“It’s all still weird,” Tony insisted.
“Didn’t ask for your opinion,” Rocco grumbled.
Tony smirked. “You like her.” Rocco stayed quiet. That alone was enough of an answer. Tony’s expression shifted slightly then, less teasing and more serious. “You sure you’re ready for this?”
The question landed harder than Rocco expected because he had no clue if he was ready or not for a relationship. Hell, half the time he still felt like he was figuring out how to be normal again. But Luna made him want things again that he hadn’t wanted in a damn long time—namely, a future. Some damn peace to go along with it would be nice to. He wanted something beyond surviving day to day.
“Don’t know,” he admitted finally.
Tony nodded slowly like he respected his honesty. “But?” he pressed.
Rocco leaned against the ropes, staring out across the gym. “But when I’m with her—” He exhaled roughly. “Everything in my head gets quiet for a little while.”
Tony went silent at that, because he understood exactly what Rocco meant. The noise, the memories, the guilt, and the constant pressure sitting in his chest. If Luna could silence that even temporarily, then yeah, he was ready for it—for her.
“Just don’t make her your whole world,” Tony said quietly. “That’s too much pressure to put on one person.” Rocco’s jaw tightened because the fucked up part was that Luna had already said almost the exact same thing. I don’t want to be your crutch, Rocco.
“She won’t be,” he said firmly.
Tony studied him for a second before nodding. “Good.” The gym fell quiet between them for a moment before Tony smirked again. “So, you finally gonna spar with her?”
Rocco groaned. “Absolutely not.”
Tony burst out laughing. “What are you afraid of?” he asked.
Rocco grabbed his water bottle and shook his head. “You didn’t see her drop Van.”
“I did see it,” Tony shot back. “That’s why I’m asking.” A reluctant grin pulled at Rocco’s mouth. Yeah, Luna was terrifying. She was beautiful, sure. Bossy, absolutely. But she was also complicated as hell, and somehow, he couldn’t wait to see her again.
LUNA
Luna regretted telling Rocco to meet her at the gym almost immediately. Not because she didn’t want to see him. God no—she wanted to see him more than she wanted anything in a damn long time, and that was the problem. She wanted to see him too much.
The entire day, she had been distracted, and her patients seemed to notice it. Gia definitely noticed it. Hell, even her receptionist gave her a strange look when Luna accidentally scheduled two people at the same time because that never happened. Luna thrived on organization and control, and Rocco was apparently ruining both.
“You look stressed,” Gia said casually from the doorway of her office near the end of the day.
Luna didn’t even glance up from her laptop to answer her. “I’m not,” she lied.
“You just typed the same sentence three times,” Gia pointed out. Damn it.
Luna sighed and leaned back in her chair. “Why are you lurking?”
Gia smirked as she stepped into the office. “Because I’m curious about the mysterious reason you suddenly transferred one of your favorite patients to me.”
Luna narrowed her eyes. “I never said he was one of my favorite patients.”
“You didn’t have to,” Gia said. She really had no idea what to say to Gia, so she said nothing.
Gia crossed her arms over her chest. “So, are you sleeping with him yet?”
Luna nearly choked on air. “Jesus Christ, Gia.”
“What?” she laughed. “You’ve been weird for days.”
“I am not being weird,” Luna almost shouted. She was totally being weird. Hell, weird didn’t even seem to begin to cover how she was acting.
“You wore lipstick to work today,” Gia pointed out. Luna froze, trying to remember what makeup she applied this morning. She was trying to change what she wore each day. She told herself that it had nothing to do with hoping to run into Rocco, but that was a lie.
