“But you love wrestling. How can you be willing to give it up so easily?”
His eyes focus on me. “Because you mean more to me—that’s why. When I was in that ring and the cops were about to cuff me for nearly killing Rex, I came to the realization that I can’t live without you. I love you more than my own life, Anna.”
My heart does a double thump inside my ribs. It was a huge step for him to admit how he felt about me, and it’s amazing to hear him say it again.
“I love you, too.” I rise up and kiss his lips. “You are not quitting, and neither am I, for that matter. This will all blow over, and when it does, I want to be by your side all the time. We can’t screw up my chances of going backstage. You have to trust me.”
He’s quiet for a second, and then he slides his hand up to cup my jaw. “I trust you with anything I have, even my life. I won’t like it, but I know you need to go on the road.”
It’s easy to see how hard this is for him. The people in Xavier’s life have never given him much cause to trust anyone, so I’m grateful that he’s opening that part of himself up to me. There’s no telling how things will work out, but whatever happens, we’re in this together.
Chapter 3
Anna
After we get a few hours of sleep, Xavier’s cell phone rings, waking us up.
He groans and rolls over onto his side to reach for the phone on the nightstand. “Hello?” his voice growls. Then, he’s silent for a few moments as he listens to whoever is on the other end of the line. “Understood.” He lets out an exasperated sigh and then scrubs his hand down his face. “I’ll be on the first flight back to Detroit tomorrow.”
He ends the call and then lays the phone down. “We need to pack.”
“What’s wrong?” I push myself up onto my elbow and stare down at his beautiful face.
Conflict is raging in his eyes, and it instantly makes me curious about what’s on his mind.
“That was one of the lawyers with Tension. Looks like Mr. Silverman did indeed get all the charges dropped, like he said, so I’m out of all the legal trouble.”
Relief washes through me. “That’s fantastic news. I told you things would work out.”
The corner of his mouth pulls down into a one-sided frown. “There’s a catch.”
“Other than being suspended? We knew that was part of the deal.”
“It appears that the boss decided to add another stipulation after our conversation last night,.”
I grimace. “What is it?”
There’s a flutter in my chest as my nerves go crazy while my brain works in overtime, attempting to figure out what in the world Tension could ask of him. Mr. Silverman has already taken away his career by suspending him.
“He is fining me for my actions against Rex. On top of that, Tension wants me to not only pay out of pocket for the medical bills that racked up because of what I had done, but I also have to pay Rex for his pain and suffering.”
My eyes widen. “You’ve got to be kidding. Can he even do that?”
Xavier nods. “Tension affords Mr. Silverman to be a very rich man, and he can do anything he wants, and if I want to ever get back in the ring, I have to do what he asks, or I can kiss my job good-bye.”
I frown. “That doesn’t seem fair.”
He locks eyes with me. “The world isn’t fair, beautiful, especially when it comes to guys like me.”
“Is it a lot of money?”
I know he’s well-off—the man obviously has enough to wire thirty thousand dollars into my bank account—but anytime you take a huge cut out of your account, it’s got to hurt.
“They want a hundred fifty thousand dollars total.”
My mouth drops open, and I swear, I experience my first heart palpitation. The amount is insane. I can’t imagine paying that much money for a fine.
“Oh my God, that’s a lot.”
“It is,” he agrees.
I know I shouldn’t be nosy about his financial situation, but I can’t stop myself from asking, “Do you have that much?”
“I do, but since I won’t have any money coming in for the next few months, it’s going to put me in a tight spot for a bit.”
“The money you put into my account is still there. I haven’t touched it. Will that be enough to get us by?”
“You’ll need that money to pay for your hotel when you go on the road. The company doesn’t give you any reimbursement. It’s a business expense. Besides, that’s your money. I gave it to you. I won’t allow you to spend it on taking care of us.”
“That’s ridiculous. It’s your money. I told you it didn’t feel right for you to pay me since we’re in a relationship now.”
“Anna . . .” he says my name with a bite of warning. It’s his go-to move when he’s decided that he’s not going to budge on his opinion.
“No, Xavier. Stop being silly. If you need the money—”