Perfect Match (28 page)

“But that man out there,” Larry continued,
“He’s out there right now fighting for you. It may be a match for
the fans, but it’s a real fight for you. He’s the one. Go to
him.”

“Pop, no. You’re hurt.”

“My shoulder will heal. Wounds will heal.
Hearts? Now that’s another story. Go out there so both of your
hearts can heal…”

Noelle kissed her Pop and ran from the room
to arena entrance. The closer she got, the louder she heard the
fans. She heard people yelling that he won! That made her smile.
Jackson won!

The match was amazing for him. He wasn’t
supposed to win, and that pissed him off, but something was off
about Derek and he was sloppy. Jackson managed a few moves and a
punch that knocked Derek down. He was told that they changed the
ending mid-match and that Tony wanted him to win. He did the Shot
to the heart and that is it. He remained professional throughout
the entire match until the end. The ref raised his hand in victory
and he looked down at Derek. “I’m done with you old man.” He spit
at him. The crowd went wild. All Jackson could think about was is
Larry was okay and finding Noelle. They had to make things
right.

He ran towards the back, through the
curtains. He stopped cold. He saw her standing there waiting for
him and all his anxiety went away.

She smiled at him and he ran to her. He
crushed her in his arms and spun her around. He kissed her, and she
didn’t care that he was all sweaty. “I’m sorry, Jackson. So sorry.
I love you.”

She had tears streaming down her face and he
feared the worst about Larry. “Is

Larry okay?”

She laughed. “He’s fine. He’s going to be
fine.”

Jackson realized she was crying for him. He
kissed her and said, “I love you, Noelle. Everything is fine. I
won.” He winked at her.

EPILOGUE

THREE MONTHS LATER

After Holiday in Hell, Derek’s contract with
BRAWL was voided. He was back to his old ways, being under the
influence and that wasn’t something the company tolerated. So he
was gone as quickly as he appeared. Larry had to get shoulder
surgery and officially hung up his wrestling tights. He decided to
work part time at the Ruckus Room as well, so he could be a
full-time grandfather when Jennifer’s baby got there which was due
anytime now. Howie was officially the new trainer at the
school.

Jackson was no longer the American Champion,
but that was only because he was going after the World Champion,
which he was sure to win. He was probably going to win it next
month at the Megashow. Jackson and Noelle took some time off after
everything with Derek. They took a vacation to try to regroup. They
went to Hawaii and Jackson proposed there. Noelle eagerly accepted.
They planned an October wedding. That gave his mom plenty of time
to prepare for the wedding of the century and time for Jennifer to
adjust to being a mom and be able to fit into her matron of honor
dress. Chelsey had time too, as she was to be the maid of honor.
She just got engaged, but not married yet.

Howie and Larry still had their steak-outs,
and started a new rivalry; which one of them would Jackson and
Noelle’s baby be named after when the time came. Paul officially
became part of every steak-out which was comical since Paul wasn’t
a wrestler but he learned everything about wrestling, he ever
wanted to know.

Everything was great for Noelle. She had no
more secrets and she learned that the people in her life loved her
more than she ever gave them credit for. Jackson forgave her and
promised her a good life. That didn’t matter to her about a good
life. All that mattered was being with Jackson. She was about to
head out to the ring area. They were all out doing a rehearsal and
she wanted to check on how things were. She walked in and saw that
the Goddesses were practicing and in the middle was Kayla. Noelle’s
blood would boil every time she thought of what Kayla did. How she
was the one that started the whole thing with Derek all in attempts
to cause her and Jackson pain. She was hanging out in one side of
the ring with some of the other ladies, while Jackson was in the
other talking to a ref. She got in the ring and went up to Jackson.
His face brightened when he saw Noelle. “Hey.” He smiled and kissed
her.

“Hey yourself.” She smiled as Trudy, the
current champion Goddess came over.

“Hey, congrats you two. I hear you are
getting married.”

Trudy was nice and someone Noelle has known
for a long time. “Thanks.”

“Let me see the ring.” She said and reached
for Noelle’s hand as she held it out. “Wow! Nice Bullet.”

He laughed and said, “I had some help.” He
admitted. Kayla sauntered her way over to them and yawned. She then
said, “Well if it isn’t the king and queen of BRAWL.”

Noelle’s blood boiled and she something
snapped in her. She was tired of Kayla’s comments and decided she
needed to be stopped for good. Suddenly Noelle had a crazy idea
that she didn’t think through. She just went with it. Jackson
taught her his finishing move and she decided to use it. Kayla was
in the perfect position for it as she stood there snickering at
them. Noelle ran towards her and gave her a Shot to the heart and
knocked Kayla flat on her back. “What the hell is the matter with
you?” Kayla screamed as Noelle stood up.

“That really does work.”

Jackson along with everyone else started
cracking up once the initial shock wore off from seeing Noelle
become a wrestler. “Not bad, Noelle!” She heard Mike call from the
seats around the ring.

“Damn, girl,” Jackson said, “There is more of
Larry to you than I knew.” He checked his phone for a text that
came in. It was from Paul.

THIS IS IT. BABYTIME!

Acknowledgments

In Memory of Kathy Licina, I so wish that you
were here to see me actually do this. I miss you and the support
you always gave. I hope you knew how much I loved you.

I want to thank my husband DJ, for the
support he has always shown for my writing. The ideas he let me
bounce off of him, and the good ideas he gave. I love you.

Thank you Mom, Dad, and my brother Eddie. I
love you all so much and thank you for understanding when my mind
would wander off to “LaLa Land.” Your encouragement has been with
me and will always be with me.

Thank you Angie T. for being my writing soul
sister. I am so glad that we met and that someone else that
understands how sometimes our characters take over the story and
you just have to go with it. Thank you for cheering me on along the
way. You are next. I know it.

I never realized all the support I would
discover once I stepped into the world of Indie publishing. I would
like to take a moment to thank those that went above and beyond my
expectations. Ty Webb over at Momma’s Secret Book Obsession. You
have been so wonderful from the very start when I asked you to
share my Facebook author page, to setting up and hosting my blog
tour. I have no words to say how thankful I am to you. I wish your
blog and your work much success and I hope that I can help you out
in the same ways that you helped me. If I am ever in your
neighborhood, I am buying you dinner!

The ladies at The Book Bar, Desiree and Jen,
thank you for your support and the help you gave me. You were the
first blog I contacted and were kind enough to beta read for me.
Your input was invaluable. Thank you!

Stacy at It Started with a Book Blog, thank
you for beta reading and for your feedback.

Thank you to my other wonderful betas,
Shannan, Devon, Christa and Brittainy! Your feedback and love for
Jackson (hehe) was awesome. Also thank you Heather and Jan for also
helping to beta read and edit. You ladies rock!

Nikki, I would like to thank you as well for
giving me the advice on going the indie route (and beta reading). I
will never forget our first conversation and the advice you have
given me along the way. I just want you to know how much I
appreciate it.

Thank you to Arijana K. at Cover It! Designs
for the amazing cover! I am still in awe over it.

And most importantly, thank you to my
readers. I am so happy you gave my book a chance. I hope you got
some enjoyment from it. XOXO Kelly