Page 141 of The Dixon Rule

The kid smirks. “She sent me your audition video. That was a pretty good tango, dude.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Tom asks in amusement.

Thomas fills his dad in. “Shane’s partnering with Di for her ballroom competition. Kenji ditched her.”

Larissa gives me a nod of approval. “Good for you. Takes some real confidence.”

“I am nothing if not confident.” My tone is absent-minded as my gaze once again drifts toward Diana and Mr. Boston PD.

A small firestorm brews in my chest. I don’t know why seeing her laughing with this guy makes me burn, but it does.

Thomas notices my distraction. “They’re just talking,” he says with another smirk.

I glower at him. “I don’t care.”

“Right. That’s why you keep looking over there. Watching them almost as vigilantly as Dad.”

My head swings toward Tom Senior. “You don’t like that guy either, huh?”

“Ha,” Thomas says gleefully. “I knew you didn’t like him.”

“He’s my sergeant’s boy. Just passed the academy. A damned beat cop and already thinks he deserves a spot on SWAT. That kind of arrogance bothers me.” Tom shrugs. “But Di can handle herself. She’s tough as nails.”

“She is,” I agree.

Thomas grins. “Did she ever tell you about the time she beat up a kid twice her size on the playground because he tried to make her eat ants?”

Diana’s dad lets out a howl of laughter. “Aw man, I forgot about that. She was eleven, I think. Maybe twelve. The school called me at work, and I had to leave a weapons training seminar to pick her up because her mom was out of town. Got to the school and found her sitting in the principal’s office, not a mark on her. Meanwhile, this boy has a bloody nose and there’s all these ants caked into the blood because she shoved his face in the dirt after she hit him. Said only one of them would be eating bugs that day and it sure wasn’t gonna be her.”

Diana arrives in time for the end of story, sighing when she sees my face. “It’s not as psychotic as it sounds.”

“My God. I knew you were feral,” I accuse.

“Stop scaring him with stories about me beating people up, Dad.” She seems embarrassed, but something else flickers through her expression too. Anxiety, maybe? “We don’t want to give him the wrong idea. I’m actually a huge wimp.”

Tom Senior slings his arm around his daughter’s shoulders and plants a kiss on her temple. “Nothing wimpy about you.” He glances at me with a smile. “This is the toughest girl you’ll ever meet.”

Diana smiles too, but I notice it doesn’t quite reach her eyes.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

SHANE

Senior year, boys

HOCKEY’S BACK, BABY.

This is the day I’ve been looking forward to all summer. It’s what I’ve trained hard for, and my strength and conditioning have definitely paid off. I’ve gained weight, added a lot of muscle. Hell, I’m probably more agile too, thanks to those dancing lessons. But I’ll never admit it to Dixon.

It feels great returning to the Graham Center, Briar’s state-of-the-art hockey facilities. The women’s team uses this rink too, but they don’t officially start practice for another week.

I walk in the building, breathing in the familiar scent of the lobby as I tilt my head and let my gaze roam over the pennants and jerseys hanging from the rafters. The display case against the back wall contains our latest Frozen Four trophy and all the previous ones Coach Jensen and the coaches before him secured for Briar. Jensen’s won more championships than any other coach in the history of this university. It’s cool to see and an impressive legacy to leave behind if he ever retires.

I stride down the hall, feeling like I’m on top of the world.

I slide into the locker room and find a few of my teammates also showed up early, including Ryder. It’s weird not driving with him to practice anymore, now that we don’t live together. It’s even weirder that last week I was dancing at his stupidly extravagant wedding.

“Hello, Mr. Graham,” I say in a formal tone.

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