Chapter 26

twenty-six

. . .

Demi

I was swamped at work,and my hours outside of the coffee shop were spent with Romeo, either training or wrapped around one another.

But tonight, Joey had asked Romeo to make sure that none of us were there for practice, which meant they were going to probably push him harder than ever. We were leaving for Las Vegas next week, and he’d be tapering back soon.

I couldn’t wait for him to get a break from all of this.

I realized that the entire time that we’d been together, he’d been training for this fight. I wondered what it would be like when we didn’t have that going on and we could just relax.

Leo had upped his trash-talking game, and I’d become his favorite topic in most of his posts, all in an effort to get under Romeo’s skin. I did my best to ignore it, but he’d been finding photos of me on social media and resharing them. He was a disgusting human being. His favorite topic was that I was going to leave Romeo after he humiliated him in the ring.

It took everything I had not to respond. I wanted to tell him to go to hell. That he was the scum of the earth. But that was what he wanted me to do.

Leo Burns was not only a fighter, but he was a showman. He wanted to drum up drama before the fight, and it didn’t help that people were responding to it.

His posts constantly went viral, and everyone in Magnolia Falls was appalled, yet they were following him and talking about it, so his plan was working.

Romeo only seemed concerned about me. He constantly asked if all of this was too much for me or if I was upset by it. I knew he was angry, but he did his best to keep it from me. The amount of stress that he was dealing with was unbelievable.

All while training for the biggest fight of his life.

There was a knock on the back door, and I moved through the kitchen and opened it to find my father standing there. We weren’t on good terms, not after the last time we spoke.

I hadn’t bothered to talk to my dad about my visit with Slade. My mother had gone to see him after I’d shared our conversation, and they were working on repairing their relationship. I was far more forgiving of my brother than I was of my father. Slade showed a lot of remorse over what happened, and my father had yet to show any.

“Hey. What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I just took Mom to dinner after our therapy appointment and wanted to stop by and see if you were here.”

“I’m here,” I said.

“Can I come in?”

“Yes.” I stepped back and invited him in, and he took a seat at one of the tables, and I sat across from him. “Of course.”

“I wanted to talk to you about Ronny,” he said, and I groaned. He was actually the least of my worries at the moment. I’d hoped my dad was coming here tonight to talk about apologizing to Romeo and River.

“Of course, that’s what you are most concerned about.”

“Demi. I messed up, and I admit that. I didn’t realize how serious this was with Ronny. Hell, maybe I didn’t want to hear it. But my attorney gave me a heads-up that he’s heard some rumblings that Ronny is angry that these other women have come forward now. He blames your boyfriend for this going public.”

“You’re aware that that’s the problem, right? He’s so busy pointing the finger at everyone who talked or shared what he did with the wrong person instead of focusing on his own actions. What he did was disgusting. And obviously, I wasn’t the first person he’d done it to. Perhaps he should try owning his mistakes and stop trying to find a scapegoat.”

“Agreed. But I wanted to give you a heads-up that Sam Simmons heard he’s trying to find a legal loophole to blame Romeo for defamation.”

I rolled my eyes. “Are you kidding me? He came into my coffee shop. He could have just left, but he chose to start the argument outside, calling everyone names, including me. He shouldn’t have been there at all. It’s not Romeo’s fault that people filmed Ronny having a meltdown. Romeo was protecting me, which I’d think you’d appreciate, since no one else was looking out for me.”

“That’s why I’m here. I’ve done a lot of thinking, and you’re right. I owe Romeo an apology and a thank-you for what he did for you. It’s been—” His voice cracked, and he looked away. Vulnerability was not something I saw often in my father. He’d always been strong. Confident. “It’s been hard knowing I’ve let the people I love down. Your mother doesn’t know if she can forgive me. I have to live with what I’ve done. So, all I can do is try to be better moving forward. I can’t change the past, Demi. I’m here to tell you to warn Romeo that Ronny is a spiteful man. He wants to blame someone, and unfortunately, he has his sights set on your boyfriend.”

“And what do you suggest we do about this? Can you help him, Dad? Seeing as he was protecting me.”

“I have Sam putting out feelers to see what Ronny’s next move is. I told your mother what I’d heard, and she thought I should come straight to you and tell you. I don’t know that he will do anything because he has a lot of heat on him at the moment. So, I’m sure his legal team will tell him to stay out of the spotlight and keep to himself until they go to court and deal with these other charges.”

“He’s such an entitled asshole. Did you know that he is the one who introduced Slade to opioids and to almost every drug that he’s taken to date?”

My father looked like he’d just been punched in the gut, his eyes wide as they searched mine. “Who told you that?”

“Slade. We went to see him for a family therapy session.”

“We?”

“Romeo went with me so I wouldn’t have to be alone. Slade apologized to him. He also told him that he’s been haunted by what he did to him and River and that he came to you many times about coming forward to tell the truth.”

My father looked down at the floor. I was ready for the lies. For him to tear apart my brother. But he didn’t do that. Maybe reality really was setting in, and he was realizing how much he’d lost.

He looked up, eyes welling with emotion. “That sounds about right. I knew it was eating him up inside, but I just didn’t know how to make things better.”

“He’s carried a lot of guilt, Dad. I think it might help if you went there and acknowledged that. Maybe you could both start forgiving yourselves if you take that step.”

“How about you? Can you forgive me?”

“I’d like to. But a part of me feels like I don’t even know you anymore.” A large lump formed in my throat.

“You know me, Demi. I’m just a flawed man who has made some big mistakes. But I’ve always loved my family. I’ve loved you since the day you came into this world.”

I sighed. “Go see Slade, Dad. He needs you. He’s making progress, and it’s the first time in a very long time that I think he might be making an actual breakthrough. Let’s focus on that for now, okay?” I said, my voice low.

I wasn’t ready to forgive him for what he’d done to River and Romeo. For what he’d done to me after I’d turned to him about what happened with Ronny. For the lies and the dishonesty.

I didn’t trust my father, and that was something I never thought I’d say.

“I can do that.” He pushed to his feet and sniffed a few times. I stood, and he wrapped his arms around me. “I love you, Demi.”

“I love you, too, Dad.” Because I did.

I just didn’t like him very much right now.

I walked him to the door and held up my hand and waved as he climbed into his car. My phone vibrated, and I looked down to see an unknown number, and I cringed.

Unknown Number

Do you know the damage your boyfriend has done to my family? Were you always this disloyal?

I blocked the number and deleted the text.

I wasn’t going to add one more thing to Romeo’s plate. And I didn’t think telling my dad about these texts mattered now. Ronny was in a shit ton of legal trouble, and I was sure he didn’t want to bring anything more down on himself. So, I’d wait.

I’d keep this to myself, for now.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Romeo gaining ground on us, and I leaned forward, urging Teacup to go faster, as my laughter floated around in the breeze. We were going freaking fast, which meant Romeo was hauling ass.

He’d gotten faster.

Stronger.

When we moved out onto the beach area by the water, I knew he’d pass us because Teacup didn’t do well in the sand and rocks.

“Go, go, go!” I shouted as he charged past us on the final stretch. I hopped off my horse and tied her to the tree before jogging to where he’d finished.

He was bent over, heaving, his hands on his knees as he waited to catch his breath.

“Damn. You took another three minutes off your time. You do know that you could be entering a distance race after the training you’ve done for this fight.”

He looked up at me, standing tall. “After this fight, I’m going back to my day job.”

I laughed. He’d been very open about this being a onetime thing, and I hoped he meant it. I wasn’t looking forward to this fight.

I just wanted him to be okay.

It was the weirdest mix of fear and pride.

“I like the sound of that.” I dropped to sit in the sand as he did the same. This was our routine. A few minutes of quiet before our days got busy.

“Yeah? What do you see for us after this fight?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, as he picked up a small rock and pulled his arm back, letting it skim across the top of the turquoise water.

“Well, we’ve been dealing with all this madness since the first time I kissed you. I want to know what you want when it’s just you and me. No training. No Leo. No Ronny. When all the drama stops, what do you want?”

“The same thing that I want with all the drama. You. Just you.”

This sexy grin spread across his handsome face. His hair was damp and wavy and falling over his forehead. Dark eyes that I swore could see straight into my soul. “Good answer, Beans.”

“How about you?” I asked.

“I only want you. I’m ready to put this behind me. Ready to take my girl to dinner and not be exhausted at the end of the day.” He glanced out at the water. “But I also thought about using the money that I’m going to make on an investment property. A home for myself that isn’t the size of a postage stamp. I’m sure I can rent out my place to one of the boxers.”

“You’re going to move?”

“Just to a bigger space.” He turned to look at me and tugged me closer. “We spend every night together, so it seems silly to have separate places, doesn’t it?”

My breath caught as I processed his words. I tipped my head back and smiled. “Are you asking me to move in with you, Romeo Knight?”

“I want to fall asleep with you every night. I want to wake up with my head buried between your legs every morning. I want to shower with you and watch you blow-dry your hair. I don’t know, maybe get a dog?”

My head fell back in laughter. “Look at you, being all domestic. Moving in and getting a dog—those are big steps, Golden Boy.”

“What can I say? You’ve made me want things I never thought I’d want.”

“Like what?”

“Like… everything. I see it with you, Demi. I see you walking down the aisle in a beautiful white dress, with those eyes on me. I see us having a family. A future. A life. Not right now, but I see it in our future.”

I pushed up and moved onto his lap to face him, one leg on each side so I was straddling him. “I see it all, too. I’m all in.”

“Me, too.”

“Then it’s settled. I’d love to move in with you. I’ll probably just use the apartment above the coffee shop for an office space.”

“It could be our sex den,” he said, tucking the hair behind my ears. “When I sneak over to see you at work, I can take you upstairs and have my way with you.”

My teeth sank into my bottom lip. “I can get on board with that.”

“Thanks for standing beside me through all of this. For tolerating Leo’s bullshit and getting dragged into all the madness that has come with this.”

“There’s nowhere else I’d want to be standing.”

He wrapped his hand behind my head and pulled me down, bringing my lips to his.

And he kissed me like he’d die if he didn’t.

He kissed me like I was the air he needed to breathe.

He kissed me like this was forever.