Some other managers have tried to steer me away from Vince over the years, saying he doesn’t have my best interests in mind, but he’s from the neighborhood I grew up in. He understands me in a way very few could, but he’s also made me a rich man. And now that I’ve reached the pinnacle of my career, I’m not going to just get rid of him.
Then again, I’ve made him rich too and now I’m late in my career. Injuries take longer to recover from. Plus, the excitement is fading between every fight. Vince reminds me I need to continue doing this for my mom and although retirement sounds nice, what the hell would I do with my life? It’s not like I have something else to fill my time.
He waves as I approach like I don’t see him. Sitting down across from him, I spot the phone and iPad already out in front of him, ready to show me what the gossip sites are saying about my nuptials. Some photographer likely made a killing after their late-night spying gig.
When the waitress comes over, I place a to-go order for my own coffee and then Nikki’s, black with sugar.
My addition earns me an eyebrow raise from Vince. “You don’t take sugar in your coffee.”
“Yeah, I’m aware.”
He releases a deep breath, surely annoyed that I didn’t just tell him who the coffee is for. But he must figure it out for himself and glean my intention from the act because he rakes his fingers through his hair. “You can’t be serious about this.”
“Serious about?”
“Don’t play dumb, Logan.”
I suppress a smile at getting him riled up. “Are you talking about me getting married?”
“Yes, marrying a girl you don’t even know. Some girl you asked to join you in your room last night and spent the entire night on the balcony with. I understand that she might seem different right now and I get that you’re attracted to her, but this is not some fairy tale. She’s just like all the other girls. Though maybe a tad smarter since she got you to marry her.”
I’m not a household name. Unless you’re hanging around the Vegas MMA fighting ring or watching late-night pay-per-views, then maybe you know me. But sometimes Vince acts as if I’m an A-list celebrity.
“Honest to God, she isn’t impressed by my name.” I’d tell Vince that she’s the one who brought up getting an annulment, but that’d make me look pathetic.
“If you want to proceed with being ignorant, then fine, go ahead, but I can tell you you’re wrong. I guarantee she knows how much you’re worth, and she sure as shit knows more about you than you know about her.”
I shrug. “Regardless, I’ve decided I’m gonna stay married.”
His fist clenches so hard around his espresso cup, I fear it will shatter. “You’ve got to be shitting me. You cannot stay married to this woman. She’s going to take you for everything you’re worth.”
“Well, then that will be my problem, not yours.” Vince might handle my career but I’m a grown man and I don’t need him managing my personal life, too.
“She’s obviously done something to get you to marry her. I feel like I woke up inside some movie studio’s latest production or some shit like that.” He finishes his espresso and raises his hand for the waitress’s attention. The last thing he needs is another espresso though.
“I can’t say I wasn’t shocked I did it. I realize it’s not something I’d normally do.”
“You do realize that a large part of your fan base is women, right? And they like that you’re single because they think they have a chance at being the lucky girl to score with you.”
The waitress brings over his new espresso and my two coffees.
I raise my hand to stop him before he gets started again. “I think there’s a reason why I did it and I want to pursue it, see what happens.”
He stares at me over the rim of his drink as though I’m an alien from another planet that just came to sit across from him. “You’re really serious?”
“Yes.”
He shakes his head. “I think that little vacation with your mom has made you believe in all her astrological crap.”
“What are you talking about?”
He waves. “You know what I mean.”
“I don’t.” I lean back and cross my arms, tilting my head. If any woman puts me on the defensive, it’s my mom. She raised me on her own, and I wasn’t exactly an honor roll student. But she always had my back, and I’ll always have hers.
“I think you need to end this marriage as quickly as it happened. If you let it stand, you’ll never get an annulment, then you’ll be sorry when you’re divorcing and she’s taking half of everything,” Vince says.
“I already know your thoughts and I don’t agree.” I pick up the to-go coffees and stand. This conversation with Vince is going nowhere fast, so I might as well head back up to the room and get things sorted with Nikki. “I’ll talk to you after I figure things out with her.”
“Did you see the pictures?” Vince holds up his phone in front of me.
I set the coffees back down and lean in to get a better look. The picture is almost the same as the one we bought from the chapel. “Yeah, I look pretty wasted.”
He scrolls to another picture that shows the ring I purchased for her. “You called in a favor at the concierge, and they called a jeweler to open up the store in the hotel. From what I hear, you had her pick whatever one she wanted and surprise, surprise—she picked the most expensive ring in the place.” His hands go up in a dramatic wave as though that proves Nikki is the kind of person he thinks she is.
“I don’t remember that part of it, but I can afford it and newsflash—if I’d been sober, I would’ve insisted my wife-to-be get the biggest rock in the place anyway.” My wife deserves a sizable rock on her finger. I take my two coffees. “I want to see what’s gonna happen with us.”
“Fine, call me when this blows up in your face—because it’s going to and you’re gonna look like a schmuck. She’s playing you.”
If I wasn’t holding these coffees, I’d grab his shirt collar and throw him up against the wall. “It’s my life and I’ll live it how I want.”
Instead of sticking around to listen to him say more of the same, I walk away to the bank of elevators.
Nikki is my wife now. I just have to convince her to give me a chance to prove to her what a great husband I can be.
But Vince’s words about how I spent a shit-ton of money on a ring and how she’s gonna end up breaking my heart swim around in my head on the ride up. The last thing I want is the press thinking I’m weak.
But like my mom says, things happen for a reason. I can’t deny my gut is telling me that I didn’t marry her for fun and because I was drunk. There’s something more.
I swipe my key card in the penthouse door and realize right away that it’s way too quiet in here. I scour the entire suite and, to my frustration, come up empty. My new wife has already left me.
Chapter Three
“You could’ve married worse, that’s for sure.”
Nikki