Dad took a swig of his beer and then pointed the neck of the bottle his way. “That silence says it all.”
“No, it’s not that.” Okay, it was a little bit that, but Gavin couldn’t explain why. “She’s free to date who she wants.” True. “I just hope the guy’s not a jerk.” Also true. He wasn’t going to consider how he’d react if she went home with Kory tonight. Again, that came from a place of concern, and he didn’t want Dad insisting it was because he was jealous.
He absolutely wasn’t.
He was relatively sure, anyway.
“It’s hard when you care about someone,” Dad said, and Gavin raised a warning brow. “I don’t even mean like that. I worry about you every single game. Same when it comes to Niki attending college in the big city. If it snows, I’m a mess, even though I taught her how to drive on icy roads. Even with Julie, I worry about her living so far from home, and I know her parents do, too.”
Gavin nodded. That was the safest, considering he himself couldn’t understand his pissy mood. He’d like to blame Julie’s cockamamy plan, but honestly, it’d make him feel like James Bond, so he was cool with that part.
“Let me ask you a question,” Dad said. “If you weren’t about to play the biggest games of your life—let’s say football wasn’t even part of your life anymore…”
Panic bound his lungs, and why was Dad going there? Did he think his injury was going to knock him out of the game he’d loved since the moment he’d picked up a football? He’d played both it and basketball in high school and then had to make a choice. He’d feared his dad would be disappointed, but before he could gently break the news, Dad told him that he couldn’t wait to watch him play football at those “big-ass college stadiums” and announce to everyone in the crowd that that was his boy.
“…If you were ready to settle down, what kind of woman would you look for?”
“I don’t know, Dad. That’s at least five to ten years away, so I don’t see the point of going down that road right now.” While his drive made him dogged and determined, it often eclipsed other parts of life. After things went sour with Kristin, he’d decided to face facts. The strain of balancing a relationship while trying to advance his career had left him sucking at both.
“Interesting. Particularly when you think about how long you prepared to play college ball, and then the NFL.”
“Fine. I’ll visualize it.” Gavin closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “She’s smart and pretty and we’re happy. Now I’ll be ready when the time comes.”
Dad’s unamused expression conveyed exactly how he felt about the sarcasm. Yeah, it was a smart-ass answer, but why was Dad pushing this? Once the season was over, he could seek out some casual fun. His career was still young, his spot with the Mustangs far from solidified—with the damn shoulder injury, it might take that much longer to reach that goal, too. Which was why, until he was in a stable, more permanent position, he wasn’t doing the relationship thing again.
“I get that the pressure at the pro level is more intense than what I had to deal with playing college basketball, but through the ups and the downs, you know who held me together?” Dad paused for dramatic effect, in defiance of the answer being completely obvious. “Your mother.”
“Julie and I hold each other together as it is. We don’t need to be in love to do that.”
Dad sighed. “If she meets someone—whether it’s this guy or the next—I’m afraid you’re going to find it’s different. There’s something I haven’t told you or Nikita, and I’ve been waiting for the right m—”
Footsteps made both of them glance up. Julie descended the stairs sideways instead of straight on, gripping the banister for support as she balanced on a pair of black high-heeled boots that made Gavin’s mouth go dry.
Yep, just the knee-high boots. Not the bare, shapely legs or the flared skirt of the dress that landed mid-thigh. The top had long flowy sleeves, and her blond waves contrasted the dark red fabric that perfectly matched her lipstick.
Add a hat and she’d be a sexy elf.
The sexy elf who lured other elves to their deaths on the icebergs. Yep, she was the holiday version of a siren, and she was so far out of Kory’s and Brad’s league—and any other guy who had been with her, for that matter—that Gavin’s rage over them not treating her right returned with a vengeance.
And yeah, he realized that Kory hadn’t mistreated her—yet. However, if he stepped one foot out of line, Gavin would be there to ensure it wouldn’t happen again.
As she went from carpeted stairs to the hardwood floor, a clacking sound filled the silence, each step a punctuation. Relief went through Gavin over how effortlessly she maneuvered around the kitchen—come to think of it, those steps had always been extra narrow. But at least she wouldn’t arrive for her date walking like a newborn giraffe on ice skates. With her self-esteem already on the fragile side, he wanted the evening to go as smoothly as possible.
She completed a cute little curtsy move. “Well?”
Dad told her she looked beautiful and then followed that up by telling her to be safe and have fun. Gavin remained frozen in place, that antsy sensation kicking it up a notch as his heart pounded faster in his chest. Dad jabbed his elbow into Gavin’s side.
Right. He should say something, too. “You look…hot.”
Julie did a double take, and Dad shot him a smug grin with plenty of I told you so in the curve.
“Kory’s not gonna know what hit him,” Gavin added to convey to his father that it was an objective statement, one that didn’t have anything to do with what they’d been discussing moments ago.
Sure, before they left, he might need a quick detour past that beach photo that every classmate and teammate gave him shit about. Still, he stood by what he said, and she should hear compliments like that more often. Only an idiot wouldn’t see how beautiful she was, and he wasn’t an idiot.
Everything was all fine and good, and he was going to stand up, grab the keys, and take her on a date. Er, drive her to her date.
Now it almost felt as if he were delivering her to Kory, and if he thought too much about that, he’d end up taking her to the restaurant, only to be unable to let her go.
Chapter Six
Julie crossed one leg over the other, frowning at her skirt, and Gavin didn’t have to ask why. She had a habit of putting her feet up on the dash, and she’d obviously realized her outfit made it harder to pull off.
Not that he’d complain over seeing a flash of her thighs.
Gavin gripped the wheel tighter, squeezing so hard he wouldn’t be surprised if it cracked and crumbled underneath his hands. His phone rang from its holster on the dash, and he was grateful for the interruption—with any luck, it’d allow him a minute or two to get his thoughts back on track.