Page 101 of Heart Taker

It was.

My father barely nodded, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was excited to see that trophy.

Jo nudged me. “When did you arrange this?”

“Yesterday.” God, I hated lying to my family. I couldn’t do this for much longer. “I told you that every player gets their turn.”

“Yeah, I know. But I didn’t expect your coach to come along with it,” Jo replied as he stared at me.

I ignored my brother’s perusal as best I could and kept walking. Damien placed the trophy on the table as we ambled up to greet him.

“Pops, this is Coach Damien Banning. Damien, my father, Tobias.”

Damien sat down on the picnic bench, so he was eye level with my father. My dad reached out a shaky hand and Damien took it in two of his. “It’s an honor to meet you, sir. It’s been a privilege to coach Silas.”

“And often, a pain,” I added, chuckling. “Don’t deny it, Damien.”

Damien rolled those gorgeous blues and then offered a smile at my father.

“He’s stubborn, your son.”

“Y-yes… n-n-nice… m-m-meet… y-yo… y-yo… you… t-t…” Dad paused, shaking his head, struggling to reach that last word. Damien sat patiently and waited. “T-t-too.”

My dad could have used his phone to type out a response but the fact that he insisted on speaking told me a lot. There was no question that I got my resilience from him. I squeezed his shoulder in response and swallowed down my emotions.

“How about I take some pictures of you and Silas and Jo with the trophy?” Damien offered and stood up again.

I held Damien’s gaze for longer than I should’ve and nodded.

“That’d be amazing, thanks,” I replied, resisting the urge to lean over and kiss him.

Dad tapped on the arm of his wheelchair.

“Pops? What is it?”

Dad motioned to his pocket. “P-phone.”

“Of course.”

I took his phone and passed it over to Damien. Then I grabbed hold of the massive wood and silver trophy and rested iton my hip while Jo stood beside me, flanking Dad. Damien held the phone up and began to take photos.

“Perfect,” Damien announced. “A few more.”

“How about one with you, Coach?” I asked.

Damien nodded and slowly walked over, sliding in beside me, then raised up the phone for a selfie. When he showed me the shot, I nearly dropped the prize.

I wasn’t smiling for the photo, but at Damien. And he was looking at me too.

And when my brother and father asked to look at the picture?

Our secret was no more.

CHAPTER 30

SILAS

Damien stayed, chatted, and took more photos. Of course, he charmed Jo and my father, and even the nurses who stopped by to check on my dad. Part of me wondered if that was due to his media training. Then again, he rarely smiled, even for school events. I was hoping his effort was all for me, and when he caught me staring and winked, I had my answer.

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