“Rodriguez.” His handshake is exactly what I expected, pressure applied, held just a beat longer than necessary. Testing. Measuring. “Juliette says you play hockey.”
“Yes sir. For the Seattle Puckaneers.”
“Professional?”
“Three years now.”
He nods, still assessing me. “And you met at the training facility?”
“That’s right. Juliette’s doing an internship there, and I saw her teaching skating classes and...” I glance at Juliette, who’s watching this exchange with barely concealed anxiety. “I couldn’t help but introduce myself.”
“He was very persistent,” Juliette adds, “He asked me for coffee multiple times before I said yes.”
Catherine laughs. “That sounds about right. Jules has never made anything easy for anyone.”
“Mom.”
“What? It’s true. You’ve been like that since you were three.” She loops her arm through Juliette’s. “Come on, let’s get out of here. We’re parked in short-term and you know how your father gets about parking fees.”
Her father leads the way with the kind of purposeful stride that suggests he’s timed this route many times before.
Their car is an immaculately clean SUV. Her father loads ourbags while her mother keeps up a steady stream of conversation about the flight and the weather and how excited Olivia is that we’re finally here.
I open the back door for Juliette and she glances quickly at me like she can’t believe I’d be gentlemanly enough to open the door for her.
“So, Rodriguez. Juliette said you’re staying through Monday?”
“Yes, well, Juliette mentioned there were a lot of wedding events, so I figured I’d stay for the whole thing. Plus we’re on the Olympic break, so I’ve technically got two weeks of free time right now.”
“That’s wonderful. It’ll be nice to get to know you properly.” Catherine’s smile is genuine. “Richard, did you hear that? Rodriguez is planning on staying for the whole week.”
“I heard.” Richard pulls out of the parking spot. “That’s a long time to be away from your team.”
“Well everyone’s pretty scattered right now. Plus I needed the break honestly. Season’s been pretty intense.”
“I bet. How’s the team doing this year?”
And just like that, we’re talking hockey. Richard asks questions about our record, our playoff chances, specific players he’s seen in highlights. Turns out he actually follows the league pretty closely, and I relax into it, because this is easy. I can talk hockey all day, especially when it means her dad isn’t asking me about my intentions.
Juliette’s hand finds mine between us on the seat, and when I look over, she’s staring out the window with the little grimace she showed me on the plane.
I squeeze her hand and she looks at me. I mouth “okay?” and she nods, but the tension in her shoulders says otherwise.
Catherine is talking about the welcome dinner tonight, running through who will be there, what time we need to be ready. “It’s just immediate family and the wedding party. Don’t worry, we’re very casual. But it’ll be your first time meeting everyone, so?—”
“I’m looking forward to it,” I say, cutting offwhat sounds like it might become an anxiety spiral. “Juliette’s told me a lot about Olivia and Owen.”
“They’re wonderful together. You’ll see tonight.” Catherine pauses. “Owen’s friend Garrett will be there too. He’s the best man.”
“That’s great,” I say, keeping my voice light even as I squeeze her hand tighter. “Looking forward to meeting him too.”
Richard catches my eye in the rearview mirror. There’s something in his expression that makes me think he knows more than Catherine does about the Garrett situation and he’s already cataloging every possible way I could hurt his daughter. Mental math on whether a professional athlete is worth the risk to his kid who’s clearly barely holding it together. His eyes hold mine for a beat before returning to the road.
Catherine fills the drive to the hotel with stories about wedding preparations and how stressed Olivia has been and how they’re just so happy both their girls are doing well.
Juliette doesn’t correct the “both their girls are doing well” part. Just keeps holding my hand, her grip almost painful now, and staring out the window. Her nails are digging into my palm but I don’t pull away. If this is what she needs to get through the car ride, she can leave marks.
“We’ll let you two get settled,” Catherine says as we arrive at the hotel, pulling Juliette into another crushing hug. “Dinner is at six at a place a few blocks from here. You can walk. Wear something nice but not too formal.”
