“Can I get a little hint?”
“No, no hints.”
“What if I guess?”
“No, no guessing, Gabriel. Now, let me go so I can finish getting ready,” she insists.
“Fine,” I sigh.
“What the hell are we doing here?” My face feels flushed as my anger builds in my gut. I clench my hands together tightly as Salem pulls into the parking lot of TKO. I hadn’t stepped foot in or thought of this place since the day I’d threatened Blaine’s life, and fortunately for him, he listened and we’ve never seen or heard from him again. But now, being here is taking me back, forcing me to remember how he treated Salem and what he did to her.
Salem remains tight-lipped as she parks, shuts the car off, and exits out the driver’s side door. Leaning in, she looks down at me. “Are you just going to sit there?”
“Are you trying to give me a fuckin’ heart attack? Why are we here?”
“There’s something I wanna show you,” she flashes me a grin.
“Unless you’re showing me Blaine’s dead body, I’m not interested,” I snap.
She starts laughing, “Believe me, I’d be first in line to see that. But no, that’s not it.”
“Well then, I’m not interested.”
“Not even for me?” She juts out her bottom lip and bats her long eyelashes at me.
“Goddammit, Say,” I grumble as I reluctantly open my car door and follow her. She takes my hand and is grinning from ear to ear, which confuses the hell out of me. I can’t figure out for the life of me, why she’d even want to be in the general vicinity of this place.
She opens the front door and extends her arm out, “After you.”
As I take a step through the front door, I grit my teeth and my anger rips through me.
“Surprise!”
I look around, more confused than ever, my eyes darting through the crowd of people standing in front of me. Among them, I see Pops, Jimmy, Steph, Adrian, Patsy, Kitten, and a bunch of the kids from the after school program. I turn to Salem, “What the fuck, Say?”
“It’s your graduation party, Gabriel,” she smiles proudly, then kisses me.
“Here? You’re havin’ my graduation party here?” I question angrily.
“Of course, why wouldn’t we have your party at your gym?”
I run my hands roughly through my hair. “Wait. What? What are you talkin’ about, Say?”
“This is your surprise, Gabriel.”
“My surprise?”
Jayson comes bounding toward us. “Papi! Papi! Te gusto tu regalo?”
I crouch down and pick up my son, settling him on my hip. “Do I like what present, buddy?” I’m still totally confused by all of this.
Bouncing on my hip with excitement, he explains, “The gym, Papi! You musta been really good ‘cause Mami bought it for you!”
Looking over at Salem, my mouth drops open and I do a double take. “She did what?!” Jayson huffs and growls at me in frustration because I’m being so dense.
Salem beams with happiness as she confirms, “It’s yours, Gabriel. All of it.”
My dad walks over to us. “Congratulations, son. It took you long enough to get your head on straight, but you finally did,” he pats me on the back. “Who would’ve thought it’d be a broad who’d change you for the best?!”
Salem raises her eyebrow at him. My dad’s lack of political correctness drives her insane, but she’s come to realize he’s not trying to insult her; it’s just who he is. He was raised in a different time and has the utmost respect for women in general.
“You’re okay with this, Pops?”
He claps me on the shoulder. “Kid, I’ve been waitin’ years for this. I’m done. I’m retiring and passin’ the torch on to you. Everything is yours, the clients, the program… everything.”
“Then, why can’t I just take over your place?”
“Because, my place is fallin’ apart, kid. Remember what I told you years ago? It’s only a building. It’s all about who trains you.”
My breath hitches as I try to process all of this. “But I’ve never done it alone, Pops.”
“You won’t be alone. I’ll be there with you; I’m just not gonna run it. You’ve got the brand new fancy degree,” he winks at me, “and a beautiful wife to guide you in the right direction,” he tips his head at Salem. “All you gotta do is come up with a name.”
“Jayson, can you go with Grandpa for a minute?” I pass him off to my dad. I can feel my hands beginning to sweat and an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“Come on, Jayson, let’s go practice your combinations,” my dad says to him while walking away with him in his arms. “You’re gonna be a great fighter like your Papi, ya know?”
I turn my attention to Salem. “Can I have a moment with you alone?”
“Sure, let’s go into your office,” she leads the way.
As we step through the door, it looks nothing like it did previously. My eyes immediately gravitate to the pictures hanging around the room. There are pictures of my dad and me, Jimmy and I at matches, mine and Salem’s wedding picture, baby pictures of Jayson, and lastly, in the middle of them all, is a large, framed collage with pictures of Jase and I. I walk closer to get a better look. My heart swells at the amount of thought that must have gone into creating all of this.
“He’s looking down on you, you know,” Salem speaks softly behind me.
I nod my head.
“So, what do you think?” her voice sounds shaky, as if she’s unsure of what my reaction will be.
“I… I… I don’t even know what to say.” Spinning around quickly, I push her up against the door. “I fuckin’ love you, Say,” I proclaim as my mouth crashes into hers, kissing her hungrily.
As we both come up for air, Salem informs me breathlessly, “There’s more.”
“More, how can that be?”
She glances over at the desk, “Jayson drew you a picture. It’s on your desk.”
Holding hands, we walk over to the desk. I reach down and pick up the drawing. It says “Our Family” across the top. As my eyes scroll over the paper, I see Jayson and me standing side by side wearing boxing gloves. Salem is next to me and she’s holding something. As I take a closer look at what it is, I shout, “Oh my God!” I turn to her wide-eyed. “You’re pregnant?”
“Mmhmm,” she nods her head happily.
I crouch down on my knees, rubbing and kissing her belly gently. “How far along?”
“About two and a half months.”
Rising back up, one of my hands remains on her stomach as I gaze at her in awe. “I don’t know how you manage to keep making me happier! How can I possibly keep up?”
Her beautiful blue eyes begin to pool with tears. “Just keep loving me the way you do, Gabriel. That’s more than enough.”
“You’ll never have to worry about that, Say. I’ll never stop loving you.”
With my hand rubbing her belly where our new baby rests, and hearing all of my family and friends out in the gym celebrating my accomplishments, I’m filled with love and pride. I kiss my girl and all is right in my world.
As always, I’d like to thank my husband and children; they are the reason I do this. Thanks, once again, to Keri, my wonderful editor. I think we got it down, girl! I would also like to thank Adrian Vega and Caitlin Cormier, my two gorgeous cover models; David Blazze, the amazing photographer who shot the cover photo; and Todd LeMieux, the graphic designer who created the cover. Once again, gracias to my “Latin Connection,” Marilyn and Yoly, for helping me with the Spanish.
To the Beta readers: Sam, Jillian, Yoly, Samien, Ashley, Jennifer, Angie, Kristie, and Annie, thank you for your time and input. Words cannot express how much your opinions mean to me.
To all the bloggers who have supported and promoted me this past year, you guys ROCK!
Lastly, to my readers, thank you for all of your love and support. I truly appreciate every comment, review, and kind word you’
ve said.
**Special Note** Credit for the boxing terms opening each round goes exclusively to: www.ringsidebygus.com/boxing-terms.html
Born and raised in New England, Christa is a married mother of three. She began writing her first book, Broken, in October 2012, as a love story to her husband, Frank. During the writing process, Christa managed to keep her book a secret from the majority of her family and friends, including her mother. She finally revealed that she had written a book on her personal Facebook page just two weeks before Broken was released.
Broken was released in February 2013, and within twenty-four hours of its release, it was on Amazon’s Movers and Shakers list as well as in the Top 20 Erotica. Christa released her second novel, On the Ropes - Book One in the Down for the Count series, in February 2014. On the Ropes has also climbed the charts on Amazon, hitting the Top 10 Sports Fiction and the Top 20 Romance Sports Fiction lists.
Christa also has several other novels in the works, with no release dates announced at this time.
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