And how serious he is about me.
We walk up the sidewalk to the door. Aiden reaches for my hand, and I entwine my fingers with his. We’re in this together, no matter what my parents say, and I want my mom and dad to be reminded of that the second they open the door.
I ring the doorbell. Nerves take over my body as I wait for someone to answer, but there’s hope running through me now knowing that Wyatt is still here.
If Dad were pissed, Wyatt would be far, far away from here right now.
Like Key West.
The door opens, and my dad is standing on the other side, dressed in a white Manatees polo and khaki pants. His expression is serious, but not furious.
My hope continues to grow.
“Scarlett, Aiden, thank you for coming over. Come in,” he says.
Christmas music is blaring from the kitchen—“Santa Baby” to be exact. As Dad leads us back, I stop dead in my tracks at what I see at the kitchen island.
Wyatt is making a gingerbread house with my mom.
She looks up from putting a gumdrop on the roof and when she sees me, a look of regret washing over her face. “Hello, Scarlett. Aiden. I’m glad you’re both here,” she says, moving away from the gingerbread house and washing her hands. “We need to talk.”
“Christine, I’d like to talk to them first,” Dad says softly. “If that’s okay.”
Mom wipes her hands on a festive kitchen towel embroidered in gold and white. “I understand.”
“I’m glad you’re here, too, Aiden. Because you can’t decorate, and I’m taking the gingerbread house decorating championship home,” Wyatt says, not looking up from his application of candies around his roof edge to look like outdoor Christmas lights.
Aiden continues to stare at him as if he’s a mirage. I don’t know if it’s from seeing Wyatt here, or seeing Wyatt decorate a gingerbread house with my mom.
“Aiden, Scarlett, would you mind stepping into my office? I’d like to talk to you in private,” Dad interjects.
Aiden blinks, obviously snapped out of his thoughts, and nods.
“Yes,” I say.
Dad leads us down the hall to his home office. He opens the french doors, and as soon as we move past them, he closes them for privacy. Dad eases his big frame down into the expensive ergonomic chair behind his desk. Aiden and I sit down in the guest chairs across from it. Aiden once again reaches for my hand and rests it on his thigh, his large hand covering mine. It’s dark in the room because of the gloomy weather outside, and Dad reaches over and turns on his sleek silver desk lamp to provide some light. The space is neat and modern, glass and black, with only some family pictures in the bookshelves to give it some personality. This is where he spends so much time prepping for games, even at home, and that is the only thing he’s ever done in here.
Until today.
Dad clears his throat. “I had an unexpected visitor today, as I’m sure you’ve noticed,” he begins, absently tapping his fingerson the glass desktop. He shifts his eyes to Aiden. “Wyatt asked to speak to me. He said it was important. It had to be done today, despite the fact that it was Christmas Eve. I admit I didn’t want to hear what he had to say because I knew it was about you. But Wyatt was insistent. He said there’s no way he’d reach out to me if it wasn’t very important.”
I have to remember to breathe.
“I agreed to talk to him, so Wyatt came over this morning. Said he had to tell me and your mom that we were making a huge mistake. One we would regret if we continued on this path. At first, I was pissed. I’ve never had players interfere in my family life, and I didn’t see how Wyatt could say a damn thing to make me think differently of you.”
Aiden’s hand flinches in mine. I grip it harder, sending reassurance to him with my touch.
Dad pauses. The tension in the room is thick and heavy, and I hear rain begin to splatter against the windows.
“But he did,” Dad confesses.
I hear myself exhale a breath I was unaware I was holding. My heart is beating so loudly, I can barely think.
“Sir?” Aiden asks quietly.
A small smile forms on Dad’s mouth. “Your brother loves you. Looks up to you. And respects you more than I think you know.”
Aiden stares at him, stunned.
