The dread in my stomach turned to lead. Douglas had chosen a nice picture of us, at least, but it brought me no comfort in the moment. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
In my lovestruck haze, I hadn’t thought for a second that Dad might see the article when Douglas told us he wanted to do a story. I should have known it would happen, but I hadn’t seen it coming.
There was also a part of me that wondered if I’d intentionally, albeit subconsciously, forgotten about the fact that Dad read every local paper every day. Had I wanted him to find out about Lincoln and me?
The short answer was not this way, but yes. Our relationship had developed into something a lot more than just fucking and having fun. It wasn’t something I wanted to have to hide from my father forever.
My feelings for Lincoln were deep, and they were real. I wasn’t ashamed of them, and I wasn’t ashamed of the man they were for.
“Oh, yeah,” I said casually, knowing I’d have to explain but still trying to figure out how. “A man had a heart attack on the beach and we helped. I’m pretty sure I saved his life.”
“That’s great, honey,” my dad said, his tone as flat as a pancake. He cleared his throat, tapping his fingertip on the picture again as he cocked his head at me. “Why were you with Lincoln Dobbs?”
“He’s a friend,” I started but then shook my head at myself. There had been enough lies. It was time for Dad to know the truth. “Actually, no. He’s more than a friend. I’ve been seeing him.”
All the color seeped from Dad’s cheeks, leaving them blue-gray and mottled. His eyebrows rose on his forehead and he blinked at me like he wasn’t sure if I was really there.
“Excuse me, what did you just say?”
I raised my chin as I sat down in the seat opposite his, reaching for his hands. He pulled them to his lap and narrowed his eyes at me. “I could have sworn I just heard you say that you are seeing Lincoln Dobbs.”
“He also goes by just Lincoln. You don’t always need to add his last name.” My attempt at lightening the mood failed dismally.
A muscle in Dad’s jaw ticked, and he inched forward on his chair. “Why were you with him and what do you mean when you say you’ve been seeing him?”
“We spent the day together. That’s why he was with me in that picture. It’s a good thing he was there, too. He really helped me when the man had his heart attack.”
Dad swallowed, his mouth twisting into a grimace. “If he helped you, it was because there was something in it for him.”
“There was nothing in it for him. He’s a really good guy, Dad. I know you don’t like him, but I really think if you just give him a chance—”
“I’ve given Dobbs plenty of chances,” he spat. Color returned to his face but not the good kind. He turned so red he was almost purple, then jumped to his feet and slammed his palms down on the table. “You have no idea what that boy has done. He’s not a good guy, Sofia. He’s trouble. Jesus, he couldn’t even follow the order to be suspended. Literally, all he had to do was nothing, and he fucked it up.”
“You’re wrong about him,” I said firmly, folding my hands in my lap and fighting to keep calm. Getting worked up when he already was wouldn’t help me. “I’ve gotten to know him, and—”
“And nothing.” I’d never seen so much rage swimming around his hazel eyes. “If he was a good guy, he would never have gone after you to mess with me. Can’t you see that’s all he’s doing?”
“It’s not what he’s doing.” Regardless of the fire Dad’s eyes were spitting at me, I kept mine on them. Eye contact meant a lot to my dad, and this was not the time to shy away from him. “He didn’t even know who I was at first. Our relationship has nothing to do with getting back at you.”
“Your relationship?” he barked, squeezing his eyes shut and giving his head a firm shake. “No, I won’t have this, Sofia. He is not the guy for you.”
“Maybe he is,” I countered. The control I had on my calm was slipping. I knew Dad didn’t like Lincoln, but this was ridiculous. “He very well could be the guy for me. I know his heart, and it’s a good one.”
“No, it’s not,” he argued vehemently, a throbbing vein popping up on his forehead. “Lincoln Dobbs only cares about Lincoln Dobbs. If there’s even a heart left in that body, it’s not one that will ever belong to anyone else.”
“How do you know? Have you ever asked him? Have you ever bothered to even try and have a proper conversation with the guy?”
His shoulders tensed. “You have no idea what I’ve tried with that guy. He’s dangerous, Sofia. If you knew what he had done just weeks ago, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“Have you even talked to him about what happened?” I shoved the table back and stood up. “I’m willing to bet you haven’t.”
“Because he doesn’t even care enough about it to talk to me,” he practically yelled, throwing his hands out to his sides. “The man doesn’t even have enough fucks to give about his career or his teammates to have an honest conversation with me. What makes you think he cares about you?”
“I don’t think he cares about me. I know it.” I narrowed my eyes at my father for possibly the first time in my life. “If he’s not talking to you, it’s because you haven’t given him the chance to. At least not a fair chance.”
Dad took a step back from the table,
