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And if he assumes that I leave right at five because I’m in a hurry to get home to my husband, well, that’s his assumption to make.
Which is the exact assumption I want people to make.
But in reality, I’m going back to my hotel to work on my laptop from bed.
It’s a fine hotel, nothing fancy, nothing like the room I had in Vegas, but it’s one of those extended-stay places with a separate bedroom, a mini kitchen with a table, a desk, and a couch-TV area. So my four suitcases and I are quite comfortable.
“Nat!” Dad calls again, and I turn, lunch in hand, back toward his door.
When I step into Dad’s office, I pull up short, not expecting the giant man standing in front of his desk.
“Uh, hi.” I’m sure my eyes are wide. This guy is huge. Definitely a football player.
“Hi.” He smiles warmly and holds out his hand.
I shift the cafeteria salad and bottle of cherry sparkling water into my left hand, then take his offered one with my right.
“Natalie Wagner.” I introduce myself.
His smile doesn’t waver. “Harrison Danvers.”
“Linebacker, right?”
Harrison is six foot something and wider than two of me, with short light brown hair and smile lines next to his eyes. But friendly or not, I cannot imagine being tackled by this guy.
Harrison nods. “Right.”
He lets go of my hand and takes a step back, thankfully not saying anything about my recent change in marital status.
“Harrison here is a big supporter of Marie’s House, so he’s going to join us at the Mazzanti fundraiser in a couple weeks,” Dad explains.
“Oh, that’s great.” Some of my tension over being in the same room with my dad starts to melt away. If he can act normal, then so can I. “I’ve heard rumors of them opening a second location.”
Harrison nods. “I’ve heard the same rumors. And really happy to hear y’all are involved with their fundraising.”
I relax a little further. “So are we. The Mazzantis are good folks.”
“Yes, yes.” Dad claps his hands together. “Well, Harrison, I didn’t mean to keep you so long. But glad you two got a chance to meet. And we’ll be cheering you on tomorrow night.”
The big man nods to my dad. “Appreciate that. Hope we can pull a win for you.”
“Wouldn’t mind if you did,” Dad jokes.
Harrison dips his chin to me. “It was nice to meet you, Natalie.”
“You too.” I smile.
Since it would be weird to sprint down the hall ahead of him, I step out of the way and let Harrison leave Dad’s office.
I wait a moment before moving my gaze to meet Dad’s. “He seems nice.”
Dad’s smile is a little more hesitant than it was a moment ago. “He is.” He gestures to the round table in the corner of his large office. “Want to eat that in here? I was just gonna order something to be brought up.”
I only chew on my lip for a second before nodding.
While Dad calls down to the cafeteria, I pull out a chair and take the lid off my salad. The food here is remarkably good, but I shouldn’t be surprised since they feed hungry football players along with the staff.
“So.” Dad sits opposite me. “Want to join me in the owner’s box for Sunday’s game?”
