Page 115 of 4th Degree

Dominic’s expression sobers slightly. He starts to take a step closer to me but suddenly hesitates, gauging my reaction before he moves. When I don’t retreat, he takes another one.

There’s about a foot between us now. He’s close enough to make my heartrate accelerate, but far enough that he’s still giving me space. Yet his eyes never waver from my face.

Desperation sets in. I don’t know why he’s here, but I think a part of me does, and I can’t handle being wrong. I can’t handle him asking me to come back to the gym to be his student again. I’m already barely hanging on after the loss of him, I wouldn’t ever recover from him asking me that question.

I look around at the crowd again as my nerves grow. “You shouldn’t be here. People are going to talk.”

“Let them.”

My eyes widen and lock onto him at the quick response. “You don’t mean that.”

He doesn’t hesitate in his answer. “I do.”

My brow furrows, shaking my head. “People talking is bad for the gym. Bad for you. Being seen talking to me will hurt your reputation.”

Dominic takes a step closer. “I don’t care.”

I can feel my heart now pounding in my ears. “Of course, you care. Your reputation is everything. Your business, your fighters—MMA is the only thing you care about. You said it yourself.”

When he takes another step toward me, he’s finally close enough for me to feel the heat of his body—close enough that my fingers itch with the need to touch him. It takes everything in me to not.

“That used to be true,” he says. “But not anymore.”

I start to tremble—with disbelief, unease… but most of all, crippling hope.

“For as long as I can remember, MMA was the only thing I cared about,” he says softly. “Everything I did, every decision I made—that was my reason why. Anything to make me a better fighter. Anything to make me a better coach. And I was proud of the persona I built with my years of experience. Being a good fighter and a good coach meant I had a lot of knowledge to use and give. Being a good gym owner meant I had a lot of people I could help by introducing them to this sport I loved. I centered my entire life around my brand.”

When he looks at me, it’s not with his usual unreadable gaze. Now, he’s got his whole heart in his eyes.

“But then you walked into my gym,” he whispers, and I hold my breath. “And I realized all that pales in comparison to what you bring to my life.”

I let out a whimper and try to wrap my arms around my waist to somehow anchor myself to this moment, but Dominic reaches for my hands and lifts them to his chest, holding them tight.

“You asked me once if what we had was worth the risk. There is no risk. Baby…you’re worth everything.”

My lower lip starts to tremble, and my hands fist in his shirt. It’s unbelievable, too easy. Things felt way too impossible at the beginning of this for it to be this simple.

“You don’t mean that,” I choke out. “You can’t mean that. You just said you built your entire life around being a fighter and coach—look at what one picture with me cost you! Your social media, your Google reviews…and God, when I heard about the Hall of Fame?—”

“They inducted me. They’re announcing me tomorrow night.”

I blink in surprise. “They…what?”

Sliding one arm around my waist, he pulls me flush against his body. “They inducted me into the Hall of Fame. I told them the truth, and they made their decision.”

It takes me another second to digest that. With the way people responded to the accusation, I thought for sure the UFC was going to do anything they could to cover their asses.

The fact that they didn’t is…huge.

“But… But what about…”

Dominic strokes the back of his knuckles against my cheek. There’s not quite a smile on his face, but he seems so content, I can’t help but relax a little against him.

“But what? What other worries are rolling around in that beautiful, self-sacrificing brain of yours?”

“But what about what everyone said?” I whisper, my eyes stinging with tears. “All the comments, and the whispers—what about what everyone is going to think?”

Dominic sobers and cups my cheek. “I don’t care about any of it. I just want you. I—” He swallows roughly, looking nervous for the first time. “I love you, Skylar. I love you because you’re kind, and smart, and so goddamn strong. I love you because, even with everything you’ve gone through, you haven’t let any of it change you as a person. You bring a lightness into the room that everyone is better for. You make me better for it—you taught me how it feels to truly love someone.”

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