“Why don’t you go shower first?” my dad said, raising his eyebrows at me in a very pointed way.
“Right. Good idea.” I hurried down the hall to my real dressing room. “I’ll meet you in the lobby.”
I take them to the same restaurant that Clint and I ate in for our first meal together and several times since. The hostess looks at me and smiles. “Are these your parents?”
“Yes.”
“Where is your handsome boyfriend today?”
“He won’t be joining us.”
A look of understanding crosses her face, then she nods and walks us to a booth. Once we’re seated, I sigh. Might as well get this over with. “I know you’re both upset, but once you get to know Clint, you’ll see that he’s really amazing for me.”
My mother busts out laughing. “Oh, we could hear how amazing he is.”
I can’t help but laugh with her even though my dad’s giving me a death glare. When the moment passes, he says, “You’re going to mess this up, aren’t you, Dani? Everything we’ve done for you. Every sacrifice your mother and I have made. All for some guy.”
“He’s not some guy. He’s Clint Sulli—”
“I know who he is. He’s the bad boy of hockey.” He shakes his head in disgust. “We never should have let you come alone. You’re not mature enough to handle this.”
“It’s fine, Dad. I promise. I’ve never skated better in my life.” I look back and forth between them. “It’s true. I know you won’t believe me, but you can ask Pierre. I’m on fire out there. If I can keep this up, the gold is as good as mine.”
“You’re being reckless, Dani. Totally reckless and we raised you better than this.” My dad lets out a long puff of air and shakes his head.
“He wants to marry me,” I say, knowing how insane it’s going to sound.
“What?” My mom’s mouth hangs open while my dad gets up and storms out of the restaurant. “Dad!” I call, but my mom puts her hand on my arm.
“Let him go. He needs to cool off.”
Tears fill my eyes. “This isn’t how I wanted you to find out about him.”
Mom raises her eyebrows at me. “I bet.”
“He loves me, Mom. Like really loves me. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. He wants to take care of me in every way. He cooks for me and he listens to me when I’m feeling nervous, and he has really great advice for how to think like a winner. So much better than Dr. Peters. I’ve never felt this confident in my life. I feel like I can fly out there on the ice. Especially when he’s watching me. It’s like he lifts me up just by being there.”
My mom tears up. “I don’t know whether to be happy for you or terrified.”
“Me neither.” I say, my voice cracking.
My mom and I part ways after lunch and I hit the gym while she heads back to their hotel to find my dad. I spend the entire afternoon feeling sick to my stomach about disappointing my parents.
When Clint gets home from hockey practice, I’m chopping mushrooms for a stir-fry. He drops his hockey bag by the door and scoops me up in his arms. “I’m so sorry about your parents. They must hate me.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Sure it is. If I wasn’t so damn good at oral…”
I chuckle in spite of myself. “It’s true. Your skills are dangerous and should be used wisely.”
“Do they hate me? I bet they hate me.”
“My mom is worried about me, but she seemed to find the humor in the whole thing. But, let’s just say it’ll be an uphill battle to get my dad to accept you.”
“Shit. I’m sorry, Dani. I really wanted to do everything right when I met them.” He kisses me on the forehead, then pulls back. “I’m going to have to work extra hard to win them over.”
After dinner, Clint makes love to me tenderly, gazing into my eyes as he moves over my body, making sure I know I’m loved. It’s late by the time we fall asleep in each other’s arms again, and somehow, I know everything is going to be all right. Clint does that to me. He calms me in a way no one else can.