“Exactly.” Deacon rested his forehead to hers. “I love you more than anything—you know that, right?”

“Yes.”

“But, babe, I gotta warn ya. I’m probably gonna fuck up from time to time.”

She laughed. “And I’ll still love you when you do.”

“Thank fuck for that.”

Her man—her fiancé—had such a way with words.

Then he said, “We’ll figure this out.”

And she believed him.

EPILOGUE

One week later . . .

“DEACON.”

He stopped shadowboxing and looked over his shoulder at Ronin. “What is it?”

“Molly said to tell you they’re here.”

“Cool. Thanks.” He grabbed a towel and mopped his face. He needed to sit down and chill out. But waiting to fight, especially for this fight, was making him antsy.

“Who’s they?” Knox asked.

“My dad. My cousin Warren and his folks.”

“You seem surprised they’re here.”

“I’m surprised I’m here.” Last week, after he and Molly had straightened things out, he’d told her about Warren’s parentage. His sweet woman had cried out of guilt for leaving him to deal with the shocking revelations alone. Then a fearful but heartfelt phone call from his aunt Annabelle had convinced him it’d be in Warren’s best interest to wait until he turned eighteen to reveal his biological identity. But Deacon had asked for a chance to get to know his nephew, and Annabelle and Derek had agreed it’d be good for Warren. So the three of them and Deacon’s dad had flown in for the fight.

His mother hadn’t come. His father told him he believed Julianne had suffered from a psychotic episode borne of grief when she’d said such awful things to Deacon after Dante’s death. And she continued to treat him the way she did out of guilt for what she’d said.

Deacon had let that go for his father’s sake. If the man wanted to pretend his wife wasn’t a monster, that was his business.

“You are ready, amigo,” Vasquez said, interrupting Deacon’s contemplation. “You were a beast this week.”

“If we’d trained together even one more day, you’da seen my big nasty teeth, you sadistic bastard,” Deacon retorted. When Deacon had tried to back out of the Watson fight, citing personal reasons, Maddox, Ronin, and even Vasquez had convinced him to stick it out. Ronin had persuaded Amery to let Molly work remotely so she could be with Deacon in Laredo while he trained. And Deacon was man enough to admit he wouldn’t have made it through the week without Molly by his side. He planned to never be without her again.

Since neither of them wanted a long engagement, they were sneaking off to Corpus Christi tomorrow to get married. And maybe it made him a fucking sap, but he wanted Molly’s first trip to the ocean to be unforgettable, so he’d secretly arranged for the ceremony to take place at sunset on the beach. Then the woman would have to eat her words about him not being a romantic guy. He was gonna romance the hell out of her for the next sixty years. He’d be a motherfucking pro at this hearts and flowers shit.

“I remember the good old days when students used to complain about that with you,” Knox said, drawing Deacon’s attention back to the conversation.

“They still do,” Beck inserted. Then he and Knox laughed at the same time.

Maddox hustled in. “All right, everybody out. I need to prep my fighter.”

Beck and Knox walked out together. Vasquez and Riggins followed.

Deacon pulled out his fight bag and tossed his hand-wrapping supplies on the bench. He already had his gauze premeasured and cut. His gauze pads were folded. He flexed his fingers, stilling the left hand when Maddox began to wrap it.

“You all right?” Maddox asked.

“I’m great.”

“Cool.” He paused. “They’re here.”

“My family? Yeah, I know.”

“Not them. The Smackdown guys.”

“I figured they would be, since it’s a Smackdown event,” Deacon said.

Maddox looked at him as he ripped off strips of tape. “I mean the Smackdown fighters are here. Specifically, the three guys in your weight class you’ll be going up against after you win tonight.”

“Huh. Why are you telling me this now, Mad?”

“It’s my version of a pep talk.”

“It sucks.”

He laughed. “I’ve heard that before.”

“Even if I lose tonight—”

“You’re not gonna lose,” Maddox assured him.

“But even if I do get my ass kicked, I’ve already signed with Smackdown, so they’ll have to suck it up and come up with a new strategy for me.”