with me indefinitely. I know it’s quick, but this feels a hell of a lot more serious than dating to me.”
“That’s even worse,” Nate groaned. I was seriously starting to question his home life, because sports weren’t everything. My dad might tease him a bit about his lack of knowledge, but he’d be more concerned about whether or not Nate made me happy. If the past twenty-four hours were any indication, he had that base well covered.
“It’ll be fine,” I promised him as I pulled the key out of the ignition and opened my door. “The longer we sit out here, the worse it’s going to be. Come on, I want to prove to you how wrong you are about what Dad will think of you. Besides, he’ll probably be so ticked off at me he won’t even realize you’re there until I introduce you.”
“In that case, how about you tell me where your bedroom is and I’ll go hide out until you’re done.” He flashed me a nervous smile and jumped out of the truck, cursing when he hit the ground. “We really need to talk about you getting a car more suitable for normal-sized people.”
The front door swung open as I pulled bags out of the bed of the truck. “Peter, it’s nice to know you aren’t dead on the side of the road somewhere.”
“Peter?” Nate muttered.
“Shut it,” I warned him, keeping my voice low so Dad wouldn’t overhear us. He needed to get the impression that Nate and I knew one another well. I didn’t want him thinking Nate was some passing fling. I shifted both of the bags to one hand and reached for Nate, hoping a united front would help. “Nate, this is my dad, Pete Nolan. Dad, this is Nate Kendricks.”
Nate squeezed my hand reassuringly. Thank God his brother was becoming a household name, because otherwise I’d have fucked up on something as simple as not knowing his last name. My dad looked down at Nate’s outstretched hand long enough I think both of us started to sweat. When Dad took his proffered hand, we both released a deep breath. “Mr. Nolan, it’s good to meet you.”
“Likewise, although I will say it’s a bit of a surprise.” Dad looked to me, one eyebrow raised in question and his lips tightly pursed. “Is he the reason you’ve been missing from training?”
“No, Dad. I’ll tell you all about that, but my decision had nothing to do with Nate,” I insisted. Dad motioned toward the door and both of us followed him into the house. Into my house. If not for the fact I was already going to be in trouble, I’d have made a smart comment about how nice it was of him to invite me in. “Nate, if you want to clean up, my room is at the end of the hall upstairs. Dad and I need to talk about what’s going on, and I’m sure you’d rather not listen to the boring details again.”
I half expected Nate to insist on sitting by my side while I talked to my dad. I kinda hoped he would. But he wasn’t a stupid man and he took the offer and practically ran to the stairs.
I couldn’t blame him, because I could almost feel the frustration radiating off my dad’s body. I was sure his phone had been ringing nonstop since yesterday morning, with everyone from my agent to the GM hoping he’d be able to tell them where I was and what I was thinking. Pete Nolan wasn’t a fan of being left in the dark.
Dad went straight to the liquor cabinet and pulled down two glasses, pouring three fingers of Irish whiskey into each and handing me one. I followed him into the living room and sat in the chair furthest from his perch in my favorite chair. He knew I always sat there and he was trying to keep me on my toes. “I’m assuming there’s a completely logical explanation for the little stunt you pulled yesterday?”
“Yes, sir,” I confirmed. When he was in one of these moods, using the fewest words possible was a smart choice.
“And I’m assuming it’s not entirely true that you had urgent personal matters to attend to?” I didn’t miss the way his eyes flitted toward the stairs. “I’ll admit he’s a handsome man, but I find it hard to believe you’d risk your entire career, everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve, for him.”
That pissed me off. Sure, I’d