Holding hands, they took a flying leap into the air to splash down into the water in the middle of a circle of flowers. Laughing when her head surfaced, she circled her arms around Gavin’s neck.
“I pronounce you man and wife,” Paster Dean said loudly over the cheers and claps. “Gavin, you may kiss your bride.”
Ginny felt as if she was still falling when Gavin kissed her. Breaking the kiss, her hand went to his jaw. “You’ll always be mine now,” she said with her whole heart in her eyes.
“I didn’t need to marry you to know that.” Placing his hand over hers, Gavin linked their fingers together. “I knew that the first time I looked into your eyes.”
“You fooled me then, if that’s true,” she teased. “You see anything else?”
“I saw the road to salvation, which seemed like a never-ending ride ahead.”
Ginny grew serious. “Are you there yet?”
Gavin nodded. “The day I thought you were dying, and I thought it would take a miracle to save you. I didn’t realize then that I had already been blessed with a miracle.”
“You had?”
“I didn’t have to ride to search for my salvation; it was within reach the whole time. It was there any time you were near. You’ll always be my salvation, Ginny. A salvation I don’t deserve, but I’ll spend the last of my life making sure I do.”
If Gavin thought she was his salvation, she wasn’t going to try to dissuade him. Her gladiator had fought for his salvation, and even if she had been the one killed on that day instead of Leah, Gavin would have come out of the darkness he’d been thrust into. That’s what gladiators did—they fought to survive against all odds—and he won despite the insurmountable odds to be here with her in this moment in time. She wasn’t naïve enough not expect there wouldn’t be battles ahead in their future, but she was sure that when the battles came their way, he would never have to fight alone again. She was going to make sure of that.
Of course, she had no say if any future gladiators fighting alongside of him would be boys or girls.
Epilogue
ONE
Ten Years Later…
Gavin sat at the picnic table, feeding his new baby girl, who they’d brought to Viper’s house to show off. Winter and Viper had thrown a picnic just for little baby Leah.
Glancing over at the brothers and their wives playing football with their children on the huge lawn, his eyes then went to his other daughter who he was in charge of watching.
Keira was Ginny’s daughter, that was for sure. She was a two-and-a-half-year-old, walking, talking bundle of energy. Ginny and he had to always be within touching distance of her or she would slip away. They could barely keep track of her in the house, much less when they were out. He felt as if she was in the danger zone, and she was an accident just waiting to happen. He didn’t trust with all the children running around, he could keep a good eye on her. So, he came prepared, bringing a huge inflatable-like playpen that gave her plenty of space to play in with all her toys and a child’s leash wrapped around her waist.
Before he’d had children and had seen parents using them, he had given them condescending glances, thinking how terrible they were. That was before Keira. Now he knew better. She was a living, breathing accident waiting to happen, and he was exhausted. God had given them a son who acted like perfect angel, then He had slammed them with Keira.
When he loaded the playpen in the car, Ginny had shaken her head at him. “It’s not going to work.”
“It’s going to fucking work. You’ll see.”
The playpen and the leash would work, he had thought confidently. Both items would ensure Keira stayed within his eyesight the whole time they were at Viper’s. Ginny would be the one seeing who was right.
“Why is she in there?” one of Rider’s sons asked as he stood on the outside of the pen, staring down at Keira.
“She can be a handful, like her mom, that’s why,” he told the ten-year old boy. “Why aren’t you playing with the others, Crux?”
Crux’s bushy brows didn’t move from his hard little expression he kept on Keira. “I think she wants to be free.”
“She’s fine,” Gavin assured him, seeing Keira was perfectly content with her blocks and books. He didn’t care for the way Rider’s son was constantly staring at his daughter anytime she was around. “Now, go on and play with the rest of the kids.” Reaper shooed him off with a wave of his hand.
“Whatever,” Crux grumbled, his eyes finally leaving Keira’s to give Gavin a look his father had given him many times before.
It took everything Gavin had to let that slide as he watched the boy drag his feet off.