Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78250 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“Yeah. Well. That was him long before the UFC trophies or the notoriety. But the fame?” I shake my head. “It messed with him. For a little while. He was young, thought he was invincible, and he was suddenly wanted by everyone who was interested in cock. And Tessa…”
I make a face. “Tessa is that girl. The one all the fighters talked about and the media drooled over. Every one of her Instagram posts got a million likes. But she only wanted Boone. After he started winning, of course. After the sponsorships started coming. After the paydays became something worth talking about.”
Roxie’s hands tighten on the mug. “She loved the spotlight.”
“She loved being in the spotlight with Boone. Big difference.” I slide off the counter, moving to stand between her knees. “She was all promises of wild nights, anything-goes sex, party after party. She made him feel like a god for about five minutes.”
Roxie swallows hard. “Then what happened?”
“Then,” I say softly, “Boone realized the sparkle was fake and that she didn’t give a damn about him. Not the real him, anyway. Not the man who loved quietly and wanted a home. A family. Stability. She wanted the celebrity. The image. Not Boone Callaghan.”
Her eyes lift to mine. “Has he ever looked back?”
“Not once.” I brush my thumb over her cheek. “Not since the day the papers were signed. Hell, even before that, he was way over it. He just wanted her gone. Gave her a lot more than she was entitled to just to speed things along.”
She breathes out slowly. “She tried to make me feel so small.”
“She tries to make everyone feel small,” I say. “It’s her superpower, but it doesn’t work on us. And next time, you’ll be prepared, and it won’t work on you either.”
Her eyes soften. “Dillon?”
“Yeah?”
Her lower lip trembles a little. “I don’t ever want to come between you guys. I don’t ever want to be the reason something breaks.”
“Roxie, you’re the reason everything finally fits.”
I cup her face and kiss her. Not rushed or hungry, but deep and sure and slow, the way I’ve watched Chance do it when he needs her to believe something.
Her hands ball into fists in my shirt. She tugs me closer, and something in my chest flips upside down and sets up permanent residence there. When I pull back, I rest my forehead against hers, breathing hard.
“I love you,” I say.
Her eyes widen, but I keep going, because stopping isn’t an option anymore. “I didn’t say it before because I didn’t want you thinking it was just because of the baby or just because Boone said it. It’s not. It’s because I love you. I love everything about you. Your bravery, your softness, your fire, the way you look at us like we’re worth loving.”
A tear slides down her cheek and I catch it with my thumb. “I love you, Roxie. Tessa showing up doesn’t change a damn thing. She’s Boone’s past. You’re his future. Our future.”
Her breathing stutters, but then she whispers, “I love you, too.”
As soon as she says it, it feels like the world finally clicks into place. I pull her up into my arms, holding her for the longest time before I decide we’re calling it a day.
“Come on,” I murmur against her hair. “Let’s go watch cheesy rom coms with some hot cocoa in front of the fire.”
“That sounds good.”
She burrows into me on the couch, and we spend the rest of the afternoon right there.
When Boone and Chance finally come home, I see in the tightness etched into their features but neither of them says a word about it. Roxie and I don’t tell them about Tessa either.
They just come to join us on the couch with the pizza they brought back from town, and we eat while watching movies that Chance hates but tolerates because it means getting to spend time with Roxie.
After dinner, snow starts drifting down in lazy white curtains, and we take her upstairs. She rubs her eyes, trying not to yawn, but she’s exhausted. The pregnancy has been kicking her ass a little harder this week, and she practically melts into Boone when he helps her onto the bed.
He sits down beside her first, brushing her hair back with his big hand. He kisses her, slow and lingering, like he’s memorizing the feel of her lips, then he whispers something against her forehead I don’t catch. But I can see in his eyes it’s soft and fierce.
Chance leans down next, cupping the back of her neck like he always does. His kiss is gentler, more careful, the protective kind that makes her exhale into him.
Then it’s my turn. I smooth the blanket up over her belly, bend down, and kiss her temple. When she turns her face toward me, I kiss her mouth, letting her feel everything I didn’t say out loud until earlier.