“Good girl.” I finish her hands and sit back.
Tempe lifts her chin. The stark lighting illuminates every line and shadow of her face, and bleaches some of the color from her tawny skin. Grim determination gleams in her eye, along with something else: the invisible fire that prompted me to take her on as a fighter. This woman isn’t afraid to be the underdog. She’s put in every bit of work I’ve asked of her and more. Victory isn’t a question tonight. Provided she approaches the fight with the same tenacity she has everything else, it’s a certainty.
The back of my neck tingles, and I turn to find Ashlin watching me. Her gaze ignites a fire in me, and I try to communicate with my eyes exactly what I’ll do once I get her alone. Our second first date was last night, and technically, it hasn’t finished yet. It ended with us rushing to my condo so we could screw against the door, and over the back of the couch, and finally, in the bed. This morning, I persuaded her to come to the gym with me, and we couldn’t handle the idea of dropping her at home for long enough to collect a change of clothes, so now she’s wearing her heels and dress from last night with one of my “Iron-Shin Seth Isles” supporter shirts over top of it. Seeing my name on her does wicked things to me, but most of all, it lets everyone know who she belongs to. She looks sexy as fuck in that little red dress and while there may not be a ring on her finger, I don’t want any men to think they have a chance. She’s mine.
With a concerted effort, I turn back to Tempe. “Skip for five minutes, do some stretches, and then Harley will take you through pads. Don’t go too hard. Save your energy for the fight. Just do enough to get warm.”
“Got it.” She leans closer and whispers, “Happy for you, boss.”
A flush rises up my neck. “Am I that obvious?”
She winks. “I think we’re both getting lucky tonight.”
Jesus.
“Get to work,” I mutter, afraid to face the room because of how red my face undoubtedly is. She gets up, grinning, and collects her skipping rope from the wall.
Time passes quickly after that, and before long, I’m following Tempe out to the ring with Harley and Devon bringing up the rear. Tempe glares straight ahead, her focus palpable, but as we pass the front row, I glance over and see Ashlin sandwiched between Jase’s girlfriend Lena and Tempe’s boyfriend. She meets my eyes and beams. My heart fills to overflowing. I’m not sure I can handle the emotion building inside of me without it spilling out my eyes and mouth. For the first time since she was pregnant with Cara, I feel whole. Completely and totally content.
“You’re so whipped,” Devon teases as we stop at our section of the cage, and I can’t bring myself to care, because I am. Everything I have and am hinges on Ashlin. I just hope she feels the same way.
“Takes one to know one, bro.”
22
Ashlin
I’m late.
My period is late.
It’sneverlate.
And yet the day after Tempe Larson’s big win, it’s conspicuously absent. At first, I’m afraid to hope. It’s not as though I’m the poster girl for fertility. The doctors told me IVF was my best shot. How likely is it that I’d get accidentally pregnant the natural way? So I ignore it, and pretend that I haven’t also noticed the slight breast tenderness and the nausea that’s been coming on sporadically.
The following day, my period still doesn’t arrive, so during my lunch break, I drive to the local pharmacy and purchase a test. It hasn’t been long since Seth and I first had unprotected sex, so even if I am pregnant, the test might not detect it. But then, there’s also the possibility that the blood test could have been a false negative and the IVF worked after all, in which case I’d be further along. Sometimes a false negative can happen if a test is done in the early days. Excitement rises within me. What if I’m pregnant?
The box seems to burn a hole in my bag as I take it back to work. I’m striding through the foyer toward the ladies’ bathroom when Harry calls my name.
“Ashlin! Wait up.” Footsteps sound behind me as he abandons his post at reception and chases me down. He puffs as he falls into step. I slow as we approach the bathroom door, wondering if he’s going to make this awkward. I don’t have time to talk right now if I want to do the test before I’m due back in class.
“How’s everything with you?” he asks when I stop and face him.
“Good.” I smile and tuck my hair behind my ear. His eyes track the motion, and he wears a puppy-dog expression I’ve seen too many times before. I like Harry, but he’s ten years younger than me, and frankly, can’t hold a candle to Seth. “Great, actually.”
“That’s good.” He nods eagerly. “Are you, um, seeing that guy who was here with you a while ago?”
“You mean my ex-husband?”
“Yeah.”
I nod. “Yes, and it’s serious. Sorry, Harry, but I have to go.”
“Oh, okay. I hope it works out for you.” His tone says otherwise. I smile and hurry into the ladies’ room, more concerned with the possibility of being pregnant than I am with Harry’s hurt feelings. I shut myself in a cubicle, and retrieve the test from my purse. It’s supposed to have super-early detection, and I read the instructions once, then twice, not wanting to screw it up. Finally, I pee on the stick, set it aside, and start the timer on my phone. I stare at the little display, willing it to do something. First one line appears. I stare, holding my breath, as the last minute ticks down. Twenty seconds from the end, a second line comes into focus.
Oh, my God.I’m pregnant.
The news takes a moment to settle in. I can scarcely believe it. A baby is forming inside me right now. Who knows whether it’s a boy or a girl, or even twins, but it exists.
