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I grimaced inwardly. Why had I gone and said all that stuff about Dad? I’d mentioned my family issues to Lou before, but not quite how far he’d gone in his refusal to support my career. She’d probably assumed it’d been limited to criticizinghowI was spending his money, not refusing to offer any cash whatsoever.
And it was humiliating to have lost my temper at all.
I placed my order half-heartedly and mostly listened as easygoing banter flowed around the table.
Rafael eyeballed the massive milkshake Lou had requested. “It’s bigger than your head. You’re really going to drink all of that?”
“I’m capable of incredible things,” Lou informed him with a cheeky grin.
“I’m not sure you’ll be capable of fitting any pizza in your stomach after that.”
Quentin flashed a smirk. “I could always take it off your hands and save you from yourself.”
Lou arched her eyebrows at him. “No rescuing necessary here.”
Niko leaned toward Quentin with a sly glint in his eyes. “So you’ll go for dessert, then? It’s only pizza you object to?”
Quentin straightened up with an authoritative air. “The most important factor in an ideal athletic diet is balance. My body is the machinery I use to perform my routines. I’m screwing myself over if I load it up with too many useless calories.”
Lou tapped the side of her glass. “Protein. Fat. Calcium. All necessary in a balanced diet.”
He smiled at her. “That’s why I’d take a milkshake off your hands but not a slab of chocolate cake.”
Niko knit his brow in a show of bewilderment. “Your priorities seem very sad for your taste buds.”
Quentin just shrugged with an amused expression, and it occurred to me that he was starting to feel like a normal part of our group rather than an unwelcome intruder. Somehow he was fitting in with us as if he actually… added something to the dynamic. Something not entirely horrible.
The thought sent a twinge of warmth through me at the same time as it made me want to throw the guy through the restaurant window. Okay, so my feelings about his presence definitely hadn’t untangled themselves yet.
As I gulped down my last bite of my third slice of pizza, Niko got up and tugged on my shoulder. “I saw a dessert display case near the door. Come on, let’s see what they’ve got. I knowyouhave a sweet tooth.”
I couldn’t argue with that, especially when I took in the momentarily pensive light in his bright eyes. His request wasn’t just about indulging in sweets.
Lou leapt to her feet and grabbed my hand. “You’re not picking for all of us! I’ve got to have a say too.”
I let myself be basically dragged over to the glass case just past the cash register. I couldn’t really regret the trip once I took in the offerings. Choosing between tiramisu, cannoli, and sfogliatelle was not going to be easy.
As he studied the array next to me, Niko looped his arm around mine. “Is everything all right? The conversation in the car obviously brought up some bad memories, and you’ve been quiet since then.”
Lou nudged her shoulder against mine companionably. “Yeah. If you want to talk about it, you know we’re here.”
In the face of their gentle support and the fact that they’d thought to pull me away from the two guys I wasn’t as comfortable opening up in front of, my chest ached with affection. “You brought me over here to corner me, huh?” I said, but I didn’t put any rancor into the words.
Lou pecked my cheek. “Just making sure you know we’ve got your back.”
Yes, they did. I exhaled a little raggedly and forced a tight smile. “I’ve already told you some of it, Lou. My dad was a jerk, criticizing everything I did, but especially the skating. He and my mom argued about it a lot.”
Niko frowned. “I didn’t realize they withdrew their financial support so early.”
“It is what it is.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I guess I should be grateful he never brought out the insults when we were in public like Quentin’s mom did. Although on the other hand, at least shewantedhim to skate. My mom had some money of her own from an inheritance that she put toward my skating, but Dad got more and more pissed off about my ‘sissy pursuit’ as I got older, and finally he threatened divorce if she didn’t stop.”
Lou released a sound like a growl. “And she bowed to the pressure, huh?”
“It’s hard to blame her. She was choosing between her entire marriage and something that was just one part of her kid’s life. She couldn’t have known back then that I’d manage to make a career out of it.”
Niko slipped his arm right around my waist and gave me a sideways hug. “But you did, even without their money. You paid your own way.”
I dipped my head. “Yep. It was a struggle sometimes, especially getting that first sponsorship—nothing big, just enough to keep me in ice time and basic equipment. It’s hard to know what to say sometimes. Everyone always figured I had tons of support—financial and emotional—but I was teetering on the edge of having to quit more than once.”
