Page 91 of Rebound
“Yes, please sit,” Dr. Callahan says. “We were having pre-dinner cocktails while we waited. I hope you found the house easily?”
“Yes, I’m sorry for being late. There was a last-minute emergency.”
Lavinia leads us into the living room, and we sit down on the couch next to Aunt Constance. Lavinia sits in the middle, leaving me on the corner closest to the exit. Smart move.
“Was the emergency that you didn’t want to come?” Drew asks. If I didn’t know any better, I’ll say Drew is actually enjoying my misery. That’s not possible though, because Drew doesn’t know the meaning of enjoyment.
“No, it was a cat emergency,” I say.
“Oh, no. Is everything okay?” Lavinia turns wide eyes up to me, concern for the cats lining her face.
“Sabrina was throwing a tantrum; I thought she escaped when Kita left but she was hiding in one of the rooms. I spent hours looking for her.”
“Poor baby. I’m glad you found her. She must have been so scared.”
“Shemust have been scared? She was the one terrorizing me. I’m the one who spent hours looking for her.”
Lavinia giggles. “Maybe she needed some peace and quiet. It’s totally valid.”
“I agree. Being a woman is very stressful, and we must do everything we can to protect our peace of mind,” Jules says.
“Do you have cats, Roman?” The question is asked by one of Lavinia’s grandmothers, and if I remember correctly, it’s her maternal grandmother. She’s looking at me with distrust, not that I blame her. I don’t exactly have the reputation of a man you bring home to meet your family.
“Three of them.” I nod. “There was a family moving out of the building when I moved in, and I took them in to foster them and now they’ve taken over my apartment.”
Lavinia squeezes my hand again, her arm pressing along mine. Dealing with the awkwardness of the situation is a lot easier with her beside me. Does she feel the weird vibes or is she okay because this is her home?
“I love a good foster fail story,” Aunt Constance says. “What are their names?”
“Sabrina, Salem, and Buffy.”
Dr. Callahan laughs lightly. “Oh, isn’t that such a coincidence? Those are Lavinia’s favorite characters from her favorite shows. The two of you spent so much time in the media room watching them on repeat.”
I feel Lavinia’s gaze on the side of my face, but I can’t look at her. She might have played a role in what I named my cats. Then again, they are three black cats and the names are perfect. Lavinia happens to be obsessed with the supernatural.
Everyone falls silent and I shift in my seat. Lavinia squeezes my hand again, her other hand coming up to rest on my forearm. Her hand is so much smaller than mine and I can’t help myself from running my thumb back and forth over her soft skin.
“So.” All eyes swing to Mr. Callahan, who is sitting next to his wife, adjacent to us. I’ve been avoiding looking in his directionuntil now because I already know what I’ll see. Distrust and anger.
If I ever have a daughter, I won’t want her marrying someone like me either. Unless she ends up with my personality and then I feel sorry for any man or woman she chooses to marry.
“Explain something to me,” Mr. C continues. “You just started playing for the Titans. Your relationship with the team is contentious at best. Instead of honing that relationship, you decide to marry your captain’s sister, and you think this is a good idea?”
Lavinia groans next to me. “Da-ad. You promised you wouldn’t.”
“I’m surprised he went twenty minutes without saying anything,” Drew mumbles.
“You’re not helping,” Lavinia tells him.
“Did you think I would?” Drew blinks in surprise.
“It’s okay, Vin,” I whisper. I turn to her father, who continues to glare at me. “Sir, I know you don’t like me, and you have every reason not to. I’ve never looked at Lavinia and thought about the men in her life. So, no, I can’t say I thought about what Drew will feel when he finds out I married his sister as long as Lavinia is happy. She’s not a woman who can’t make her own choices and needs to rely on the men in her life to make them for her.”
Mr. C doesn’t even blink. “That sounds extremely rehearsed.”
“Aiden,” Dr. C hisses at her husband.
“Or it’s the truth and it sounds rehearsed because it isn’t. I’ve known Lavinia since we were kids and the one thing she’s never needed or accepted is direction.”
