He holds up the growler. “Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it.” He sighs, and looks from Harley to me, and back again. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
We say goodbye and head away. I can’t help but hope that this is a temporary measure. That he’ll realize we can be both romantic and training partners, but I have a feeling it will take him a while to come around to our way of seeing things—if he does at all.
On the way back to my place, I glance over at Harley.
“What should we do if he doesn’t change his mind?”
She stares at her reflection in the window. “He will.”
“But if he doesn’t.”
She turns to me. “Not an option.”
I shake my head. She clearly doesn’t want to talk about it, but I’m not sure that being an ostrich is the best way to go. If we don’t deal with this now, she might resent me a few months down the road because of what she’s sacrificed to be with me. Still, I let it go. We can talk about it tomorrow.
I wakethe following day with a complicated knot of emotions in my gut. Grief, for the potential loss of my friendship with Seth and my home at Crown MMA, worry for what Harley stands to lose, and a sense of lingering uncertainty about the future. While I lie in bed, I think of Seth. In some ways, I understand where he’s coming from. Interpersonal relationships in what’s effectively a place of work are messy, and I haven’t always been the type of guy you’d want to hook up with your baby sister. I’ve never wanted to settle down until now. But this is different, and I need to prove that to him.
I wake Harley with a kiss and help get her out the door, stopping to hug her before she leaves.
“Come back to me soon,” I murmur against her hair.
“I will,” she promises.
When she’s gone, I sit in bed and call around the other gyms in the area. I find plenty that are willing to offer me a place to train, but none who want to corner the fight that Seth arranged for me against Karson Hayes. My ex-coach has a lot of respect in the community and no one wants to do anything that might offend him.
Asking Gabe or Jase isn’t an option. I won’t put them in the awkward position of choosing between me and Seth. I don’t think it would work in my favor anyway because they both warned me not to mess with Harley.
By lunchtime, I’ve arranged to train later in the day at Alpha MMA—the gym run by Leo Delaney’s father, Grant. For some reason, Leo himself doesn’t train there. He and Grant are estranged, although the cause of the estrangement is one of the best-kept secrets in the UFC. Whatever the case, I’m grateful to Alpha MMA for providing a space for me.
While I’m there, the fighters steer clear of me. I do my own thing, and they do theirs. It’s a lonely experience though, and I’m worried that I’ll slide backward without a good training buddy.
ChapterNineteen
Devon
Later that evening, I’m well and truly deflated. There’s a knock on my door, and I open it to find Harley hovering in the corridor, wearing an expression that’s one part hesitation and two parts stubbornness. With her hair in a high ponytail, exposing sharp cheekbones and a strong chin, she’s absolutely gorgeous, and longing fills my heart—longing to grab her and kiss her.
“I heard that you couldn’t find a corner for Nightshade.”
“Not yet,” I reply, unsure where this conversation is heading.
She pulls at the end of her ponytail the way I’ve noticed she does when she’s anxious. Need clenches in my gut. Even though we were together last night, it’s feels like eons since I touched her. Slowly, I extend a hand and brush my knuckles over her cheek. Her eyes flutter shut and she leans into the caress for a brief moment, but then she’s back to business.
“I’ll do it.”
My pulse ratchets up, hammering so loudly in my ears that I struggle to believe what she’s just said. She’s willing to do that for me? She must know that it would put even more stress on her relationship with her brother. Does it make me a bad person that joy fizzes through my body, bubbling up in the vicinity of my heart, at the evidence of how much she cares for me?
“Are you sure?” I ask. “I mean, that would be amazing, but what about Seth?”
She shakes her head, the tips of her ponytail brushing her shoulders. “Don’t worry about him. It’ll work out. You’re making a huge sacrifice for me, and I couldn’t live with myself if you lost the fight when I’m capable of helping. I’ve got your back, Dev.”
Taking her hands, I step closer, aligning my body with hers. Her warmth permeates the sliver of air between us, tempting me to close the space. “You’re amazing. Thank you.”
She blinks, then shakes her head as though trying to clear it. “I’m going to get you back in with Seth too.”
My brow furrows. “If it happens, it happens. Don’t worry about it too much.”
Her jaw drops. “But—”
