by Lane Hart
"Oh?"
She's gone on birth control. I shouldn't be surprised. She's several years younger than me, right out of law school. We just got married two weeks ago and I've been a jackass the entire time. I guess it shouldn’t come as a shock that she doesn't want to get knocked up so soon.
Even understanding all that, it's still hard not to take it personally. That she just doesn't want me to get her pregnant.
"If you want to wait that's fine...I just thought, after that night..."
"Jax?"
"Yeah?" I ask, pulling back to see her face.
"You don't have to worry about getting me pregnant because, well, I already am," she says, practically flinching away from me while her eyes stay locked on mine.
"You're already..." I rewind her words to make sure I understand them. "You're...pregnant? Like right now?" I ask and she nods.
"We're gonna have a baby?"
"Yes," she confirms. "Are you freaking out? Because...I'm sorry, Jax. I knew you'd be upset..."
I lean down and kiss her lips to stop her rambling. But then...has it even been long enough for her to know? "Oh princess, I swear I'm not upset. I'm just surprised. I mean, are you sure? How do you know, because it's only been what, just two, maybe three weeks?" I ask.
She exhales likes she's been holding her breath the whole time. "I'm sure, and I'm, um, about six or seven weeks along."
"Okay, you lost me." I'm not all that great at math, so maybe I'm missing something.
"There was a condom recall."
"You're shitting me." I laugh and she shakes her head with a smile. "I'll be damned. So the night we got married, you were already..."
"Yeah. I found out the day after they moved you from Atlantic City. I was dizzy so Jude went with me to the doctor's office and they told me."
"God, and I acted like such an asshole to you!" I exclaim, now understanding what Jude was trying to tell me. What Page had been trying to tell me when I went ape-shit on them at the prison.
"Don't worry about that. It was a stressful time. I can't imagine how hard it was on you. Being in there, all alone."
"I missed you so damn much," I tell her. "So when? When are you due?" I ask, rubbing my palm over her lower belly, that doesn't feel any different yet.
"May fourteenth."
"May? Wow. Do you think we'll have a girl or a boy?" I ask with a smile.
"If it's a girl, you're not going to make her fight are you?" she asks.
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see if she comes out swinging,” I joke. “All I know is that we're going to let him or her do whatever the hell they want."
Then I make love to my pregnant wife. I've never been so damn happy, and have no idea how I could be this lucky. I have everything I could ever want, and I owe it all to a lying bitch. Who would've thought that in the end I'd be thanking her? Instead of making my life hell, she helped me find my way into heaven.
Epilogue
Page
The sold-out crowd of ten thousand in the Patriot Center in Fairfax is a force to be reckoned with. Kind of scary actually.
"These people are nuts," I have to yell to Sadie, so she will hear me over the noise.
"Yeah, they are. Especially the women," she giggles.
"Jax is clearly the fan favorite," I notice, from all the signs and the Havoc griffon logos in the stands.
"Uh-huh. Jax is the best, and I’m betting Jude will be, too, soon," she says wistfully.
I know Jax is incredible, but seeing it is a whole different thing.
The lights in the arena dim and the theme song from the Halloween movies pump into the stadium after the announcer finishes the intro for Jax's opponent, Michael Evans. A few fans chant the first name of the man with a shaved head and solemn expression as he makes his way down the aisle to the raised octagon. Both of his arms are covered with black tattoos of screaming skulls and fire, which up his bad-assness.
Jax will never have any ink work done on his magnificent body. He's afraid of needles. Needles and small spaces are what freak out my big, incredible husband. But he doesn’t need the ink to be tougher. He manages that just fine on his own.
Once the ref cleared the psycho looking dude to enter the cage, the announcer goes through Jax's many wins. The world championship belt is on the line with this fight. Jax is fighting to keep the title that was taken away after the criminal charges. If he wins, this will make it six consecutive years as the reigning champion.
The first guitar riffs of Sick Puppies’ rock song "You're Going Down" comes blasting from the stadium speakers, making the crowd go even wilder.
The colored spotlights swirls, searching the arena for him until he finally steps out of the tunnel. He’s wearing tight black shorts, with almost every inch covered by sponsors, and a red Havoc hoodie, pulled up over his head but unzipped to show his cut upper body. Incredible is the only way to describe him.
Watching one of the big screens in the stadium, the camera goes in for a close up on him walking to the cage. He's the raging volcano again, scary and beautiful at the same time. I can only stare and drool as he approaches the ref and strips down to his shorts. I don't care much for the roar of approval from the thousands of women cheering for him. That's my husband, damn it!
Finally he's cleared to enter the octagon, just six month after his case was dismissed by the district attorney.
We found a witness to testify that the bitch had confided in her that she'd lied and given herself the marks on her neck. And somehow, mostly because of my brother, I'd managed to keep my law license. I've finally figured out what type of law I want to practice. I decided to specialize in sport contracts, and I already have a few MMA fighters as clients. Now that we're married, I can even represent Jax. I also plan to spend some time volunteering at the local animal shelter after the baby’s born. We’re currently looking for a house with a backyard to move into, and once that happens Jax has promised me all the puppies and kittens I could ever want. I know that if it was up to him he’d give me the world.
I'm doing great with my nerves seeing Jax in his very first fight, or at least I was until the bell rings and the two men collide.
"Oh shit!" I exclaim when fists start flying. I hold my breath as I watch the two angry men face off.
The psycho fighter dodges one of Jax's jabs and starts laughing like a cocky bastard, motioning to himself with both hands, telling Jax to bring it on. The leer stays on his face right up until Jax lands a cross on his jaw. The other man falls back so stiff and fast there isn't even time to yell, "Timber!"
"Oh my God! Jax won?" I ask Sadie, jumping, well easing to my feet as fast as an eight month pregnant woman can. “But it just started like ten seconds ago.”
"Oh yeah. That dude won't wake up until next week!" Sadie replies before we both shout and cheer for my man.
We yell louder when Jax's arm is officially raised by the ref. Once again he’s the undisputed, middleweight champion of the world. To celebrate he climbs to the top of the cage, straddling it with both hands in the air while waving the black and white Havoc Fight Club banner proudly.
Jude and Sadie's dads head into the cage to congratulate him with hugs when he jumps down and cameras begin circling. One of the TV announcers shoves the microphone in Jax's face that shows up on all the big screens around the stadium. My husband didn't even work up a sweat.
"How does it feel to get back in the cage and come out with a win in the first thirty seconds of the first round after all you've been through this past year?"
"It feels great. It's been a helluva year, and I've faced a lot of challenges, but it's the best feeling in the world to get back to fighting," Jax says, finding me in the front row and winking.
"For a while it seemed like we might not see any more from The Mauler because of the criminal charges. How did you deal with the stress of your court case?"
"I've got to say that if it wasn't for my beautiful wife, I probably wouldn't be standing here today. She fought f
or me through it all, so I credit this win to her. I'll have to spend the rest of my life trying to repay her for saving me."
"Um, Page? You're leaking," Sadie says.
"Oh, I know. He's too freaking sweet," I reply, wiping the tears from my cheeks. I wasn’t a crier until I got pregnant.
"Ah, not from your eyes, Page," she says, pointing down at my toes.
"Oh my God. Did I just get so excited I actually pissed myself?" I ask, glancing down my long maxi dress, finally noticing my wet legs. Then I feel a sharp pain in my lower back when my belly tightens like a fist. Again. "Oh shit!"
"I'm guessing your water just broke?" Sadie asks. I nod, sitting gingerly back down in the seat until I figure out what I should do. We're in Virginia, hours away from my OBGYN and hospital. I'm not even due for four more weeks!
I notice movement in the cage. Jax is climbing up and over the top, heading for me the quickest way since it’s filled with people.
"What's wrong?" he asks going down to his knees in front of me.
"Congratulations, Jax, you were awesome!" I tell him with a hug. "Oh, and the baby's coming."
"Shit, you mean like right now?" he asks several octaves higher than normal, his eyes wide. I worry he might be freaking out when his tan skin pales.
"Yep. My water just broke and there's this pain in my back I've had since this morning. I thought it was just the shitty hotel bed, but-"
"You're in labor?" He finishes for me.
"I believe so, yeah. I think your son's decided to bump up his birthday by a month."
"Holy shit!" he says before getting to his feet and scooping my fat ass up into his arms with a smile. "Then let's find you a hospital, princess."
"Good idea. You want to let your brother and dad know it’s go time?"
"Dad! Jude!" Jax yells to them across the huge arena. "Let's go! It's time to meet Xavier!"
###
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ALSO AVAILABLE BY LANE HART
The Gambling with Love Series
All In: Double or Nothing
All In: Betting on a Full House
All In: Calling His Bluff
All In: Playing the Fool
All In: Playing to Win
All In: Paying to Play
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lane Hart was born and raised in North Carolina. She continues to live in the south with her husband, two daughters, and several pets named after Star Wars characters.
When Lane's not writing or reading sexy novels, she can be found in the summer on the beaches of the east coast, and in the fall watching football, cheering on the Carolina Panthers.
Connect with Lane:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WritingfromHart
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/lanehartbooks
Website: http://www.lanehartbooks.com
COMING SOON
October 2015