Fighting Love (Love to the Extreme) (30 page)

around his neck.

Tommy released her and asked, “Ready to go?”

“Yeah.”

They went to the car, and soon they were driving down the road.

The mystery of their destination filled her with a buzz of excitement. Half an hour later he pulled into a

parking lot and Julie gasped, knowing exactly where they were.

The Georgia Aquarium.

She clapped her hands. “Oh, Tommy, thank you! This is perfect.”

After he found a place to park, he opened her door and helped her out. “Do you remember trying to get

me to come here with you last year?”

“I do.” She chuckled. “You came up with a lame excuse about needing to go through your closet.”

He took her head between his hands, running his thumbs over her cheeks. “I regret that now.”

“It’s not like I hadn’t made you come with me before. Besides, we were just friends. You didn’t have to

go.”

“We’re not just friends anymore, right?”

She frowned. “I think it’s pretty obvious we’re not.”

“You and me. We’re together now. Nothing’s going to come between us.”

Now she was getting worried. “Tommy, is everything okay?”

There was a distress in his expression she hadn’t seen before. Tommy was always so damn confident,

so it took her aback.

“I just need to know that my absence hasn’t messed anything up. That you and I are still good.”

She eased out a breath. “We’re more than good.”

He smiled, and the tension released from his shoulders as he threaded his fingers through hers and

started walking toward the aquarium. “Okay.”

After he paid for their tickets, they walked inside.

“I’m yours to lead,” he said, and opened the door.

Smiling, she walked farther into the foyer, realizing this was actually the first time she was out in public

with Tommy as his girlfriend. The thought was thrilling.

“Where do you want to go first?” he asked.

“The penguins,” she said without hesitation.

“How did I know you’d say that?”

She stuck out her tongue at him, making him laugh. She’d only dragged Tommy to the penguin exhibit

about a thousand times since it opened. “Know-it-all.”

As she headed for the Coldwater Quest exhibit, he snagged her hand and moved in front of her, guiding

them through the maze of people until the penguin exhibit opened up in front of them. She pressed closer

to his back, enjoying the way his cologne wafted up to fill her senses.

Once he nudged his way into an open spot closer to the observation area, he switched positions with

her, shielding her with his body from all the other people trying to press forward.

As much as she loved watching the penguins waddle around and dive through the water, the only thing

she could concentrate on was the feel of Tommy’s chest pressing into her back. Her breath quickened and

butterflies attacked her stomach.

His arm shot past her to the left. “Look at that one.”

Inhaling, she followed to where he pointed, spotting the penguin that swam in front of the glass,

bobbing up and down, entertaining the spectators. “That’s so—”

The word “cute” was lost as his arms wrapped around her waist and he put his chin on her shoulder.

“They’re called
Jackass
penguins.”

Julie stifled a laugh. He said that
every
time they came to the exhibit. The man just found the name

hilarious.

“You mean like you,” she responded as always, covering his arms with hers and leaning her head back

against his shoulder. So this was what it was like being his girlfriend. She’d always wondered, imagined.

He’d never actually dated anyone steadily, so she’d had no clue what kind of boyfriend he’d be. If he was a

PDA sort of guy or if he preferred just holding a girl’s hand. She liked that he was so willing to hold her in

public, no hesitation about it.

His chuckle vibrated against her back, and she inhaled sharply as his lips found her neck and nipped. A

delish thrill went through her. They’d done this routine many times, but he’d never responded to her quip

like this—and she loved this way more than the elbow nudge she used to get.

“Be nice,” he said against her ear. Oh yes, Tommy was shaping up to be pretty good boyfriend material.

Unfortunately, that realization was making her have X-rated girlfriend thoughts in a PG establishment.

Got to keep it light
. She craned her neck to look back at him. “The truth hurts.”

He stared down at her, his eyes dipping to her lips. Tension filled the air between them. Would it always

be like this between them? God, she hoped so.

“I think I’d like to see the whales.”

“Okay.” His voice was deeper than it had been before.

He recaptured her hands and led her to the Beluga whale exhibit. The large tank took up one whole

wall, casting a blue hue to Tommy’s face. When he found an open area, again he positioned her in front of

him and cocooned his body around hers. He did the same thing through the next two exhibits, and as they

watched a scuba diver feed all the fish in the largest tank. He never let her go, always had a hand on her

somewhere.

He made her feel so protected. More so than he’d done when they were just BFFs—and he’d been

pretty damn good at making her feel protected even then. She leaned back against his chest and let the back

of her head rest against him, loving it when he kissed the top of her hair.

She loved this man. Wanted a future with him.
Saw
a future with him for the first time ever, with no

doubt or trepidations.

“Can we see
Dolphin’s Tales
before we go?”

An amused smile came to his lips. “Anything you want.”

She believed he would try to do exactly that.

As they made their way back to the foyer, Julie said, “I need to run to the restroom real quick.”

“I’ll wait right here.”

After she came out, she couldn’t find Tommy. She finally spotted him in the middle of a group, signing

autographs, smiling and laughing. As she moved toward him, his gaze connected with hers. He sent her an

acknowledging nod, then glanced away again. Ice formed in her stomach. There hadn’t even been any

warmth in his gaze, not a smile, not even a wink. She’d been completely dismissed.

All the ugly feelings she had from the past bombarded her as she stood outside the circle, watching him.

My God. She’d been so wrong. Tommy
was
going to change again.

For ten minutes, she waited. Finally, he broke away from the group and sauntered over to her. He

wrapped his arms around her waist and steered her toward the show. “Sorry about that. I’m all yours

again.”

But it was too late. The damage had been done, and she felt like crap.

Was he really all hers? Was he ever really going to be?

Judging by the evidence, the answer was a resounding no.

She tried shaking away her sour thoughts, but they kept returning, louder and more panicked than ever.

In the theater, they found a place to sit directly in front of the huge pool and stage. He put his arm

around the back of her chair, his fingers playing with her hair. She instinctively leaned into his side,

wanting desperately to banish her depressing worries. The chairs didn’t have arms, so his body pressed into

her from shoulder to knee. She felt the kiss he placed on top of her head, and she chewed on her bottom

lip.

Was she overreacting? He
was
completely attentive to her now. Was she being one of those girlfriends

who must have her boyfriend’s attention at all times or she’d have a freak-out? She did not want to be one

of those women.

It was one incident, she reminded herself, and their relationship was new. She needed to cut him some

slack and remember everything else he’d done for her.

Because she
couldn’t
think about being cut out of one of the most important parts of his life. Or having

to decide whether to live with the hurt or having to leave him for good.

Chapter 15

As Julie fastened her robe around her waist, she stared at the rumpled bed. When Tommy had

carried her back to her room last night after his training, he’d spent the next few hours devoted to

her body, touching and kissing. The intimacy hadn’t diminished as they’d slept, either. Their naked

bodies had stayed in contact, either with her curled up under his arm, against his side, or with him

spooned behind her, his strong arms wrapped protectively around her waist and making her feel as

if she was his whole world.

Just because he had a fight in a few days didn’t mean he’d forget all that as soon as he

stepped into the cage.

The last three weeks had flown by. Tommy had trained like a madman, and she’d kept herself

busy at the clinic. All their spare time was spent together, either in bed, curled together on the

couch, or actually attempting to have a date. Publicity for the fight was running at full tilt, so a fan

or two always interrupted them. But since she was sitting there with him, she didn’t feel as

excluded as before, when she’d stood on the outside looking in.

So she’d relaxed some on that front. Thank God. The last thing she wanted was for her issue to

be the reason she and Tommy couldn’t be together.

She walked into the living room. A shirtless Tommy had his elbows propped on the kitchen

counter as he ate a bagel with peanut butter and read the sports section of the newspaper.

As she watched the muscles of his back flex every time he brought the bagel to his mouth, she

wanted to say screw work, and take him back to bed. She reached out to run her hand up his

spine, but paused when she noticed he was reading an article with the headline, A HAS-BEEN’S

RETURN TO THE CAGE.

Julie cringed. Oh, that wasn’t good. What effect would that have on him? Would it mess with

his head?

Inhaling, she stepped beside him and asked. “What’s the verdict?”

Without a word, he handed her the paper. She scanned the article and winced. The reporter

was not a fan of Tommy’s, pretty much calling the president of the Cage Match Championship

desperate for ratings if he allowed a screw-up like Tommy back in the cage when there were

plenty of fighters who would give anything to be there. The reporter went on to insinuate that

those who purchased the event to watch at home on TV were stupid because it was sure to be

another letdown, like the previous fight.

“He didn’t hold anything back, did he?”

Tommy shrugged. “I have a lot to prove. All this reporter had to go on was my last fight, and

even I admit I looked like shit. He has every right to doubt me. I’ll get my satisfaction when I wipe

that doubt out of his mind and he’s forced to admit he was wrong.”

At his confidence, she smiled in relief. When Tommy leaned over, kissed her, and whispered,

“Good morning,” she could’ve easily melted to the floor.

As he straightened and gathered her into his arms, she wrapped her arms around his neck and

lifted up on her tiptoes, kissing his lips. His body relaxed against hers, and he held her tighter. He

pressed his forehead to hers. “I wish we could spend more time together.”

At the sincerity in his voice, her heart squeezed. “I do, too, but you’re four days away from the

fight. I do know what that means, you know.”

He kissed her gently. “My time will be limited, but I get to come home to you every night.”

Coming home to me. God, she loved the sound of that.

“I’ll be training most of the day,” he continued. “Then tomorrow the chaos starts for the rest of

the week. What do you say about a lunch date? Around one, so we miss the lunch crowd? We

haven’t visited our bench in a long time. I hear it calling our names.”

Flutters erupted in her belly. They’d eaten lunch together on that bench for so many years, but

this was the first time he had ever referred to it as “theirs.”

She loved the sound of them having someplace that was theirs alone.

…

Julie drew in a deep breath before she opened the door to Mike’s gym, carrying a white paper

bag that contained two chicken salad sandwiches and chips. The nerves that hit her as she

stepped inside were ridiculous, considering she’d walked into this gym on numerous occasions in

the past without a second thought.

But this time it was different. She was here as someone other than Tommy’s friend. Before,

she’d known exactly where she stood and had acted accordingly. Now she wasn’t sure what her

role was. She was his girlfriend now. But what did that mean? Was she supposed to go up to

Tommy and lift her face as if she expected a kiss? Would he be okay with that?

She hated the fish-out-of-water feeling. It would probably be best just to take her lead from

Tommy.

As she scanned the gym, she realized her anxiety was unfounded. He wasn’t there.

Maybe he was in the locker room?

She spotted Mike at the back of the gym talking to a younger fighter. He glanced up, and his

brows knitted together. He made his way over to her. “Hey, Julie. What’s brought you to this side

of town?”

“I’m meeting Tommy for lunch.”