One thing I haven’t missed is how Andi has avoided being in the same circles with me the entire time. I hear her laugh, see her smile, and feel her voice reverberate in my veins. With every heartbeat, she’s still in there, owning me and making it impossible to remove her from my life.
Even now, all I want to do is take her in my arms. She hasn’t been touchy-feely with Travis like he has been with her. They’ve posed for pictures together, the photographers arranging them in different scenes. But as soon as the photo is taken, she steps out of his personal space again.
Am I reading too much into this?
As she turns her back toward me to speak to someone, I see the new tattoo again and I’m dying to go over and ask her about it. She’s never more than a foot away from Travis, and I know I can’t approach her with him there. I’ll end up in jail the night before my fight if I get any closer to him.
She glances over her shoulder, her eyes searching the room until she finds me again. Our eyes meet and linger for too long for it to be a coincidence. Sliding my hands into my pockets, I shift my weight to one leg and let my eyes rake over her beautiful body. Her sleeved arm is on full display. Her hair cascades down, framing her face, and falls onto her shoulders. Her chest rises and falls faster, evidence of her increased breaths and my effect on her.
The spell is broken when Travis’s hand cups the side of her face and his mouth covers hers. I don’t waste time watching to see what happens next, because I can’t stand here and not do anything. Taking Syndi’s hand in mine, I decide this isn’t where I need to be tonight.
“I’m ready to go,” I say to Syndi.
“Give me five minutes. There’s someone I have to talk to before we leave or I’ll never get the chance again,” she states, but her tone of voice asks for permission.
“Take your time. I’ll be waiting outside,” I say and leave the arena.
* * *
TRAVIS
Leaningin to whisper into Andi’s ear, I wrap my arm around her waist. “We need to go. Our crew still has to break down the stage and these people won’t leave as long as we’re here.”
“Okay.” She smiles up at me.
Spreading the word as I say my goodnights to our fans, I realize I haven’t seen Katelyn anywhere in a while. I’m tempted to leave her behind, but I know there’ll be hell to pay if I do. Besides, she does do a lot for us, and I couldn’t be that mean to her.
Hearing raised voices coming from a small office down the back hall, my first thought is that Katelyn’s already working on the next deal for us by raking someone over the coals. When I reach the office, the door is barely cracked but I can clearly hear Katelyn.
“Have you lost your mind?” Katelyn sneers. “You were supposed to make her jealous, make her leave the tour to run back to Luke! Not run to Travis’s bed!”
“I’m sorry, Katelyn. But I love Luke, and I want to be the one he loves. That’ll never happen with Andi in the picture,” the other woman replies apologetically.
“Syndi,” Katelyn says with exasperation, “you don’t think I love Travis? She was just about to leave until you showed up on the news wearing her ring and that necklace. After that fiasco, everything between Andi and Travis changed. He stayed all night on the bus with her, and now they’re all lovey-dovey.”
“I know you don’t want to hear this, Katelyn, but Travis doesn’t love you. If he did, you’d know it by now. He’s obviously crazy about Andi. You need to let them be together.”
“So, you get what you want. Andi gets what she wants. And I’m the one left out in the cold when this was all my idea to begin with!” Katelyn yells.
Slowly pushing the door open, I lean against the doorframe and glare at the two conniving bitches. Katelyn tries to play it cool at first, but she quickly changes when she sees my anger tipping over the boiling point.
“You arranged all of this to get Andi to leave the tour? You better start explaining right fucking now,” I demand.
Syndi starts to leave the room when I block the door. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Just giving you two some privacy.” She shrugs.
“By all means, stay and talk with us,” I say sarcastically. “You’ve evidently been all up in my business to this point anyway.”
She shrinks back and lowers her chin to her chest, keeping her eyes on the floor. She’s ashamed.Good.
“Spill it,” I command Katelyn.
“What did you hear?”
“Quit stalling.”
“I had Syndi assigned as Luke’s public relations assistant through InMotion PR,” she starts, referring to the side business she started with her cousin. “I have a friend in the communications department of the boxing commission. She helped me arrange it.”
