Chapter Thirty-Two
Aiden eases his Lamborghini up the drive to my parents’ house, taking in the sprawling contemporary home outlined in white lights for the holiday season.
Large wreaths hang in the windows, also twinkling with lights, and from the windows next to the door, you can see the massive Christmas tree lit up inside.
I should be coming over here to celebrate the season with my boyfriend, I think as my emotions begin to build.
My parents should already know about Aiden, and they should be welcoming us into their home.
They should be happy I have not only found someone who loves me in the way he does, but that I love him back in the same way.
But instead we’re going to have to go in there and defend something that we shouldn’t have to explain in the first place.
Aiden cuts the engine, but his hands remain on the steering wheel. I can feel the nervous energy radiating off him.
“Are you okay?” I ask softly.
He turns and looks at me. “I’m fine. Are you okay, baby?”
“That’s so like you.”
His brows knit together. “What?”
“Worrying about me first. Even when you’ll have the greater price to pay.”
“Hey. Don’t worry about me. I can handle anything Coach throws at me. I can handle it because I know you’re mine. And I know you’ll be mine no matter what is said in there or where I end up playing.”
“I love you,” I say. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too.”
It falls silent in the car, and the foreboding over what is about to happen hangs heavily between us.
“Let’s go talk to your parents,” Aiden says decisively.
“Okay.”
We get out of the car, and I wait for Aiden to reach my side. When he does, he extends his hand to me. I don’t hesitate. I put my hand in his.
We walk up the sidewalk to the front door. When we reach the doorstep, I pause before ringing the bell. “It’s going to be brutal in there,” I say, my stomach twisting in anxiety.
He pauses for a moment. “I know.”
“I’m so sorry you have to go through this,” I whisper.
Aiden stares down at me. “Don’t be sorry. I get to be with you. That’s all I want.”
Then he presses the doorbell as if to punctuate that point.
The sickness that has been building within me the whole night reaches a crescendo now. Aiden’s future with the Manatees is in my dad’s hands, and it’s about to play out right now, on the night before Christmas Eve.
I hear Mom in her heels coming down the marble hallway—click, click, click—growing louder as she comes closer. They stop, and then the lock turns. I grip Aiden’s hand a bit tighter as the door is pulled open.
Mom has a smile on her face, but as soon as she sees Aiden, it evaporates into thin air. Then her green eyes drop to our joined hands and she goes pale. “I knew it,” she says, her voice flat. “I knew it.”
“Mom, this is why I asked to come talk to you and Dad tonight,” I say, my voice firm.
Mom looks like she is going to be ill. She turns and looks at me, and there’s no denying the disappointment in her eyes. “Your dad is going to be very upset,” she says in a hushed voice. “How could you do this to him? Put him in this position? Didn’t we raise you better than this?”
As soon as the last sentence comes out of her mouth, Aiden’s grip on my hand tightens. “You raised an amazing daughter, Mrs. Rivershon. One I’m willing to risk my Manatees career for, and that should tell you everything you need to know.”
“Christine, are you going to let Scarlett and the mystery man in or—” Dad suddenly appears behind Mom’s shoulder, and when he sees Aiden, shock registers all over his face.
“Good evening, Coach,” Aiden says softly.
The color drains from my dad’s face. My anxiety begins to skyrocket. Never ever have I seen my dad look like this before. Stricken. Stunned.
In complete disbelief.
“What the hell is this?” he finally blurts out. “Why are you here with my daughter?”
“I think we should all go inside and talk about it,” Mom says. “Scott, let them in.”
“If this is what I think it is, I don’t want him in my house,” Dad declares, his voice shaking with anger.
“Well, if you want me in your house, you’re going to have to let Aiden in,” I say. “And I’d rather have this conversation inside rather than out on the doorstep.”
Mom nudges Dad back and opens the door for us. I step through first, and Aiden puts his hand on the small of my back. As soon as Dad sees it there, his face begins to turn red.
I lead Aiden back to the living room. Mom has her Christmas music on, just as she did when I was here for the family dinner with Ethan, and the tree is sparkling from all the lights strung on it.
Presents are piled beneath the tree now, and under any other circumstances, this should be a milestone night.
I’m introducing my new boyfriend to my parents, and if he didn’t play for the Manatees, I know they’d love him.
But that’s not reality. I look at my parents’ faces as they sit on the other sofa, facing us. Dad is seething with anger, and Mom looks disappointed.
I glance at Aiden, the man who has worked so hard his whole life to do everything right. He’s about to throw his alternate captaincy and his career into the trash for one reason and one reason only.
Because he chose to love me.
“Explain,” Dad says, his voice shaking, “what the hell you two think you’re doing?”
Aiden defers to me. “Do you want me to start?”
“No. I will,” I say, determined to do this right. “I love Aiden. And he’s in love with me. We’re in a relationship, and it’s serious.”
Mom puts a hand to her head, as if she has a blinding headache that has just come on. Dad looks like he’s about to turn purple.
“Coach,” Aiden begins, but my dad cuts him off.
“How dare you do this,” he spits out, his rage simmering below the surface. “My daughter? You went after my daughter? I put a damn A on your chest, Wentworth. And this is how you reward my trust and belief in you? You go off and screw around with Scarlett?”
“This is not screwing around,” Aiden responds, his voice firm. “I’m in love with your daughter.”
Mom begins wringing her hands in her lap. Dad barks with laughter. “If you loved my daughter, you’d never put her in this position!” he snaps.
“What position is that?” I ask. “Being with someone who loves me in the way I deserve to be loved? Dad, you aren’t making sense. You put the A on Aiden’s chest because of who he is. This hasn’t changed that.”
Dad jumps up from the sofa and begins to pace across the floor.
“Bullshit. Everything I thought Aiden was? That doesn’t exist. No alternate captain of mine would go after my daughter behind my back.
No alternate captain of mine would betray my trust like this or put me in the impossible position of having to coach my daughter’s so-called boyfriend.
And no alternate captain of mine would lie to my face,” he says bitterly.
Then he stops and glares at Aiden. “You are completely unfit to wear the A.”
I look at Aiden, whose face has drained of color. These accusations are landing like punches, hitting all the values he’s built not only his career on, but also himself.
And I grow angry.
“You have never had a player more worthy of the A than Aiden,” I say, my voice shaking. “We tried to fight our feelings for each other—”
“Oh, let me guess, you couldn’t?” Dad sneers.
Now Aiden rises from the sofa, staring my father square in the eye.
“No, sir, we couldn’t. I’ve never met anyone like your daughter.
In one conversation with her, I knew she was special.
She’s smart. Funny. Kind. Interesting. I tried to keep her as just a friend, but I couldn’t.
I knew the risk I was taking. I knew I had two options.
I could stay away from Scarlett and have my life exactly the way it was.
Or I could risk everything for a chance with her.
I took that chance because I knew she was special. And I don’t regret it.”
Dad stares daggers at him. “I can never trust you again.”
“Dad, you aren’t even listening to him,” I plead.
Suddenly he looks as if he’s had an epiphany. “This is why Ethan went after you. He knew.”
Aiden nods. “He figured it out.”
“At least he understands the unwritten rules of the game,” Dad retorts.
Now I’m leaping off the couch. I can’t sit still anymore. “Do you hear yourself? You want to punish Aiden for loving me in the way I’ve always dreamed of!”
“Scarlett, there are a million men who can love you without all of these complications,” Mom says.
I turn to look at her. “Not like Aiden has. He believes in me. Supports my dreams. Aiden is proud of me and isn’t afraid to show it.
He tells me he loves me daily. Brings me my favorite drink and has it waiting in the cup holder when he picks me up.
I not only feel like I’m a better person with him, but I’m the happiest person I’ve ever been. All because he loves me.”
“I wouldn’t risk everything I have in Miami if Scarlett weren’t worth it,” Aiden adds, standing and reaching for me.
I put my hand in his. Aiden stares at me, but addresses my father.
“Coach, I know there are unspoken rules. Expectations you have. The old me would have never taken these risks. But Scarlett is worth every risk I’ve taken. ”
“Good. Because risks don’t always have rewards,” Dad says angrily.
I go cold. That’s a threat. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.
“I don’t want to even look at you, Wentworth, let alone coach you,” he says, his voice turning cold as his blue eyes narrow at Aiden. “So I’m ripping that A off your chest. You aren’t fit to wear it.”
“This is insane!” I cry. “You need to cool down and think about what you’re saying—”
“I know exactly what I’m saying.” Dad glares at Aiden. “You can say goodbye to Miami and Scarlett, Wentworth. Because I’m trading your ass. You will never play for me again. Your days in Miami—and with Scarlett—are over.”