I FREEZE at the sound of my father’s voice. I can feel that Cooper is frozen too, but he breaks first, bending to pick up my tank top and pulling it over my head. I wipe at my face furiously as I smooth down my hair.
“Dad,” I say, my voice wobbly. “I’m just doing some homework. I’ll see you later.”
“Penelope, open the door,” he says. There’s a hard edge to his voice that some would mistake for anger, but I know it’s something worse: worry.
“I saw her go inside with someone,” another voice says. “I just want to make sure she’s okay, you know?”
That sounds like Brandon Finau. I glance at Cooper, who suddenly looks like he wants to commit murder. Before I can shove him in the direction of the bathroom, he leans over and opens the door.
Dad is standing there with Brandon, apprehension etched into every line of his face. He takes in the scene in an instant, in only the way someone used to assessing situations in mere seconds can do, and his mouth twists.
Before he can say anything, Cooper says, “Sir, we need to talk.”
“Cooper,” I say urgently.
He glances over at me briefly before settling his gaze on my father once more. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“I think I know exactly what it looks like,” Dad says. He looks at Brandon, who has a smug edge to his smile, arms crossed over his chest as he surveys the scene. What an asshole. I don’t know what he did, exactly, but somehow, he convinced Dad I needed checking up on. By the way Cooper is glaring at him, it’s plain that Brandon wanted my dad to find him here. His reaction to me wearing Brandon’s sweater makes a lot more sense now. It wasn’t just that I wore someone else’s, it’s that I chose Finau’s.
Whatever the beef is, I don’t care. What I do care about is my dad seeing a shirtless Cooper Callahan in my hotel room, and the fact Cooper’s bright idea to all of this is to ask him to talk. Cooper might’ve helped me back into the tank top, but I’m still feeling exposed. My stomach churns.
“Thank you, Brandon,” Dad says. “I’ll take it from here.”
It’s a dismissal, but Brandon stays put. Cooper raises an eyebrow, somehow looking cool and collected even though he’s under a microscope like me, and says, “I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty sure Coach told you to get lost.”
“And miss the show?” Brandon drawls. “I can’t believe you’d be such an idiot, Callahan. The coach’s daughter?”
“This is how you get back at me for earning captain?” Cooper takes a step in his direction, his gaze dark. “Screw you for dragging Penny into this.”
“Callahan,” Dad says warningly. He turns to Brandon. “Finau. Leave before I sit you out of the next game.”
Brandon’s mouth drops open. “Why? I’m helping you!”
“And now you’re done. Go.”
Brandon glares at Cooper for half a second longer before taking his sorry ass to the elevator. I shrink back against the wall, hugging my arms to my stomach tightly. There’s a dull ringing in my ears. I had nightmares about situations like this for a long time after the incident with Preston; I’d imagine Dad walking in on the moment everything fell to pieces. Sometimes he’d save me, but more often, he’d let me suffer the humiliation of his presence. Cooper wraps his arm around my shoulders. I turn into his chest, unable to look at my father.
“Sir,” Cooper says, “Give us a minute to get more presentable, and then come in and we’ll talk.”
I peek at Dad. He has a funny expression on his face, like he’s not sure what to think about this side of Cooper, but eventually he nods. Cooper shuts the door most of the way, then picks up his shirt, throwing it back on. He walks over to my suitcase and pulls out the sweatshirt I’d planned to sleep in.
“Thanks,” I say as he holds it out to me. My voice sounds rusty, like I haven’t used it in a while. “Can’t believe I wore that fucking guy’s sweater.”
Once I get the sweatshirt on, I curl my hands into the floppy sleeves. Cooper smiles, like that’s as adorable as the way Tangerine sits on the windowsill to watch for the mailman, and kisses me on the lips, feather-light. He tucks my hair behind my ear.
“It’s going to be okay,” he whispers.
I wish I could believe him, but I honestly don’t know what Dad will think about this. Does the fact it’s Cooper make it better or worse? Is he looking at this and feeling like I’m heading down the same road as before?
“I meant what I said,” he adds. He kisses my forehead. “Come in, Coach.”
Dad pushes open the door cautiously. “Bug. Are you okay?”
I untangle myself from Cooper. I don’t want to sit on the bed—thankfully still made—so I back into a corner instead. “Yes. What did he tell you?”
Dad shuts the door behind us with a firm click. “He made it seem like you were up here with someone random. I’m sorry, honey. I just—I panicked.” He frowns. “Although now I’m worried for an entirely different reason. What’s going on here?”
“I’m trying to convince your daughter to date me,” Cooper says. There’s a hint of a challenge in his voice, like he’s daring Dad to protest. If you didn’t know him, you’d think he’s relaxed right now, but I can see the tightness around his mouth. “I’ve been having a hell of a time of it.”
“Penny doesn’t date.”
“I won’t lie to you; we’ve had a thing going.” I flush at the matter-of-fact note in his voice. That’s one way to put our arrangement. “And if you don’t like that, I don’t care if you demote me from captain or bench me.” He glances over at me, his gaze softening. “I just want a chance with her.”
I bite my lip. I’m hot all over; I’m sure the blush I’ve been failing to contain over the past several minutes has taken on an even darker shade. Almost seeing Evan Bell naked has nothing on this. Cooper keeps looking at me, clearly wanting an answer, but I have no idea what to say. My feelings for him run deeper than anything I’ve ever experienced. I know where they’re heading. But to put a label on this? To call Cooper Callahan my boyfriend? He’d only want it until he hears the truth about me, how broken I still am.
I open my mouth, but I don’t know what I’m about to say. And then I’m saved from answering anyway, because I realize Dad is crying.
“Dad?” I hurry over, hovering anxiously. “Are you okay?”
“Goddamnit,” he says, wiping at his eyes impatiently. “Goddamnit, Penelope.”
I shrink away. My heart sinks to my belly. “This isn’t like before. I promise.”
He shakes his head. “After all this time, bug? You’re still keeping things from me?”
“I didn’t—”
“You still think I wouldn’t support you?” He pinches the bridge of his nose, shuddering in another breath. “Did you really think I wouldn’t support this?”
I’ve seen my dad cry more often than other daughters, I’m sure; between my mother and Preston, we’ve had a lot to cry about. But this feels different. Maybe it’s because Cooper is in the room, looking between the two of us with concern. Whatever he thought was going to happen, it clearly wasn’t this. My lip wobbles, but I swallow down the sob that threatens to escape. “I thought… I thought you wouldn’t… respect me. That you’d think I’m taking a step back.”
“I wouldn’t think that.”
“I didn’t want things to fall apart again,” I whisper.
Dad wipes at his eyes roughly. “Honey,” he says, “I thought you trusted me. I thought we’d moved on.”
“We did! And I didn’t want to ruin that!”
“And yet you’re keeping things from me again. Big things.”
I bite down on the inside of my cheek. Maybe he’s right. After his initial reaction to the situation with Preston, we had to work hard to get back to a place where we felt comfortable with each other. Despite the drama, he wasn’t mad about the video; he was disappointed that I kept it from him until I had a breakdown and injured myself on the ice in my panic. And now, in trying to avoid making another mess, I did the same thing. Cooper reaches out his hand, and I take it gratefully, squeezing so hard I’m sure I’m cutting off his blood flow.
“You want me to go wait outside, sweetheart?” he asks. He has a fiercely protective look on his face, like he’d do anything to keep me safe. How did I ignore the real feelings brewing between us for so long? I’m sure if he thought I was in the slightest bit of danger, he’d defend me, even if it meant losing his spot on the team. I can’t pretend that there’s anything casual about that.
I shake my head. Maybe I still need to work up to where I’m ready for Cooper to hear the whole story—and when that happens, I’ll be hoping the whole time that it’s not the thing that drives him away—but he can stay for this. His support is a lifeline, made real by the way he’s holding onto my hand.
“You’re right,” I tell Dad. I take in a shaky breath. “And I’m sorry.”
“I just want you to be happy, bug.” He glances down at our entwined hands, and I think I see a hint of a smile on his face. “Whatever that looks like, as long as you’re safe.”
“I am happy,” I say quietly.
It shouldn’t be, but it feels like a revelation. I’m happier than I’ve been in a long, long time—and Cooper is the reason. Ever since I asked him to hook up with me at the ice rink, he’s been chipping away at the wards I put up around my heart long ago.
Once I put it like that, it’s obvious. I have to take the leap, no matter how scared I am of falling onto the cold, slick ice. Cooper wants me to be his, and I want him to be mine. This isn’t like before. He’s been earning my trust, piece by piece, and even better, I want him to have it. Just like I want Dad to have mine, and to have his.
I lurch forward and hug my father. He hugs back, squeezing me so tightly I can barely breathe. He hasn’t hugged me like this in such a long time, I’d nearly forgotten what it feels like.
“I am happy,” I say again, and I’m crying harder now, but they’re necessary tears. The tears that feel like a dose of medicine, not poison. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. Cooper’s right, we weren’t really… dating, officially.”
I look back at him. He’s still standing there, entirely unselfconscious, a look in his eyes that I can’t quite identify. When I smile tentatively, he gives me one of those lopsided grins that makes me want to kiss him senseless.
“But we are now.”
