Smiling, Julie opened the front door and stepped inside. As she shut it, she tossed her purse on the couch and went into the kitchen to feed the dogs and pour a glass of wine. He’d also kissed her sweetly this morning and told her to have a good day at work before she’d left.
Was it possible that she and Tommy could actually work as a couple? The idea thrilled her and made all the wants and desires she’d kept padlocked away burst forward. She tamped them back but didn’t completely restrain them as she always had in the past, not wanting to totally close herself off from him.
She’d spent so many years protecting herself, believing Tommy could never see her as anything more than a friend, and now when he finally did, she was still pretty convinced he’d never see her as more than a bed partner. Someone to have sex with, nothing more. Tommy had made that crystal clear.
But last night he’d made love to her. Almost certainly for the first time in his life, he’d truly made love.
And it had been with her.
That said something. Didn’t it?
If he were willing to change, she couldn’t let her past hurts and fears keep her from doing the same. At least about that part.
And as for the boyfriend stuff, Melody was right—he was only in training right now. There was no certainty he would ever fight in the cage again. Even if there were, it would be months, maybe a year down the road. And by then they’d either have broken up or would be in a stable relationship, not brand new, still trying to find their footing as they transitioned from best friends, to lovers, to a steady couple.
She filled the dog’s bowls with food and a glass with wine, and was walking into the living room just as Tommy came through the front door. Clamping her hands to her mouth in horror, she let go of the glass of wine and it shattered on the floor, sending red liquid all over her slacks. Tommy dropped the bouquet of red roses in his hand and hurried to her side, guiding her around the crimson puddle on the hardwood floor.
She couldn’t tear her gaze away from his battered face. His left eye was all but swollen shut, with a dark, purple bruise under it. The skin along his jaw was also discolored. “W-What happened to you?
You’ve never looked like that from a training session. Did you get mugged, or—”
Tommy grabbed the flowers off the floor and handed them to her. “I got these for you.”
She blinked and took them, trepidation flowing through her. “Thank you. But…what are they for?”
“Just because.”
“Just because?”
Tommy didn’t “just because” anything. Good God, had he gotten into a brawl already, and the flowers were a don’t-get-pissed bribe?
“I was thinking of you and bought them. Didn’t I get it right?” He scratched the back of his head, his face twisting in confusion.
Oh. My. God. This wasn’t an apology gift; he was trying to be sweet. Gathering the roses in her arms, she stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.”
A goofy smile came to his face and his chest puffed up. “What do you say we take the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood before we eat dinner?”
Roses, and now a walk? What had gotten into him? Normally he rushed in and took her straight to bed.
“All right. A walk sounds nice. You can explain your face on the way.”
While she changed clothes and put on tennis shoes, Tommy leashed the dogs.
They stepped outside, and Tommy reached over to entwine his fingers with hers. Biting her bottom lip, she glanced down at their joined hands as they made their way across the yard to the sidewalk. His thumb lazily caressed the inside of her palm, causing tingles to spread low in her belly.
This was why he’d wanted to take a walk. He wanted to hold her hand. The absolute sweetness of his desire made tears sting her eyes. Oh, he was going to make her into such a sap.
They walked in silence for a few minutes. And she realized something. She was still aware of Tommy, overwhelmingly so, but it wasn’t uncomfortable like it used to be. It was very comfortable, almost calming.
As though taking this leisurely walk, holding this man’s hand, was exactly how she was supposed to unwind from her hectic day at the clinic.
He was her peace and her calm.
She laid her head on his biceps and he stopped to kiss the top of her head, as he’d done so many times in the past. But there was a new intimacy to it now. An overwhelming tenderness.
In that one gesture, he toppled twenty-three years of her self-preservation.
And she fell completely, totally, absolutely in love with Tommy Sparks.
Letting the dogs stop to sniff and mark every telephone pole they passed, she’d counted more than a dozen before she finally couldn’t stand it any longer. She looked up at him and asked, “So, why do you look like you went five rounds?”
He hesitated a few seconds, then said, “Because I did.”
She halted. Say what? “Has Mike lost his mind?”
“Surprisingly, I think this was the smartest thing he’s done for my career since taking me on in his gym.”
She tried to figure out what he was saying but drew a blank. “What do you mean?”