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He shoves me into the wall but lets me go as his angry gaze shifts to her. “Then why are you sneaking around like…like teenagers?”
“Because I knew this is how you’d react!” Aurora bites back.
“What did you expect?” His expression turns incredulous. “That I’d be overjoyed to find out my best friend and my daughter have been lying to me?” He scrubs a hand down his face. “For months. He’s on my fucking team, dammit!”
“Hollis wanted to say something weeks ago, but I asked him to wait. And then I tried to bring it up with you, but you made it clear you weren’t going to be okay with it,” Aurora says softly.
“I have only ever asked one thing of you, Peggy. And that was not to date a hockey player. Our lives are too fucking unstable. You deserve a partner who is present for you all the time.” He runs a hand over his face. “Is this what the whole Tristan and Rix conversation was about the other day?” His livid gaze shifts from her to me. “You cowardly piece of shit. You put it on my daughter to tell me?”
“I thought it would be better coming from me,” she says. “I wanted the gala to be over and my exams finished before this happened.” Aurora’s voice cracks. “I needed it to be a success so the Terror would want to hire me because I’m qualified and not because you’re my dad, or not hire me because I’m dating a player.”
Roman’s gaze swings back to me. “Do you hear her? You did this.” He points an accusing finger at me. “You are the reason my daughter is crying and defending your lying, worthless ass.”
“The last thing I wanted was to hurt Aurora. She asked to wait until the end of school and the season. It’s the only reason I agreed to wait, but I should have come to you sooner. I should have been honest with you.” I search for a way to fix this, to unbreak what I’ve broken.
“But you didn’t, and you weren’t.” He paces the small hallway. “How this looks—” He laces his hands behind his head. “You’re making me question seven fucking years of friendship, Hollis. I should never have trusted you with my daughter.”
“I would never?—”
He slices his hand through the air. “But you did!” His eyes are wild, chest heaving. “Are you sleeping together?” He glances between us. The answer must be written on our faces because his turns a terrifying shade of red.
“I care about Aurora, Roman,” I say softly.
“You care about her?” He motions toward the end of the hall, the thump of upbeat dance music a discordant soundtrack to this nightmare unfolding. “You were just auctioned off to your ex. If you care so much about Peggy, how could you allow that to happen? How could you get up on that stage and let someone else buy a night with you when you’re involved with my goddamn daughter?”
“I didn’t think?—”
“No, you didn’t. Look at what you’ve done.” He motions to Aurora, who’s hugging herself now, tears streaming down her face.
“I was trying to protect her.” The words taste sour, like a bad lie. How am I supposed to explain that I was trying to honor her wishes? That we’re both falling in love and scared out of our minds at what that means.
“Fuck you and fuck that. You never should have put her in this kind of position. You put yourself between me and my daughter. You knew how to do this right. You knew how I would feel about all of this. If you’d asked instead of doing what you wanted behind my back, I might not have lost my fucking mind. But we’ll never know, will we? This is a massive betrayal, Hollis. How could you do this to my daughter?”
“You said you would murder him if he ever touched me,” Aurora says softly.
“Days ago. I said that days ago. That doesn’t account for the months of secrecy before that.” His voice shakes with ire. “Like she’s something to be ashamed of.”
“I know you’re upset, and you have every right to be, but this conversation would be better somewhere private,” I tell him.
He looks at me like I’m the one who’s lost his mind. “I can’t have a conversation. I’m livid. I don’t feel like you’re my friend or my teammate right now.” He motions between us. “This. I don’t know if it’s even fixable. My concern is Peggy. This isn’t about you or our friendship. I need to figure out how to help her manage…whatever this shit is.” He holds out his hand. “Peggy, sweetheart, we’re going home.”
“Hollis, please,” she whispers, her expression imploring. Torn.
But I don’t want to create more dissension than I already have. Her relationship with her dad is the most important thing to Aurora. I squeeze her hand, nodding. “You should go. I’ll tell Hemi.”
The way her face crumbles breaks my damn heart, but we’re not solving anything tonight. I want to go to her. I want to sweep her away and tell her how much I love her. That I would do anything for her. I would sacrifice anything to make her happy.
Instead, I let her go, and Roman puts a protective arm around her shoulder. He shakes his head, disappointment leaching through the anger as he shoots me a hateful glare and guides her down the hall.
Leaving me with a truckload of regrets.
CHAPTER 39
HAMMER
Ikeep my eyes on the floor and don’t say a word as my dad leads me to the car. His protective arm around my shoulder is shaking. I’ve only ever seen him this angry once before. When I was seventeen, I dated a guy who drove a sports car. He was an idiot behind the wheel and got into an accident with me in the passenger seat. I ended up with mild whiplash, but my dad lost it on the guy. Unsurprisingly, I broke up with him right after.
I’d been embarrassed at the time, but in hindsight, I understand my dad’s reaction. It’s one thing to be reckless with your own life; it’s another to be reckless with someone else’s.
