Page 83 of Penalty Kick

Gunnar grunted. If he had been a cartoon, Dash had no doubt that steam would have come out of those flaring nostrils.

“I got into the Renaye program,” Talia offered.

“Ahhhhh! Congratulations!” Felicity squealed, running over to hug Talia. “I knew you would!” Stepping back from the hug, hands resting on Talia’s shoulders, Felicity looked around again, surveying the scene. “That, however, does not explain why your father currently looks like one of the bulls from Pamplona.”

“After I found out, I came straight here to tell Dash…”

“Naturally,” Felicity replied. Her tone was full of understanding, making Dash’s heart relax. If Felicity was in the know, then maybe he had a chance of this all smoothing over quickly.

“Gunnar might have walked in midcelebration.”

“Ohhhhhhhhhh.”

“You knew about this?” Gunnar barked.

“I knew there was…interest,” Felicity offered, turning to face her husband. Cowboy barked out a laugh, earning a glare from everyone.

“There is more than interest, señora,” Dash said. The words spilled out faster than he could think, wanting to make sure that she knew this wasn’t just a fling. He needed Gunnar to know that too, but Felicity was their ally in this. Or at least he hoped she was.

“I know,” Felicity mouthed silently.

“More than interest?” Gunnar repeated. “Just how long has this ‘more than interest’ been there?”

Talia started to speak, but Dash placed his hand on her arm. Yes, this was her family, but he was her man. He wasn’t going to let her do all the defending. It was time he spoke up.

“Since the first moment I saw her, when she walked into our first team meeting. At least on my part. For Talia, it took a little longer. We did not starting seeing each other until after I started working with the Unified team.”

“So that’s why you asked to work with them. To get to her.”

“No. I had an interest in working with them anyway. Talia was a bonus. Coach, your daughter is an amazing, strong woman, who very much knows her own mind. You should be very proud.”

“I am,” he snarled, glaring at Dash. So much for that approach. Gunnar did not seem to be calming down one bit. “If you’ve been dating him for the last couple of months, what happened with Axel?”

“Axel? Nothing. I babysit…” Talia trailed off, her jaw going slack with understanding. “That day at lunch when you said that you saw us together at Bunz, the us you were talking about was me and Axel, not me and Dash. This whole time you’ve thought I was with Axel.”

Gunnar nodded. Dash’s stomach sank, a knot forming. All this time Talia insisted Gunnar would be okay and would get over all his concerns, she’d been basing that on a conversation where he’d been talking about someone else. Someone who in Gunnar’s mind was a lot more acceptable.

Mierda…

“Footballers are bad news,” he said again. Damn, the man was like a broken record. “Dating my players isn’t allowed. It’s against policy.”

“What fucking policy?” Talia asked.

“Mine.”

“Oh, you want to be the pot or the kettle here?”

“Gunnar, she has a point. You married the team’s owner, after we snuck around for months,” Felicity pointed out.

“I’m dating the city’s top sports reporter,” Cowboy added.

Dash had almost forgotten his other boss was even standing there. He was being unusually quiet, letting the whole scene play out without an interruption. He couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or if it was going to come back later and bite him in the ass.

“Gunnar, I appreciate that you are taking this dad thing seriously. You know I do. But I’m twenty-two. I get to make my own choices. And my choice is Dash.”

Talia slipped her hand into his, giving it a squeeze. All Dash’s anxiety melted away with that simple touch. He hadn’t second-guessed his feelings for her for a single second, but this solidified it for him even more. He loved her. She was his person.

“Talia, he is not the kind of guy you want. Not with everything you want out of life.”