Epilogue #2
At least, he would once Noah began making professional money.
He’d won the silver medal in his weight class at the Olympics over the summer with Gabe in the crowd cheering for him right next to Noah’s dad.
Now, Noah was transitioning to professional boxing with Gabe as his coach.
He’d moved into the apartment above the gym, which Gabe was letting him stay in for free until he had more steady earnings.
Given how quickly sign-ups for the gym’s public classes had filled, I wasn’t too worried about Gabe needing that extra income for the gym to stay afloat. Even with the two assistant coaches he’d hired.
Evan wandered up beside me, hands in his pockets and a scowl on his face.
“What?” I asked. I followed his glare to a pretty brunette with fair skin and a French-style bob that looked chic against her sharp features. Maybe she’d tell me where she got her hair done.
She flipped Evan off.
Or maybe not.
“Get rejected?” I asked.
Evan scoffed. “Please, I work with her. I have no clue why she’s here, seeing as her idea of fun is staking out the office refrigerator to snap at anyone who dares breathe near her precious grain bowl.
I assumed being in a room full of humans having an actual good time would be her worst nightmare.
But I guess ruining my night makes up for it. ”
“How’d she ruin it?”
“I was having a perfectly lovely conversation with her friend until she butted in.”
Ah. That explained the lack of lady on his arm. “Sorry. I promise a New Year’s kiss isn’t everything.”
He broke his glare with a roll of his eyes. “Whatever.” Something caught his attention behind me. “Dad made it?”
Gabe’s head whipped around. “Where?”
Evan pointed across the room to the main stairs, where Mr. Hardt stood in a royal-blue dress shirt. Beside him was a woman about his age, her long dark hair flowing in an elegant wave over one shoulder.
My jaw dropped.
“Did he bring a date?” Gabe asked. The three of us exchanged glances, similar levels of shock on our faces.
“This is good, right?” I asked.
“I think so?” Evan said. “Do we know who she is?”
“He hasn’t mentioned anyone.” Gabe leaned to the side, trying to get a better view. “She looks kind of familiar.”
I agreed, but before I could place her, the music cut off, and Jillian’s voice radiated from the speakers. “One minute to go!”
Gabe crossed my arms in front of me, bringing my back to his front so we could both watch the ball light up. With thirty seconds to go, it started its descent, raising cheers from the crowd. At ten seconds, the whole room counted down. I joined them, my chest buzzing with more than just excitement.
I took in my friends around me, some that I’d had for a while and others I’d never expected.
Like Dani, who I now counted as one of my closest friends. My first real female friend, but no longer my only one.
Jase and the guys, who had always been my work friends but I now knew were more. Family in the truest sense of the word. One that continued to grow with Mack and Syd.
Evan, my soul brother, standing shoulder to shoulder with his brother, more whole than I feared he’d be able to be after his mom died. Gabe and Evan had been going to the support group Jase’s therapist recommended, and it had gone a long way toward healing deeper wounds.
I hadn’t considered myself lonely before, but standing here now, it was clear I had been. The connections I’d limited myself to had been nowhere near enough.
The countdown hit the final second, and the ball reached the stage, its lights sparkling as confetti rained from the ceiling.
Gabe spun me from our hold and dipped me into a kiss, making me squawk, then laugh, then finally kiss him back. It was sweet and a little dirty, his tongue dipping between my lips at the end. A hint of what would come later.
He drew me to my feet and clasped his arms around my back, keeping me close. “Happy New Year, baby.”
I’d told Evan the truth before—it wasn’t the kiss that mattered.
It was the look in Gabe’s eye just now. The familiar press of his lips against mine. The safety I felt in his arms.
It was knowing I got to spend the next year with him. And hopefully the one after that, and after that. It was knowing he would put as much of himself into making me happy as he would making his own dreams come true.
Knowing I could make him as happy.
That if we strove for them together, the things we wanted were never out of reach. That as much as we’d lost, there was still a whole life of hope, beauty, and possibility for us to live.
I pressed another kiss to his lips, seeing that possibility reflected in his eyes. “Desserts first,” I told him since I had a job to finish. “But then I want to dance with you.”
“Well, then,” he said, mouth lifting. He took my hand and led us toward the kitchen.
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