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“The fact is you’re bringing someone into Khalil’s life, introducing her, letting him be familiar with her, and Caroline and I have never met her. We don’t know anything about her other than she’s a firefighter who sought you out and doesn’t mind public displays of affection.” His mouth twists, and he shakes his head. “The fact that you allowed yourself to forget who you are,whatyou are, and got caught out there on the street like some college kid on spring break speaks volumes to where your head is. So no, forgive us if we’re questioning your judgment on this one. We’re family. That’s what we’re here for. To offer you advice and point out when your actions aren’t lining up with who you are.”
His criticism stings. No, it burns.
“Your argument would mean something if my relationship or nonrelationship with Adina would affect Khalil. And while I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and Khalil, that doesn’t give you the right to dictate who I choose to bring into his life. You’re right. You don’t know Adina. If you did, you wouldn’t accuse her of trying to ride my shit for a come-up. She has her own career, and I guarantee you, that picture didn’t make anything easier for her. She didn’t court the press or give them interviews or try to get paid. And she could’ve easily done it.”
“You’re willing to take that chance? I don’t know her, but you do? She came to the offices a handful of weeks ago. So that makes you an expert on her? And now she’s met your son. Maybe that was the intention all along. A bigger payday.”
Why is Nate being so insistent on this? It’s pissing me off that neither one of them seems to trust me. Even right after Kendra died, when I was at my worst, I never did anything to endanger Khalil.
“Nate, I—” I growl.
“Solomon, honey.” Caroline’s soft voice drags my narrowed gaze from Nate, who’s about to make me forget that he’s my father-in-law and employer. If he keeps questioning my parenthood, he’s gonna see another side of me. “All we’re asking is that you be a little more conscientious and circumspect. There’s never anything wrong with that.”
“With all due respect, Caroline, when you’re insinuating that I haven’t been careful with my son’s welfare, then there’s something wrong with that.” I try to keep the bite out of my voice, but when she blinks, her shoulders dipping, then I figure I wasn’t successful.
“The truth is you weren’t careful. Or clearheaded. And you’re doing it again,” Nate snaps. Red flushes his sharp cheekbones, and his blue eyes glitter with anger. “When you invited that woman to the game, did you even stop and consider how that placed you and her back into the public’s eye? If any of that gossip had died down, seeing her there at your game would’ve certainly have stirred it back up. And there were still plenty of people in the arena when Khalil went down to see her. They could’ve had their phones out, recording that little interaction. And it wouldn’t have just been you out on these gossip sites, but him. And he’s entirely too young and innocent for the bullshit that comes along with all of this.”
So why did you let him go down into the stands, then?The question hovers on my tongue, but I let it die there. But damn, I should be the one pissed—well, more pissed. Instead of telling Khalil no, they let him get his way. So really, whose fault would it have been if he and Adina ended up trending?
I inhale a deep breath. Before I can end this conversation, before any of us say something that can’t be taken back, Nate’s frown deepens.
“Also, we talked about this too: you’re an athlete, Solomon. A celebrity. You don’t belong to just yourself. Whatever you do—good, bad,or indifferent—reflects on this organization. On your team and teammates. With the addition of Mont Hannah, the exit of several longtime players and addition of new ones, and talk of conflict in the locker room, we can’t afford any distractions that will sidetrack us from the goal of playoffs and the championship. And that includes unnecessary drama that has nothing to do with Pirates hockey.”
“Nate, you’re the owner of this team, my employer, and my father-in-law. You’re the closest thing to a father figure I’ve had since my own dad passed years ago. And I love and respect you. But what’s not going to happen is you telling me how to conduct myself on or off the ice. Or how to live my life. Because at the end of all this shit, I’m a grown-ass man and a father myself. I will fuck all this shit up before I let you talk to me like I’m not either one of them. And I mean that.”
I cock my head, silently daring him to speak one more disrespectful word to me. Because we both know he wouldn’t pull this with any other player. I’ll call him out on that shit if he tries to deny it. And this is the second time he’s brought up the team, and that’s not sitting right with me. A more suspicious and paranoid mind would think he was low-key threatening my job.
“Now, we gon’ end this right here before we say some shit we can’t walk back. And I don’t want that. I hope you don’t either.”
I don’t wait for them to add anything else. At this point, we’re just going around in circles, repeating the same thing, and I get hotter every time they put it out there, just with different adjectives and verbs. Moving around them, I stalk back toward Khalil, who’s still engrossed in his game and, thankfully, doesn’t seem to have overheard any of our exchange.
“Ay, Khalil, let’s head out.”
His head pops up, and he grins at me. He grabs his little backpack, stuffs the tablet inside, zips it, then runs toward me. He hands me his bag, then cuts a path to his grandparents. Caroline bends down, scooping him up in a tight hug. Nate stares me down, and I steadily meet it until he looks away to pull Khalil close. He whispers something in li’lman’s ear, and Khalil nods so hard he looks like a damn bobblehead. On Black Jesus, he better not be telling him no bullshit.
There was a time that wouldn’t even occur to me. Now? I don’t put anything past a muthafucka.
Caroline walks Khalil back over to me, concern wrinkling her brow and darkening her eyes. When they reach me, she bends down and places one last kiss on Khalil’s cheek.
“We’ll see you later, sweetheart,” she murmurs to Khalil. As she rises, her gaze connects with mine again, and she whispers low enough for my ears only, “Please don’t let this come between us, Solomon.”
“Nothing will ever come between us.” I brush my mouth over her cheek, then switch my attention to Khalil. “Let’s hit it, li’l man.”
As we leave and walk down the hall toward the elevator, Khalil’s nonstop chatter fills the air, but I’m only half listening. Because my mind is on the woman who showed up tonight and is the center of my first major disagreement with my in-laws.
If anything, what just happened should be a red flag. Should give me an added reason to stop ... whatever this is between me and Adina. Nate’s warnings creep through my mind, and I can’t evict them.
But even as those warnings bounce off my skull and fill my ears, I know I’m not going to heed them.
It’s much too late for that.
Chapter Twelve
ADINA
With a long, relieved sigh, I dump the last of my grocery bags on the kitchen counter, then retrace my steps down the hall back to the foyer. I close and lock the front door and spend the next fifteen minutes putting away food.
It’s only eleven thirty in the morning, but I need another shower. Sometimes I hate my internal alarm clock. After dropping Noni off at home last night, I didn’t get home and asleep until a little after one in the morning. Too much whirled in my head, and calming the chaotic tornado of thoughts had taken reruns ofFrasier, deep breathing, and a couple of Benadryl. But did my body care that I’d just lain down a few hours earlier? Nope. I was up again at 5:30 a.m. and couldn’t go back to sleep. So I went to the gym, stopped by my parents’, and went shopping. And now I’m ready to chill out on my couch, turn on the extended versions of theLord of the Ringstrilogy, and enjoy the rest of my day off.
