Page 39 of Gridlocked on the Gridiron

Colton went rigid at that. He’d hoped Clark would’ve just left her alone after a few weeks, but the fact that he’d publicly ruined her life and then continued to terrorize her made Colton see many shades of red. If they both made it to the divisional championship during playoffs, he was going to rip Clark’s head off.

“Still waiting on his redemption arc?”

She glared at him. “There’s no need to be a dick.” He held up his hands defensively. “But yes, I’m still holding out a little stupid hope that he’ll apologize.” She paused, eyes finding her hands. “Because if he never does then it makes me wonder why I was ever with him. Was he this terrible the whole time? Can I even trust my judgment in men? Of people in general?”

That admission, that vulnerability, had wiped away any anger he’d been feeling. She looked so sad, he wanted to reach across the table and hold her to him, but he reined in the urge. He needed to stop giving in to the feelings he got when he was around her, especially ones that made him want to kiss her silly. Kiss her until she moaned like she had in her office, until she moved against him like a woman who needed to be sated.

Right. Those were the inappropriate thoughts he was not supposed to be having. He was, thankfully, pulled from the mental image of her against him by her question.

“So, who’s your favorite sibling?” She leaned forward conspiratorially, and he knew she was trying to move past the admission she’d made.

He laughed. “You have to promise not to tell, but definitely Maya. No doubt about it.”

“Aw, poor Landon. He probably spent his whole life overshadowed by you, and now he can’t even be your favorite?”

He rolled his eyes. “Landon is one of the best tight ends in the league right now, nobody’s overshadowing him.”

“Colton, if I know anything about you, it’s that you were probably always the best at everything growing up. You just seem like that kind of asshole.” She laughed at his expression. “It’s true. Come on, tell me I’m right.”

“I will do no such thing. I was a very nice child, I’ll have you know.”

“I find that hard to believe based on who you’ve become.”

“You, Moretti, are a scourge on my very being.”

She laughed melodically but didn’t respond.

He took the moment of silence to bring up what he’d been wanting to talk to her about for the past week: the upcoming dinner his siblings and father had every year in honor of their mother.

“Are you free this Saturday?”

“Oh, uh, I’m not sure. I assume I’ll just be going through film from Thursday’s game.”

He bit the bullet. “Well, my family and I have a get-together once a year, usually in November, to honor my mom. We try for her birthday, which is November seventh, but we’re all so busy that we just do the closest day that works for all of us. Which is this Saturday.”

He’d been holding off asking her for a couple of weeks so as not to scare her. He hadn’t even been sure he was going to ask her initially, but when he thought of having to face his father alone, even with his siblings, it made his skin itch, and he knew Lucia’s presence would help.

She blinked at him, wide-eyed. He continued, “Um, so, well, yeah. It’ll be at my dad’s house here in Charleston, and you can meet my family. Maya is especially excited to meet you. But only if you’re comfortable, I don’t want you to feel pressured to come.” He took her silence to mean she wasn’t interested. “I completely understand if you don’t want to, Lucia. It’s a huge thing, even if we were dating for real.”

For the second time, she reached across the table to place a hand on his, quieting him. “Of course I’ll be there, Colton. What are fake girlfriends for, if not for fending off their boyfriends’ fire-breathing-dragon fathers and supporting them through a tough time?”

He had no idea that the title held such all-encompassing duties, but he let out a relieved breath, a small weight lifting off his shoulders. He was never technically alone, since his siblings always came, but it would be the first time someone came to support him.

Colton’s heart was thudding in his chest. He didn’t know why his father had this effect on him. Every cell in his body was on high alert as he looked at the two-story, white, antebellum house. His father had spent an unnecessary amount of money on this place just so he could be close by for Colton’s games, despite having a massive house in Los Angeles that was rarely used.

He made a move toward the curved staircase that led to the front door, but a gentle hand stopped him. He’d been so caught up in dread that he’d almost forgotten Lucia was about to meet his family and was probably more nervous than he was.

He turned to her, trying to put a brave face on. “You ready?”

She nodded, worried eyes on him. “Are you okay?”

He tried to shrug, but it came out robotic and strange. Her eyebrows drew together more.

After a moment of staring at each other, Lucia reached up and placed her hands on his shoulders. “Hey. I’m only going to say this once because it feels weird to be nice to you, so listen closely.” She took a deep breath, like the next words would pain her. “You are more than football. You are more than a winning season, you are more than a Super Bowl-winning machine, okay? You would be important to plenty of people regardless of whether you win a million games, regardless of whether you leave the NFL right now. Your dad can shove his ‘constructive criticism’ up his ass.” She pulled her hands away to air quote with her fingers, then placed them back at her side.

He smiled gratefully at her, even as his heart rate picked up for an entirely new reason. He hadn’t realized how badly he’d needed to hear those words.

And a part of him wondered if she was one of those people who believed he was important regardless of whether he was in the NFL. But he didn’t have time to think about it too much as they turned and approached the belly of the beast.

---