Page 22 of Cross Check My Heart
“Are you going to tell him about meeting me?” I’m shaking my head before he even finishes his question.
“Definitely not. We have barely spoken over the past ten years, so filling him in on my weekend mess around with his new player is not something I will be telling him.”
Dom’s eyebrows scrunch together, but he nods.
“It’s probably best if he doesn’t know. I haven’t even had my first practice with the team yet. Fuck!” He turns to me in a panic. “My coach can’t know that I fucked his daughter.”
Cringing at the thought, I nod with a tight smile.
“He’s not going to knowanythingabout this past weekend. We can tell Paige and Garrett to keep it under wraps and just act like it didn’t happen.”
My phone rings again, reminding me I need to leave for dinner. Turning fully back to Dom, I’m about to tell him to just forget this all ever happened but stop short at his expression. He’s watching me closely with furrowed brows, a deep frown and his arms crossed, looking nowhere near finished with this conversation.
“Can we talk more when you get back from dinner?”
“Yes.” I hadn’t even fully thought my answer through before responding. There shouldn’t be much to actually talk about, but the idea of ending in a rush doesn’t sit right with me.
“Text me when you get back from dinner?”
“Okay.” Dom leans forward, cupping my cheek and kissing my forehead before turning to his condo. After locking up, I head out.
Dinner with my dad ends up not being as awkward as I expected it to be. He had picked a small Mexican restaurant that ended up only being an eight-minute walk from my condo and served giant size margaritas. There was some tension as we satdown and ordered our drinks. For a while, we just made small talk about the weather and some shops in the area.
The tequila from the margaritas definitely helps at getting us more at ease being around each other. Learning that he and I both shared a deep-rooted love for all things tequila was weird, in a good way. I had never thought twice about if he and I had any common ground.
Turns out we have a lot.
It did sting a bit when he had asked about my time in college and what I have been doing since graduating. I had almost shut him down. I didn’t want to fill him in on experiences he missed because he was too busy working. But when I had looked up to change the conversation his expression stopped me in my tracks.
He seemed…defeated.
Unease swept over me as I wondered how he felt about being away from my brothers and I for so long. We might have kept up with some of his overall career and have watched enough news clips to know that James Matthews was one of the top hockey coaches. However, he doesn’t know his own children, and while that was entirely his fault, a part of me couldn’t help but feel bad for him.
Not in the mood for any more confrontation, or risk any fights, I answered his questions. The only other awkward moment came from him asking about Ian and Blake.I explained to him that it wasn’t my place to tell him details that they might not be ready for him to know. He nodded in understanding and changed the subject to Paige and the publishing company she works for.
We paid the bill and were just sitting there while finishing our margaritas as he talked about his plans. The more he talks about everything he is responsible for this week, the more I understand why he had a poor work-life balance back when hestarted his career. Even now as we finish up dinner, it’s like you can feel his desire to pull out his phone and keep working.
The margarita must have been made stronger than the ones back home because before I can even think it through, I ask the most awkward question I can think of…
“Are you dating anyone?”
Dad chokes on the sip of his margarita as he stumbles over what I asked, deciding not to take it back, I simply wait. He clears his throat and takes a sip of water before answering.
“No. I’m not dating anyone.” A light blush takes over his cheeks as he avoids eye contact with me. His answer disappoints me, except I can’t figure out why. Any time I had thought about him, I would picture him dating someone else, moving on with a new life, while he left us behind. It has always upset me. So, why am Imoreupset to find out he has no one?
I’m finishing the last sip of my drink when he turns the table back on me.
“What about you?”
Thoughts of Dominik going down on me in the shower run through my mind as my face flushes.
“Nope. No. Not seeing anyone.” I rush through my words and try to think of anything that doesn’t include what I had spent the weekend doing. “Which is good seeing as how I just moved to a whole new state. Thank you, by the way, for letting me stay in the condo.”
He waves, dismissing the appreciation.
“I’m glad someone is using it. Up until you had called, I had pretty much forgotten about it since I bought my house a year ago. Some of the team is put up in that building as part of their contracts, so if you need anything and can’t get a hold of me, I can give you one or two contacts that are in the building. In case there’s an emergency.”
Mentally, I addrambles when feeling awkwardto the list of things my dad and I have in common that I never knew about.
