“Oh, come on, Daddy has never done anything of the sort.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, both of us knowing exactly what he could be like.
I’d come in to meet with the coach to sign a couple things, and I had decided that today was as good a day as any to tell her father about us. I’d spent months pretending I didn’t want her, and now it was time to tell the world. I didn’t care any more about the consequences.
“You’re sure you want to do this?” I asked as I watched the number on the elevator descending.
“I told you, I made my choice.”
We entered the elevator, making our way up to the coach’s office. The moment we stepped out, Coach Alan was in the hallway, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. I’d stared at that look every day, and it had never made my heart hammer in my chest the way it was right now.
“Evan, Bianca, my office, now!” he barked.
I looked over at Bianca, who glanced at me and then picked up her pace, walking into his office while I followed. The moment the door clicked shut behind me, I knew there was no turning back.
Coach made his way over to his desk, where he stood with his back to us, looking down over the practice arena. I looked up at the clock. It would have been the middle of practice, which meant he should have been down there, instead of up here.
“I take it rehab is going well?” he questioned.
Bianca looked over at me. “Yes, very.”
“Good. There is something else I want to discuss with the two of you.”
“Okay.”
“I hear from sources that you two are together?”
“Sources??? What sources?” Bianca questioned, panic lining her face as she glanced at me.
“Teams talk, Bianca,” her father bit out, then looked at me. “I’ve heard it in locker rooms, in games, during practices, and I’ve seen the way the two of you interact. I’m always watching.”
I squared my shoulders and looked at Coach Alan, ready for his words, while Bianca sat there with her face in her hands. Of the two of us, I should have known that he was always watching.
“Yes, sir, we are.”
Coach stood there, his back still to the pair of us as he looked out the window.
“If you can allow us to explain, Daddy,” Bianca said, standing up from the chair she was sitting in.
“No need. I’ve known for weeks. Saw it coming.”
I glanced over at Bianca, who stood there with a look of shock on her face. “Why didn’t you say anything?” she questioned. “Why didn’t you ask me?”
“Well, first, because the two of you needed to figure it out for yourselves. I knew the pair of you would be good for each other. Besides, I’ve always known you’ve crushed on him. Why do you think out of everyone in this organization, I thought Evan was the better choice for you to stay with instead of one of the girls. You both needed to choose one another, and it looks like you did that, even if I meddled in it. Plus, I didn’t want to give you permission.”
Relief flooded me, but I could still see the panic on Bianca’s face.
“Your father’s story isn’t yours, Evan. You aren’t him and Bianca isn’t your mother. You will get to write a different ending.”
I nodded. Although the coach was a hard-ass on the rink, he had known my backstory and had always done what he could to build me up. I’d just never really listened.
Coach then turned around and looked at Bianca. “You, my dear, I know you knew about his injury. Hell, we all knew something was up. We overheard some of the other players talking about it, and when I went into his file I saw a few of the notes you’d made citing no action was needed. While I am shocked that you compromised your professional ethics for him, that was a choice you made and now you are going to have to own it.”
Bianca sat there, looking at the floor. Then she surprised me by looking up at her father. “I know, I am sorry, and I do own it,but I’d do it again because for once in my life he was never after anything, unlike the rest of them.”
The room was quiet as Coach Alan looked down at his desktop. “You should know that I am deeply disappointed with you, and many of the staff think you should be let go.”
“I understand, and if that is the decision of the team, then I will pack my things up. I will respect the decision because I know what I did was wrong.”
