Fast Courting by Barbara Delinsky Page B

married sister in Seattle. I’m the one who really broke from the mold.” Her features tensed in recollection of the sharp differences of opinion she’d had with her parents.
    “When you married?”
    “Before that. Long before that.” She grinned guiltily, then explained. “I was rebellious as a teenager—never could seem to learn when not to argue. In spite of myself, I did well in school and on my college boards, though. I was accepted at Stanford and Radcliffe. When I decided to come east, my parents were not thrilled.” She gave added emphasis to the last two words. “Then, David and I eloped…against their wishes. They temporarily disowned me.”
    “Temporarily?”
    “Mmmm,” she agreed, savoring a bite of sautéed lobster meat. “I guess it’s true that blood runs thicker than water. In time they came around. They had almost begun to accept the marriage when it fell apart.”
    Having ravished his lobster first, Daniel raised his knife to cut his steak, then paused. “How did they react to that?”
    Nia’s shoulders lifted in a sigh of appreciation, of genuine respect. “What can I say? They were wonderful. I had expected a never-ending stream of I-told-you-so’s. There wasn’t one . I was pretty shaken and they seemed to understand that. My mother even flew out to stay here for a week. We got to know each other…as adults. It was very nice.”
    “Do you go back there often?”
    “Once or twice a year. I flew back last November for Thanksgiving. If I can wrangle this Western Edge assignment, I may get there again next month.”
    “Next month?” he asked, eyeing her more alertly. “You do get around.”
    For a few minutes they ate in silence, lost in their own thoughts. Nia’s were surprisingly relaxed, centered on the pleasantness of Daniel’s company. It was only when curiosity got the better of her again that she spoke.
    “If this was an ‘off’ day, what have you been doing? What does a coach do when there is no game?” It was one of the very questions she’d asked herself the night before, after the game she hadn’t had the courage to watch. With Daniel here and in a seemingly receptive mood, she had nothing to lose by asking…particularly when she had just gone on about herself at his bidding.
    At first he remained silent, eyes downcast, fork poised above his plate. Was he hesitant about speaking, even after that embrace and the opening she thought she’d sensed? Had she imagined that…or simply wished it?
    The mellowing of his features spoke of a decision reached in her favor. His smile curled its way right down to her toes. “I love the way people assume that a ‘free’ day is totally ‘free.’ For the players it means a two-or three-hour practice, perhaps a team meeting, a movie. For me it means work on top of that—management meetings, films—”
    “Films? A movie? Where does Hollywood fit into the sport?”
    Daniel laughed. “I’m not talking about the standard Saturday night fare, though there’s many a Saturday night I do watch them. No, these movies are of the homemade variety, films of the team we’ll be playing next, even films of our last game with that team. It helps to understand the strengths and strategies of the opposition in planning our offense.”
    Nia nodded her understanding. “So where does the coach fit into these practices and meetings and showings?”
    “I run it all. I direct the practice, conduct the meetings, give a running commentary on the film as it rolls. For each time the team sees a film, I’ve seen it twice.”
    “Really? But why?”
    “In order for me to effectively coach, I need to know both the opposition and my own players like the back of my hand. I need to know how each one reacts in certain situations, against certain types of players.” His eyes glowed with inner satisfaction. “To my way of thinking, my greatest challenge as a coach is in the understanding, the behind-the-scenes study that results in the correct