Coach might not kick me off the team for what just went down, but I had no doubt in my mind he’d not think twice when it came to his daughter.
“Coa—” I start, but his grip on my hand tightens, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
“Don’t need the details. Nor do I want them, honestly. I trust Rory and the decisions that she makes. Always have, and I’m not going to stop now. All I’m going to say is that if you hurt my daughter, we’re going to have much bigger problems than this. Got it?”
I nod, pushing down a swallow. “Got it.”
With that, he drops my hand and chuckles, entirely too relaxed about this whole thing, and it’s a little unnerving if I’m being honest.
Because I apparently lack any and all self-preservation, the words come stumbling out of my mouth before I can stop them. “That’s it?”
His gaze narrows and his brow lifts. “What do you mean?”
“I mean…” I trail off before I sputter out, “You’re not upset that we’re… dating? I don’t know, I just kind of expected you to lose it on me. Scream a bit, throw some shit?”
Coach laughs. “If you want me to throw some stuff, I can. Not much my style though.”
“No, no, I just—”
“Look, yeah, sure, I wish Rory would have told me before last night. I don’t want her to ever feel like she has to keep anything from me, but at the end of the day, I’m her dad and all I want is what’s best for her. I want whatever makes her happy. And apparently, that’s you. I could be mad that she got involved with one of my players, but I’m not sure what good that would do. I trust her decisions, and I trust that she’ll always choose something that is good for her because that’s the way I raised her to be. And if she doesn’t, then it’s a lesson that she’ll learn from.”
Yeah, I don’t want to be a lesson that Rory has to learn from. Iwant to be the guy that protects her heart and shows her the same love that she’s shown me.
“I’m not going to do anything to hurt her, I promise. I… I love her, Coach,” I say thickly, my voice tight with emotion. “All I can do is prove to you that I’m going to treat her the way she deserves to be treated. With actions, not words. This isn’t temporary for me.”
He nods. “That’s all I ask. Give her the respect she deserves.”
“I will.”
“Then I’ll see you on the pitch.”
Just like that, the conversation is done and I’m not sure what’s more shocking: the fact that Ezra fucking drugged me to get me off the team, or the fact that Coach actuallydoesn’tcare that I’m dating his daughter.
As I’m walking back down the hallway toward the locker room, still replaying the conversation with Coach in my head, I see Rory burst through the double doors.
Her dark hair is pulled back low on her nape, her cheeks flushed red as those pretty eyes land on me and a smile tugs at her lips.
Christ, she’s gorgeous. She’s breathtaking, something that never ceases to take me by surprise when my eyes land on her. More than anything… she’smine.
Yeah, I didn’t need her father’s approval, but Iwantedit. I wanted him to accept that I’m in love with his daughter, and if he didn’t approve of us being together, then it was just something that we would have to work through.
Together.
It just makes this a hell of a lot easier knowing that he’s not going to be an issue for us.
In the end, all I know is that Rory is mine. She’s a part of me, buried deep in my chest where my heart resides. I think the entire beating thing might be hers if I’m being honest.
“How’d it go?” she breathes when she comes to a stop in front of me. “Tell me everything.”
“I’m back on the team.”
She squeals, tossing her arms around my neck tightly and burying her face in my neck. “Oh, thank God.” When she pulls back, I see the relief shining in her eyes. “I mean, I knew that they would because you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m just… I’m so, so happy. You belong on the team, Cillian. You deserve that spot. I’m so thankful all of this is going to be over.”
“Me too,” I murmur as I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her soft curves against me.
Then realization rushes through me.
This is the first time we’ve ever had a moment like this in public. Hell, aside from holding her hand outside yesterday, this is the only time we’ve openly touched around the team.
