“Alright, you two. Now. Is there anything else I need to know?”
Taking in a ragged breath, I prepare to have the conversation I’ve been dreading. But first, I turn to the man whose fists are clenched in front of him, and I know without a doubt, it’s to stop himself from pulling me into his arms. Which makes what I’m about to say even harder to get out.
“You should go home, Ronan.”
Ronan and Uncle Mike both stare at me after my quiet statement.
He takes a step forward, one hand already stretched out toward me. “What? No, Cherry, let me be here for you. We can talk to Mike together.”
I’m already shaking my head. “I need to do this alone.” With my arms wrapped around my middle, I look up at him, and the confusion and hurt I see there almost makes me relent and let him stay, let him lend me his strength. But I can’t right now. I need to face this on my own.
“Willow, I —”
“No.” I put my hand up to stop him as he takes another step toward me. “Please. Just go home.” My words ring out in the tense atmosphere.
Uncle Mike is silent throughout, but I feel the weight of his stare on me as Ronan and I face each other.
“Cherry,” he whispers, pleadingly. But when I give a small shake of my head, I see his resigned acceptance.
He gives me a slow nod in return. “Will you text me when you get home so I know you’re okay? Please?”
“Yes.”
He moves to the door, pauses, and looks back at me for a second before leaving. And when the door closes behind him, I collapse back down into a chair, my head falling into my hands.
“Oh, Willow.”
At Uncle Mike’s soft voice, I feel myself break even further. He doesn’t sound mad, just weary. Because of me. Then his hand lands on my shoulder, rubbing it comfortingly. I hear him sit down in the chair beside me and I make myself look at him.
“I’m so sorry, Uncle Mike.”
To my surprise, he looks mildly offended. “Sorry for what, exactly? Because from what I just heard, you’ve done nothing wrong.”
“Ronan and I…” I start to say, but he waves me off.
“Your relationship with Ronan is not my priority right now, your emotional well-being is.”
“I’m okay, really,” I say quietly. “The other guy was just being an asshole. It was inappropriate, but there were plenty of people around. I knew he couldn’t do anything too bad.”
“It still should never have happened, and I’ll be on the phone to the commissioner later tonight. A player who thinks it’s okay to harass women has no place in this league.”
Part of me sags in relief, both that he’s taking it seriously, and hopefully, that player won’t have the opportunity to harass anyone else.
“Thank you.” I gulp and sit up straighter. “But we do need to talk about Ronan. I’m so sorry I’ve put you in this position. I swear, I never wanted to make things complicated for the team. You have to know, when we met in Hawaii last fall, I never expected to see him again. It’s the only reason we…” My face feels warm, and I’m sure I’m blushing. Uncle Mike clears his throat and gestures for me to continue. “But then he got traded to our team. I tried to stay away, I promise. I can only imagine how it must look, the owner’s niece dating the new player.”
Uncle Mike scoffs. “All it looks like to me is two consenting adults developing feelings for each other. There’s no rule against interoffice dating as long as it doesn’t impact performance. On or off the field.” He takes my hands in his and stares straight into my eyes. “And if that man was being honest just now, if he’s smart enough to fall in love with you, then I’d be a selfish fool to stand in the way.”
“I never wanted to put you in a position where you’d have to choose between a player and me.” My voice cracks, and Uncle Mike gathers me back into his arms.
“There wouldn’t have been a choice to make. You always come first, Willow. Always. Before any player, any team, anything, and anyone. I promised your father I’d take care of you, and it breaks my heart you didn’t realize that, my girl.”
Fresh tears brim in my eyes and start to fall. Not just because of Uncle Mike’s immediate approval of my relationship with Ronan, but with the realization that Ronan said he loved me. The timing could not have been worse, and part of me is reeling from how suddenly everything feels flipped upside down in my life. But he loves me. Everything he did today was to protect me.
But a decade of believing that being in a relationship with a player on the team would be the worst sin I could possibly commit doesn’t just disappear in an instant. And today has been a lot. Too much. All I want to do is go home and crawl into my bed and try to make sense of everything.
Chapter thirty
Ronan
