Epilogue - 1 Month Later
Brock
“This is hard to say.” I blew out a breath. “Things can’t keep going on the way they have been. It just isn’t working anymore.” I wasn’t sure what else to say.
Dani appeared by my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Brock, this is adorable and all, but just tell the cat that I’m moving in, and it won’t just be the two of you. Sarg will understand.” She gave the big cat a scratch behind the ears and got back to unpacking her boxes. Sarg’s eyes were drifting shut, and I left him to his nap. It had been a month since Dani’s big fight, and her bruises were finally all healed. It had been hard sitting in the audience and watching her taking hits. Some weird caveman part of me had wanted to jump into the ring and protect her. Although logically, I knew her opponent would have kicked my ass. Skill beats out size, and although I might have the latter, I did not have the former. At least not to the level that Dani and Nova did.
I knelt down to start unpacking a box of Dani’s books. My leg didn’t protest the move. I’d passed my fitness test and been back on active duty for two weeks now. The door opened and Josh walked in carrying a suitcase full of Dani’s clothes. “For someone who only wears sweats, you sure have a lot of shit.”
Dani’s head peaked out around the door of the bedroom. Our bedroom. “A girl needs options.”
He rolled his eyes and headed back down to the truck for another load of boxes.
My first shift back had been a little awkward, and Josh still looked away when Dani and I kissed, but other than that, life was back to normal. A new normal. Where I had my best friend, my job, and the girl I’ve always dreamed about.
One day soon, I’d get down on one knee, not to unpack a box but to put a ring on Dani’s finger. I didn’t know what the future would hold. Would she want to keep fighting? Would we decide to have kids? Buy a house instead of renting an apartment? We would figure it all out together. We were two halves finally brought together. Family that didn’t share blood. Whether our future included a twenty-four-seven grind, vacations on the beach, kids or cats, or none of the above, I didn’t care. Right now, all that mattered was that tonight and every night after, I’d go to sleep with her in my arms and wake up to her face.