From what Chelsea’s told me, her mom decided to stay at their Ohio home throughout her husband’s first NFL season to give Coach Parker unlimited space to work his ass off at his new high-pressure job. But also, as Chelsea confided in me, Mrs. Parker didn’t want to give up her dream home and her own busy life and friends needlessly, so she stayed behind in case her husband’s new gig in the NFL didn’t work out as hoped.
“Of course they can come. The more, the merrier.” Hot damn. I’m trying to sound casual even though I’m bursting with excitement. But ever since Chelsea met both my parents at Roman’s party, I’ve been dying to find a way to meet all her family members, too.
“Okay, count us in,” Chelsea chirps. “Text me the deets. Oh, and Luca. I don’t know what your parents think is going on between us, but if you’ve hinted it’s something more than a professional relationship, you need to tell them not to give us away at dinner.”
“They know it’s a secret.”
“So you’ve told them the truth?”
I nod sheepishly. “Is that a bad thing? Now that Daisy and Nate both know, I figured we were allowed to tell our most trusted inner circle.”
Chelsea pauses and bites at the tip of her finger. “I’m really nervous about my father figuring us out. Maybe we’re playing with fire by going to this dinner.”
Shit. “No, no, not at all. My parents and Iris will play it super cool, I promise. I’ll tell them, Chelsea. Don’t sweat it.”
“But you need to play it super cool, too, Luca, and that’snot your strong suit. My father’s a smart man. Maybe we shouldn’t come after all.”
“Don’t be silly. It’ll be fine.”
“Promise me, you won’t do anything to make my father say, ‘Hmm.’”
“I won’t. I’ll be calm, cool, and collected the whole dinner.”
Chelsea snickers. “Those are the last three words I’d ever use to describe you.” She shakes her head, but she’s smiling warmly. “Okay, we’ll come. As long as you promise you’ll do your absolute best at dinner. Please, Luca, keep your eye on the long game here.”
“I promise. I’ll be great.”
Chelsea looks up at me for a long beat before sighing like a Disney princess looking into a wishing well. “You played like a beast today, Luca. You were sheer perfection out there. Not one mistake.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you, Coach.”
Her eyes sparkle. “No, today was all you.” She winks. “See you at dinner.”
“Can’t wait.”
With a little flick of her ponytail, Chelsea skips off, promptly taking my beating heart right along with her.
CHAPTER 38
Chelsea
ILOOK AWAYfrom the clip of the Renegades’ quarterback on my iPad to check my texts again. Still nothing from Luca.
I’m sitting on my couch in my tiny apartment that’s about two miles from the practice facility—the place I rented with my paltry “personal assistant to the head coach” salary when I first moved here. Dad offered me a room at the fancy new condo he rented across town for the season. The one he got when he first got here for his new gig while Mom held down the fort back in Ohio. But I refused his offer. Not only because I’m an adult who wants to be self-sufficient and independent, but also because I figured I’d only be living in this shoebox for one season at most. Certainly, I never imagined I’d one day be waiting for the hottest man alive to arrive at this cramped apartment for some hot, forbidden, postgame/post-dinner-with-our-parents sex.
Oh, man, the dinner with both sets of parents and Iris went so well tonight, our parents have already made plans to meet up again. First, for dinner after Levi’s team plays the Mastodons in a few weeks. And then, in Columbus at the huge blowout party my mother’s throwing for my father in January after the regular season is over—the exact date to be determined in case the Mastodons or my brothers’ teams make theplayoffs—to celebrate Dad’s birthday and upcoming induction into Ohio State’s Hall of Fame.
Tonight went so well, in fact, I felt emboldened to tell my mother the truth about Luca and me in front of the restaurant while Dad went to get the car. To my relief, Mom not only gushed about Luca and expressed excitement for me, she also assured me she’d keep my scandalous secret from Dad and Lincoln for however long needed.
“It’s not my secret to tell,” Mom said simply. Although right after saying that, she also hit me with something kind of ominous: “By the end of the season, though, if you still care more about your job security and/or what your father and Lincoln might think about your romantic choices, then you should probably take that as a sign to break things off with Luca. Being secretive makes perfect sense for now, but if you’re not willing to scream from the mountaintops about your feelings for him by the end of the season, then perhaps that means it’s really not meant to continue.”
The woman’s savage. But not necessarily wrong.
My phone chimes with an incoming text, drawing my attention from my deep thoughts. It’s Luca, thankfully.
Luca: Come onto your balcony, Juliet.
Squealing happily, I toss my iPad onto the couch and stride out there. And when I get into the cool night air and look down at the small grassy area two stories below me, my very own Romeo is looking up at me with a wide, mischievous grin on his face.
