Page 59 of Falling for the Pucking Bad Boy

Nothing I say is going to make this right. The press is eating us alive, and it’s only been twenty-four hours. I didn’t even make it to the airport because Dad was blowing my phone up and demanding I call him.

He scoffs, turning away, his hands on his hips as he looks out his window. "Feelings. Please don't talk to me about feelings, Rory. This is the real world. And in the real world, you’ve got to think about consequences. How could you be so selfish?

Selfish?

The word cuts more profound than the rest. Sure, I wanted happiness, something for myself. But selfish?

I swallow the protest, the justifications lodging in my throat. He’s never going to get it.

The phone in his pocket buzzes, likely another call from the higher-ups or the press asking for a statement. His attention briefly shifts, and I see the stress etched in the lines of his face, deeper now, more pronounced.

"Dad, I love what you've built, your reputation, and the team—I would never want to damage any of that. But... but I’m my own person, too. I didn't mean for things to get out. I was going to wait until after the season was over.”

The sigh he exhales is loaded with anger and distress. He knows I've never been just Coach Sellers's daughter, but this is different. This is messy.

"Rory, you’ve dragged our name through the tabloids. After all the work I've put in, the hours, the sacrifice—"

"Dad, please, I need you to understand this. We did everything possible to keep it under lock and key until the right moment. I tried to be careful, for your sake.”

He turns to fix me with a look that's all at once stern and slightly troubled. "Careful? No, careful doesn't end up on every sports channel and gossip site. Careful respects the game and their family. Careful would’ve given me a heads-up.”

There's a beat of silence that screams louder than we ever could. I'm his daughter, but at this moment, we're on opposing teams, and it is a slapshot straight to the heart.

I don't know how to bridge this or make him understand without revealing how deep my affection for Wells goes—how it's not just a fling, not a headline, but something real and terrifyingly vital.

"So, tell me, Rory, how will you end it?"

The room seems to close in on the question.

End it?

That was the last thing I was thinking of.

"End it?" The words taste bitter on my tongue as I repeat them, but I lift my chin anyway. "I’m not breaking up with Wells."

His jaw tightens, the muscles working in silent fury. "You can't be serious. After all of this? After the chaos you've just put us through, you’re going to continue seeing him?"

"Yeah, Dad, I am." My voice is steady, but my insides are utter chaos. "What Wells and I have—it's worth fighting for. I’m not giving up on it.”

"Rory—“

"No, Dad. I know you're upset, and I'm really sorry for the surprise and the mess, but my feelings aren't something I can turn off. Wells isn't the enemy—"

"He's on the rival team!" he explodes, the words echoing off the walls. “He is a menace. A fuckin’ playboy. You’re willing to risk your reputation for someone like that? For someone who can’t—”

“It’s not like that with me.”

“Bullshit,” he shoots out. "After everything I've done for you, this is how you repay me? You're choosing him over your family?"

“God, Dad,” I choke out, tears burning the back of my eyes. "I'm not choosing anyone over anyone else, Dad. I'm not being disloyal to you or our family. I thought you, of all people, would understand not letting others dictate your life and your choices. I knew you wouldn’t be happy, but this is disappointing.”

"You think this is about control? This is about respect, Rory. And right now, you're showing you have none—for me, the team, or the sacrifices we've made.”

“No, this is about you. And you have zero respect for me and my happiness. It’s all about you.”

“It’s about my job,” he shoots back. “You may think you know what you want now, but just wait—this will cost you more than you're ready to pay. And me. I have upper management asking me if I knew. How I could allow my only daughter to do something like this to me.”

“It brings more attention to the team,” I retort with a shrug. “It’ll bring more money. They’ll spin it. It’s what they did with Lucas’s drug problem last year.”

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