Page 86 of Body Shot

“Or…” I hesitate.

“What?” He seems genuinely concerned. “Babe, if there’s something you want to do, I’m happy to do it.”

“My mom wanted to know if you’d come for dinner.” I manage not to grimace, because I’m not sure how that will go over, but to my surprise, he doesn’t even hesitate.

“I’d love that. Did you think I wouldn’t?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “It feels like everything is moving at warp speed.”

He reached out to cup my face with one of his big warm hands. “Do you want to slow down?”

“No. But meeting the parents…that’s kind of monumental, isn’t it?”

“It is, but what’s the alternative? We’re not going backwards unless you tell me that’s what you want.”

“God, no.” I launch myself back into his arms, desperate for the heat of our connection. “I don’t want that at all. I want you.”

“I’m really glad to hear that because I want you too. And yes, let’s do dinner with your parents tomorrow night. It sounds lovely.”

“You haven’t met them yet.”

“Moms love me, and I’ll make sure your dad understands that I’ll never purposely hurt you. I’m a good guy, and I’m crazy about his daughter.”

“You’re a great guy.” I stare up at him. “Sometimes it’s a little hard to believe. Like, you’re almost too good to be true.”

“Nah. I’ve got plenty of flaws. But at my core, I think I’m a good human being. The other stuff, well, hopefully you can live with them.”

“You going to clue me in on any of it?”

“Are you kidding? And give you an excuse to leave me? No way.” He laughs, playfully tweaking my nose before getting up and heading for the bathroom.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I say softly, even though he probably doesn’t hear me.

Because seriously…there is no universe where I’m the one who leaves him.

THIRTY-ONE

Anders

The gameagainst Philly is rougher than I expected, and sure enough, I wind up dropping the gloves after one of the D-men gives our goalie a shot to the knee. Normally, we’ve got Wolf and Zakk to handle that kind of thing, but neither of them are on the ice and the refs either don’t notice or don’t care, so I step in. Luckily, I don’t embarrass myself and my teammates all tap their sticks as I skate over to the penalty box.

I look up in the direction of the seats where Claudia and her parents are sitting, and amidst the sea of orange-clad Philly fans, I see some aqua and white. For some reason, I like knowing she’s here. That she brought her parents. The look on her face when I showed up at her office.

I’ve never felt like this about another human being, and the fact that it’s carrying over into my work says something.

And now I’m going to meet her parents.

I might even be a little nervous about it.

I’ve met the parents of women I’ve dated over the years, but never quite like this. In those cases, they were women in myhometown where we already knew each other’s families or were getting reacquainted after we began seeing each other. This is completely new, and for the first time in my life, I wonder if they’re going to like me. More than that, will they be okay with me dating their daughter?

It’s irrational, because they have no reason not to like me, but I can’t help but feel a moment of insecurity. Claudia has told me a lot about them, and they seem pretty relaxed, so I’m trying not to overthink it as I get dressed.

“Are you bringing Claudia and her parents back here?” Johan asks me as I pull on my jacket.

“Yeah. She just texted me that an assistant is bringing them down.”

“You look nervous.” He leans against the locker.

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