Page 43 of Fighting Fate
Raising both of his hands in the air, he narrows his stare at Dorian. “It wasn’t me, was it, Dory?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, glancing at the muted TV where the sports channel is still going.
The interview show is done, but they’re showing reels of Rory’s and the other guy’s fights. I hate being the centre of attention like this. I hate that they’re all looking at me, waiting for me to blab about me and Rory. They’re all staring as though this is the reason we’re all here for dinner.
“What?”
“I thought he was coming for dinner…I don’t know…like three weeks ago?” Jamie shrugs at the same time that Dorian says, “It slipped.”
“You’re a top fucking lawyer. Things don’t just slip unless you want them to slip.”
“Honestly, it’s not a big deal.” Mum starts passing around the dishes while Dad carves the meat. “We’re all family here.”
“You’re the ones making it a big deal.” I take my plate with the mushroom wellington from her and sit in my chair.
“Is this why you’ve been avoiding Sunday dinner the last few weeks?” Quincy chuckles.
Not missing the opportunity to throw in a stupid quip, Jake laughs, “She was otherwise occupied!”
“Eat a di—” I stop myself when Daniel holds out the carrot dish.
“How’s Rory’s wrist, by the way?” Jamie asks, narrowing his eyes on me like he’s trying to bore a hole inside my head or something.
“What about his wrist?”
“The strain.”
“What strain?” I snap, thinking that it’s some coded jibe and realising too late that I’ve fallen for his trap. Of course he knew there was nothing wrong with Rory when we bumped into him at the hospital five weeks ago.
This is why I hate telling them anything about my personal life. It becomes a family matter that everyone must comment and weigh in on.
“Wait, he’s injured?” Jake asks, full of concern.
Until now, I had no idea that they were all superfans of the fucking sport. Dad’s always loved it, but Jamie and Jake? I had no fucking clue. But it’s just my bloody luck.
Remembering that entire scene on the sofa, I look at Dad. As always, he’s cool as a cucumber, quiet, and unfazed. When his gaze finds mine, he gives me that acknowledging nod of his that only serves to make me self-conscious of my reaction.
“He seems like a good bloke.” He shrugs, giving me a reassuring smile. “You definitely could’ve done worse.”
They all look at him, curious and confused by his remark, which thankfully takes the heat off me.
“It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the big fight,” he continues.
“Hopefully, the injury isn’t too bad,” Jake adds. “We’ll see how he fares in the build-up fight they announced last week.”
“Bet Johnson’s annoyed he didn’t put any of the belts on the line for it,” Jamie chuckles, pointing at the screen. “They estimate that he’s going to make the best part of thirty million in that one fight.”
“That wouldn’t be enough to get me in a cage with one of those guys.” Dorian shrugs.
Jake levels her with a playful glare. “I should hope not.”
“There’s a women’s division,” Jamie laughs.
The conversation sticks to the sport until it ebbs and flows into another topic altogether. Now that they all know about Rory, it’s made the last few weeks very real. It also makes me wonder how easily he’d fit in around the table. More than that, it makes me question all the feelings that I’ve been pushing aside and trying to ignore.
I didn’t want to like Rory, but the more time we spend together, the harder it is to keep my feelings at bay. To ignore the fact that I’m falling for all his charms and his smiles and the way he makes me feel.