Page 229 of The Nanny and the Beefcake
“Do you think Mere wanted you to win?” Aug pressed.
“She didn’t like watching me get hit.”
“And you decided that meant you had to win at all costs,” Augie challenged, then leaned in, his expression softening. “Remember who you were when you met her. You weren’t adding belts and titles to your name when she fell in love with you. Meredith didn’t keep coming back to the gym because you were a great teenage boxing champion.”
Raz rubbed his temples, his head spinning.
So much for a relaxing pre-weigh-in ritual.
“We miss her, too, dear,” Granny Fin said, emotion coating her words. “And I need to tell you something. Something it’s time for you to hear.” She paused as if to gather herself. And that meant something. Finola Cress was a pillar of steel, but whatever she had to say touched her deeply. “Before she slipped away, Mere asked me to watch over you and Sebastian, and after I agreed, I made a promise to her.”
He steadied himself, hating that he hadn’t been there when his wife had taken her last breath. “What did you promise her?” he asked, his voice a scrape of a sound.
“I promised I’d step in and help if you needed help.”
He dragged his hands down the scruff on his jawline. “You did. You and the twins cared for Sebastian. You swooped in, and you did what I couldn’t do.”
She shook her head. “It was no burden to care for your son, Erasmus. The promise I made to Mere was more than that. Meredith knew you could be as stubborn as a mule. She had a feeling you’d blame yourself for her illness, and she didn’t want that. She wanted you and Sebastian to love and to be loved. She didn’t want your heart to harden. Meredith would never have wanted you to grow apart from your boy. I let you mourn. I gave you time, but when I saw you drifting away, really drifting into a dark, dark place, that’s when I asked Madelyn for help.”
“Sorry you couldn’t fix me,” he said, nodding to the matchmaker, trying to keep it light, but it was no use. He couldn’t hide the shake in his voice.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Madelyn answered, watching him closely. “I don’t fix anyone. I’m only a facilitator. I’m the starting point. You decide who you are at the end of the sixty-day trial period. And we’re not there yet. You’ve got one day to go.”
One day.
One day to figure out how to honor Mere and show Libby that he loved her. How could he do that when choosing one meant negating the other?
“Let me ask you this, lad,” Aug said. “How many times does lightning have to strike twice in your life? I was there for the first strike. I saw your face the minute Meredith entered the gym. And I was there when those two bolts of lightning struck in Rickety Rock. Not to mention, I saw your face the minute Libby banged that gong outside the gym weeks ago and started throwing…” He paused, then tossed a nervous glance at Granny Fin and Madelyn.
“Vibrators, Augie! You can say the word,” Granny lamented. “We old birds quite enjoy them.” She shared a look with Madelyn. “With a prude like Aug, I reckon we should send Luanne a Rainbow Screamer,” she added under her breath.
Madelyn whipped out her mobile. “Done,” the woman answered with a mischievous smirk.
And there it was—more senior sex talk.
“Are ya done, Gran?” Raz asked, cradling his head in his hands.
His granny mimicked zipping her lips.
Augie’s cheeks had bloomed crimson, but the man composed himself. “All I’m saying is, everyone sees it. You love Libby, and she loves you. And she loves Sebastian.”
Aug wasn’t wrong.
He loved Libby.
He truly did.
And Libby was crazy about Sebastian—and vice versa.
But what Libby, his granny, Madelyn, and Aug didn’t understand was that he didn’t know what came next if he lost.
“What are you fighting for?” Aug asked, his voice a low rasp.
The answer was simple.
“The belt and the title.”
That was it.
