Veiled Hearts | Pablo Gavi

026 parents meeting

I was standing in the tunnel with most of the people from the family and friends section of the stadium. My parents were chatting with Marc and his wife, while Theo had already run off onto the field with Ansu, Ale, and Carlos.

I spotted Pedri nearby and walked over. "How's your leg? That foul looked nasty," I asked, glancing at his bandaged leg.

"It looks worse than it is," Pedri replied, shrugging. "Honestly, all the rehab and medical work your dad assigned me this summer probably paid off. Usually, I'd be out for longer, but the medics just bandaged it up with a cooling pad."

I smiled, relieved. "That's good. We were all worried up there."

Pedri winked playfully. "Flattered by the concern."

Before I could reply, a voice called out behind us, "Pedri, dear! That foul looked awful!" We both turned to see a small brunette woman hurrying toward him. Pedri's face lit up immediately.

"Aurora! Hey!" Pedri smiled as he wrapped her in a warm hug.

The woman was tiny compared to Pedri, who wasn't tall himself. I smiled, but my stomach did a flip as I spotted Gavi approaching with who seemed to be his father just a few steps behind her. My nerves suddenly kicked in. Oh god, was I really about to meet his parents? I mean he had proposed that earlier and I agreed—but being here now I felt nervous.

Aurora released Pedri and turned to me with a warm smile. "And you must be?", she questioned.

I smiled nervously. "Sophia, nice to meet you, señora."

"Oh, please, just Aurora," she waved off the formality. "Your the coach's daughter—my son has mentioned you."

Wait, what? My cheeks flushed at the idea that he'd been talking about me. Before I could process that, Gavi reached us with his dad by his side.

" Mom, Dad, this is Sophia," Gavi introduced me quickly, clearly trying to keep things casual. "Coach Flick's daughter."

His father smiled warmly and held out his hand. "Nice to finally meet you, Sophia."
Finally...

"Pablo! You have to properly introduce yourself, the poor girl," Aurora bickered towards her husband.

"Oh don't worry. The pleasure's mine," I said, shaking his hand. His energy was warm, and it was easy to see where Gavi got his laid-back charm from.

Aurora, however, wasn't quite done teasing her son. "Our Pablo has been telling us about you," she said with a sly smile at Gavi.

"Mamá, come on," Gavi groaned, rolling his eyes, "you're making it sound like I've been talking about her non-stop."

Aurora grinned and shrugged innocently. "Well, you've mentioned her, and I'm just stating a fact."

I felt heat rising to my face again. Gavi's dad chuckled, clearly enjoying the teasing. "Again—It's nice to finally meet you, Sophia. We've heard good things."

Before I could respond, my mom appeared by my side. "Sophia, dear—wrap it up, please. The car's waiting."

Noticing Gavi's parents, my mom smiled warmly and extended her hand. "I'm sorry to steal my daughter away but we have a reservation due. I'm Irina, Sophia's mother."

Aurora shook her hand with a smile a little taken away by my mothers height in her heels. "Yes, I'm Aurora, and this is Pablo. We are the parents of Gavi. It's a pleasure to meet you."

My mom nodded. "Likewise. We'll be seeing more of each other, I'm sure."

As we said our goodbyes, Aurora gently squeezed my arm and smiled. "It was lovely meeting you, Sophia. I'm sure we'll be seeing you again."

I waved goodbye to Pedri and Gavi as they turned back to their conversation. As I turned to follow my family, I overheard Gavi's dad say to him, "She's gorgeous, Pablo."

I smiled to myself, a little flustered by the compliment. Gavi's family seemed so warm and loving. It was no wonder he turned out to be such a grounded person.