He looks like he might close the space between us. He looks like he wants to.
My brain supplies a dozen sane exits. My body refuses every one.
He looks as if he might kiss me.
So I do something- exactly the kind of crazy I'm proud of but later I reg...
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The smell of sugar and cinnamon lingers on my hands. Amara insisted we stop at the bakery before coming here, like we couldn't possibly walk into my mother's orphanage without carrying something sweet. That's who she is—soft where I'm rough, thoughtful where I forget.
I have my match tomorrow, but obviously I don't give a damn when she's here.
She's the only win I ever want.
She's standing in the middle of the playroom, laughing at something Mom just said. She's holding the box of cookies like it's a gift worth more than gold, offering it to Mom with that smile that makes my chest ache.
I was busy admiring her, memorizing her like a man starved— when small fingers tugged at my finger.
Lily and Noah. Mischief painted in their eyes.
"Xav," Noah says, grinning, "you like Amie, right?"
I laugh under my breath. Like? That word doesn't even scratch the surface.
"Mhm," I say, crouching to their height, lowering my voice like we're sharing a secret. "I love her so much."
Their faces light up with curiosity, eager, hungry for more. "How much?" Lily presses, tilting her head.
How much? How do I even begin to explain?
I glance over at Amara again—her laughter, her hands moving as she talks, the way her presence softens the room like music.
"As much as the ocean loves the shore," I murmur, and the kids lean closer. "As much as the stars love the night sky. I love her like the ring loves the roar of the crowd but stronger."
I love her in ways that make the trophies I've won look like scraps of tin.
Their mouths fall open, wide-eyed. Lily gasps dramatically, and Noah giggles.
"You sound like a prince." Lily whispers.
I grin, ruffling her hair. "Then she's the only princess I ever want."
"I knew it!" Sam pipes up from behind a stack of blocks, eyes sparkling. "We knew it the day we saw you two in each other's arms when you got locked upstairs!"
I chuckle, shaking my head. "You caught that, huh?"
Sam nods solemnly, as if he's ten going to turn thirty. "We all did."
Me too, kid. Me too.
That was the day even I realized it — the moment she stumbled into my arms while dancing in that dusty old storage room when the door clicked shut behind us. Two hours trapped in silence, nothing but the smell of her hair, the rise and fall of her breathing, her fingers brushing mine. I'd gone in a fighter, a man who only knew the ring. I walked out knowing I'd already given my heart away.
