She would face another kind of humiliation when she got there, she thought, which was why she wasn’t driving as fast as usual. She had asked everyone in her family to help her show Callan how she felt about him, knowing how much it would mean to him. They all agreed to purchase a Siege T-shirt or jersey and wear it for the post-game party. Because it was a Friday night, they had decided to turn it into a sleepover party for the grandkids, who would all be tucked away in the three guest bedrooms by now. After meeting Callan, Roxy’s siblings would all get to go home and enjoy a quiet night and morning together, which made the plan a win-win for everyone.
But that was ruined now, Roxy thought as she pulled up to the curb in front of her parents’ house. Through the window of the well-lit family room, she saw that her mother had really gotten into the spirit, decorating in The Siege’s colors. Midnight blue, orange, dark gray, silver, and white streamers and balloons filled the cheerful space. Someone—likely her crafty mother—had created a banner that read, “Great game, Callan!”, complete with The Siege’s military style phoenix logo.
Her family was seated around her parents’ coffee table. Nearly everyone held a drink in their hand and wore a happy smile. A card game of some kind was in the works.
She got out of her car, taking care to close the door quietly since it was so late. As she walked up the path leading to the front porch, the door opened. Her gaze lifted to see Daj stepping outside.
And the emotion that she had just gotten back under control returned in a wild surge.
Daj held out her arms. “Come here, chavi.”
Roxy stepped into her grandmother’s hug, accepting the comfort she needed. Her grandmother ran her hand over her hair and made soft shushing noises, much as she had done many other times throughout her life.
“Here now,” her grandmother soothed. “The heart always causes us the most pain. Share it with me so I can spare you some of it.”
Roxy eased back from her embrace. “It was horrible, Daj. Callan’s parents showed up.”
“Did they?”
She sniffled and nodded. “He introduced me to them as his real estate agent.”
“Oh, dear.”
“I know. Half of his teammates and their significant others overheard it. I’m so embarrassed.”
Her grandmother gently rubbed her back. “I’m sorry. That does sound awful. Could there be another explanation for his behavior?”
“Like what? He was joking?”
“I would hope not, as it’s hardly funny.”
“Exactly. And he was so uncomfortable throughout the entire conversation. It was like he was flipping out over the idea of me meeting his parents.” She pulled a tissue out of her purse and dabbed at her eyes. “How did I misread things with him so completely?”
“You’ve never been in love before, chavi. It colors our perception of things.”
Roxy let out a hollow laugh. “No shit.” Shaking her head, she said, “At least I found out how he really feels about me before bringing him out here to meet everyone. What a disaster that would have been.”
Her grandmother’s eyes wrinkled with amusement. “It might have been kind of fun to see.”
The comment lifted the corners of Roxy’s mouth, which she was sure was her grandmother’s goal. “Yeah.” She sighed. “Thanks for this, Daj. It’ll make it a little easier sharing it with everyone else.”
“Are you ready to do that?”
“Yeah. And for a rather strong drink.”
“I can make that happen.”
* * *
It was a quarter past eleven when Callan finally pulled up at the address Duane had given him. He had dropped Rashied and Duane off at their homes rather than bring them along since it was already so late. The boys agreed to skip the party as long as he fixed things with Roxy, which he fully intended to do.
There were six other vehicles already parked in the driveway and on the street in front of the Wagners’ home. Callan parked behind Roxy’s Nissan and headed up to the front door. As he walked along the sidewalk in front of the house, he glanced in the home’s wide bay window. It appeared Roxy’s family was all in the family room, most of them gathered around the couch where Roxy sat.
The sight of all the people gathered together brought a hitch to his stride. When his father’s parents had still been alive, Callan’s family gatherings had topped out at six people. They would sit at his mother’s twelve-person dining table looking rather absurd with all the food on one half of it. He couldn’t count the number of times he had sat there longing for the chaos and fun of a much larger family.
It was a desire he had mentioned to Roxy a couple of times when she shared stories about her family. Seeing them now, sitting in a room covered in Atlanta Siege decorations and a huge banner celebrating him, he realized she had tried to fulfill that wish.
And he had called her his real estate agent.
His gaze moved to her. The sight of the tears on her cheeks jarred him into quickening his pace to get to the front door.
The door opened before he reached it. A bearded, dark-haired guy in his early thirties stepped out. He was wearing a Siege jersey and jeans and held a beer in his hand. He stepped onto the porch and closed the front door behind him.
“Shit,” the guy said in a low voice. “Thought that was you. I saw you through the window. You’ve got a huge pair of balls showing up here right now.”
The words lacked any heat, confusing Callan. “I’m here to see Roxy.”
“Yeah, you are. But before I let you into my parents’ home, you need to answer one question. Do you love my sister?”
So this was one of Roxy’s brothers…and he didn’t throw any punches.
“Yes,” he replied.
“Okay, then, listen up,” the guy said, gesturing with both hands. “You fucked up big time. You’re about to step into the lion’s den in there. Let me break this down for you. Roxy’s pissed and heartbroken, so you gotta fix that first. Mama’s in protective mode, so until Roxy’s happy, Mama ain’t gonna be happy. She’s Mrs. Wagner to you ‘til she says otherwise, got it?”
Callan nodded. The guy’s rapid speech and hand movements were ratcheting up his stress level.
“Daj is gonna read you the moment you walk in there, so if you’re lying, she’s gonna know.”
“I won’t be.”
“And if you fuck up again, my brothers and I will make one of those bodychecks you hockey players like to throw around feel like a fucking spa day to you. You catch me?”
Callan nodded again, not doubting a word.
“Okay. Good luck.” He turned to grasp the door handle. “Oh, I’m Roxy’s brother Gordon, by the way. You can call me Gordie.”
“Gordie? As in Gordie Howe?”
Gordie grinned. “That’s right. After Mr. Hockey himself. My parents grew up just outside of Detroit. Huge hockey fans.”
Callan’s nerves eased a fraction over this bit of news Roxy had never mentioned. “Good to know.”
His tension returned as he followed Gordie into the house and all eyes turned to him. On the drive there, he had pictured somehow getting Roxy away from her family so he could talk to her in private. It took one look around at all of the assessing and accusing eyes on him to realize that wasn’t going to happen.