Page 131 of What If I Knew You

“This is where it gets…I don’t know, awkward,” I warn him.

Dad’s face goes still. “Did he hurt you? Did he say something to you?”

“No, no, no. Nothing like that Dad, but in our conversations he was very vulnerable and I was a safe space for him. He trusted me and I wasn’t about to betray his trust just because I recognized him. So, I kept the secret to myself. He had no idea for weeks that he was falling for his coach’s daughter.”

“When did he figure it out? When did you tell him?”

“I didn’t tell him,” I murmur, bowing my head. “We walked into Harold’s together that day, remember? And the team was there?”

Dad’s jaw drops. “Corrigan Hicks. Are you telling me he saw us together that day and that’s the first time he learned about who you were?”

I nod slowly. “I’m not proud of it, Dad. I should’ve told him. I know I should’ve told him. I took that responsibility and I apologized profusely because I felt horrible.”

“So, you didn’t really lose a patient that day? You were just upset about lying to Bodhi?”

“Oh, no, I really did lose a patient. All this hit at the same time and it was a hot mess and I was a dumpster fire but,” I add, raising my head to meet Dad’s gaze, “he stuck by me through all of it. He held me while I cried my eyes out over that little boy, Dad. He sat on the couch all night long because I fell asleep with my head on his chest. He helped me unpack my apartment so it wouldn’t be a mess if you stopped over.” I reach over and lay my hand over his. “He loves me, Dad. He cares about me and I care about him.”

I sit up a little taller having gotten that all off my chest. “I love you, Dad. I do, but I’m an adult now and I’m very good at making my own decisions. I’m responsible and I’m a good judge of character.” I bob my head. “Except for Leo, of course, because you taught me those traits. And so, I’m here this morning to tell you that I love Bodhi Roche. And we’re together now. And we’re serious. And you don’t have to love that I’m with him. It’s okay if you don’t. But you do have to respect my decisions as an adult, because I’m not your little girl anymore.”

Tears well up in his eyes and his nose crinkles the way it does when he’s trying not to cry, but then he whispers, “Corri you will always be my little girl.”

“I suppose that’s true.” I give him a soft smile.

“I’m sorry I gave you such a hard time last night,” he finally says. “And I’m sorry I insinuated you were a…a…”

I raise my brows. “A whore?”

“Yeah. That.” He cringes shamefully. “I guess I didn’t exactly have the best night last night. But seeing someone attached to my little girl like that was…” He shakes his head. “I wasn’t ready for it.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry we threw you for a loop, but I’m happy Dad. Bodhi makes me really happy.”

He finally reaches for his favorite double chocolate chip muffin from the box of pastries and takes a bite. “He treats you well? Because if that little shit ever does something to hurt you…”

Relaxing a bit more now, I smile at my dad. “If he ever hurts me, you’ll be the first to know…er…” I cock my head and cringe slightly. “Okay second to know.”

We both look at each other and in tandem shrug and say, “Layken.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

BODHI

“So, you’re doing it?” Griffin asks, whispering as much as he can with both of us riding exercise bikes.

“Yeah.”

“Today?”

“Yep.”

“Before or after the game?”

“Before.”

He blows out a breath. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“What are we whispering about over here, gentlemen?” Ledger tosses his towel and water bottle on the floor and swings his leg over the bike on the opposite side of me.

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