Page 137 of Big D!ck Energy

“Hmm?”

Davina shifted closer, her robe falling open at the collar. “What are you thinking about? You've had this look on your face all day.”

“What kind of look?”

“Like you're keeping a secret. A good one.”

I laughed. “You're very perceptive.”

“I've had a lot of practice reading your face.” She took a sip of wine, studying me over the rim. “At first, I thought you were completely unreadable. The cocky wrestler with the perfect smile, never showing what was really going on underneath.”

“And now?”

“Now I can tell when you're happy. When you're stressed. When you're pretending to be annoyed but really find me hilarious.” She set down her glass and reached up to touch my jaw, her fingers tracing the line of stubble I hadn't bothered to shave. “Right now, you look like a man with a secret.”

“Maybe I am.”

“Gonna share with the class?”

“Tomorrow.” I caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. “Ask me again tomorrow. I'll tell you everything.”

She raised an eyebrow but didn't push. That was one of the things I loved about her; she knew when to dig and when to let things breathe.

“Fine. Tomorrow.” She clinked her glass against mine. “Happy anniversary, Dallas.”

“Happy anniversary, Davina.”

We drank in a comfortable silence, watching the fire. I thought about everything we'd been through, the antagonism, the accidental marriage, the fake relationship that had become the realest thing I'd ever known. Sam and her lies. Davina packing her bags with tears streaming down her face. How close I'd come to losing everything because someone else decided my wife wasn't good enough.

“Hey.” I set down my wine glass and turned to face her fully. “I need you to know something.”

“That sounds serious.”

“It is.” I took her hands in mine, feeling the familiar warmth of her skin, the way her fingers automatically intertwined with mine. “This past year has been... I didn't know I could feel like this. Before you, I thought marriage was stupid, and then I woke up in Vegas with a ring on my finger and a hangover the size of Texas.”

“Dallas...”

“It was the best accident of my entire life.” I squeezed her hands. “You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. And I know I don't say it enough, or in the right ways…”

“You say it plenty.”

“...but I need you to hear it. Really hear it.” I held her gaze, willing her to understand the weight of what I was saying. “I am the luckiest man alive. Not because of the championships or the career or any of that. Because of you. Because somehow, in the chaos of that Vegas weekend, I stumbled into a life with a woman who makes me want to be better. Who makes me feel like maybe I already am.”

Her eyes glistened in the firelight. “You're going to make me cry.”

“Good. I like when you cry. It means I've said something right for once.”

She laughed, watery and warm. “Jerk.”

“Your jerk.” I reached up to brush a tear from her cheek. “Forever. If you'll have me.”

“I already have you.” She sniffled. “A whole year, remember? Ring and everything.”

“I remember.” Sort of, I added silently. But tomorrow, we'll make new memories. Better ones.

She leaned in and kissed me.

Not a quick peck. Not a casual brush of lips. A real kiss, the kind that started slow and built into more. Her mouth was warm and tasted of wine, and when her tongue slid against mine, every coherent thought evaporated like morning mist.