Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 77718 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77718 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 389(@200wpm)___ 311(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“I didn’t lie,” I continue in the silence. “When you asked me a few weeks ago if I was seeing him…well, I did lie. I said Ares and I weren’t friends, and we were, so yeah, I lied about that, but you didn’t like me riding with him, so I didn’t want to tell you that he was my friend because…well, yeah. Anyway, now, he’s more. I like him. A lot. He’s good to me.” Not that I deserve it. “He wanted to tell you straightaway, about him and me, but I wouldn’t let him because I was worried about how you’d react, that you’d be pissed and maybe…talk him out of being with me.”
I see the first sign of reaction on his face since I started talking. His brows pull together in what looks like consternation.
“That’s what you thought? That I’d talk him out of being with you?”
I swallow down my dry throat. “Yes.”
“Jesus…” He scrubs his hands over his face. “Ari, I know it probably doesn’t seem like it…I know my past actions have given you reason not to believe this, but nothing or no one is more important than you. You’re my daughter. You have and always will come first.
“And my concerns about you and Ares came solely out of my concern for you, not that you might tarnish his reputation. My worry was that you weren’t in the right place to be starting a relationship with anyone. You’re just getting your life back together, and Ares, he’s in the public eye, which means you’ll be in the public eye if you’re together, especially with you being my daughter. It’s newsworthy, and I didn’t want you to have to deal with the added pressure.”
“Oh.” I bite the corner of my lip, chewing on it, feeling a bit stupid.
Okay, stupider than I already am.
“I’m…sorry, Ari.”
“What?” I nearly fall off my chair in shock.
My dad does not apologize. Ever.
He sighs out a breath. “I’m sorry that I made you feel that way, that you couldn’t talk to me, and that you thought that Ares’s reputation was more important to me than you.”
I fasten my hands together in my lap in front of me, staring down at them. “Well…it’s not like you’ve ever given me any reason to think different,” I say quietly.
“I know.”
That brings my head up. Have I slipped into an alternate world? One where my dad apologizes and talks to me?
“I’m just…I’m not good at this.” He moves a finger between us. “Give me eleven two-hundred-pound-plus players on a football field, and I can handle them with my eyes closed. But my daughter…I don’t know where to start. How to talk to you. And I just…I want you to know that I am sorry.”
Two apologies. Definitely twilight zone business here.
And it’s not an apology for everything he’s done wrong. But it’s a start.
I nod, acknowledging his remorse, my own words stuck in my throat, which is clogged with emotion.
“Okay…” He exhales, sitting back in his chair. “Even though I do have my concerns for you with the press, out of all my players, Ares is the one guy I would trust with you. He’s a good kid. So…I’ll notify the PR team and have them ready to handle it when the press gets wind of your relationship.”
If I have a relationship left.
“I appreciate that. But can you, uh, wait until I speak to Ares? He’s…not very happy with me at the moment.” I fidget in my chair, putting my hands under my thighs and sitting on them.
My dad frowns. “What do you mean, he’s not happy with you?”
“Well, we, uh…kind of got in a fight about it last night”—a big fight—“about keeping our relationship a secret. He wanted to tell you. I asked for more time. He got mad and walked out.”
“And that’s why you told me today.”
I bite my lip and nod.
“I’m glad you did tell me. Where is Ares today?”
I shrug. “Home, I’m guessing.”
“Okay then, I’m giving you the rest of the day off to go and see him.”
“You are?” I say, surprised.
“Well, it’s the least I can do. This is partly my fault.”
“Uh…thanks.”
“Do you need a ride into the city?”
“I can get the bus.”
He shakes his head. “I’ll drive you.”
“I appreciate that, Dad. But…I don’t think it’s a good idea for us both to go see him.”
My dad laughs low. “Ari, I wasn’t planning on coming to have a heart-to-heart with you and Ares. I was just going to drop you off at his place and then come back here.”
“Oh. Right. Well then, it’s a yes to the lift.” I smile.
“Thanks for the ride, Dad.” I reach for the handle to open the car door. “I guess…I’ll see you tomorrow at work.”
“Ari?”
I stop and look at him.
“Could we have dinner tomorrow night? Ares is welcome, too.”