Releasing Nikki, I storm inside my suite. “What the fuck is going on?”
Stalking into my bedroom, I find Melanie’s suitcase and her shit strewn around the room. I pick up clothes and throw them into her case.
“What are you doing, babe? It’s okay, just tell her. She already knows.” Melanie’s voice sounds behind me, and I clench my fists to rein in my temper.
Nikki stands by the door, wiping her tears. “Did you set this whole thing up alone?” she asks Melanie.
“I’m not telling you anything. It wasn’t a setup.” Then she turns to me. “Logan, you can’t keep her in the dark forever. Just tell her.”
“There’s nothing to tell.” I throw Melanie’s bag out of the suite, then I take her hand and lead her into the hallway. “Have a nice life and stop fucking with mine.”
I slam the penthouse door and flip the lock. My anger is so all-consuming, I clench my fists at my sides and scream so that I don’t put a fist through a wall. Nikki startles but doesn’t move, so I rush over to her.
“You have to know that was her playing some kind of game.”
She nods.
“Really? You believe me?”
She looks at me, chewing the inside of her cheek. “I did at first, but when I saw all her stuff here in the suite, I can’t lie… it looked incriminating.”
Fuck Melanie for ruining my reunion with Nikki.
“You’re crying because you thought I cheated on you?”
She shakes her head.
Thank god, because I was about to go ballistic.
“I’m crying because for a moment, I doubted you. It was so small, but there was still a moment. What if I never fully trust you?”
My head falls back, and I sigh. I should be deep inside her by now, not reassuring her of my feelings and my faithfulness. “With what she did, Nikki, anyone would’ve thought that.”
“But what if, Logan? What if these fears of mine never go away?” She sits on the couch and buries her head in her hands. “What if I’m just always screwed up? You live a lifestyle that scares me.”
I sit and rest my forearms on my legs and link my hands together. “I can’t say it doesn’t hurt that you thought for even a moment that I’d screw around on you, but I can’t blame you. Someone went to a great deal of trouble to create an elaborate plan to convince you.”
“Logan,” she whispers. “I don’t think it was only Melanie.”
I nod because I agree with her. I don’t think it was either. “Vince?”
“He told me you were up here and had planned a surprise for me, and that’s why you weren’t downstairs. He was there to give me the key.”
“And he came to Sunrise Bay and then suddenly so did the press.” I go to the windows, wishing I could punch the shit out of one of them. I shake my head. “I need to go find him. I’ll meet you at the press event.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” She stands.
I shake my head.
“Is this about us?” she asks. “I know I should’ve believed you one-hundred percent. It was only a second, Logan.”
I hold up my hand. “Craig will get a hold of you.”
“But—”
“Please, Nikki, just meet me there.”
I walk out of the hotel suite and shut the door. Before hopping in the elevator, I message Craig to ask him to get Nikki and her family to the press event on time.
Up until this point, I didn’t know what I’d decide to do after this fight. But now, after the stunt Vince just pulled, my decision is made and final. I hate that Nikki thinks I’m mad, because I’m not, but if I tell her what I’m thinking, she’ll try to talk me out of it. I’ll need to help her understand this is for me and our future.
The elevator stops on the ground floor and I walk out of the hotel, onto the Strip, to clear my head for a while, wondering if I have the guts to pull this off.
Nikki’s not in my room when I go up to change, which means Craig has already escorted them to the event room. The room smells like her perfume, which stirs my dick. But there will be plenty of time for that later.
After changing into my suit, I head downstairs to the press event and find Craig behind the scenes.
“What the hell is going on?” he asks.
I look around and pull him into one of the empty rooms. “Where’s Vince?”
“Where’s Vince? Man, who cares? Nikki looks like she lost her dog. Are you guys okay?”
“I need to know where Vince is.”
Craig looks confused, but he says, “He’s in the press room, making sure everything is set for the weigh-in.”
I shut the door of the room. “I’m retiring.”
His shoulders sink, but he nods. “I figured as much. Retiring to enjoy the good life, huh?”
I laugh. “Yeah. I’ve had my fun, made my money, and now it’s time for me to live a quiet life with a wife and hopefully some kids.”
He claps me on the shoulder. “I’m proud of you.”
“I’ll try to hook you up with someone else. You’re way too talented to not be on a team.”
“It’s okay, I’m getting old too.”
“Who you calling old?” I pretend to jab him in the stomach.
A knock on the door says it’s time, and a queasiness fills my stomach. I should be relaxed right now, ready to go out there and play up my rivalry with my opponent to up the anticipation for the fans. But I know what I’m about to go out there and do, and even though I’m a hundred percent sure of my decision, it’s a big step.
Craig and I walk out and up on the stage. Nikki and her family are pressed against the wall at the back, the reporters taking up the first few rows of seats.
Vince is already there, smiling at me, and when I sit down, he covers the mic and leans in. “Sorry about Melanie. I don’t know how she got up there. I already apologized to Nikki. Never again.”
I nod and try not to give away that I know he was involved.
The president of the league gets up on the microphone and introduces me. A few reporters try to ask me questions, but I raise my hand to stop them.
“I only have one announcement to make.” I look at Vince. “Actually, two.”
The room quiets down.
“I’ll be retiring after tomorrow’s fight,” I say.
Vince’s mouth hangs open, but he recovers quickly, putting his hand over my microphone. “You don’t mean that. We need to discuss this.”
I remove his hand and stare at him as I say, “And Vince is no longer my manager. You’re fired.”
I’m about to stand and leave when Nikki screams, “No! He’s not retiring.”
“Nik,” I say.
She hands her purse to Molly and walks toward the front along the side wall. “I’m not letting you retire.”
“It’s not your decision.” She joins me on the platform, and I stand and place my hands on her hips. “I want a life. A life with you, my wife. Where we go to duo nights, and sit on the porch, and watch movies and… what do you people do in the winter?”
“Make babies!” Ethel screams.
I look toward the back of the room and laugh before turning my attention back to Nikki. “Make babies. Lots and lots of babies.”