Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Grace

" W hy did you do that?" I ask my dad when we're rolling down the highway. We haven't said a word to each other this whole time.

He just stares out the windshield at the approaching white lines. "I told you I don't want you dating a hockey player."

"Why not, exactly?"

He sighs and twists his hands on the steering wheel. "You deserve better than what they have to offer."

" You played hockey," I say, throwing it out there. "And you treat mom like gold."

"I wasn't a playboy superstar with an ego bigger than the stadium I played in."

"And Nolan is?"

He doesn't answer.

I cross my arms and stare at him, waiting for something. He turns the radio on. I turn it off.

"Nolan is not like that. "

"How do you know?" he asks, rearing on me. "You've known him for ten minutes!"

"I can tell."

He laughs. "Yeah? How?"

"Because he looks at me the way you look at Mom."

He turns back to the road and huffs out a breath.

"I'll always be your daughter," I whisper. "But I'm not your baby girl anymore. I'm a woman. And I can make my own decisions."

He turns the radio back on.

This time I leave it.

As soon as I get home, I run upstairs to check on my mom. She's sound asleep in bed with the TV on. Jerry Maguire is playing and it's at the best part when Tom Cruise crashes book club.

I take the remote control and turn it off.

"Hey!" Mom says, darting up. "I was watching that."

I jump up and nearly scream. "I thought you were sleeping ."

"Why because my eyes are closed?" she says with a laugh. "If you'll recall, they're swollen shut."

"Sorry," I say as I turn it back on.

"Ah, forget it," she says. "I've seen it a gazillion times and let's be honest, that marriage is not going to last past the credits."

" Mom ," I say with a laugh as I turn the TV off. "It's a love story. Of course, it's going to work out."

"I've been waiting for you to get home," she says as she sits up on the bed. "Tell me you have a love story for me."

I grin as I sit beside her. "It was amazing! "

"Nolan?" she says with a big smile .

"Oh yeah," I say, getting that dreamy feeling all over again just thinking about it. "He was better than I hoped."

She grabs my hand and squeals. "Tell me everything!"

I do. I tell her about seeing each other for the first time and how it felt like time was slowing down around us. About approaching him and the silent auction and dancing and our first kiss.

"There were fireworks in the sky!" I say as I squeeze her hand. "Fireworks, can you believe it?"

We're like two teenage girls. It's so fun.

She wants to know everything. What he was wearing, what he said, what he smelled like. I dish it all until my dad comes in, unraveling his tie.

"I sense tension," Mom says as Dad walks over to the chair and pulls off his jacket. "What happened?"

"Dad doesn't think I can make my own decisions even though I'm twenty-two," I say in a pointed tone.

Dad huffs out a breath. "Your daughter refuses to acknowledge that I may know something about men that she doesn't."

"Oh please, Finn," Mom says with a shake of her head. "Nolan seems like a perfectly nice guy and your daughter had a wonderful time."

"A wonderful time kissing a man at a work function," he says in a gruff tone. "Yeah, I saw you. What kind of man kisses a girl in public like that?"

" You ," Mom says. "Or, did you forget our first date?"

"Oh, really ?" I say, grinning as I lean back on the pillow.

"Oh yeah, and we did a lot more than kiss that night, let me tell you."

" Lynn! " Dad snaps as Mom giggles. "Will you please? I was a perfect gentleman."

She snorts out a laugh and even though I don't want to hear any more details, I laugh too.

Dad gets all flustered and grabs his bathrobe. "I'm taking a shower," he grumbles and we laugh even harder as he flees into the bathroom.

I sigh as I cuddle my mom.

"When are you going to see him again?"

"I don't know," I say, feeling sick about it. "He's going to be busy with the playoffs. He's leaving for New York tomorrow to get ready for the game."

"Go meet him."

"And look like a psycho stalker? No, thank you."

"If he's as crazy about you as you described, then he'll be thrilled to see you."

I think about it for a while. It would be pretty amazing to see Nolan in New York. I know this amazing French restaurant I'd love to take him to.

"You can have my ticket," Mom says. "It's a front-row seat."

"You'd miss the game?"

"For you? Absolutely." I smile and sink against her as she kisses my forehead. She's the best mom in the world. "And it's not like I can see anything anyway. With my luck lately, I'd probably get a puck in the forehead."

"Thanks, Mom," I say as I hug her arm.

"No problem, sweetie. And you leave your dad to me. I'll soften him up to the idea."

"That's going to take a lot of work," I say with a sad laugh.

She grins. "Don't you ever underestimate my ability to nag. I'm world-class at it."

I shake my head and smile, hoping she's right.