Fighting Love (Love to the Extreme) (31 page)

Mike glanced at his watch. “He’s been with that reporter for more than an hour. He should be

wrapping it up soon.”

More than an hour? That was an awfully long interview. Most lasted twenty minutes tops.

“Okay. Can you let him know that I’m waiting for him when he’s done? I’m going to go ahead

down the street to where we said we’d eat.”

“Sure, but you may see him before I do. They went outside to do the interview.”

“Oh. Okay. I’ll keep an eye out for him.”

Nodding, Mike turned, then he looked back at her. “It’s good to see you, Julie. Didn’t realize

how much you were around until Tommy left. Glad he didn’t somehow fuck things up with you and

you’re still friends. Good that we get to see your pretty face again.”

Her smile slipped. Had he not told anyone they were dating? He wasn’t hiding it, or he wouldn’t

touch her in public. But it didn’t sit well with her that the people he spent a majority of his day

with, people he considered his team, didn’t know about them. Was he trying to keep MMA and her

separate?

“Thanks, Mike. It’s nice to be back.”

After she stepped outside, she veered to the left and made her way down the sidewalk. As she

got closer to their lunch spot, she noticed a couple had already claimed the bench, and her steps

slowed.

No, not a couple, because he was supposed to be hers.

Tommy was exactly where he was supposed to be—sitting with another woman on their bench

—and he was smiling that smile she hated. The one that made women throw themselves at him,

fight for his attention, and be proud to be the arm-candy of the week. The I’m-a-confirmed-

bachelor-and-I’ll-gladly-fuck-you-but-not-marry-you smile.

She fisted her hands, fighting the insane urge to storm over and whack him upside the head

and make her presence known.

Julie glared at the woman. Gorgeous. Petite. Long blond hair. Tommy said something and the

woman threw her head back on a laugh as she placed her hand on his knee and patted. Tommy

didn’t seem to mind the touch. If anything, that smile widened.

When he never took his eyes off the reporter, her jealousy grew. No wonder the interview had

lasted as long as it had. That woman was the epitome of every woman Tommy had been with over

the years. And he’d brought her to their bench. If the crumbled white bag sitting beside the

reporter was any indication, he’d already eaten lunch, too.

Ass. Hole.

Taking a calming breath, she squared her shoulders. She wanted to see him squirm, to have to

look at her after he’d ogled the woman sitting beside him.

She strode up to them. When she was just a couple of feet away, Tommy finally dragged his

eyes off the reporter and looked at her. And the smile immediately transformed into one full of

warmth and happiness. The real one. The one she loved.

Some of the fight went out of her. Until he stood and kissed her on the cheek. The freaking

cheek.

“Hey,” he whispered against her skin.

A kiss. To the cheek. What. The. Hell?

The reporter looked at Julie from head to toe. She knew that look. God knew she’d seen it

many times in the past when she’d come up to Tommy and a new girl. She was being sized up,

seeing what kind of competition she would be. Apparently, the woman saw something to be

worried about because she stood, too, her fingers laying against Tommy’s forearm as she

breathlessly said, “Thanks for the interview.” She cast a pointed look at the bag of food Julie was

carrying. “And lunch.”

“What?” Tommy finally looked back at the reporter. “Oh, yeah. You’re welcome.”

She squeezed Tommy’s arm. “I’ll see you around.”

And with that she grabbed her briefcase and walked away. Julie hated the way the woman’s

butt swished from side to side, like an invitation for Tommy to pursue her. That if he did, she’d give

him anything he wanted. When Julie glanced up at Tommy, all her anger came rushing back and

she smacked the bag of food against his chest. “Here’s your lunch.”

Then she stalked off.

He hadn’t even introduced her. Again. No, “This is my girlfriend.” Or, “Sorry but I’m taken.”

Just a damn, “Hey.” Hey could mean anything. She could’ve been his freaking sister for all that

woman knew. In front of an extremely attractive woman, he’d treated her just as he always had—

like a sibling.

After everything she’d allowed that man to do to her body, all she got was a fucking “Hey.” She

had the notion to grab a handful of cock right now, and not to give him pleasure.

She’d made it several strides away before Tommy grabbed her arm and spun her around.

“What’s the matter with you?”

She snatched her arm out of his grip. “Who was that?”

“A reporter. I was doing an interview.”

“Yeah, that’s what it looked like.”

Confusion clouded his eyes as he drew back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You were checking her out.”

“Holy shit! You’re jealous!” Laughing, Tommy grabbed her and hugged her close to his chest.

Seriously? He was happy about it while she stood there, a steaming pile of fury?

“It’s not funny, Tommy,” she ground out.

“You’re right, it’s not. I’m sorry.” He placed his hands on her upper arms and gently pushed her

back until their eyes met. “Yes, she was an attractive woman, Julie. But I wasn’t attracted to her.

There is only one woman I’m interested in. I go home to her every night, and I’m very happy to

call her my girlfriend.”

She bit her bottom lip, wanting to believe that—with everything in her. But she wasn’t sure she

could.

“Except you didn’t call me your girlfriend. You ate lunch with her. You were supposed to eat

with me.” God, she was pouting! But she couldn’t help it; seeing him with that other woman, and

getting kissed on the cheek, had hurt.

His brows flicked. “I heard her stomach growling. And trying to be a gentleman while selfishly

hoping to win some brownie points for a good interview, I bought her a sandwich. I didn’t eat. I

was waiting for you.”

Her anger notched down a fraction. “You didn’t eat?”

A small smile played at his lips. “No. I didn’t. I’ve been looking forward to our lunch date all

morning.”

“Then why didn’t you introduce me?”

He blinked at her. “I— It didn’t cross my mind.”

Dumbfounded, she stared at him. “It didn’t cross your mind to introduce your girlfriend to a

woman who was blatantly coming on to you?”

He tried tugging her forward. “I love it when you say girlfriend. Say it again.”

She broke away, still mad. “Tommy, I’m being serious!”

“All right! I screwed up!” He threw up his hands. “I’m sorry. Jesus, Julie, I’m new to this

relationship stuff, okay? I swear it didn’t cross my mind. I was just happy to see you.”

Some of her tension abated, but her uneasiness lingered.

“Please, let’s not fight,” he said. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all morning.”

She wasn’t sure if the unease was her heart trying to protect itself or her head seeing red flags

she wanted to ignore. Him neglecting to introduce her as his girlfriend was not her imagination.

Neither was that sisterly kiss.

When she forced a nod, he entwined their fingers. As he led them to the bench, she stared at

their joined hands. He’d said she was the one he wanted. The one he came home to every night.

But she’d just had her second glimpse of the old Tommy.

And everything she’d been so sure of this morning was now one big uncertainty.

…

As Tommy rolled up his wraps and tossed them in the gym bag, he could no longer fight the

smile that had kept creeping over him all afternoon.

Julie had been jealous—raging pissed jealous. When she’d slapped their lunch against his chest

and stormed off, he’d been shocked, which had been replaced by a small amount of happiness as

he watched her eyes spit anger.

Over him.

That had to mean something, right?

She’d never reacted like that before, and he’d had plenty of other women around her in the

past. If she felt like she had a claim on him, then her feelings had to be growing.

Maybe she’d needed to feel the jealousy, to get a taste of what he’d felt when she’d been

around Brody. God knew, watching her with another man had quickly opened Tommy’s eyes. And

maybe this encounter had opened her eyes, too. Maybe she’d be more receptive to hearing how

he felt now—and would actually believe it.

It was time to tell her he loved her.

And he would. Right after he reclaimed his belt. When he said the words, he wanted to be 100

percent, to be the best he possibly could be, to feel like he was worthy of her.

In less than a week, he’d have everything he wanted.

Mac walked into the locker room, opened his locker, and grabbed his duffel bag. “You ready?”

Mac didn’t need to elaborate. Tommy glanced at him. “As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”

“At least you don’t have to go out of town for this one.”

This was true. The fight was being held right here in Atlanta at the Philips Arena. A huge

bonus, since he really hadn’t liked the idea of leaving Julie for a week to fly off somewhere else.

“If Moon has any sense, he’ll realize this won’t be like the last time you guys met in the cage,”

Mac said.

“Moon has sense. He knows if Ethan actually gave me a chance to win my title back, that I’m

back and gunning for him.”

Tommy had spent the last three weeks studying Moon’s fight tapes from every angle. The more

he watched the man, the more certain he was he didn’t want to go to the ground with him. But

Moon was superior at the takedown. Mike and Tommy had worked really hard on his ground game,

even bringing Dante in to help. Dante was a stand-up fighter like Tommy, but he’d beat by

submission the guy who used to be the best ground fighter in the industry. The man’s knowledge

was priceless.

Dante’s advice and coaching had made Tommy as ready as ever to face Moon again.

Now to just do it.

Tate strode into the locker room. “Hey, Tommy. A few of the guys and I are headed over to the

Boot Scoot for a little R and R. You game?”

He liked that idea. Liked the idea of holding Julie close even more, taking their relationship

public. It was time to do that. Past time.

“Yeah, count me in.”

“Cool. Mac, you game?”

“Nope.”

Tommy had to suppress a smile at the blunt answer. Tate had only asked out of politeness.

Mac rarely said yes.

“Okay. Tommy, we’re going to shower and head on over there.”

“I’ll go over with you guys then.”

“I’m out,” Mac said. “See you tomorrow.”

When his friend walked away, Tommy dug into his pocket for his cell phone.

“Hey!” Julie’s soft voice flowed through the phone. Oh yes, he’d love to dance with her tonight.

Have her body pressed against his.

“Hey, beautiful. Some of the boys are going over to the Boot Scoot. Would you like to meet me

down there?”

A lengthy silence followed his question before she parroted back, “The Boot Scoot?”

“Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve been down there. The next few days are going to be rough,

so it’d be nice to relax some.”

“Tommy, it’s after eight. I’m in my pajamas.”

“Come on, Julie. Throw on some clothes and meet me down there. Let’s live it up a little

tonight.”

“Live it up. Right.” She gave a long sigh. “All right, give me an hour.”

He smiled. “Awesome. Can’t wait to see you.”

After a quick shower and changing into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, he walked with the other

guys the few blocks to the bar. Being a Tuesday night, the place wasn’t as packed as on a

weekend, but the atmosphere was just the same. Loud country music pulsed through the large

speakers. The saloon-style setting embraced him. And he felt all the tension about his upcoming

fight leave him in one quick whoosh.

The bar scene had always done this to him—filled him with a sense of belonging.

He and the guys found an empty spot at the end of the bar. Tommy leaned an elbow against

the polished wood, nodding his head to the beat of the music. His upcoming fight became a topic

of conversation, and one by one, as the other patrons noticed them, they gathered around,

bombarding him with questions.

“Hey, Sparks, you ready for Saturday?”

“What’s your game plan?”

“What’s it feel like to be going back into the cage?”

As he answered each question, he gave that fan his undivided attention, making sure he or she

knew he had heard the question and appreciated the support. He loved his fans, had always gone

out of his way to interact with them. And the extra initiative had paid off. No one seemed to

remember he’d been away from the MMA scene for months. Instead, it was as though he’d never

been gone. He joked around, kissed cheeks, shook hands, and signed autographs. The bar melted

into the background. All he focused on were his fans and their excitement.

The grin on his face started to hurt.

Tommy “Lightning” Sparks was truly back.

No longer eschewed by the fans, but embraced. Bodies pressed against him as the group