Chapter 30
SOFIA
Every once in a while, everything felt like it was right in the world. When I woke up after an incredible day with the man I’d most definitely fallen for and had spent most of the night talking to, it felt like it was going to be one of those days.
A soppy but upbeat love song popped into my head the second I opened my eyes. Stretching out on my bed with a ridiculous smile on my face, I wiggled along to the tune in my head like the princess in a damn movie. Then I decided to grab my brush and sing into it as I climbed out of bed and made it.
By the time I was freshly showered and dressed, I felt like an actress in one of those romantic comedy movies Haley and I watched sometimes.
I couldn’t quit smiling, my ass shook along to music only I could hear, and I swore I was only a pen and paper away from scribbling Lincoln’s name with little hearts all around it.
Floating on a fluffy cloud of elation and riding a unicorn over a rainbow in my head, I missed the thundercloud hanging over my father when I first walked into the kitchen. My voice even came out as a song when I chirped my good morning. “Hey, Daddy. What’s up? How was your fourth?”
When he lifted his head away from the newspaper and his eyes hooked onto mine, the cloud evaporated and the unicorn died. My shoulders slumped and dread pooled in my stomach. And he hadn’t even said a word.
Still without saying anything, he slowly set the newspaper down and pushed it across the table.
I frowned. “What’s wrong?”
He folded back a page, then tapped on it with his index finger. So many emotions burned in his eyes that I couldn’t begin to identify them all, but none of them were good. Nor was the fact he remained silent.
Slowly dragging my gaze away from his, I saw the article he had opened to.
On top of the page in big bold letters, the headline read “Couple saves a life on the beach!”.
Beneath it was a photo of my own smiling face and Lincoln’s arrogant yet sexy smirk.
His arms were wrapped around me from behind and his head was right up against mine.
Instead of looking directly at the camera, his eyes were focused on me.
There could be no denying that we were together in the picture. It wasn’t like I could try to spin it that he’d coincidentally ended up helping me when he’d heard someone on the beach was in distress.
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, thrusting his chin in the air. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. He is not the man for you, and that’s final.”
“That’s final?” I scoffed. “I’m sorry, Daddy, but you don’t get to make that decision for me. I’m an adult. I make decisions for me.”
“I don’t give a shit that you’re an adult. You’re my daughter, and no daughter of mine will be involved with that piece of garbage. Hurt is the only thing that will come from this. Nothing else.”
“Maybe it is,” I conceded but kept my eyes on him and my voice firm.
“Maybe he’ll hurt me or maybe I’ll hurt him.
It’s not impossible that it will happen, but it’s also not impossible that we won’t hurt each other.
We’ll only know by seeing this thing through, and that’s exactly what I intend on doing. ”
“Over my dead body.” Each word was punctuated with a pause and a deep breath. A challenging gleam entered his eyes, and he pointed his finger at my chest. “You might legally be an adult, but you’re still my little girl. It’s my job to protect you, Sofia. That is exactly what I’m going to do.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but Dad was already storming out of the kitchen. His bedroom door slammed a second later, and I huffed out an angry breath.
Well, that didn’t go well. I shook my head as I sat back down, unable to believe that only minutes ago I was happier than I could remember being in a long, long time.
All the joy that had been bubbling in my heart had fizzled out and had been replaced with the acidity of fear and the heaviness of anger.
I knew Lincoln could take care of himself, and I also knew that Dad couldn’t exactly discharge him dishonorably purely for dating me, but I was still afraid of the repercussions for Lincoln now that Dad knew about us.
The anger? Well, Dad was being entirely unreasonable about my relationship with Lincoln. Sure, they didn’t like one another, but that didn’t mean he could forbid me from seeing someone or treat me like a child.
It wasn’t the first time he’d played the “you’ll always be my little girl” card, but it was the first time that he’d done so in a way that was condescending and demeaning.
Maybe I didn’t understand and wouldn’t until I was a parent myself, but being his little girl didn’t give him the right to dictate who I loved. It couldn’t.
Lincoln and I might still be new, but I truly believed that if he and Dad could only get to know each other, they could learn to get along.
There was already mutual respect. They simply needed to have a conversation about why Lincoln hadn’t taken any of the opportunities for advancement that he’d had.
If I really thought about it, it wasn’t that different from my own situation. I’d been offered fast-tracking several times, but I’d never even seriously considered it. No matter how much of an honor it was to be considered, it just hadn’t felt right to me.
Dad had never pressured me about it. Why he apparently held Lincoln to a higher standard than he held me, I didn’t know. He hated Lincoln for doing essentially the same thing as me.
When I heard heavy boots stomping on the stairs, I looked up to see Dad dressed in his full military uniform.
I frowned. “Where are you going and why are you all dressed up?”
“I’m going to work,” he said. “I can’t talk to you about your relationship, but there are other things I could be doing.”
Unease tied my stomach up in knots, but Dad left and slammed the door behind him before I could put my finger on why. Whatever he was going to go do, I doubted it would end well for Lincoln and me.