months.”
“How can I help?” She kissed his neck, then moved up to his stubbly face, her hands roaming his back.
“Oh, baby. That feels so good,” he said as his free hand moved up and down her back. “This is all the help I need. Keep doing exactly that.”
She laughed and playfully smacked his chest. “Seriously, I can help. I’m good with a hammer or party planning. Either way.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He rolled to his back and stretched. “What time is it?”
Jessica looked over her shoulder to the alarm clock by the bedside table. “A quarter to eleven.”
Slade stopped mid-stretch and bolted up. “What?” He leaned over her to look at the clock. “Shit. Shit. Shit. Gotta go, babe. Frances is goin’ to kill me.” He jumped off the bed and gathered his clothes off the floor. “The agent for Tony, our new fighter, is coming in to work out the final details. We’re supposed to sign the contract. I think there’s even going to be a small press conference.” She giggled as she watched him struggle to find his clothes. “Seriously, where the hell’s my underwear?”
“Try the living room.”
“How the fuck are my jeans here and my underwear in the living room?”
She shrugged. He walked out of the room mumbling something about being late, Francesca, and ass-kicking. He returned, still completely naked, but with all his clothes in his arms, and dumped them on the bed before going into the bathroom. Less than ten minutes later he was out, his dark hair slicked back behind his ears, his face still moist from the quick shower and his eyes less sleepy-looking. Jessica lay on the bed, her head resting on her palm, watching him try to get dressed while dialing his phone.
“It’s me, Frances…yeah…okay, okay…I know. On my way.” He hung up, then stuck an arm into the sleeve of his shirt. “Shit, my shirt is fucked up.”
She sat up to see that the shirt was missing most of its buttons. She chuckled before plopping back down. “Sorry.”
“You’re not sorry.” He smiled, his tattoo peeking out from the unbuttoned shirt. “I have my gym bag in the car and there’s a shirt inside, I’ll just change on my way.”
He leaned over the bed and tucked some hair behind her ear. “By the way, I used your toothbrush.” He kissed her forehead.
She closed her eyes and smiled.
“You’re quiet this morning. You probably said everything you needed to say in your annoying sleep talking.”
“Ha. Ha.”
“Gotta run. Sorry for the quick exit.”
“I understand.”
“Call you later.” He gave her a kiss on the lips, grabbed his keys, and left.
When she heard the door close, she rolled onto her back and threw her legs and arms out to the side giddily. Just then, she heard the ping of a text message. She rummaged through her purse until she found her phone.
Slade: BTW, had a great time last night.
If possible, her stupid grin got even stupider. This man was going to be the death of her.
Jessica: Me too.
Before she could stop herself she sent off another text.
Jessica: See you tonight?
She waited with bated breath. She didn’t want to come off as clingy. She should’ve acted more casual. Stupid stupid stu—
Slade: Hell, yeah. Be safe at work.
Jessica: Me? You’re the one who fights for a living. I should be telling you the same thing.
Slade: Don’t worry about me. Just be safe, okay?
Her heart warmed.
Jessica: I will, Slay. See you later.
She realized then that she was in trouble. If Slade broke her heart, she wasn’t sure if she’d recover.
After she finished taking a long, rejuvenating hot bath and got dressed for work, she found she still had about an hour to kill. Feeling reinvigorated, she decided it was time to revisit her dream. So she fired up her computer and searched for the folder that contained the business plan for her proposed yoga studio.
At one point she had mentioned to Dennis that she wanted to open a yoga studio, but he’d just laughed at her. You may one day be the wife of the governor of Florida—how would it look having my wife doing all that New Age bullshit? As it is, I hate that you’re working at the Pier.
If there was a lesson to be learned in having been in an abusive relationship, it was that she never wanted to be dependent on a man again. She needed to be self-sufficient and strong. Her decisions and opinions mattered. Yoga was important to her, and she would