“I noticed Emmeline was in the stands with her friends on Saturday.”
I grinned down at my plate, remembering my conversation with her on Friday night. “Yeah, after I explained how superstitious hockey players are, she said she’d come and be my good luck charm.”
“I suppose that I’m technically in the best position to offer you advice since I’m your foster parent, but I hadn’t really thought about how that would apply when it came to you and dating.” He leaned back in his seat and sighed. “I was too focused on making sure you had everything you needed to succeed with hockey and as a student at Black Mountain Academy. I should have realized girls would be a potential issue to tackle as well.”
There was no denying William had done a fuck of a lot for me, but no way in hell was I going to let him warn me off Emmeline if that was where this conversation was headed. My back straightened, and I set down my fork and knife. “I’m almost eighteen. It’s a little late for the birds and the bees talk.”
“What?” William shook his head, his eyes going wide. “That’s not what I meant at all, but now that you mention it—I suppose I should make sure you have condoms. The last thing you need is an accidental teenage pregnancy derailing your plans for college and professional hockey.”
“Emmeline just started talking to me this weekend after avoiding me since the first day of school,” I bit out, my jaw clenched even while my dick hardened. I didn’t appreciate him making the assumption that Emmeline was the kind of girl who would jump straight into bed with me, but my cock couldn’t help but react to the mental image of me wrapping up before sinking inside her tight heat.
“Sorry. It’s a hazard of the job that I tend to look at situations from the bigger picture in an attempt to limit surprises. I didn’t mean to make any assumptions.” He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “What I should have said was Emmeline is a sweet girl. Smart, too. You could certainly do much worse than her if you decide to date someone while you’re at Black Mountain Academy. I just hope a new relationship won’t distract you from your goals.”
I bent forward and leaned my elbows on the table. “You know all the shit I’ve gone through since my mom died, and I never let any of that stop me. Do you really think I’m going to start now? With something that has the chance to be really good for me after all the bad?”
“I suppose not, but relationships can be tricky,” he warned.
I bit back a laugh at him trying to lecture me about things possibly going bad between Emmeline and me when his marriage wasn’t one anyone in their right mind would want to use as a model. “I’ll have to take your word for it since I’ve never been in one before.”
“Then I can only assume you’ll be determined to make this one work if things go down that path for you and Emmeline.” I nodded and he continued, “You have my full support, but I fear that her mother may be a problem.”
“How so?” I asked as I dug back into my breakfast.
“She’s a bit of a snob, and I can only assume she won’t be happy with her daughter’s choice of boyfriends.” He shook his head and chuckled. “It’s quite ironic when I think about it, considering she’s known to be one of the worst social climbers in town, and she gained her current position because she married well above her station.”
I didn’t understand everyone’s obsession with social status in Black Mountain. Life was definitely simpler when I lived in Devil Valley, and I didn’t have to deal with any of this bullshit. “I guess we’ll see how she reacts because I’m not the kind of guy who backs off at the first sign of trouble. I go after what I want, and that’s Emmeline.”
“If she becomes a problem, let me know. I can intercede on your behalf,” he offered. “My family has been in Black Mountain much longer than the Cushings, and Lilly wouldn’t want to alienate Eleanor or me. I’m sure she’ll find other ways to express her displeasure to Emmeline, but I should be able to alleviate some of the pressure.”
I wasn’t worried about Emmeline’s mom scaring me off. It would take a fuck of a lot more than some pampered woman to stop me from going after what I wanted. But I didn’t want to fuck things up for Emmeline and her family, so I couldn’t allow my pride to get in the way of asking for help if William could make things easier for her. “I’ll do that for sure.”
He left the table, and I heaved a sigh of relief that our awkward conversation was over. Then I finished my breakfast and left for school. I ended up ahead of schedule and pulled into a parking spot with twenty minutes to go before the first bell. Walking toward the entrance, I was surprised to see Emmeline climbing out of the passenger seat of a Bentley.
I jogged over and jerked my chin toward the car as it pulled away from the curb. “Car troubles?”
“Hey, Corby.” She flashed me a beautiful smile and shook her head. “No, my mom has this weird thing about me not getting my license until I turn eighteen. Our driver does the school run since she’s usually not up yet, my dad is already at the office, and it would add a ton of time onto Emily and Sarah’s drive if they drove me.”
She handed me the perfect opportunity, and I wasn’t going to pass it up. “I'm just down the street from you and drive right past your house on the way to school each morning. I could pick you up tomorrow if you’d like.”
“Really?” Her grin turned blinding when I nodded. “I’d love that. Edwin could sleep in a little longer if he didn’t have to give me a ride.”
I liked how she was concerned about her driver getting enough sleep. The proof she was as sweet as I thought just kept stacking up, making her more attractive to me. Pulling my cell out of my pocket, I figured I could get two birds with one stone. “Give me your number? We can text later to figure out what time I should pick you up in the morning.”
“Oh!” Her plump lips formed a perfect circle, making me seriously consider kissing her. Then she handed me her phone, and the moment was lost. “Here, send yourself a text so we’ll have each other’s numbers.”
I did as she suggested, saving myself in her contacts before I handed the phone back to Emmeline. “If I didn’t have practice after school, I’d offer to give you rides home, too. But they gave the whole team early dismissal so we could head to the rink and get a couple of hours of ice time each day.”
Her pretty brown eyes went wide. “No wonder you can skate so fast. That’s a lot of practice.”
“Hockey is a demanding sport, but I love it.” Someone called her name, and we both turned to look. Her two friends—who had hung out with her at my games and disappeared before I’d made it out of the locker room—gave her the thumbs-up sign before changing direction to head into the school. “Should I be worried about your friends not wanting to meet me?”
“No, not at all. They’re very supportive of”—she broke off and nibbled on her bottom lip, peeking up at me through her lashes—“um, me talking to you.”
Her shyness was a fucking turn-on. I loved knowing I got to see a side of her no other guy did. But I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable with me, so I teased, “Emme, huh?”