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I’m left standing there with Nathan, a little stunned by how unimpressed Dani’s parents are with me. I admit it. I’m used to the star hockey player treatment. This sucks.
Nathan is rubbing his jaw.
I feel his pain. This sucks for him too. Michael is the runaway favorite with his damn medical degree and birth date.
“There were supposed to be ten more people here?” Nathan murmurs, looking around the living room. “I’ve been in elevators bigger than this one.”
“Bigger than Oprah’s elevator?” I ask, unbuttoning my jacket.
Nathan actually sighs. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard him sigh. Now I really feel for him. I’m not the only one sticking my foot in my mouth.
“I don’t know why I said that,” Nathan said. “Fucking ridiculous.”
He sounds grumpy, which reassures me that he’ll rebound. Grumpy Nathan is normal. Sad Nathan is not. Seeing him down is like an alternative universe I don’t want to live in.
“It’s okay, buddy,” I tell him with a grin. “We’ve all had Oprah envy at one point or another.”
Nathan actually cracks a smile. “Shut up, McNeill.”
That’s the Nate I know. I feel better.
“At least you and me are in this together,” I add. “They’re treating me like I’m in high school, and I snuck in Dani’s window.”
“You may be doing that later. There’s no way they’re letting us share a room with her, you know that, right?”
He’s totally right. I make a face. “Damn. The holidays are hard.”
Mary pops her head back into the room. “What are you two doing? Come on now. I opened a bottle of wine.”
I’m going to need that whole bottle myself at this rate.
“Can I do anything to help you?” I ask, striving for politeness as I move forward.
“I can open a bottle of wine,” she says. “Even if it isn’t some fancy wine.”
I’m going to just assume that second comment was directed at Nathan. “Yes, ma’am.”
Then she disappears again behind some other wall, and Dani appears in her place. “I’m so sorry,” she whispers. “I’m so embarrassed. Please, come in,” she said, holding her hand out.
She’s fighting back tears. It’s like a punch in the gut.
I go right to her, take her hand, and give it a squeeze. “It’s all good. Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’re big boys. We’re fine. We can take a little heat. Haven’t you seen me on the ice? I get shit talk on a regular basis.”
She kisses my cheek, which settles my nerves. “You are definitely a big boy,” she murmurs flirtatiously in my ear.
I take a deep breath and vow to pull it together as she moves past me to Nathan. We need to be supportive of Dani, like we promised her. She warned us her parents were not on board with our relationship, so none of this should be a real shock. We just have to stay calm, be polite, and show them we’re just normal people in a nontraditional relationship.
“Are you okay?” she asks Nathan. “You seem nervous.”
“What gave it away?” he asks wryly. “The verbal background check I gave your father?”
Dani laughs softly and reaches up to give him a kiss. “I love you and your lack of a criminal history.”
“Jesus. I really said that.” He shakes his head. “I promise that was my only outburst of the night.”
“I’d hold off on that promise,” Dani says with a smile. “We have a lot of Christmas Eve to go.”
But once we move past the tiny kitchen, where Mary has Michael slicing cheese and plating crackers and grapes with it, and into the family room, Kevin is cracking open the bourbon.
