Page 92 of Body Shot

I stare in the direction he and my father have gone with a resigned sigh.

Nothing is going to stop my dad, so now all I can do is wait it out.

THIRTY-THREE

Anders

It’sa little annoying but I’m okay with getting the third degree from Claudia’s father. I have nothing to hide, after all, and he’s just looking out for her. From the heated whispers going on in the kitchen, I know she’s furious, but everything is going to be okay. I’m truly not the kind of guy her parents have to worry about. At least, not now that I’ve met Claudia.

“Tell me about your family, Anders,” Jeff says, leaning against the fireplace.

“My parents are still together,” I reply. “I have a sister who’s married with two kids, and we’re fairly close despite me living in the US now.”

“Do you plan to go back to Sweden after you retire?” he asks.

“Honestly, I have no idea. I’m twenty-seven. I’m hoping retirement is still a decade away, and it’s going to depend on a lot of things. Money, whether or not I have a family yet, where my wife is from. It’s hard to answer that. Yes, of course, I’m always going to go back to Sweden to visit and spend time with my family. I don’t know that I’ll move back there permanently.”

He nods. “And why is a guy like you single?”

“Excuse me?” I hadn’t expected anything quite so blunt.

He waves a hand. “Look, I’m not trying to be a jerk, and I adore my daughter, but we both know she’s not the type of woman a guy like you typically goes for.”

I arch my brows. “What kind of guy do you think I am?” I ask quietly.

“A wealthy, successful professional athlete who dates models and actresses.”

I shake my head. “That’s an unfair stereotype.”

“Have you dated them?”

“A couple, but my last serious girlfriend was a schoolteacher,” I reply. “I don’t have a type, per se. Yes, I prefer brunettes to blondes, but I’d dare say you have a preference as well.”

“Sure. But insecure computer nerd probably isn’t on your radar.”

Damn, he’s being brutal, and I feel the need to defend Claudia.

“Is that what you see when you see your daughter?” I ask. “Because what I see is a woman who’s beautiful. Brilliant. Hard-working. About to embark on an exciting career. She might be a little nerdy sometimes, but I like to sit around in my underwear and calculate the analytics when I watch football on Sundays. That probably makes me a little nerdy too.”

“You never answered my question.”

I frown. “About…”

“Why a guy like you, who probably has a woman waiting for him in every city you play in, single.”

“Because my last girlfriend was a liar who tried to trap me, and I’ve been extremely careful since then. And before you ask, it’s been over a year.”

Jeff takes a pull from his beer and then smiles.

“Good to know.”

“Is this all?” I ask dryly. “You want to know my visa status or make a copy of my driver’s license?”

He chuckles. “No. I just want to know that you’re not using her. That she wasn’t a fun little off-season distraction and now that you’re in the midst of your season you’re not going to drop her like a hot potato.”

Had my father ever done this to my sister’s boyfriends?

I really hoped not, and I make a mental note to never, ever do something like this to my future daughters. Or at least, not to be so over-the-top about it.

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