“Okay,” she responds quietly.

Caden turns and heads back to the gym. Lifting my gym bag strap back over my chest, I begin to follow and then stop, turning back.

“Lily?”

She looks up.

“Is he what made you come up with your new rule?” I nod my head in the direction of Caden Ralley.

She bites her lip, not responding right away. “It’s a long story.”

I nod and head back to change, looking forward to taking out my frustration on my sparring partner more than I ever thought possible.

***

Some people need alcohol or drugs to get high. Me, just give me a good day of fighting and everything seems easier. Sparring is supposed to be going through the motions of boxing, practicing your technique and tightening up your strikes, without actually landing any heavy blows. But you wouldn’t know that from my spar with Caden this morning. If it wasn’t for Joe Ralley breaking us apart a few times, Caden and I would’ve wound up in a full on brawl.

I definitely surprised him. I usually do when it comes to gym rats that are stupid enough to judge a person’s ability to fight by what they look like. What moron decided only fully tatted up, shaved head, scarred face bullies with anger issues could have talent in the ring? A degree from an Ivy League school and they assume you’re soft. Days like today, the preconceived notion works for me. Caden wasn’t expecting Pretty Boy to knock him on his ass. More than once. He definitely didn’t see the bloody nose coming either. But this morning, I had a lot to take out in the ring, and Caden was just the right ass**le for the job.

The hour long spar and my morning workout still not enough to bring me down, adrenaline pumps wildly through my veins as I begin a ten mile run on the treadmill. It’s not unintentional that I pick the machine all the way at the end, the one that gives me a clear line of vision to the reception area. A clear line of vision to Lily. The first ten minutes, I watch as she’s engrossed in sketching something. She looks intent and focused, consumed by whatever her imagination sends flowing to the paper as her hand works furiously.

Then Caden approaches, fresh from the shower, a large black duffle bag thrown over his back, he doesn’t even consider she’s working when he interrupts her. She smiles as he talks, but it’s weak and forced, a polite smile at best. A few minutes later, Joe Ralley walks to the front desk and the three of them talk for a while. Joe points to the door and says something and Lily responds, looking around the gym, finding me quickly and points in my direction. The two men look my way as she speaks. I guess the reporters haven’t left.

Caden eventually walks around the reception desk, hooking a hand around Lily’s neck as she sits. He leans down and pulls her face toward him, venturing in for a kiss on the mouth, but at the last second she turns her head, leaving him with a cheek to kiss. Perfect. Absolutely, f**king perfect. I finish my run and take my time in the showers, hoping the reporters will have given up by the time I venture back outside.

Lily smiles at me, a hesitant smile on her face, as I approach the reception desk.

“Everything okay?” Her face makes it clear that it’s not.

“Ummm. The reporters are still out there.” Her voice is uncertain.

Curiously, I walk to the door, peering out through the side of the drawn shade. The two reporters from this morning have multiplied. Ten fold. At least.

“Shit.” Wrenching my fingers through my damp hair, the thought of being chased down the street by a bunch of reporters, yet again, brings back all the stress my spar seemed to work out earlier.

“I know. I’m sorry. They’ve been doubling by the hour since the two saw you come in this morning.”

“I’m going to have to change hotels again. It’s getting old. Anytime my family does anything, it starts all over again,” I grumble to myself.

“Won’t they just follow you from where you’re staying to the new one?”

Blowing out a deep breath, Lily’s words ring true, even though I wish they were anything but. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

Together, we stand quietly for a few minutes, listening to the hoard of reporters making a commotion just a few feet away, on the other side of the door.

Lily breaks our silence, “I have an idea. There’s an empty apartment upstairs. Joe’s son just moved out last month. He used to be a trainer here, but he decided he wanted to be an actor instead, so he moved to LA. We’re going to rent it out eventually, but maybe if you stayed a few days, the reporters might think you left and go away. There’s an inside entrance from the gym, through the back, at least you’d be able to come in and out to train and meet with Joe without being bothered.”

“How would the Ralley men feel about that?” Not that I give a shit if Caden is unhappy, but I wouldn’t want to cause Lily trouble at work.

“Joe’s excited you’re here. Remember at dinner the other night he told me to take good care of you?” She grins mischievously. “Plus, Joe and Caden just left together for five days, so they wouldn’t even know. Joe is looking at buying a small gym down south when he retires and Caden went with him to check it out. Then they’re heading to Vegas for some promo work for Caden’s next fight.”

Not having to be hounded by reporters every time I make a move is tempting. And the thought of being closer to Lily is definitely appealing. “If you don’t mind me hanging around a lot more, that would be great, actually.”

Chapter 8

Lily

It seemed like a great idea in the moment, but as I walk up the narrow staircase to the apartment above the gym, I’m wondering if maybe it was a mistake to invite Jax to stay at the gym. Caden will likely have a shit fit and being around Jax is a not too subtle reminder of the reasons I broke things off with Caden to begin with.

Jax stirs something inside of me. Something that Caden doesn’t anymore. Or maybe he never did. There’s definitely something to be said about not getting involved with anyone soon after the loss of a loved one. But, as usual, I didn’t listen to anyone. Desperate for something that would ease the pain from the sudden loss of my father, Caden was there to fill a void. I was shattered and he jumped to pick up the pieces. I let him, not looking ahead to the consequences of having to extricate lingering personal conflict from my business when we broke up. I can’t just shut the door and walk away from his continued possessive behavior. I’ve tried politely, but with him working and training at the gym, as well as being Joe’s nephew, every time I shut the door, he opens it with the damn key. Then there’s my own guilt, allowing him to help me through such a deeply difficult time, only to dump him when I’m able to stand on my own again. I never meant to hurt him. I can’t go back, but I can learn from my mistakes.