Becoming a Legend

by Sarah Robinson

  “Photographers everywhere,” Casey confirmed, taking another sip of her drink. “So don’t be jealous if you see tabloids talking about Kane and whatever woman he happens to be standing next to in a photo.”

  Nora frowned, not liking the idea but also not wanting to be thought of as petty. “I wouldn’t be jealous. It has nothing to do with me.”

  Casey smirked and shot her a pointed look. “You know I’m aware you guys dated, right?”

  “Apparently everyone knows.” Nora sighed. “But we weren’t dating. We were—”

  “Ack!” Casey shrieked and put her fingers in her ears. “I don’t want to hear the details of what you did with my cousin. You already said the sex was amazing before I knew you were talking about him, and I can never not hear that now.”

  “Fair enough.” Nora laughed.

  Grabbing her purse and heading for the door, Casey announced, “Time for a massage!”

  Chapter 19

  I look like a freaking Ken doll. Pushing back the urge to run his hands over his freshly buzzed head, the new haircut leaving only a thin layer of brown hair in preparation for the big day, Kane stared at himself in the hotel mirror and pulled in some deep breaths to calm his nerves for the big Thursday-night press conference.

  A hair and makeup artist from the host organization in charge of the championship fight had just left after powdering Kane’s face and shaving his head. Before that, he’d had to have his chest shaved and get a spray tan; the shave wasn’t so bad, since he’d always been pretty smooth. Jumping through hoops and primping for the cameras had never been something he enjoyed, but it was part of the job.

  As was everything else he’d had to do the last few days. It seemed as if it would never end, especially since he and Rory had been out here since Monday doing a press tour and continuing to train. Actually, he’d spent the last few weeks doing nothing but train with both Rory and Kieran. He had welcomed it because he needed the distraction from his non-breakup breakup with Nora over a month ago. Coming out to Vegas early so they wouldn’t be traveling together had also been a plus, but he knew he’d eventually be seeing her out here. She was always going to be in his life since his twin was marrying her best friend.

  It was a comforting thought in some ways, but painful all the same.

  Attending press conferences, or dealing with the press at all, had never been an aspect of his job that he enjoyed. He knew that he was lucky and that thousands of men would die to be in his shoes right now. Kane wasn’t used to being the center of attention, though. He’d spent his whole life as the often-overlooked middle child, the younger twin, and he had been surprisingly quiet for his now-outgoing personality. Only in the last two years had he started to come into his own and really grab hold of the spotlight. Rory and Kieran had been in the limelight before him, but both had given up their careers for reasons of their own. Kane had seen his opportunity to do something he loved and be the golden child for it. The Kavanaghs were all about mixed martial arts, and since he was now one of the sport’s biggest faces, the Kavanaghs were all about him.

  The attention he’d always wanted. It was from the people he loved, the people whom he had always wanted to see him as a star. The paparazzi? Not so much. The fans? He could take them or leave them, because he didn’t calculate his worth on having fans, but man, he was definitely grateful for them. It still boggled his mind that people he didn’t know not only followed his career but rooted for and supported him. He had thousands of followers on social media, an area he usually left Quinn to handle, because he didn’t like being glued to his phone. Legends Gym also got fan mail directed to him, and while he rarely had time to read it, especially with his nonstop training schedule, it still touched his heart to see those handwritten letters or all the tweets and mentions online.

  “Kane, you ready?” Rory asked, walking into his room without knocking. “Looking good, Killer. New haircut?”

  Kane felt an instant boost of confidence at the mention of his fighter name. Squaring his shoulders, he nodded at his brother. “Yeah, for the fight.”

  “Good move. Shorter hair is always better in a fight,” Rory agreed. The two headed down to one of the largest conference rooms in the hotel. The sheer size of the MGM meant it took them about fifteen minutes to reach the tiny back room where they’d wait to be introduced to the crowd of reporters.

  “Shit,” Kane groaned under his breath as he saw his opponent lounging obnoxiously on a sofa, one leg up on the cushions and one arm thrown across the back. “Xavier.”

  “Don’t let him get under your skin,” Rory warned, a knowing look in his eyes. “He’s going to try.”

  “I’ve come across him before. He’s a dick.”

  “That’s what I’ve heard. Don’t start something now—save it for the cage.”

  Xavier spotted them immediately but didn’t get up. His face split into a cruel grin as he nodded in their direction. “Well, look who it is! Is that Santiago I see?” he said to Rory. “Oh wait, no. Santiago was the winner of the last championship a Kavanagh was in. I only see losers standing here.”

  Rory gritted his teeth, and Kane put his hand on his arm to remind his brother of the advice he’d just been dishing out. Santiago was the opponent to whom Rory had lost his last fight, the one who had pulverized his knee and ended his career.

  “I could say the same thing,” Rory responded, which made Xavier’s smile falter for a second.

  His cocky attitude returned immediately as he turned his attention to Kane. “It’s nice you’ll have an older brother on Sunday to help you get through your upcoming loss, since he’s an expert on that.”

  With calm steps and a confident manner, Quinn strode over. He nodded to Xavier’s manager, though Kane was aware that was nothing more than professional courtesy, from one manager to another; animosity rolled off both of them in waves.

  “Are they ready for us out there yet?” asked Kane. He wanted to move things along before he lost his cool and started the fight with Xavier early.

  Although he was looking forward to Sunday now more than ever.

  “Five minutes. Lose the extra clothes; Roxie is going to get you camera-ready.” Quinn rolled his shoulders, momentarily tightening the fabric of his dark suit, the only tell that he was fighting pent-up energy of his own. Otherwise, he was all business as he introduced a purple-haired beauty with more boobs than body.

  Following his brother’s directions, Kane unzipped his sweatshirt and tossed it onto a nearby chair, then reached up and pulled his T-shirt over his head. Roxie squirted oil into her hands and began rubbing it over his newly smooth chest. She ran her fingers firmly across his shoulders, biceps, and back. It felt good, but when she winked at him as she finished oiling his abs, he found himself feeling antsy and stepping back.

  It was an odd realization, because flirting with and meeting new women had once been a hobby of his.

  “All right, guys, ready to go on?” called out a production coordinator who had just stepped into the room.

  Xavier was similarly dressed and ready for the cameras, and they walked out onto the stage together. Kane stood at least half a foot taller than Xavier, but Xavier’s trunklike body was powerful and hard to budge. An announcer read their vital statistics to the crowd of journalists and cameramen, while both men weighed in onstage and were shown off to the crowd. Flashes of light were unending, and a headache edged its way into Kane’s awareness.

  When they finally got to the question-and-answer part of things, his head was pounding like a damn sledgehammer.

  “Kavanagh! Are you feeling good about the fight?” a reporter called out.

  “Definitely.” He gave his most confident grin to the cameras. “I’ve trained really hard to get here, and whatever happens, I’m just honored to have gotten this far.”

  “Xavier, same question!”

  His opponent sat next to him at the small table on the stage equipped with two microphones. He leaned forward and spoke closely against his. �
�I’m feeling fantastic, Miss. It’s in the bag.”

  Another journalist from the far side of the room piped up, “Kavanagh, are you worried about repeating your brother’s mistakes in the cage?”

  Kane raised his eyebrows as he glanced over to the far wall, where Rory was leaning. His brother shook his head but didn’t look too bothered by the question. The faces next to Rory caught his eye, and Kane couldn’t help but smile to see his family members all there supporting him. Nothing about his family was a mistake, and he felt a warmth in his heart just knowing they were there.

  “There’s nothing my brother’s ever done that I would call a mistake,” Kane told the reporter, squaring his shoulders and exhaling a deep breath.

  “Fine, fine, but are you worried about being knocked out like your brother?” The journalist kept pushing for a more salacious sound bite from him.

  Kane decided to give it to him.

  “Have you seen the guy I’m fighting?” Kane nodded his head toward Xavier and gave the crowd a sly grin. “I’m not worried about anything.”

  The crowd burst into ripples of laughter and scoffing, and his opponent directed an angry glare his way. Kane shrugged and kept going. “I’ve been training for years, and with the best. My brothers, my father, the other fighters at our gym in the Bronx…believe me when I say, I’m ready.”

  Kane pointed toward his family, and several journalists turned to take snapshots. His mother stepped closer to his dad, blowing him a kiss as the entire Kavanagh clan cheered for him. Camera flashes lit up the area, revealing a figure standing just behind and a little apart from his family. Blond hair done in a trendy updo, wide eyes, and a form-fitting blue sweater over short-shorts that revealed legs that went on forever: Nora. Kane’s heart staggered, and his breath backed up in his lungs.

  As she became aware of the direction of his stare, a smile flitted across her face and she lifted one hand, offering a small wave. What was that? Was she happy to see him? Happy for his success? He waited for the awkwardness, but it never came.

  Kane gave her a small nod, and the blush that crept up her usually pale cheeks was unmistakable.

  It reminded him of all the other times he’d seen her blush, whether through things he’d said or through things he’d made her feel. A mental image of his face buried between her legs came back to him, driving an intense ache through his entire body. The realization that he might never again taste her, kiss her, plunge inside her—it was painful.

  The longing in her hazel eyes made him wonder if she was thinking the same thing, especially when she bit the edge of her lip and pulled it between her teeth. She gave him a thumbs-up sign but otherwise didn’t draw attention to herself. He tried to hold her gaze, hold her there with him. Tried to keep them locked together as if nothing in the last couple months had mattered, as if she was still a big part of his life.

  Because she was, even when she wasn’t.

  Instead, she looked down and avoided his stare as she had a quiet conversation with Fiona, who stood next to her.

  The sea of reporters fired question after question at both him and Xavier for another thirty minutes before everyone had had their fill. Afterward, Quinn led him through several photo ops for specific publications, as well as a few one-on-one interviews with larger news outlets. He even had two video call-ins to late-night talk shows in Los Angeles and New York to promote the event to TV viewers. Reports were pouring in about a record number of pay-per-view orders, and cable companies were working around the clock to prepare their systems for the heavy amount of traffic they were expecting.

  For the first time, he was truly beginning to feel like a name in the sport, like he mattered, like he was the star. And it was amazing.

  Everything he’d ever worked for was coming true. Every day he’d spent sweating and training, everything he’d given up, it was all for this, and now he had it. He was moments from the biggest event of his career. He wasn’t scared, and he wasn’t nervous. He was exhilarated.

  He was ready.

  —

  Nora had spent her whole life in New York—the city that never sleeps—but Vegas was just as much awake in the middle of the night as her hometown. She couldn’t fall asleep, and so she dressed once again in the blue sweater and short-shorts she had been wearing earlier and sneaked out of the hotel room she shared with Casey. She took the elevator down to one of the many casinos and found the place was packed. If she hadn’t looked at the clock in her room just before coming down, she’d never have been able to tell that it was actually one in the morning.

  Traveling between the rows of slot machines, Nora took in all the different games and people. Money exchanged hands, bells sounded, coins rushed into metal slots…it was chaotic and systematic all at once. She paused at a big blue slot machine that had a picture of Ellen DeGeneres, one of her favorite television hosts, at the top. There is literally something for everyone here, she thought as she moved around the room. For a moment, she could understand why her mother found this scene so appealing. The lights, the excitement, the endless options and possible wins…it was enticing.

  Nora sat at a big red slot machine and pulled a few bills out of her wallet, then slid them into the machine. It buzzed and sang, playing upbeat music and encouraging her to pull the lever. She yanked it down and the three images on the screen spun past her before finally settling on a lemon, the number seven, and a hammer—how those three images went together, she hadn’t a clue.

  “Nora?”

  She turned to see Kane’s broad chest inches from her face. As she looked up, his chiseled jaw was tight and his normally bright blue eyes looked dark and weary. “Hey there,” she said, swallowing hard. She’d seen him earlier at the press conference, but this would be the first time they’d talked in weeks.

  “Are you down here by yourself?” He looked around, concern in his expression. “It’s one in the morning.”

  She rolled her eyes and turned back to the slot machine. “This may surprise you, Kane, but I am actually an adult, and I don’t have a bedtime.”

  He exhaled loudly and leaned against the machine, seriously invading her personal space. She could smell his aftershave, see the ripple of his muscles straining in his forearms as he crossed them over his chest. Between seeing him looking like that and the late hour, her whole body was beginning to warm.

  “I know that, kitty. It’s just not particularly safe to be down here alone. A lot of creeps around here in the middle of the night,” he said, his eyes piercing through her as she slid a few more dollars into the machine.

  “Says the man in the casino in the middle of the night,” she replied with a small smile. She couldn’t help feeling like something was wrong, and she wanted him to loosen up. Considering everything that had happened between them, his questions overstepped a bit, but it was obvious his heart was in the right place. “I appreciate the concern, though.”

  He grunted, but he was barely listening. Nora pulled the lever, and it ticked to another mismatched combination. Nora sighed and stood from the chair. “Well, this isn’t nearly as much fun as my mother makes it sound.”

  That got his attention, and he stood straighter, letting her step past him. “I was wondering why you’d be gambling, with all that’s happened.”

  Nora shrugged as they strolled through the aisles, no real destination in mind. “I guess I was just curious. I’ve always wondered how gambling can be so exciting that she’d pick it over motherhood…over me.”

  “Nora.” His voice was pained, and he not-so-subtly reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers as they walked. “I hate that she does that to you.”

  “Why?” Nora shrugged, letting go of his hand and crossing her arms over her waist instead, almost as if she were hugging herself. He definitely wasn’t one to talk, because, in a way, he’d picked his career over being in a real relationship with her. “I’m used to people picking other things over being with me.”

  She knew she was being completely unfair, a
nd she didn’t miss the brief hesitation in his step as he absorbed her meaning. Silence hung over them for several moments as they walked side by side, neither one addressing the meaning behind her words. He looked so worn, so tired, that guilt quickly crept over her at having added to his stress.

  “Are you okay?” she finally asked.

  He nodded, rubbing one hand over his head. “I’m just tired. It’s been a really long day, and we just wrapped on some late-night television interviews.”

  “Wow, that’s impressive,” she said, before glancing back up at him. “I like your new haircut, by the way. You look very…rugged.” And he really did. She’d loved his longer hair before, but he looked downright aggressive and chiseled now, which she could only imagine would help his image in the upcoming fight.

  He didn’t respond, but he did reach for her hand again, this time giving it one quick squeeze. “Thanks for coming to the press conference earlier. It meant a lot to me seeing you there.”

  That kind of surprised her. She wasn’t sure he’d cared one way or another that she’d attended. “Yeah?”

  This time he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it before releasing it again. “Nora, I love that you support me, and I always love to see you.”

  She expected to see heat in his eyes, desire like she felt stirring in her core. But his face was expressionless and tired, and the nurturing side of her wanted to hug him and take care of him. “It’s getting late,” she offered. “Maybe time for bed.”

  “Can I walk you back? I won’t be able to sleep knowing you’re down here alone.”

  She felt a yawn starting and nodded her agreement. They headed toward the bank of elevators that led up to the rooms. One was available and they stepped into the car; each pressed different buttons, then faced the front.

  “Nora?”

  She turned to look at him, her brows lifted.

  “The truth is I haven’t slept well in weeks,” he said simply, leaning away from her against the elevator wall. Nora was puzzled, unsure what he was trying to tell her. He continued, this time turning his tired blue eyes to her. “Sleep with me tonight.”