Page 192 of The Dixon Rule

“Just kidding.” I gesture to the jersey. “Are you really giving me this?”

“Yes, but I’m going to get it framed first.”

“Will you sign it?”

“Absolutely.”

Eyes shining, Dad grabs a metallic silver marker from his desk drawer and scribbles his name on a black section of the jersey.

R Lindley.

He looks so proud that tears sting my eyelids. Because, fuck, I can’t even imagine having your dream stolen from you like that. In an instant. One second and it was done.

“Where’s Diana?” he asks.

“She’s upstairs with Maryanne.”

Dad puts his arm around me and ruffles my head. I don’t have a lot of hair, so he’s basically just rubbing his palm over my buzzed scalp. “I’m happy you’re home. Happy you’re with Diana too. She’s a good one.”

“I think so too.”

“Glad you came to your senses.”

I raise a brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Your mom and I were getting worried there that you might get back with Lynsey.”

“Wow.” I can’t stop a laugh. “You really didn’t like her, huh?”

“It wasn’t about liking her. It was about liking her for you. She wasn’t good for you. Too serious. Overly ambitious.”

“Mom is serious and ambitious,” I point out.

“Yep, and she suits me to a T. Because I’m a laid-back bum who needs a woman like her to motivate me.” Dad leans against his deck, arms loosely crossed. “But you’re not me. You’re loud and brash and stubborn as hell. You need someone like Diana to put you in your place. Lynsey never did that because…” He shrugs. “Because, well, I suspect she was too self-absorbed to notice what you were up to.”

I won’t lie—it stings to hear that. And his words dispel any notion that they’d liked her. Clearly, they were just skilled at keeping their mouths shut.

“I wish you told me all this when we were dating,” I admit. “Four years, dude. You might’ve saved me some time.”

Dad chuckles. “You wouldn’t have listened. Stubborn, remember?” He pushes away from the desk. “C’mon, let’s go join the others.”

Thanksgiving is a blast. We don’t have any out-of-towners this year, but we’re hosting Mom’s parents, my aunt Ashley, a bunch of cousins from my dad’s side, and more cousins from my mom’s. We watch football, gorge ourselves at dinner, and play after-dinner charades.

It’s the perfect day, except for one moment of tension between my parents. Dad wants to go for a walk after our guests leave, but my sister is so hopped up on sugar that Mom suggests we watch a movie instead. Dad pushes the issue, and eventually Mom caves, grumbling in annoyance as they bundle up and head out, leaving Diana and me alone in the house.

I waste no time grabbing her hand. “Upstairs! Now! Quickie!”

Diana can’t stop laughing as we hurry upstairs. I know we have at least thirty minutes, but I bypass my bedroom just in case and pull her into the hall bath.

“Oooh, shower sex?” Her green eyes dance devilishly as I turn on the water.

I crank the temperature to hot and pull off my sweater, tossing it on the tiled floor. “I figure the spray will drown out any noises you make.”

“Me? You’re the noisiest man I’ve ever been with. You and your man moans.”

“You love it when I moan in your ear,” I say arrogantly, undoing my pants.

A moment later, my boxers hit the bath mat and I step into the shower. With the curtain still wide-open, I duck my head under the spray and let it course down my naked body.

---