Page 202 of Power Play

The quiet question carried enough tension that I shook my head immediately. “I won’t be alone. I’ll have you.”

His eyes narrowed slightly as he waited for the distinction.

“I need to do it without you sitting beside me and fighting my battle for me.”

Ryan stared at me. That might have been the first time I had ever said anything like that and believed I could follow through.

“I need to be the one who tells them this is my choice.” I pressed my palm more firmly against his chest. “You’re my choice.”

Some of the tension left his shoulders.

“I need them to hear it from me first. I need to say it before they can turn it into something I was caught doing.” I held his gaze, refusing to retreat from the promise I had made on his steps. “I’m asking for the chance to tell them myself, not permission to pretend you aren’t mine.”

Ryan’s hand closed around my wrist. “When?”

“This week.”

“When this week?”

“My dad’s birthday dinner is Wednesday.”

His face changed immediately. “You’re telling him on his birthday?”

I winced. “When you say it like that, it sounds slightly hostile.”

“It sounds fucking hilarious.”

“It’s dinner at the Westerly Steak House. My mother planned it months ago, and there will probably be enough expensive wine involved that nobody can throw anything without embarrassing themselves.”

“That’s comforting.”

“I’m trying to be optimistic.”

“You?”

“Shut up.”

He smiled faintly, and I took a breath before continuing.

“I can do it there.”

Ryan’s thumb moved against the inside of my wrist. “You can?”

“I need to.” I looked down at our hands. “I can spend the next couple of days building myself up to it, and if everything goes completely to hell, I know you’re only a phone call away.”

His expression softened. “I’ll answer.”

“I know.”

“Even if I’m busy.”

“I know.”

“If I’m at practice, I’ll call you the second I get off the ice.”

My eyes burned unexpectedly. Ryan noticed because he always noticed every reaction I wanted to hide.

“Hey, don’t start that shit after last night.”