It had taken Ruckus a long time to heal from the injuries he sustained in the fight with Miguel. I stayed by his side the entire time and refused to let him give up. When the hospital finally released him, I went by his apartment every day after school to check on him. He surprised me on my graduation day by actually making it to the ceremony and watching me walk across the stage. I was happy my parents were there, but him being there meant more than anything else. That night, he got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. I didn’t even hesitate to accept his proposal.
“Okay, let’s go. We’re going to be late.” Abby pushed me towards the door.
“They really can’t start without me.” I picked up my train and tried to hurry towards the church.
I still didn’t fully understand why he was willing to die for what he did to Carmella. I knew he carried a lot of guilt over it, but I didn’t see what he did as wrong. We would have both died if he hadn’t thrown her in front of Miguel’s shotgun. He would have died on the floor next to his brother. I would have suffered for a very long time before I was allowed to die. It was a tough sacrifice, but he was strong enough to make it. That was why I couldn’t let him throw it all away so Miguel could have his pound of flesh. I owed him my life, so I gave him the strength to save his own.
“Should I even pack my long sleeved shirts?” Ruckus looked over at me. “Does it even get cold in Florida?”
“I packed a few, but I don’t really know if I’ll need them.” I shrugged. “Bring them anyway, just in case.”
“Okay.” He pulled them off the hangers and tossed them towards the bed.
“It’s gonna be weird here without you.” Tommy walked into the bedroom. “I was looking forward to babysitting my niece or nephew.”
“You can come with us.” I turned towards Tommy. “They have underground fights in Florida, too. Don’t forget, that is where they found Kimbo Slice.”
“Nah, you two will be just fine without me.” Tommy smiled. “You have to come visit, though. I don’t really like talking over Skype.”
“What’s Skype?” Ruckus looked at us with a puzzled expression on his face.
“She’ll show you.” Tommy chuckled. “Take care of this ugly old oaf for me, will ya?”
“That’s all I plan to do for the rest of my life.” I nodded. “Well, that—and college—and raise a baby.”
We found out that we were having a baby shortly after we got married. We were calling it a honeymoon baby, but the sonogram suggested we probably conceived it a couple of months prior to the wedding. We were relocating to Florida and I was going to go to college. Ruckus was planning to be a stay-at-home dad, which was fine with me since I really didn’t know what kind of job he could get when his resume was a just a long list of people that punched him in the skull. We were doing okay financially. Ruckus still had money from the jackpot. A few weeks after I returned home, I got a flash drive in the mail with no return address that had the information for an account in the Cayman Islands with the exact amount I was owed. Sin City Auction might have been put out of business with Carlos in prison, but someone made sure I got what I was promised. My bet was on the brutish blonde with the Russian accent. She did smile at me—once.
“Are you ready to leave this all behind?” I walked over and put my arms around Ruckus’ waist as he zipped up his bag.
“Yeah.” He nodded. “Fuck Sin City. I’m taking the best piece of it with me when I go.”
The End
Club Infinite Fantasy Sneak Peek
Reverse Harem Romance (Haremworld Book 6)
Chapter 1: Savannah
That bitch Nancy had everything and she didn’t even have to work for it. She coasted through high school, dated all the popular guys, and then she did the exact same thing in college. If she wanted someone, all she had to do was bat her pretty eyelashes and they belonged to her.
Here comes the bride, all dressed in white. Yeah, right. White. That’s a bit of a stretch.
After riding the carousel of eligible bachelors, and a few guys that weren’t quite available, she had finally decided to settle down. Of course, she had to choose the only man I ever loved. Dominic wasn’t just my best friend, he was my everything.
Why can’t you see past her pretty face? Why do you have to be so shallow, Dominic?
When Nancy put her claws in Dominic, I figured it would be another quick trip to bliss, followed by a broken heart—for him. I was wrong. The whirlwind romance kept spinning, and it seemed like it wasn’t going to end until the wedding bells tolled. Dominic was officially a part of my past and I had no idea where that left me. I never told him how I felt. I was too shy to profess my love because I was afraid of the rejection it would bring. I also didn’t want our friendship to end. My eyes glazed over as Nancy walked past me, on her way to everything I ever wanted.
Six months later
“Do you want me to call you a cab or something?” The bartender handed me my credit card back and stared at me as I staggered off the barstool.
“No, I’ll be fine.” I nodded and tried to force a smile.
“I’ll make sure she gets home.” A familiar voice—it couldn’t be him.
“Dominic? What are you doing here?” I practically tumbled into his arms when my heel missed the step that carried me from the ledge along the elevated bar to the floor below.