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She nods. “Yeah, I’m not supposed to like you.”
“Not having any luck with that, I see?”
“None at all.”
Yeah, that makes me grin as I help her up. “So I guess you’re accepting defeat?”
“Against Jack? Yes. I am accepting defeat. You, never.”
I laugh as she wraps her arms around my chest before throwing all her weight against me. As I hold her against me, I decide that it should always be like this. She feels so damn good against me, but then she breathes on me, and I gag a bit before saying, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul.”
“You’re a good man, Jayd—”
But before she can finish her sentence, she pukes down my shirt.
And I know that should make me mad, but there is no wiping the grin off my face.
“Are you alive?”
Peeking one eye out of the blanket, I groan as the sunlight hits my face. “I don’t think so.”
Dad chuckles as he sits on the bed, rubbing my back. “Wild night, eh?”
“Wild twenty-one minutes, you mean?”
He laughs at that. “Lightweight.”
“I don’t ever drink,” I complain, and he continues to laugh. “Shut up.”
Smacking my butt, he says, “Okay, I’ll let you be, but I want you to open something first. Do you need to puke again?”
Glaring at him, I start to sit up, still feeling a bit queasy. “Not funny.”
“Poor Sinclair, I can’t believe you puked all over him.”
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” I say with a shake of my head. “He’s gonna give me shit for weeks.”
“Probably,” he agrees as I sit fully up. Looking over at his hands, I see he is holding a picture and a ring box.
“What’s that?”
“Your birthday gift,” he says, handing it to me. Looking at the picture, despite how shitty I feel, I grin. It’s me as a newborn nuzzled in the Stanley Cup. “I thought long and hard when the right moment would be to give you this. I thought your eighteenth birthday, but I didn’t think you’d want that yet. Now, though, I think you do.”
I open the ring box, and in it is his Bruins Stanley Cup ring. Gasping, I run my finger along the many diamonds that make up the famous Bruins symbol, completely breathless. I’ve seen my daddy wear this ring every day of my whole life, and he’s giving it to me?
“Daddy? Really?”
“Yeah, Little 50, it’s yours. Happy birthday,” he says and then kisses my temple. “No matter what, you’re a champion in my eyes.”
Looking back at him, I beam. I want to make my dad proud, more than anything. But looking in his eyes, maybe I already have? Maybe I’m too worried about winning, and I just need to enjoy my younger years. I mean, I almost missed out on having a blast last night. But then I look down at his ring, and…I know I’m not. He never stopped worrying about winning, he worked his ass off, and now he is able to give this to me on my twenty-first birthday. I have to remember the end goal and that’s to bring a ring of my own home to my dad.
And that means I gotta ignore Jayden. He’s gonna mess me up. He’s gonna ruin my end game because I’m starting to care. I can’t care for him. I just can’t. Caring for a guy makes a girl stupid, and I won’t do that.
Blinking back the tears, I look over at him. “Thank you.”
“Anything for you, my darling,” he says, kissing me again.
Moving my finger along the ring, I take it out of the case and slide it on my finger. Of course, it doesn’t fit, but it’s such a rush to have on. “I can’t wait to have my own. Earned by my team.”
