Chapter 8
Eight
Liam
“Are you sure your dad is okay with me joining you for dinner?”
“Yes, for the umpteenth time, my mom and dad are expecting you to join us.” Bristol already has her clothes pulled on, black pants and a dark-purple blouse.
“Should I be dressing up?” I glance her over. She’s not exactly in jeans and a t-shirt. I feel underdressed to meet her parents.
Bristol shrugs. “Wear whatever you want, but we need to head out soon, or we’ll be late.”
I cringe. The last thing I want is to make a bad impression. I grab a sweater, pulling it on over my t-shirt. The jeans are at least nice ones; they’re dark denim and there aren’t any holes. Parents tend to frown at that sort of thing, I know my own father would gripe over it.
Escorting Bristol to my car, I open her door, letting her slip inside. She suppresses a yawn. I feel it too. Zeke waking up several times during the night, howling in terror, made it hard to get a good night’s sleep.
And boy, was I tired after our festivities last night.
I can’t believe Bristol and I had sex. I’m still smiling, tired and all, but it was worth it. She is always worth it.
I hurry to the driver’s side, and we head toward her parents’ house. Bristol gives me directions.
Any other girl, and I’d be asking if they grew up here, but I know Bristol’s past. We share a history together.
We listen to the radio, the music keeping away any awkward silence on the drive over. I’m too hyper-focused on the fact that I’m going to meet her father, which has me white-knuckling the steering wheel.
I don’t like feeling nervous, but he’s a billionaire and I’m, well, I’m clearly not.
“When did your parents buy a place out here?” I ask.
“Last year, I guess. I thought Mom was renting the place, but turns out they bought it.” Bristol fiddles with her long, dark tresses. “The whole moving out here thing, honestly, it threw me. I didn’t expect it from either one of them.”
“Are they both living in Breckenridge?” I ask.
“Mom lives here full-time. I’m not sure if their marriage is rocky or what. I’ve never seen them apart for more than five minutes when I was growing up. I feel like something is going on.”
I reach for her hand, giving it a squeeze. “I’m sure everything will be fine.”
She purses her lips and nods. “I love them both. I just want them to be happy, and it seems weird that the two of them apart is doing that…”
Her words trail off and I glance at her.
“Make a right up here.” She continues giving me directions up to the cabin in the forest.
It’s isolated, private, but the view is stunning from the top of the mountainside.
I park the car, but neither of us get out just yet.
Bristol looks at me, concern evident in her gaze. “I just hope they’re not bringing me here to announce they’re getting a divorce.”
I don’t know her parents to ascertain if that’s even a possibility. “Together or apart, you know that they love you.”
She forces a smile. “I know. Still hurts worrying about them.” She unbuckles her seatbelt and climbs out of the car.
I follow, coming around to wrap an arm around her waist, keeping her close. I let her walk up the front steps first. I’m right behind her, my hand on the small of her back.
She knocks on the front door, and within seconds, I can hear someone on the other side, unlocking it. “Bristol!” Her mom pulls her in for a hug.
“Mom, you can let go now,” Bristol says with a laugh and her mom releases her grip.
“Hi, I’m Liam.” I hold out my hand to introduce myself.
“Emerson. Yes, I remember you.” Her introduction is short as she glances me over and I’m not sure if she’s about to slam the door in my face. She then smiles and pulls me in for a hug. “So, you two are friends now?” She glances from me to her daughter, awaiting an explanation.
“Something like that,” Bristol says with a laugh. “Liam is my boyfriend.”
“Come inside out of the cold.” Her mom ushers us into the house, and I remove my shoes along with my coat. “You two are dating? Since when?”
How close is she with her mom?
“Since none of your business.” Bristol laughs nervously, and I want to kiss her, but I refrain from doing anything that might make her uncomfortable. “It’s new. Can we stop with the millions of questions, please?”
I’m relieved Bristol is forcing her mom to change the subject.
“Fine. Fine. I’ll leave it alone.” She ushers us into the kitchen where Kyler Greyson, Bristol’s father, is cooking dinner.
To be honest, I kind of expected a billionaire to have a staff, at the very least someone to answer the door, like a butler, and a chef.
“Bristol, I’m so glad to see you.” He turns around, giving his daughter a hug. “And who do we have here?”
“Liam Moretti,” I say, offering my hand to introduce myself.
Kyler is wearing an apron. He doesn’t look nearly as intimidating as I imagined him to be, but coming face-to-face with him, I’m still out of my league.
He removes the apron and hangs it in the pantry. “I was just getting dinner started. Do you eat brisket?”
“Yeah, that sounds great. Can I give you a hand?” I offer Kyler.
“That isn’t necessary,” Emerson says, grabbing a seat at the countertop. “You’re our guest.”
I don’t point out that the question was intended for her father. I force a polite smile as Bristol sits a seat away from her mom, leaving one small stool in the middle for me. No, thanks. I’d rather not squeeze between those two. I opt to stand, at least for now.
“I have to say, I do appreciate all you’ve done for my daughter, keeping an eye on her and keeping me informed as well.” Kyler glances at me, and Bristol’s smile vanishes from her face.
“Dad! I didn’t invite Liam over so the two of you could harass me.” She folds her arms across her chest, her eyes glowering at Kyler.
I’m glad I’m not on the receiving end of that anger right now.
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” Kyler apologizes. “But I did invite you over for dinner. I wanted to tell you myself, before you hear it on the news.”
Bristol glances at me, worry mounting on her face. I step up from behind, resting my hands reassuringly on her shoulders, trying to silently let her know that I’m here to support her.
“Your mother and I have been discussing a change for a while now.”
I can’t see Bristol’s features as she faces her father, but her shoulders tense.
“Mom already left New York. She’s been living here. That’s quite a change.” Bristol gestures to the house and glances from her mother to her father. “Are you getting divorced?”
“What?” Kyler’s face goes ghastly at the question. “Of course not! Why would you even think that, Bristol?”
“Mom lives here. You live in New York City. It seems like you’re separated or something.” Bristol leans back and I wrap my arm around her, giving her a hug.
“Sweetheart, we’re not getting divorced.” Emerson turns to face her daughter. “Your father and I just want to be closer to you.”
“But what about the team? The Ice Dragons are in New York,” Bristol says, shaking her head. “I don’t understand. Your dream is owning the hockey team. You’re not giving it up, are you?” Her voice raises an octave, and I can hear the concern in her tone.
I want to kiss her worries away, promise her that no matter what, it’ll be okay.
She trembles slightly. It would be unnoticeable to most, but I feel it. I hold her tighter, resting my chin on her shoulder, my breath against her neck.
Bristol inhales sharply.
Kyler’s brow is furrowed as he stares at his daughter. “I’m having a press conference tomorrow with the team. I’m not giving up the Ice Dragons. I’m moving them to Montana at the end of the season.”
That was the big announcement?
Bristol’s shoulders instantly relax, and she expels a heavy breath of air. “You could have led with that, Dad!”
“It’s a big change,” Kyler says. “You grew up in New York; my brother lives there.”
“I haven’t seen Uncle Jasper in like two years. You punished him for visiting after he bought me alcohol my senior year of high school. He actually made my graduation party fun!”
“He wasn’t being a responsible adult,” Kyler grits. “You and your friends were underage. Until your uncle apologizes—”
“You’re never going to speak with him again?” Bristol laughs and runs a hand through her hair, annoyance growing into irritation. “News flash, Dad, I’m an adult. If Uncle Jasper and Aunt Amber want to visit, then great. I’m going to see them!”
Kyler’s nostrils flare. “I didn’t invite you and your boyfriend over for dinner to discuss your Uncle Jasper.”
Bristol snorts. “Could have fooled me. Moving the Ice Dragons seems like a dick move, even for you, Dad.”
“Bristol!” Emerson scolds.
She shifts on the chair, turning to face me. My hand is around her shoulder, still offering her support. I would have thought her father moving to Breckenridge would have been good news.
“What? It’s true.” Bristol stands and brushes past me, heading into the kitchen. I’m not sure if she’s planning on going toe-to-toe with her father or just restless and can’t sit still.
She opens the freezer, grabbing a pint of ice cream and a spoon. She doesn’t even grab a bowl, she just digs into the untouched sweet treat and sulks.
I watch with fascination as she takes a bite of the chocolate brownie concoction, and I cautiously follow her into the kitchen. It seems like she’s in need of some support. I’m just not sure why she’s upset.
Does it have to do with her Uncle Jasper or her father moving here?
“I thought you’d be happy that I’m moving closer to you,” Kyler says. His tone is even, and there’s obvious concern on his face. “Is that not what you want?”
“I came out here to go to college away from home!” Bristol shouts. “And first Mom moves out here. I can’t fault her because her job is technically here, but I didn’t realize until recently she asked to be transferred.” She scowls at her mother.
Emerson is quiet, taking it all in as she seems to realize speaking up now probably won’t help matters.
“And you!” She takes a mouthful of ice cream, waits a moment while it melts in her mouth and she swallows it, cleaning the spoon with her tongue. She points the empty spoon at her father. “You need to learn to let go. I’m not a little kid anymore.”
Bristol storms off, taking the carton of ice cream with her as I stand dumbfounded in the kitchen.
What the hell just happened? I rub the back of my neck, awkward as fuck with her parents staring from each other to me.
“I’ll go talk to her,” I say, deciding their silence is too much and I just hope that Bristol wants my company right now.
“Stay.” Kyler points at me. He glances at Emerson and nods for her to get up and talk to their daughter.
A heavy breath spills past my lips. I’m not sure I want to stay, but I do as I’m told. I’m not sure why.
“Sit.”
There he goes again, shooting off orders.
I stalk around to the counter and grab the chair where Emerson had been seated earlier, closest to the hallway. Maybe I can get up and run if I need an escape.
“You and me, we need to talk about my daughter.”
Fuck, no.
“I don’t think that’s a great idea. Maybe we do that with Bristol in the room.” I refuse to cower to him, but I’m also not about to go behind her back. I’ve seen her temper and I don’t want to be on the receiving side of her wrath.
“You had no problem reaching out to me when she was sick or in trouble.” Kyler tilts his head to the side. “And I appreciate that.”
It seems he’s decided we’re having this conversation whether I’m onboard or not.
“However, it’s come to my attention that you play hockey for Evergreen University. Am I correct?”
Slowly, I nod. “Yes, that’s correct.” I’m confused why he’s asking.
“Then you’ll understand why I don’t want you anywhere around my daughter, certainly not dating her. I used to be a hockey player, son, I know all about the trouble they get up to and the girls they sleep with.”
My mouth drops.
“I can assure you that Bristol and I … this isn’t some puck bunny scenario.”
“Of course, it’s not! My daughter isn’t a puck bunny!”
I grimace. This is not going how I was expecting today to go. “I was never implying that she was.” I’m quick to try to clarify my words. “I like her, sir, a lot.”
He rubs his jaw and grabs a bottle of liquor from the cabinet along with a glass for himself. He doesn’t offer me a drink. I’m also not of legal age yet. Given his grumpiness in regard to Bristol’s uncle offering her alcohol when she was eighteen, I doubt he’ll offer me a sip.
“I’m sure you do. I’m also confident you get tons of girls fawning all over you. Am I right?”
My lips part, but I don’t answer.
He offers a cocky grin. “I know you do, and if you’re good enough to make it pro, then you’ll sure as hell have girls lining up, willing to do anything for thirty seconds with you.”
“Mr. Greyson, if I wanted countless girls every night, I could walk up to any of the puck bunnies and have my choice. I’m not interested in those girls. I like your daughter.”
He pours himself a glass of bourbon and then swirls it around, breathing in the aroma. “You say that now, while you’re still interested in my daughter. What happens when you grow bored?”
“Is that what happened between you and Emerson?” I glower at Kyler. “Is that why you live two-thousand miles apart from each other?”
“I love my wife!” Kyler snarls, and his shout echoes through my bones.
“I care very much for your daughter,” I grit between clenched teeth.
I won’t use the l word, we’re not there yet, and it wouldn’t be fair to Bristol to throw it out there before feeling it.
“Remember, I used to play hockey. I know all about the trash talk in the locker rooms. Everything from the girls who were bedded the night before to the bets we’d make whether we could pick a girl up after a game and sleep with her.
I’m not an idiot, Liam, I work with those same young men just about your age.
Times have changed, but some things always remain the same. ”
“Do you want to know how many girls I’ve slept with while on the Narwhals team?” I climb off the stool, coming to face him.
He doesn’t scare me.
“Two.”
His eyes flicker.
“One of them, yes, is your daughter.”
“Liam!” Bristol shouts as she hears the tail end of the conversation. “Why the hell are you telling my father that we’re sleeping together?”