“Some days. The memories get to me, and I think we might be better off someplace else,” I tell her.
“You know I’ll go wherever you go.”
“You’re going to follow me, huh?” I tease her.
“I’d follow you anywhere, Royal.”
“I love you. You know that, right?”
“I know you do. I love you too.” I lean over and press a kiss to her lips before pulling back and climbing out of the car. I walk around and open her door, offering her my hand to help her out. She gladly takes it before I lead her inside.
“You know I’m proud of you,” she says softly.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Look what you’ve done,” she encourages, looking around the gym.
“What we’ve done. I didn’t do shit without you, River.”
“You did a lot. This is amazing,” she says, smiling up at me. I borrowed the money from River and opened our own gym. I train fighters now, but none of that underground shit. I don’t want any part of that life anymore. It worked back then because I needed the money, but that’s not the case anymore.
“What are you two doing?” I glance over and smile when I hear April. As soon as she turned eighteen, we went and picked her up. She lives with us now, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. She deserved so much more than she got from our mom, and I plan on giving it to her.
“Just talking. What are you doing?”
“Jeremy thinks he’s starving to death, so I’m about to order lunch. You guys hungry?” she asks. I nod my head as I glance over at Jeremy. There’s no way I would have left him out of this. We’re family, and we have each other’s backs just like always.
“I’m starving, too. What are we ordering?”
Chapter 32
River
Sometimes I miss the old days. The days we would spend snuggled up in a sleeping bag, just being together. I miss our times on the rooftop that nearly stole my life.
But when I look around at everything we’ve gained, I couldn’t imagine my life any other way. This is it. This is our perfect ending.
Marrying Royal was the best decision I’ve ever made. He means everything to me. This family we’ve created is everything to me. We haven’t talked about having kids yet, and that’s okay with me. We’re just enjoying our time together, and that’s what’s most important to me.
Seeing Royal happy does something to me. The smile on his face. The way his eyes light up when a new kid comes in and wants to learn how to fight. I have no doubt in my mind that Royal would make an amazing dad, and when the time is right, he will.
But for now? We’re happy.
“You daydreaming again?” April asks as I stare at Royal across the room.
“Maybe a little.”
“He’s a good guy,” she says, nodding at her brother.
“He is, isn’t he?”
“I wouldn’t have made it out of there alive without him. I hated what he did, even though I didn’t have to see it up close.”
“It was scary, that’s for sure. But I’m glad he did what he did for you. You deserved everything,” I tell her.
“So did you. I’m glad you two found each other.”
“Me too. Although telling the story of how we met is a little fucked up,” I laugh this time. April doesn’t even know the story of how we met, and I’m sure one day we might tell her.
