He raises a brow, seeming slightly amused by my reaction. “What happened to,‘He’s a lawyer, but I have a better one in my corner’?”
“That works for me because I’m his boss’s daughter, not you!”
“Whatever, I don’t care what he is. What he’s doing is harassment. Like you said, he’s a lawyer, he should know better,” he tells me just as my phone begins to vibrate in my hands again. “Is he seriously calling you back?!”Oh, now he’s furious.
I look down at the screen and see'DADDY'written at the top. “No, it’s my dad…”
I’ve been avoiding my parents ever since that atrocious day. We usually have dinner every Thursday night, but I’ve managed to skip out five times now. I’ve used every excuse possible, but now I’m afraid my time of hiding is running out since today is Wednesday.
I’ll have to face the music soon.
“He’s probably calling to know if I’ll be over for dinner tomorrow. I’ll call him back later and tell him I have plans,” I say with a shrug, turning off my phone completely to stop the daunting interruptions.
“But you don’t have plans. Go if you want, I’ll be fine with Gracie alone. You don’t need to be here around the clock, you know?” he says, eyeing me suspiciously.
“I know, but I don’t really feel like going. My father is going to be worried and probably have a whole bunch of questions, and my mother is going to have a million different opinions.”
“Then tell them we’ll be there, too. I’m sure your mom won’t dare show her opinionated personality in front of guests,” he offers. He’s not wrong; my mother always cares about her appearance in front of others more than anything.
“You’d really do that for me?” Something stirs in my chest.
“Yeah, why not? We don’t have anything planned. It’ll be nice to get out of the house and do something different.”
I scoff. “You have no idea what you’re agreeing to. But okay, if you’re offering. It’ll be easier to face them if I’m not alone. Thank you.”
“No problem, I’m sure it won’t be as bad as you think. Anyway, I gotta get to practice.” He walks over to Gracie and kisses the top of her head. “I’ll see you soon, Buttercup.” He then looks at me with an expression I can’t quite place. “Later, Bunny,” he says quietly and leaves.
Later that evening, I’m packing everything into Cecilia’s SUV to go watch the boys’ hockey game. “You sure you got everything?” she asks me with a snicker.
I look at the back of the car that is now filled with things I probably won’t even need for Gracie but brought ‘just in case’. We’ll be in the seats, but Greyson said if it gets too much for Little Tulip, we can head up to the private box where it’s quieter.
This is Gracie’s first hockey game, and I think I may be a little nervous. Gracie is usually an amazing baby in public, but hockey games are loud. I don’t know how she’ll react to that, so I brought more than enough toys to keep her occupied, as well as a pair of pink noise-canceling headphones.
“Yup, I think so.” I nod to myself as I close the trunk.
“You know you won’t need all of that, right? But I get it. Silas was the same when he packed my car for Dante’s first game. He even brought the playpen.” She laughs, shaking her head.
“Oh! That’s actually a good idea!” I turn to head back into the house, but she grabs me by the elbow before I can make it.
“Em, breathe. You already have everything you need. You don’t need anything else. It’s going to be fun. You’ll see. Plus, all the girls are going to be there. You won’t be alone. If Gracie gets fussy, we’ll pass her around.”
“Okay, yeah. Everything’s going to be fine.” I do as she says and take deep breaths to settle my nerves.
An hour later, we're finally making our way to our seats, where Morgan, Aubrey, and Ronnie are waiting for us. We’re right behind the glass, which means we’ll get a front row seat to all the action.
“You guys are right on time, the boys are about to hit the ice,” Morgan informs us as we settle down. Veronica is at the end, followed by Aubrey, then Morgan. I place myself beside her with Gracie on my lap, and Cecilia does the same to my left with Dante.
I’m just setting the headphones on Gracie’s head when the boys skate onto the ice, beginning their pregame drills. Silas comes to the glass first, knocking his gloved knuckle against it to gain his son's attention.
Dante looks up, a beaming smile taking over his little face as he reaches out and says, “Dada!”
Silas yells, “I love you!” to his wife and kid and blows them a kiss.
He skates off just as Clay stops in front of Morgan, telling her something I don’t quite catch. To which she answers, “You better!” and finishes with a kissing motion.
Greyson finally gets up to the board beside Clay as I stand with Gracie in my arms. “Look, Little Tulip. It’s Daddy!” I tap my nail on the glass while Greyson crouches down slightly and waves in her face. I know she probably can’t hear me tapping, but it still gathers her attention, and she smiles at her dad.
Grey takes one of his gloves off and bends down to pick up a puck from the ice. He then pushes it against the covered hole in the glass panel in front of me, telling me to open it. Once I do, he passes the puck over for Gracie to hold.I’ll have to clean that before giving it to her.
