Page 40 of Forever my Love

The only other adult twins he knew were Riley and Jacob, and they were as different as night and day. Sarah and Parker Clark had twins, Ethan and Ellie. They looked a lot alike, but most children did until they grew older.

He wondered if Hailey liked kids. He’d grown up around children and most of his friends now had families of their own. He couldn’t imagine that she and Harper had been around a lot of kids, considering how they were raised.

He watched her across the room as she joked with customers and then she knelt down to pick up a crayon that their child had dropped. She talked to the kid softly and then tickled the little girl’s cheek before leaving the table.

He thought about what he wanted. He’d always hoped for a large family. There hadn’t been a time when he hadn’t wanted at least four kids. He’d loved being raised with his older sister, but he’d always wanted a younger sibling or two.

He kept thinking about kids until she finally set their food down in front of him and joined him in the booth.

“Wow, this is one of my favorite meals here.” She took a drink of her tea. “How did you know?”

“I’ve seen you eat it before. The look you get on your face says it all.” He wanted to tell her the look was a lot like the look she had when he pleased her, but there were kids running around, so he decided to keep that to himself.

Instead, he touched her cheek and leaned in to kiss her before they ate.

He knew she had to get back to work soon after they were done with their meal, since the restaurant was packed. He wanted to prolong their time together, but at least they were set to leave first thing in the morning to fly to Vegas. He kissed her goodbye and gave up his table. There was a line of people waiting to be seated.

When he got home, he took Ali on a long walk, then decided to strap on the gloves and work out for a few hours.

He was in the best shape of his life. Still, he knew how important the coming fight was to his career. He had to do his best and be better than the guy he was fighting. Robert Carrigan Jr. had won more than a half dozen fights in the past year.

Reece had won his last fight, but that had been a little over a month ago. He’d cancelled a few after finding out about Hailey’s stalker. He’d wanted to stick close to home to help keep an eye on her.

He was sure he could beat Robert, but still, he stayed down in his gym until his muscles ached and his fists were raw.

Then he took an ice bath followed by a shower until everything was numb.

When Hailey got home, he was sitting at the kitchen table, double-checking their flight and hotel reservations.

He’d never stayed at the Aria in Vegas before and went online to check out the room his agent had booked for him, the Sky Villa, a two-bedroom two-story suite that looked amazing.

Then he looked for the perfect place to take her out to dinner and booked them a reservation at a nice restaurant within walking distance to their hotel.

On a whim, he booked them a couple’s massage for the next morning. He’d still have plenty of time before the fight to take her gambling.

The fighting ring was set up in one of the Aria’s main event centers. The fight started at eight that evening. It was scheduled to be shown on several sports channels.

It was the largest fight he’d been booked in so far and, if he was being honest, he grew a little anxious when he thought about being in front of a crowd so large.

Then again, he knew that once he stepped into the ring, nothing could tear his focus away from the match.

When Hailey stepped into the house, his heart skipped a few beats.

Damn. She was going to be there, front row, watching him. How was he going to concentrate with her watching him?