The reporters rumbled, and the snap and blink of camera flashes exploded briefly.
“Three years ago, I was a happily married man, with my entire career in front of me. I worked hard to get where I wanted to go, and sacrifices had to be made. In my case, that meant me walking away from the one person who loved me more than anything. But what I couldn’t be was honest. Not with the world, and not to myself.”
Eli paused and glanced over at Devan. Devan wanted to rush out there to Eli’s side, to wrap his arms around him, if for no other reason than to show Eli that he wasn’t alone in all of this. Instead, he gave him a thumbs-up and a grin.
Eli smiled and turned back to the mic. “You see, the person I was married to was a man. The most wonderful, amazing man I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing. I made a mistake and walked away from him so I could make fighting my priority. But no longer. The night of my fight with Caulfield, my husband was in a serious accident. I had to choose between going to him or fighting. You all know which way I went.
“You can never truly be happy if you can’t admit who you are to yourself. It took me three years to realize that. Now that my eyes are opened, I refuse to be in the dark any longer. I’m retiring to spend time with my husband, and I’ve accepted a new position as trainer at Ringside Gym, here in Toronto.”
Eli’s shoulders relaxed as he folded up the paper. “Does anyone have any questions?”
The room exploded with shouts.
Eli fielded the inevitable questions about his sexuality, if the league had known and told him to keep quiet, would he ever want to fight professionally again. Devan watched with pride and more than a little awe as Eli patiently and carefully answered each question, never letting anyone get under his skin.
Finally, a female reporter piped up. “How is your husband? What was the accident?”
“He’d been hit by a car while walking his son. The baby is okay, and my husband is well on the way to recovery.” He looked over to Devan once more. “I better wrap this up now. I need to get him home so he can rest.” And with that said, he turned and walked off the stage.
Right into Devan’s open arms. “Oh God, I’m so proud of you.”
Eli let out a shuddering sigh. “That was the scariest thing I’ve ever had to do. In my life.”
“You nailed it.” He kissed him quickly. “And Grady will be thrilled that you mentioned the gym. He can’t say that you haven’t been working to build a social media buzz anymore.”
“I don’t want to think about Grady, or the gym, or anything.” He reached over and grabbed Devan’s crutches. “Right now, I want to go to the LCBO and grab some wine. Then I want to go back to your apartment, help you pack some boxes, and get you guys moved over to the house.”
Devan still couldn’t believe that they were going to move into Eli’s house. It would take some time, but Devan hoped things would continue to be as amazing as they’d been for the past month. “We can take Matthew over to the nursing home to see your mom. Spending time with her grandson might help her mental state as well.”
Eli’s smile melted away any lingering doubt Devan had. “She’d love that. And so would I. Come on, let’s go home.”
Devan let his husband wrap an arm around his shoulders as the two of them stepped out into the light.
Explore more of the Ringside Romance series: riptidepublishing.com/titles/universe/ringside-romance
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Christine d’Abo’s Making It!
We know your time is precious and you have many, many entertainment options, so it means a lot that you’ve chosen to spend your time reading. We really hope you enjoyed it.
We’d be honored if you’d consider posting a review—good or bad—on sites like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Goodreads, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, and your blog or website. We’d also be honored if you told your friends and family about this book. Word of mouth is a book’s lifeblood!
For more information on upcoming releases, author interviews, blog tours, contests, giveaways, and more, please sign up for our weekly, spam-free newsletter and visit us around the web:
Newsletter: tinyurl.com/RiptideSignup
Twitter: twitter.com/RiptideBooks
Facebook: facebook.com/RiptidePublishing
Goodreads: tinyurl.com/RiptideOnGoodreads
Tumblr: riptidepublishing.tumblr.com
Thank you so much for Reading the Rainbow!
RiptidePublishing.com
Ideas are strange and wonderful things. The idea for Making It was the result of a conversation in a car with J.K. Coi, who is always willing to listen to me blather away about my next crazy plot. Thank you, sweetie!
As always, I have to thank my editors Sarah Lyons and May Peterson for their insights and ability to help polish my manuscripts until they shine. A special OMG THANKS to Alex Whitehall, who is the best damn copy editor I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with. My books shine because of you.
And to my readers, thank you for continuing to visit the Ringside Gym. I hope you’ll come back for another round.
Ringside Romance series
Working It
Faking It
Losing It (coming soon)
Rebound Remedy
Bounty Hunter series
No Quarter
No Remedy
No Master
Double Shot
A Shot in the Dark
Pulled Long
Calling the Shots
Choose Your Shot: An Interactive Erotic Adventure
Sexcapades
Club Wonderland
30 Days
30 Nights
Submissive Seductions
A romance novelist and short story writer, Christine has over forty publications to her name. She loves to exercise and stops writing just long enough to keep her body in motion too. When she’s not pretending to be a ninja in her basement, she’s most likely spending time with her family and two dogs.
Find Christine online:
Website: christinedabo.com
Twitter: @Christine_dAbo
Facebook: facebook.com/christine.dabo
Newsletter: christinedabo.com/contact.html#newsletter
Enjoy more stories like Making It at RiptidePublishing.com!
Patchwork Paradise
www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/patchwork-paradise
Until September
www.riptidepublishing.com/titles/until-september
Earn Bonus Bucks!
Earn 1 Bonus Buck for each dollar you spend. Find out how at RiptidePublishing.com/news/bonus-bucks.
Win Free Ebooks for a Year!
Pre-order coming soon titles directly through our site and you’ll receive one entry into a drawing for a chance to win free books for a year! Get the details at RiptidePublishing.com/contests.
Making It Page 20
