Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 121095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 404(@300wpm)
Midway through the song, Daisy suddenly grips my arm with urgency and wide eyes. “Now’s your chance, Chelsea! Your dad and Lincoln are alone over there!”
I whip my head to where she’s gesturing, and sure enough, my father and big brother are together in a corner of the packed party, engaged in what appears to be a loose, relaxed conversation. As today’s guest of honor, Dad’s been barraged nonstop by well-wishers, which has made it harder than anticipated to pull him aside and talk to him privately about Luca. But like Daisy said, it looks like now is my perfect chance.
I tug on Luca’s sleeve, since he’s currently belting out the Aloha Carmichael song with my brother, Nate, like his life depends on it, and direct both men’s attention to my father and Lincoln in the far corner. Instantly, they both encourage me and tell me I’ve got this—and so, after getting high fives from the men and a slap on my ass from Daisy, I make my way off the dance floor.
On my way to my brother and father, I happen to pass my mother, who’s standing in a conversational group that includes Luca’s mother, Ava. When Mom waves at me, I point toward Dad and Lincoln, letting her know that’s where I’m headed and that I’m finally doing that thing I told her about earlier today, and she excitedly tugs on Ava’s arm and whispers something that makes Ava blow me a kiss and shoot me a thumbs-up.
Oh, Mom. I suppose it makes sense that she’d share my plan for tonight with Luca’s mom, since they’ve become so close over the past few months. Plus, Luca’s already told his closest family members about us, and they’re all ecstatic, so I guess there was no harm in my mother keeping Ava updated. But still, now that I know I’ve got an even bigger audience for what I’m about to do than I’d planned on, it’s making my stomach churn. Thankfully, not enough to make me lose my dinner any time soon. But I’m definitely feeling queasy and stressed out with each step I take toward my father and brother.
When I reach them, I call out, “Hey, you two, can I talk to you for a minute?” In a heartbeat, my tongue feels thick and too big for my mouth. My throat feels dry. But I push ahead and blurt, “I’m dating Luca.” I look at Linc and clarify. “Maguire. I’m madly in love with him, in fact. And Luca feels the same way about me.”
Dad and Lincoln look at each other, and to my extreme shock, neither man looks at all surprised. Instead, it’s more like Dad’s expression is saying to Lincoln, “I told you so!” and Lincoln’s in reply is muttering, “Fucking hell.”
What the heck? Of all the reactions I’d braced myself for, this wasn’t one of them. How’d they already know? My mom and Nate would never betray my trust. I know that for a fact. Did Luca’s parents let the cat out of the bag during the festivities today?
“You both already know about this, I take it?” I venture.
Dad shrugs, his body language confirming that’s accurate. “I got a strong hunch about you and Luca at the beginning of training camp,” he says. “And my hunch only solidified from there. That’s partly why I assigned you to Moriarty when he came back. I thought you might benefit from some breathing room from Luca.”
I’m reeling. If someone were to press a fingertip against my forehead right now, I’d stagger backward or maybe even fall down. “I-I thought you did that because you believed in me as I coach.”
“I said partly. Yes, of course I believe in you, Chelsea. More than anyone. Otherwise, I never would have trusted you with such a valuable player. But I also knew Moriarty most likely wouldn’t listen to you anyway, any more than he’d listen to Raul or anyone else, because he’s an egotistical type who thinks he knows everything.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
“So I figured there was no downside in assigning him to you, not only for his professional benefit and yours, but also to give you some space from the guy who made you blush and smile in a way I’d never seen before.”
I rub my forehead. “I didn’t blush and smile. I’m a professional. I kept my attraction to him under wraps.” Dad flashes me his patented “don’t give me that bullshit” look, so I add in a whisper, “Maybe I got thrown for a loop a little bit at first, when he first showed up. But I never let my attraction to him affect my job.”
“I agree. You never did. I didn’t mean to imply otherwise. To be clear, I didn’t know if you two had gotten together or what when I assigned you to Moriarty. All I knew was Luca looked at you like you walked on water, and you couldn’t stop blushing and smiling at him in return, and that was so out of character for you, I worried the whole thing would somehow get you off track.”