Page 45 of The Penalty Shot (Totally Pucked 5)

My eyes never leave hers; I simply pick up her hand and drop my lips to it.

“Now you understand how I feel when I look at you.”

She doesn’t respond, but I see her throat bob as she swallows. All I fucking want is for her to see herself. For even a second. To see what I see.

“Uh,” she clears her throat and pulls her hand away, walking to the kitchen, “I’m thinking chicken Parmesan tonight?”

I stand and follow her into the kitchen. “Sounds good, I got some wine, it’s in the fridge.”

While she’s getting ready for dinner and pulling out all of the ingredients, she finally notices the flowers on the table, and she laughs, light and carefree, and fuck, it makes my heart squeeze.

“Asher, did you buy me flowers and put them in a…plastic cup?” She uses to hand to cover the smile on her lips.

“Fuck yes, I did. I didn’t know where your vases were, so I figured putting them in water was more important than what I put them in,” I say proudly. Made do with what I had.

“Good thing because I’ve actually never gotten flowers before, so I don’t have a vase.”

I hate that she hasn’t experienced things as simple as receiving fucking flowers, and every time I find something new she hasn’t had, I want to give it to her every damn day. I walk over to pull her into my arms, but just as I do, there’s a knock on the door.

Auden’s brow furrows. “Did you invite someone over?”

I shake my head. “Nope, but you get started on dinner and I’ll get it.”

She gives me the sweetest smile and nods. “Thank you.”

I leave her in the kitchen and walk to the front door, swinging it open. There’s an older couple standing on the other side. The man is wearing a scowl so tight that it’s almost comical, dressed in a three-piece navy suit with a burgundy tie, and the woman is wearing a pair of black slacks and a blouse. She’s also literally clutching a set of pearls.

“Hi, can I help you?” My forearm rests on the door as I assess the two standing here.

“Where is Auden?”

I glance over my shoulder to the kitchen and her back is to us as she works on dinner at the stove.

“Aud,” I call. She looks over at me with a small smile on her lips that slowly fades. All of the color drains from her face, and she looks like she's seen a fucking ghost. Slowly, she walks toward us, and when she finally makes it to my side, I can feel her tremble when her arm brushes mine.

Wait, are these…her parents?

Looking at them, I see no similar features, but judging by the way that she looks like she might faint on the floor, I can only assume that it’s her parents and they aren’t welcome.

“Mama…Daddy…W-w-hat are yo-o-u doing here?” she stutters.

The woman on the other side, with her pursed lips, somehow lifts her nose even higher in the air before speaking, and I immediately dislike her.

“Checking on you, Auden, obviously. After our last conversation, I wasn’t sure about your mental stability, so I thought I would see for myself.”

My fist clenches around the door, and I fucking swear I can hear the wood crack beneath my grip.

They’ve been here all of fucking three seconds, and they are already talking down to her in the most condescending tone I’ve ever heard, and it makes me fucking irate.

“My mental state is f-fine,” she says, her voice lacking conviction. “How did you even find me?”

Her mother rolls her eyes, but it’s her father that speaks. “I hired a PI. Are you going to keep us in the hallway or invite us in?”

Auden glances at me then back to them, and she swallows. Hard. “Come in, please.”

I still don’t move from the doorway, trying to quell the anger inside me, but then Auden tugs on the fist clenched at my side, so I step away. Once they’re inside, I shut the door behind them harder than I probably should, but really, who the fuck do these people think they are?

I feel fiercely protective over Auden and Alex.

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