He laughs. “True.” He takes my hand, but I don’t read into it because he’s just a touchy person. “Come on. Let’s find you a drink and catch up. I want to hear all about what you’ve been doing since I left City Fight Center.”
A little more of the tension eases from my shoulders. Everything is going well. I can do this. I follow Tony and accept the glass of wine he offers. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” He leads me to a quieter spot where we can hear each other over the hum of conversation. “I’m glad you came. I’ve missed seeing your pretty face.”
Nerves fizzle in my gut, and sweat beads on my forehead. Now is the moment. I need to flirt back. “Not as much as I’ve missed seeing yours.”
Ugh, Cami, could you be any more cliche?
But Tony laughs, his eyes widening with surprise. He cocks his head questioningly, and I give a subtle nod to indicate that yes, this time I’m willing to flirt. I’ve always ignored his attempts in the past because I knew he wasn’t serious, and honestly, I worried what Karson would say if he found out. He’d probably have made a snarky comment about how I was embarrassing him and making a fool of myself over a man who’s way out of my league.
Too bad. Karson isn’t here today, and he can suck it.
Tony wraps an arm around my waist and winks. “Tell me more about how much you missed me.”
Leo
“I appreciate everything you’ve done for us,” I tell my coach, Seth, as we stand side by side on the terrace overlooking Tony’s front lawn. “We’d never have bounced back so fast after the scandal if not for you.”
Many people still think poorly of the five of us who defected from City Fight Center in favor of Crown MMA after things went to shit, but we’re recovering way better than we would have without Iron-Shin Seth Isles throwing his weight behind us.
He shrugs. “It’s good for me to have you guys here. Builds up our reputation.”
I manage to swallow down a remark about how our reputation isn’t something most people would want these days. Instead, I say, “Ashlin looks healthy.”
His lips lift in a slight smile. Seth isn’t an effusive guy, but he’s crazy about his pregnant fiancé—who also happens to be his ex-wife. “The pregnancy is going well.”
“And the wedding plans?”
He grunts. “Coming along okay, but I just want everything to hurry the fuck up so I can get my ring on her finger again.”
I chuckle. “Isn’t it already there?”
“The engagement ring,” he grumbles. “Not the wedding ring.”
“You’re such a caveman.”
He gives me a look. “You just wait. One of these days, you’re going to meet a woman who fucks you up on the inside, and then you won’t be laughing.”
I gulp because I’m afraid it’s true, except it’s more likely I’ll fuck up any woman unlucky enough to fall for me than the other way around. I’m too much like my father, who was a superstar on the MMA circuit long before me, and who used the fame and fortune to cheat on my mom over and over again while she stayed quiet like the obedient wife she is. When I finally caught him in the act and confronted him, he’d rolled his eyes and said I’d understand one day because I was so much like him that I was bound to do the exact same thing. I couldn’t even argue. People had been comparing me to him all my life. One sports reporter even went so far as to call me a carbon copy.
But I’m determined to be different. A better man. Back when I told Mom what I’d seen, I expected her to leave him, but despite how it hurt her, she stayed. When I asked why, she said it didn’t mean he loved her any less. I left his gym the next day and moved to City Fight Center. I couldn’t stay around to watch them cycle through the same crap over and over. Now, we don’t talk much anymore.
“Earth to Leo,” Seth says. “You in there?”
“Huh?” I snap to attention. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”
“No worries.” He searches my face as though trying to read my mind. I let him, knowing he won’t see anything I don’t want him to. My poker face can withstand even his scrutiny. “Ashlin was waving. I’m going to check on her. You coming?”
I shake my head. “I’m going to stay up here a while longer. I like the quiet.”
He nods and claps me on the shoulder, then leaves. I rest my arms on the railing and watch the people assembled below. I scan them, looking for my four City Fight Center buddies: Enya, Tony, Oman, and Vic. I spot Enya talking to Harley, Seth’s sister. Vic and Oman are playing cards around a picnic table. But where’s Tony? I search for his dark countenance and finally find him with his arm around a blonde—not the woman I saw him with last night. I stare harder. The girl he’s canoodling with has a lush figure and the prettiest pink lips I’ve ever seen.
It’s Camile Hayes.Again.
She tilts her face toward him and I growl. The way she’s pouting, she’s practically inviting a kiss. Doesn’t she know Tony isn’t a good bet for her? She isn’t the kind of girl to hook up and move on, which is all she’ll get from him.
Damn, I’m going to have to step in and stop her from getting her feelings hurt. I stalk away from the terrace and hurry down to the lawn. Someone says my name but I ignore them, too focused on getting to Camile.
