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THEODORE

Seven Months Later

F our months ago, I signed a contract extension with GRW. It’s not shocking that Nathan wanted to lock me down for longer. I’m damn good at everything I do, even if I’ve been a bit of a headache in the past. And as much as I struggle to see eye-to-eye with the bastard sometimes, GRW has given me everything. My career, money, and the girl of my damn dreams.

During negotiations, I asked for two things. First, I wanted my own locker room. I didn’t give a damn if I was champion anymore or not, although we all know the belt is coming home sooner rather than later, I didn’t want to share with anyone. I wanted a place that Aurora and I could hang out before the show, which meant I also ended up with a place that became full of the people that Aurora attracts.

My girl is lovable.

When I push open the door to our locker room, I find Aurora on the floor, kneeling next to her suitcase. She’s putting all her damn weight onto the thing, trying to get it zipped. I raise an eyebrow, leaning against the wall as the door closes. “Wanna do something tonight?”

She blows a piece of her hair out of her face, turning to look at me with a raised eyebrow. “Like what?”

“Probably something fun and inappropriate, if you’ll say yes.”

Aurora snorts. “Maybe. Dinner first and then we’ll talk about fun and inappropriate.”

“You got it, baby doll.”

“Are you gonna offer to help me with my suitcase?”

“Is my fault you pack half the damn closet with you?”

Her green eyes narrow. God, I love when she gets irritated with me. It makes the green in her eyes look even brighter. “If you recall, I once only packed one outfit, and you made me go buy a new one because it wasn’t sexy enough.”

I cross the room over to where she’s kneeling by her suitcase, getting down next to her. “I saved you from going on national TV and making it look like you got your clothes by dumpster diving.”

She rolls her eyes at me as I push down on her suitcase, trying to pull the zipper up the track. It feels like wrestling with a wild animal, but I finally manage. Sitting back, I reach over and brush that stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Next time, you’re not packing your entire life up.”

“Whatever.” She rolls her eyes and stands up, wiping off the knees of her leggings from where she was kneeling on the not-so clean laminate flooring. “So, dinner? What are you thinking?”

“Actually, Roo…” I trail off, digging into my pocket. My fingers wrap around the object in question and I latch onto it. “I have a question.”

“Theo…” Her eyes go wide, looking down at me. “Just so you know, if you propose right now, I’m saying no.”

“Ouch. Good to know.” No, I’m not insane enough to propose to the girl that I’ve been with for less than a year. I’ve already done that once. I’m not even sure if marriage is something I’m ever going to want, and I know from small comments here and there that Aurora’s on the same track. “But I’m not proposing. Give me your hand.”

Suspicion etches across her features, but Aurora listens. She holds her hand out, palm up. I place the object from my pocket in her palm and she looks down at it skeptically. “You got me a toy piglet?” She tilts her head. There’s a tiny plastic pink piglet sitting in her palm. Ask me how many stores I searched to find that. “That’s actually very cute. Very random but very cute.” The smile on her face is gorgeous.

But that’s not the surprise.

“I bought a farm. I bought us a farm. In Vermont.” That was part of my negotiation. I wanted a signing bonus big enough to afford a farm in Vermont, just like Aurora dreamed of.

She blinks. “You…what? You bought a farm ?”

“I want to drive up there tonight. Show it to you. It’s ours. It’s yours.” It’s the grandest, most insane romantic gesture I’ve ever done. Proposing is nothing compared to buying property to share with someone.

That’s how serious I am about Aurora Bennet. I want to make all her dreams come true. I helped her get her foot in the door with GRW; I made sure her father got the best care he could to recover from his stroke. I bought her a goddamn farm.

“Why?” She’s in shock. I can almost see the gears turning in her head as she tries to piece it all together.

“Because what happened to Hext has me thinking how quickly this can all end. You’re right. Wrestling isn’t forever.” I lick my lips. “We can buy piglets.”

That last part breaks her out of the emotions that washed over her when I mentioned the Hext situation. We don’t know a lot about what’s going on there. It’s being kept very tight-lipped, and I know that Juliette is struggling, but when I bring up buying piglets, Aurora’s eyes sparkle .

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” I stand up, my arms slipping around her hips and pulling her flush against me. I lean down and press my forehead to hers. “Come on. We’ll find somewhere that has cheese fries this late. Make a pit stop by my place to pick up Rumour and we’ll drive out to our farm.”

I told her once I’d do anything to make her life better and I meant every damn word of it. Maybe I didn’t know a lot about this love thing when we started, but I think I might be getting the hang of it.