Page 122 of 4th Degree

Her cheeks are wet, eyes shining, when she eventually separates from her family and locks eyes with me. God…she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

“Hi,” she whispers as she steps over to me.

“Hey, baby,” I say quietly, wasting no time wrapping one arm around her waist and pulling her to me. With the other hand, I wipe the tears from her cheeks. “I believe congratulations are in order.”

She lets out a laugh and throws her arms around my neck, squeezing me against her. I squeeze right back.

“I’m so proud of you,” I whisper in her ear. “So, so proud of you.”

When she pulls back, there are new tears on her cheeks. “Thank you for being the most incredible man,” she says. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

I smile down at her. “Yes, you could have. But I’m happy I got to love you through it anyway.”

The rest of the day is one giant celebration dinner. I booked a long reservation at Barcelona, Skylar’s favorite restaurant. We have enough time for two dinners: one for family and one for the fighters.

I watch Skylar smile for hours. I knew bringing Joey home for the weekend and getting the family together would be the only way she’d want to celebrate. Tacking on a second dinner reservation with the Bulldog family was just a bonus.

We somehow get every fighter and their significant other to the restaurant—Jax even shows up with his six-month-old daughter strapped to his chest in a baby carrier. It’s rare to get everyone together nowadays, what with everyone’s lives and fighting careers changing. But they’re all just as proud of Skylar’s accomplishment as I am, so they made the time.

Because the one thing that’s never changed at the gym is the family sentiment.

Despite our dinner starting at an early hour, it’s late by the time we get home. Skylar looks tired, but so happy, as she collapses next to Brutus on the couch.

“Hi, old man,” she coos as she pets him. Immediately, his head lifts and tail wags. She’s still the one that gets the biggest reaction out of him.

The sight of them together puts a smile on my face that I’ve never been able to get rid of. She must feel my gaze on her because she stops fawning over Brutus and follows me into the kitchen, a twinkle in her eye. When she hops up on the counter in front of me, I step between her legs and brace my hands on either side of her hips.

“Hi, wife,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to one side of her neck. “Or should I call you Doctor Caruso from now on?” Another kiss, this time to the other side.

She hums thoughtfully as she wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me closer. “That does have a nice ring to it,” she muses.

I make a sound of agreement as I take her mouth in a kiss. “Yes, it does,” I murmur, my hands already traveling over her skin.

Her arms tighten around my neck and her body arches against mine. “I am partial to being called your wife, though,” she whispers against my lips.

Another sound of agreement, another kiss—this one greedier. I nip at her bottom lip. “Wife.”

A shudder runs through her body under my hands. “God, you’re making it so hard to have this conversation. All I want to do is hear you call me that while you fuck me on this counter.”

I almost do just that. But I somehow manage to filter through the lust-drunk thoughts and zero in on the first part of what she said.

I pull back slightly. “What conversation?”

A little bit of the haze clears from her eyes.

“I was thinking…maybe we could try for a baby.”

My eyes widen. “Right now?”

Her lips stretch into a grin. “I mean, your hands are already up my dress. We’re practically halfway there.”

I shake my head—more to clear the cobwebs from my brain than to refute her. “No, I mean…you’re about to start your intern year, and then you have three years of residency. Isn’t that the hardest part of the doctorate track?”

She shrugs. “It’s all hard.”

“Yeah, but…” I study her closely. “That’s a big hurdle, baby. Are you sure you’re not just saying this because I’m getting old?”

Her nose crinkles in that way I love. “You’re not that old. You’re forty-two. Plenty of men have babies into their seventies.”

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