudges Dad back and opens the door for us. I step through first, and Aiden puts his hand on the small of my back. As soon as Dad sees it there, his face begins to turn red.
I lead Aiden back to the living room. Mom has her Christmas music on, just as she did when I was here for the family dinner with Ethan, and the tree is sparkling from all the lights strung on it. Presents are piled beneath the tree now, and under any othercircumstances, this should be a milestone night. I’m introducing my new boyfriend to my parents, and if he didn’t play for the Manatees, I know they’d love him.
But that’s not reality. I look at my parents’ faces as they sit on the other sofa, facing us. Dad is seething with anger, and Mom looks disappointed.
I glance at Aiden, the man who has worked so hard his whole life to do everything right. He’s about to throw his alternate captaincy and his career into the trash for one reason and one reason only.
Because he chose to love me.
“Explain,” Dad says, his voice shaking, “what the hell you two think you’re doing?”
Aiden defers to me. “Do you want me to start?”
“No. I will,” I say, determined to do this right. “I love Aiden. And he’s in love with me. We’re in a relationship, and it’s serious.”
Mom puts a hand to her head, as if she has a blinding headache that has just come on. Dad looks like he’s about to turn purple.
“Coach,” Aiden begins, but my dad cuts him off.
“How dare you do this,” he spits out, his rage simmering below the surface. “My daughter? You went aftermy daughter? I put a damn A on your chest, Wentworth. And this is how you reward my trust and belief in you? You go off and screw around with Scarlett?”
“This is not screwing around,” Aiden responds, his voice firm. “I’m in love with your daughter.”
Mom begins wringing her hands in her lap. Dad barks with laughter. “If you loved my daughter, you’d never put her in this position!” he snaps.
“What position is that?” I ask. “Being with someone who loves me in the way I deserve to be loved? Dad, you aren’tmaking sense. You put the A on Aiden’s chest because of who he is. This hasn’t changed that.”
Dad jumps up from the sofa and begins to pace across the floor. “Bullshit. Everything I thought Aiden was? That doesn’t exist. No alternate captain of mine would go after my daughter behind my back. No alternate captain of mine would betray my trust like this or put me in the impossible position of having to coach my daughter’s so-called boyfriend. And no alternate captain of mine would lie to my face,” he says bitterly. Then he stops and glares at Aiden. “You are completely unfit to wear the A.”
I look at Aiden, whose face has drained of color. These accusations are landing like punches, hitting all the values he’s built not only his career on, but also himself.
And I grow angry.
“You have never had a player more worthy of the A than Aiden,” I say, my voice shaking. “We tried to fight our feelings for each other—”
“Oh, let me guess, you couldn’t?” Dad sneers.
Now Aiden rises from the sofa, staring my father square in the eye. “No, sir, we couldn’t. I’ve never met anyone like your daughter. In one conversation with her, I knew she was special. She’s smart. Funny. Kind. Interesting. I tried to keep her as just a friend, but I couldn’t. I knew the risk I was taking. I knew I had two options. I could stay away from Scarlett and have my life exactly the way it was. Or I could risk everything for a chance with her. I took that chance because I knew she was special. And I don’t regret it.”
Dad stares daggers at him. “I can never trust you again.”
“Dad, you aren’t even listening to him,” I plead.
Suddenly he looks as if he’s had an epiphany. “This is why Ethan went after you. He knew.”
Aiden nods. “He figured it out.”
“At least he understands the unwritten rules of the game,” Dad retorts.
Now I’m leaping off the couch. I can’t sit still anymore. “Do you hear yourself? You want to punish Aiden for loving me in the way I’ve always dreamed of!”
“Scarlett, there are a million men who can love you without all of these complications,” Mom says.
I turn to look at her. “Not like Aiden has. He believes in me. Supports my dreams. Aiden is proud of me and isn’t afraid to show it. He tells me he loves me daily. Brings me my favorite drink and has it waiting in the cup holder when he picks me up. I not only feel like I’m abetterperson with him, but I’m thehappiestperson I’ve ever been. All because he loves me.”
“I wouldn’t risk everything I have in Miami if Scarlett weren’t worth it,” Aiden adds, standing and reaching for me. I put my hand in his. Aiden stares at me, but addresses my father. “Coach, I know there are unspoken rules. Expectations you have. The old me would have never taken these risks. But Scarlett is worth every risk I’ve taken.”
