Page 76 of Penalty Kick

Fuck it.

Reaching out, Dash took Talia’s hand in his, giving it a little squeeze, just as the hostess came over, alerting the group their table was ready. Leading them into a small room off to the side, she gestured toward a long table, ready and set for their group of eleven. Talia didn’t let go of his hand, walking slowly into the room and over to the end where Robert had taken a seat. Dash could already tell that spending the next couple of hours forcing conversation with this man was going to be painful. That didn’t really matter though. He was here to support Talia, and that was what he was going to do.

“This is a very large group,” Robert commented, glancing up and down the table at everyone. “When you said a family dinner, plus him, I figured it would just be the five of us.”

The condescension in Robert’s tone was impossible to miss. He no more approved of Gunnar as a human being, much less his involvement in Talia’s life, than he would have a bum off the street. Dash swallowed hard, wondering what he would think if the man knew what was going on between him and Talia.

“Family dinner means something a little different now,” Talia answered. Her voice was light, but forced, as she proceeded to make introductions, so that everyone knew who was who. “This is my Atlanta family.”

“Replacing us certainly didn’t take long.”

Robert chuckled as he said it, like it was meant as a joke. But his tone, as well as his eyes, didn’t lie. That wasn’t a joke. Talia withered slightly, the amazing, beautiful confidence that normally exuded from her and spilled over into everyone she met now leaking out of her like an improperly inflated air mattress.

Anger brewed within Dash. How dare this man have such an attitude. More than that, how dare he take it out on Talia. Dash understood that this wasn’t an easy situation on the man, but it also wasn’t easy on Talia. Or Gunnar, not that he seemed particularly uncomfortable at the moment. Then again, the coach was so stoic it was hard to tell what he was feeling. None of that was a reason to be acting this way though. Suddenly, Dash knew exactly what Patrick Swayze had been feeling in the movie Talia had made him watch.

If he is not careful, we’re going to have our own no babies in the corner moment…

Dash’s thought was interrupted by a hand tapping on his shoulder. Turning away from the intensity to his right, he found Doug, the younger of Talia’s two brothers, sitting next to him and staring at him wide-eyed and full of excitement.

“You’re the guy who scored the winning goal, right?” he asked, eyes somehow growing bigger.

Dash laughed. “I am.”

The young man’s jaw dropped, his amazement soothing the anger that had just been fueling all of Dash’s thoughts. Looking at him now, he saw he was wrong about the kid not getting any of Talia’s mother’s looks. Staring back at him were the same bright eyes Talia had. The same kindness was in them, warming Dash’s heart. He’d heard a lot about Doug from Talia, and knew that he was part of where her love of working with kids with disabilities came from. While Doug’s diagnosis was certainly less involved than that of Tanner or some of the other kids they worked with on the Unified team, he was the one who had introduced her to that world.

“Oh my God, that’s so cool!”

“Did you enjoy the game?”

“It was so much fun!” Doug exclaimed. “My dad thinks professional sports are a waste of time, so we don’t go to a lot of games. But he made an exception since Talia’s other dad is the coach.”

Talia’s other dad. That answered that question. The boys did know something. Letting that nugget of information digest, Dash continued to keep the conversation light, asking about school and what other things Doug was into. Listening to him talk about his art classes and how he was working on a sculpture, it was hard to believe he was the same age as Maria. Maybe it was the difference between boys and girls—or maybe it was that Doug hadn’t spent his childhood wondering if there would be enough food for everyone at the table—but Maria seemed so much older at times. He made a mental note to call her tomorrow, even though it wasn’t their designated day. He missed her and needed to tell her.

The warmth of Talia’s hand on his thigh distracted him from Doug, making him lose his place in their conversation. He didn’t want to be rude to either of them, but if her hand kept up its movement, circling his knee, he—and his dick—weren't going to be able to focus on much of anything. He’d already used every trick he knew to calm himself after reading that scene to Talia back at the book bar. He wasn’t sure that he’d be able to do it twice.

That was, until her grip tightened, her nails digging into his pants. Her hand was like a vise, and not in a good way. There was only one thing this could mean.

His girl needed him.

* * *

This was not going well.

Talia wasn’t quite sure what she had expected, but it certainly wasn’t this level of cold shoulder. Warm and fuzzy were never descriptors that she would have used for Robert, but she’d never seen him this closed off before. Usually when it came to his family, he’d let the drawbridge down if they were willing to cross the moat. Now Talia wasn’t sure she was going to be allowed within fifty feet of the castle. For all the ice surrounding this table they might as well have been standing in the fortress of solitude.

Fortress of Solitude? I’ve officially been spending too much time with Liam…

“I can see where we are a tad overwhelming,” Gunnar said, gesturing to the rest of the group. He had his diplomatic face on, but Talia could tell it was starting to slip. The man was known for his passion, not his tact, and she wasn’t sure how much longer he was going to be able to hold on. Diplomacy was Felicity’s area, although Talia was incredibly grateful that Gunnar was at least trying. “And I apologize if we caught you off guard. As our daughter mentioned, we’re—”

“Our daughter?” Robert questioned, cutting him off.

The same disrespect from before laced his voice, and Talia’s stomach churned. This was not happening. She’d known it wasn’t going to be all rainbows and sunshine, but she also didn’t expect an all-out war.

Reaching over under the table, her hand found Dash’s thigh, giving it a light squeeze. She was thrilled he was here, comforted knowing that she could reach out to him whenever she needed. Even if it was discreet and under the table. She could hear him chatting away with Doug, happy to know those two had found each other. Doug would be over the moon to talk to Dash and hear all about what it was like to play a professional sport. Hell, Dash could talk about anything other than something school-related and her youngest brother would hang on every word. A quick glance down to the other side of the table showed that Bert was deep in conversation with Avery—probably about something very scientific and serious—a big smile on his face as well. She wouldn’t be surprised if by the end of dinner, Avery had him convinced that medical school was the way to go.

“Yes, our daughter,” Gunnar replied, his voice turning gruff.

That tone Talia knew. It was the one he used on the pitch when he was trying to keep his cool, not wanting his players to know just how irked he was. Felicity reached over, gently placing her hand on his. The move seemed to calm him down, calming Talia down in the process. A pang of jealousy hit her—both loving what Felicity and Gunnar had, knowing that she and Dash were on their way to that, and wishing they could be just as open about it.