him, but we can’t be dicks either, because he’ll stand his ground just to make a point. We gotta make this work.”
“Merda. Espero que sim,” she mumbled. Slade looked at her with his eyebrows furrowed. “I said, ‘Shit, I hope you’re right.’ ”
—
When Slade left the gym later that afternoon, he badly wanted to see Jessica and tell her about his hellish day. That wasn’t something he’d ever done before with any other woman, but he felt as if he needed to unload and that she would help.
As soon as he opened the door to the Pier, her head whipped around. It was as if they were magnetically connected. The bar seemed relatively empty, and she had been wiping down a table. She stopped, smiled, and ran—ran!—up to him and jumped, her legs locking around his waist. Thank God he had braced himself because she came so fast it had caught him off guard. She planted kisses on his lips, neck, and cheeks. A few patrons whistled and others laughed. His hand went to her ass to hold her up.
“Now, that’s what I’m talking about. Awesome greeting, babe.” He was feeling better already.
“Oh, gross!” he heard his sister say. He looked over Jessica’s shoulder to see Chrissy sitting at the bar.
“Hi, sis.” Then he looked back at the woman currently wrapped around his body. “What’s with all the love?”
“I wasn’t expecting you—I guess I was just happy to see you. Got carried away.” Her cheeks flamed. “Too much?” she asked, embarrassed.
“Never. A happy Jessica is never too much.” He kissed her back. Still carrying Jessica, he walked over to the bar, gave his sister a peck on the cheek, and set Jessica down on the bar.
“I don’t know how hygienic it is to have the bartender’s ass on the bar,” Chrissy said wryly.
“More hygienic than Ralph’s puke—he threw up right there last week,” Jessica retorted, pointing to the spot where Chrissy’s drink sat, “after one too many shots.”
Chrissy wrinkled her nose and chuckled. “That’s just gross.”
Jessica jumped down, reached for a rag, and wiped down the bar top, specifically the spot where she had just sat.
“So, what’s up?” she asked Slade as he took a seat next to his sister.
“Bad day.” Then he leaned over and kissed her forehead. “But it just got better. Much better.”
“You guys are so cute!” Chrissy squealed.
“What happened?” Jessica asked, getting a beer for Slade.
“Frances is back, but she freaked out over the office being a complete mess. And we’re trying to figure out how best to deal with Tony. Just a lot of bullshit things.”
“So what are you going to do?” Jessica asked.
“We have a few minor fights coming up in the next month or so, and we’re going to try to convince Tony to fight. If he wins, great. But Frances thinks that if he loses, the blow to his ego will be enough to make him serious about training. We need him to do good later this year. If things work out with Tony, then we’re gold. The guy brings in major money. And if we can turn it around for him, we’ll be able to bring in other big-name fighters.”
“Seems like you have a lot invested in this guy,” Chrissy observed.
“Yeah. A little too much. Scares the shit out of me, but it’s all we have right now.”
“I know you’ll do great. It’ll all work out.” Jessica kissed his cheek before going to serve a group of people who’d just walked in.
When it was just the two siblings, Chrissy looked at Slade and smiled. When he noticed, he rolled his eyes. “Stop that.”
“What?”
He waved a hand. “All the smiling.”
She snorted. “You want me to stop smiling?”
“Yes. Stop it.”
“I’m just happy for you. I’ve never seen you so content and responsible. It’s like you’re growing up right in front of my eyes.” She reached up and squeezed his cheeks as if he were a small child.
He swatted her away. “So what are you doing here?”
“I’ve been looking for a place to open a small medical office and I was in the neighborhood, so I came by to say hello to Jessica.”
“You two have really hit it off, haven’t you?”
“She’s awesome, Slade. So sweet and funny. And she wears her heart on her sleeve. I love you, brother of mine, but I’m telling you, don’t hurt her.”
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
She squeezed his cheeks again. “I think you loooove her.”
Love? What the hell? “No!” he said hastily. “I mean, it’s just…I, uh…” He looked