“Mom and Len are here. And Mal, your son, of course.”
“I know he’s my son.” The bite in his voice made me want nothing more than to whisk Dani away and get a real smile back on her face, listen to her if she wanted to explain what was going on with her father.
“Do you?” She took a sip from the wineglass I’d given her. “I’m not in the mood to do this right now, so we’re going to mingle with some of Gabe’s teammates. I would say enjoy your evening, but we both know I don’t really mean that.”
Malcolm Albans was known as a great player and charismatic guy. I didn’t think I’d ever heard anything about him being an asshole, aside from when it was necessary on the ice. But he’d obviously hurt or angered Dani. I wanted to know why, but I knew that prying wouldn’t get her to open up. She was prickly on a good day, and now she was pissed.
“And I might have a type, but Gabe is by far the best goalie and man I’ve ever met. He’s an amazing guy on and off the ice. Guess I finally got it right.” Then she linked her arm through mine, knocked back the rest of her wine, handed the empty glass to her father, and guided me further into the crowd.
Holy fucking hell, she was a breathtaking force to be reckoned with. I wanted to pull her into a dark corner and kiss the hell out of her if she’d let me.
“Are you okay?” I asked when we were far enough away from him.
Her fingers squeezed around my arm and she let out an audible sigh.
“Fucking hell. How bad was that?” she whispered.
“Pretty sure you handed him his ass like a pro.” Could she hear the awe and touch of humor in my voice?
She stopped walking and turned to face me.
“You aren’t mad?”
“What? Mad? Oh, at him? You can fill me in if you want, of course.”
Her face softened. “No. At me.”
I glanced around and then guided her toward a miraculously empty corner. Tonight’s event was packed.
“Gabe,” she said.
“Why the hell would I be mad at you?”
I held her gaze, and my eyes widened at her words.
“Because he’s your idol and I was rude to him,” she stated calmly, like this wasn’t the first time she’d had to defend her stance with her father, which just pissed me off further.
“Yeah, I looked up to him and followed his career. He was a top goalie. But you’re his daughter, so I’m sure you have your reasons for how you reacted to him. I swear, I had no clue that you were related.” I gave her a rueful smile. “Guess I should’ve gotten my girlfriend’s last name.”
She chuckled. “Meh, last names are overrated.” Then she was serious again. “I am sorry if I destroyed your dreams about him though.”
“You and I both know that sometimes people put on personas for their public images. I mean, we are fake dating, after all.”
“Very true,” she said sardonically.
“I’m not going to pry into your family life and you don’t have to tell me about him, but I will always be ready to listen if you ever want to share.”
“I swear, you are not real,” she murmured.
“I’m very real. I just happen to not be a complete asshole.”
“Unlike my father. I don’t want to get into all the ugly shit here, but he has always loved hockey more than he ever cared about his family. As a kid, I grew up watching him play, and I loved my father, but as I got older, I saw him for who he really was. For how he treated the people he was supposed to care for, not just his fans.”
“I’m sorry. Every kid deserves loving parents and a supportive family.”
“Thanks. My mom and stepdad are great. And my brother Mal and his boyfriend Rick are the best. It’s just my father.”
“Well, then, you don’t need him in your life and if you want to use me as an excuse to not see him, like you have to be at all of my games or we have dinner plans or whatever, I’m always willing to be your excuse.”
