Against the Cage (Worth the Fight #1) (21 page)

“Um … I … uh …” She looked over at Jack, who had a mischievous smile on his face. He was enjoying her discomfort.
Bastard
.

“Hey, Jack, how you doing? Nice shiner.” Melinda pointed to Jack’s eye. “I heard you kicked that out-of-towner’s behind in that fight on Thursday. Good for you.”

“Thank you. I’m looking forward to meeting Miles as well. You said he was a doctor just like Chrissy, right? A chiropractor? I have the worst kink in my neck.”

Chrissy kicked him under the table, and Jack smiled, exposing the dimple that Chrissy loved.

“Oh, he’s the best. Really. He’ll fix you right up,” Melinda told him. Then she turned back to Chrissy. “Well, I’m gonna go have a seat. As soon as he comes out of the restroom I’ll introduce you two.” She leaned across the table, completely ignoring Jack, and whispered, “He’s a handsome devil. You’ll see.” She winked before walking away.

“Jerk!” Chrissy punched Jack’s shoulder as soon as Melinda was out of view. “You didn’t say anything.”

He grinned. “Actually, I’m kinda offended that it didn’t occur to her that you and I are here together.”

“That’s because … well, Jack, you look like … like … well, like you do. All muscular and hot. And I’m just Chrissy. If anything,
I
should be offended.”

“I don’t think so, babe. They think you, the town darling, the big-shot doctor, wouldn’t be caught dead with a nobody like me.”

“I doubt that, Jack.”

Before they could continue their conversation, Esther came to take their order. Jack told her what they wanted, which Esther didn’t bother to write down. Chrissy wasn’t sure if it was because Esther had been waiting tables for so long that she could easily remember the order or if it was because she was totally ignoring Jack. “Jeffrey’s back in the office helping with some paperwork I needed filled out. He’s an accountant. Did I mention that the other day?” Esther turned toward the counter and hollered at her husband, “Earl, go get Jeffrey. Tell him to come out here. There’s someone special he needs to meet.”

“Sure thing, darlin’,” Earl responded.

Jack leaned back and crossed his arms, obviously enjoying Chrissy’s discomfort. While they waited in silence for Jeffrey, someone spilled a drink at the table across from them, and Esther excused herself. That’s when a familiar figure walked over to the table. His white T-shirt strained around his biceps. She couldn’t see his hair because he had a baseball cap on, but she could see the top of a tattoo on his neck, running down under his shirt. He had a white apron wrapped around his jeans, and he wore black combat boots that he hadn’t even bothered to finish fastening. “Yo, Jack. Still celebrating your victory?”

“Travis. Hey.” Jack stood and shook the man’s hand. “Didn’t know you worked here.”

“I don’t. Well, not really. I had to get a temporary part-time gig for some shit I’ve got going on, and Esther needed help, so she hired me.”

“Cool.” Jack slid back into the booth, and Travis smiled and tipped the bill of his cap to Chrissy. He had perfect white teeth, and his smile crinkled the corner of his eyes.

“Chrissy Martin. Didn’t reckon I’d see you again so soon.”

“Yep. I saw your sister a couple of nights ago. Jamie Lynn hasn’t changed a bit.”

“Yeah. She told me she saw you. So how long you in town for, baby?”

Jack’s eyes narrowed.

“Just for a few days.”

Jack tensed.
What the fuck?
Was this guy—his friend, a guy he saw all the time at the
gym, a guy he trained with, competed with—was this fucking asshole hitting on his girl
again
? No fucking way! And, again, she wasn’t stopping it. He looked at her, and she smiled wryly.

Ha! Since he hadn’t helped her fend off Melinda and Esther’s matchmaking schemes, she was trying to rile him up by not setting this asshole straight. Well, he was going to have to do it himself.

“Before you leave, maybe we could grab—” Travis began.

Oh, fuck no!
Didn’t Travis notice he was sitting right next to her? They were obviously together. He was starting to get pissed. Really pissed.

But before Jack could say anything, a lanky man in his mid-thirties with thinning black hair, wearing what looked like an expensive suit, came to their table and just slid right into their booth.
What the hell? This has to be a prank
. Jack looked around to see if there were hidden cameras somewhere. His hand squeezed Chrissy’s thigh under the table. She’d better set the bookworm across the booth straight, and immediately.

“Hi there, pretty.”

Cheesy as hell!
Jack thought.

“Do I know you?” Chrissy giggled, and Jack turned to face her. He growled inwardly. No one was to hear the beautiful sound that was her giggle except him.

“Mom sent me over. She said you were interested in meeting. I’m Jeffrey.” He extended his hand, and Chrissy hesitantly took it. Jack squeezed her thigh harder and she stepped on his foot, hard. Luckily he was wearing his steel-toed work boots. “And you must be her brother. I just moved into town, but I’ve heard all about you and your pro fights.”

“No. No. He’s not my brother, he’s—” Chrissy began, before she was cut off.

“This is Jack. He’s Slade’s best friend. See, Slade is Chrissy’s brother, and she was raised with Slade and Jack. So yeah, they might as well be brother and sister,” Travis, who was still standing there, answered.

Jack was speechless.
Damn it, Travis! I wanted to hear how she was going to finish that sentence
.

“Listen, I’m so very flattered, Jeffrey, but—”

And the three-ring circus continued when Miles, Melinda’s brother, walked up and slid in next to Jeffrey, interrupting Chrissy’s train of thought. Jeffrey seemed a little agitated at having to scoot over.

“Oh, God. What now?” Jack heard an annoyed Chrissy mumble under her breath.

“You must be the beautiful Chrissy Martin. I’ve heard lots about you,” Miles said to her. “I remember you. You were gorgeous back then—”

“When she was fifteen, dude?” Jack interrupted, angrily.

“Well, nothing wrong with a little admiring from a distance. So, why don’t you say you and I get outta here and catch a movie or something? Or better yet, we’re both doctors, so why don’t I show you my practice? It’s right around the corner.”

“Um,” Chrissy murmured, clearly nervous.

This was getting out of hand, Jack thought. One of them needed to set these three idiots straight, and Chrissy seemed too confused to be the one to do it. And again Jack thought:
Why the hell are they just assuming she’s not with me? What am I, chopped liver?

“Hey, man. I was here first,” Jeffrey whined. “Come get a drink with me, Chrissy.”

“It’s ten in the morning!” Chrissy replied, but before Jeffrey could say anything Travis cut in.

“Actually,
I
was here first. So, if you two wouldn’t mind …”

Just then Esther approached. “Go back to work, Trav.”

Travis groaned. “Yes, ma’am,” he replied, but he remained where he was.

“Guys, listen. Truly, I’m flattered. Any woman would be,” Chrissy began, but again she didn’t seem to be able to get any further. Now she really looked mad. She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. He could feel her foot tapping the floor.

“Darlin’, this is just silly,” Esther told her. “Miles is too old for you and clearly not your type. Jeffrey is gorgeous and a professional. It’s obvious that you and my son are a perfect fit.”

“Put a cork in it Esther,” Melinda snapped, suddenly joining the party that was taking place around the booth. “My brother’s a doctor, not some boring accountant.”

Esther defended her son. “He ain’t boring. He’s perfect for Chrissy. She needs a real man, not some old divorcé.”

Suddenly Earl was making his way over to the scene as well.

“Oh, God! Is this really happening?” Chrissy glanced at Jack, who looked … Well, a rainbow of emotions played across his face. He looked livid, embarrassed, jealous, and utterly amused, all at the same time.

“What’s all the hoopla?” Earl asked. “You got the whole restaurant craning their necks to try to hear what’s going on.”

“Your very sweet wife and Melinda here are trying to set me up. And although I am really flattered—”

“You’ve said that three times already, baby,” Travis interrupted. “Just spit out the rest of the sentence where you let them down easy and tell me you’ll meet me after
work.”

Jack had both palms on the table and was about to get up and hit his buddy.

“Back to work, Travis!” Earl yelled.

Travis rolled his eyes.

“Your wife and son are trying to steal Chrissy away from my brother,” Melinda informed Earl, irate.

“I was here first!” Jeffrey griped.

“I am not a piece of property!” Chrissy cried, but no one seemed to be paying attention to her.

“Actually, I was here first. Wasn’t I, baby?” Travis interjected with a sexy wink at Chrissy, who smiled back at Travis.

A deep, guttural growl escaped Jack. He looked like he was going to punch Travis right in the face. He’d been only slightly irritated by the flirting coming from Miles and Jeffrey, and mostly amused—two silly-looking, mildly attractive men who didn’t stand a chance with his feisty Chrissy. But apparently gorgeous Travis made Jack insecure.

“Get back to work, Trav!” Earl and Esther yelled at the same time.

Travis threw one last seductive smile at Chrissy, then slowly strolled back toward the kitchen.

“My boy is clearly the better choice. He stands to inherit this here diner, and he’s handsome as all hell.” Esther reached toward Jeffrey and pinched his cheek. “Aren’t you, sweetie?”

“Mom …,” whined Jeffrey, embarrassed.

Jack snorted. Luckily, with all the commotion and bickering, no one except Chrissy had noticed. She kicked him under the table.

Just when Jack was about to get up and whup all three men’s asses, Slade came into the diner.

“Holy shit!” Chrissy yelped at the sight of her brother. The herd of people surrounding the booth all turned to look at Slade, who by now had spotted them.

“What’s going on? We having a party or something?” he asked, noticing the crowd of people. His words were barely decipherable because his lips were so swollen.

Chrissy planted her palms on the table and leaned across Jack to get a better look at her brother.

“Holy shit, dude. I heard you got fucked up, but shit, man, you look terrible,” Travis said as he walked back toward the circus.

“Thanks a lot, dickhead,” Slade said playfully.

“Oh my God,” Chrissy cried, her mouth agape.

“I won the fight,” Slade said to Chrissy.

“What fight? Your fight’s tonight,” Chrissy said, looking first at Slade and then at Jack.

“Nope. It was late on Thursday. I won,” Slade said with a smile that came out a little contorted.

“But you said it was on Saturday.
Today
is Saturday. You’re taking me later,” she said, turning to face Jack. Travis had left to go take care of his tables but the other two men remained, watching the exchange between Jack, Slade, and Chrissy. “I was going to go. I wanted to go.” Getting no response from Jack, she reached up and gently touched Slade’s face. “What hurts?” she asked.

“Nothing and everything. I’m too excited to be in pain.”

“Slade! This is serious,” Chrissy yelped.

“My head hurts, but only a little.”

“You took a hit on the head, didn’t you?” Chrissy asked, and Slade nodded. “It’s amazing you’re still alive. I think you have a concussion, again. You’re slightly pale. You need to go get a CT scan and make sure there’s no internal bleeding.”

“No way. I’m fine. My reflexes are fine. I’m on top of the world. You know how much money I just banked? A hundred grand, baby. And if it makes you feel better, I stayed awake for twelve hours after the fight. You know … not falling asleep if you have a concussion and all that bullshit.”

“Why didn’t you come tell me?”

“I didn’t want to worry you. Oh, and by the way, I went to speak with Jessica last night. She’s not going to help me. She’s back with Dennis and doesn’t want to get him in any trouble.”

“Shit,” Chrissy responded, and glanced over at Jack, who was uncharacteristically silent. The other men didn’t bother moving away from the intimate family conversation. Melinda and Esther were bickering a few feet away, and Earl was back in the kitchen. “Of course I’m going to worry. If you’re bleeding inside your skull, you could die. A hundred thousand dollars won’t mean much if you’re dead,” Chrissy said.

“I’m not disoriented and I’m not vomiting. Just a slight headache. I know the drill.”

“You’re so damn hardheaded! That’s probably why you keep surviving these concussions. Let me check the rest of you and perform a few more stupidectomies!”

“Stupid
what
?” Miles interjected.

“Dude, don’t even ask,” Slade answered.

“Seriously, man, butt out. Why haven’t you two left?” Jack said to Miles and
Jeffrey, annoyed.

“I gotta eat something,” Slade said to Chrissy. “I’m starved. Then we’ll go home and you can check whatever you want.” Slade looked at the two men sitting in the booth with Jack and Chrissy. “You guys mind?”