Fighting Silence (On the Ropes #1)(76)

“All right, baller. Then I want a new dress too.”

“Jesus Christ, Eliza! I’m not made of money.” He winked.

I melted.

“Baby, you can have anything you want if you just promise to marry me tomorrow. I’m not waiting anymore.”

Okay, I signed, unable to speak around the lump of emotion lodged in my throat. I’m so glad you’re back.

“Good. Now, get naked. I’m gonna f*ck you one last time as my fiancée.”

I laughed as he peeled my shirt over my head. Then I quieted as he sucked my nipple into his mouth. A few minutes later, I moaned as he made good on his promise and f*cked me on our kitchen counter.



In an ill-fitting rented tux and a pair of black Converse shoes, I watched Eliza Reynolds become Eliza Page.

My little courthouse scenario had been quickly nixed when I’d called Slate to invite him to dinner the following day. Erica had gotten her claws in Eliza, and within three hours, they had planned for the entire wedding to take place in the gazebo of Erica’s garden. I had no idea how they’d pulled it together, but by six p.m. that evening, Eliza had walked down a makeshift aisle covered with rose petals. She was wearing a short, strapless, white dress that hugged her body in ways that spoke to my soul—or, at the very least, my cock. Her long hair cascaded over one shoulder, and a sheer veil floated in the breeze behind her.

I was a man. I didn’t cry—at least, not right then. No, I saved that exhibition of manliness for when I actually had to talk and choke over every other word for everyone to hear. I was reasonably sure I’d never live it down. I was also reasonably sure I didn’t give a single f*ck.

I was marrying Eliza.

Erica had found a nice officiate who had been instructed to do the traditional wedding vows. But as I stood there looking into those dark-blue eyes that represented the rest of my life, I knew I needed to say something of my own. The problem was figuring out what to say at the moment when every single dream I’d ever had was suddenly realized.

“Excuse me for just a second. Can I say something?” I sucked in a shaky breath. “Eliza, I have absolutely no idea what I did to make you fall in love with me. But I can honestly say that, no matter what happens from this point on, it will always be my greatest accomplishment in this life. You’re incredible, and the fact that someone like you fell for a poor kid in dirty jeans who was too scared to walk through doors proves it.” My voice hitched, and I felt the moisture fall from my traitorous eyes. “When I told you that this”—I pointed to my ears—“was my future, you never batted an eye. And when reality became more than I could handle, you declared war on the inevitable for me. You always say that you love me, but you have given me so much more. And because of that, I will spend a lifetime fighting to give you the world.”

Tears fell from her eyes as she responded with only her hands. I already have it. Then she launched herself into my arms, kissing me way before she was supposed to.

Her hands shook as we exchanged wedding bands. As soon as she settled mine on my ring finger, she broke the unwritten wedding rules yet again by kissing me once more.

We were pronounced husband and wife, and Flint immediately stole my wife in a congratulatory bear hug. Quarry was more excited about dinner, so he gave me a high five and headed inside, where Erica had turned her dining room into a elegant wedding reception.

She and Slate had insisted on paying for dinner as our wedding gift, and I’d begrudgingly agreed when I’d found out she wanted to do something at home. I had been thinking chicken on the grill, but she’d had other ideas. By all accounts, she had gone overboard. It was less than ten people, but she had three private chefs and a cupcake tower that was roughly as tall as Eliza. When my jaw dropped after seeing what she had put together, Slate pulled me aside, slapped a beer in my hand, and told me to keep my mouth shut. He had never steered me wrong before, so I did just that.

At the end of the evening, Johnson drove Eliza and me to our hotel. It was a nice place, and I smiled proudly as Eliza oohed and ahhed over every thing. Then I made sure she oohed and ahhed under me when I took her against the wall for the first time as my wife.

Hours later, as we lay in bed naked, we removed our rings and read what the other had inscribed inside.

Hers: My wildest fantasy.

Mine: This is reality.

That day had been such a surreal combination of the two that I’m still not sure who was right.





FOR THREE FULL MONTHS AFTER the wedding, our lives became blissfully boring. I found an accounting job I hated, Flint graduated high school, Quarry was starting to draw national attention in the amateur boxing circuit, and Till . . . Well, he smiled more often than not. And with another win under his belt, his career was looking even more promising—each fight bringing in more money than the last. There was money in the bank, food on the table, and plans to move out of our crappy apartment as soon as we could find a house to rent. For the first time in as long as I could remember, life was easy.

That was until one Friday night when Quarry came down with the stomach flu. It quickly ravaged its way through Flint and Till. I served as a nurse to all three of them until I got sick too. As the guys got better, the roles were reversed. While I thought it was really sweet to watch them all coddle me, I showed no signs of improvement after a full week. It honestly appeared that I was getting worse. Then Till really began to worry and finally dragged me to the doctor.