Page 47 of Beyond the Cage

“How are Mom and Dad?”

“They’re great. They want us to visit for Independence Day.”

“We can do that.”

“So…you two are, like…official now?” she whispers as she leans in.

I answer with a wide grin and an enthusiastic nod.

“Aren’t you glad I dragged you to that match now?”

“I’m forever in your debt, Chelsea Tanner.”

“A lifetime supply of these cookies should make us even.”

“Deal.”

Feeling his stare, I glance over at Cameron. I think he’s ready to leave.

“Okay,” I acknowledge him.

“What?” Chels asks in confusion.

“Oh, not you, Chels.”

She looks over at me like I’m crazy. With a soft chuckle, I walk him to the door.

“See you later.”

Reaching into his pocket, he peels off a few bills and hands them to me.

“What’s this for?”

He jerks his head toward Spartacus.Oh.

“Child support?” I smile and stuff the money into my pocket. He drops a kiss on my forehead and then he’s gone.

“Well, well, well…look at you, Carter,” Chels pipes up behind me.

I rejoin her on the couch and lay my head on her shoulder. “I know.”

“You love him.”

“My heart really, really likes him,” I reply with a sigh.

“I’m happy for you, Jas. You deserve to be happy after what that son of a bitch did to you.”

“Chels…he’s leagues away from Jamal. There’s so much more to him than anyone knows, like, he was a Marine.”

“Your dad will like that.”

“He graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern…degree in Mechanical Engineering.”

“Mom’s gonnalovethat.”

“Andyou’lllove that he knows about a hundred different types of martial arts.”

“Really?”