As brave as she was suddenly feeling, she’d been privy to the Ayala temper in the past, and though he had no right to be a jerk about this, she remembered his reaction to Logan at her office. Things had changed significantly since then. She knew she wasn’t imagining his heightened feelings for her. He just obviously wasn’t interested in anything exclusive. He’d played the territorial card then, and since she hadn’t protested his behavior, she wasn’t sure what he’d do if he was waiting for her when Sam dropped her off. Now that she’d seen those eye-opening pictures, there was no way she’d be keeping her dates from him. She had every right to date whomever she damn well pleased. But she wasn’t looking to make a scene just outside her front door, so she wouldn’t risk it.
After getting ready, she grabbed her purse and keys, texted Sam Roni’s address, and then called Roni to let her in on her plans. Only she told her she was really nervous about her outfit, so she was having him pick her up at Roni’s house because she wanted a second opinion.
The knot was still firmly at her throat, but she refused to shed even one more tear for Abel or any man. She took a deep breath. No more feeling sorry for herself, ever. She made that promise to herself a while back, and she’d almost broken it today. Never again.
~*~
It was too odd that Nellie hadn’t responded to any of his texts all day. He’d texted her to tell her he’d be at her place later than he had planned. He had to go home and pack first. Then he told Noah he’d come by and check out his motorcycle. It was his original Ninja, one he refused to get rid of even though he could afford much better now. He said it held too many memories. Abel had laughed when Noah admitted that Roni was refusing to let him ride it until he had it completely overhauled. Doing so would cost him way more than the bike was worth, so Abel told him not to. He’d come by and check it out.
Now he had a very bad feeling in his gut. He’d had it almost the entire day. This was exactly why he hated the fucking media. Before Andy even left the gym that morning, he’d laughed, cheerfully showing Abel the photos of him and Rachel. “You’re trending again on Twitter.”
Of course, to Andy this was a good thing. He had no idea how much that had sunk Abel’s insides. If Nellie saw the photos of him and Rachel just minutes after he’d left her place, he knew she’d be thinking the worst. Given their stupid agreement, he couldn’t even try to explain. She’d tell him he didn’t have to and maybe even infuriatingly remind him again of how great she was with this arrangement.
It was subtle, but when he’d arrived at Noah’s, he picked up on Roni’s chilly reception. Nellie had obviously told her about the night they’d spent together, and he knew the photos and stories of him and Rachel had already gone viral. Noah telling Roni that Rachel was someone he’d bagged was sure to only make things worse. This made the brick sitting heavily in his gut heavier. He now knew what he feared most. Nellie knew and for all he tried to convey to her last night and when he’d made love to her again this morning—when he told her he couldn’t get enough of her—it was probably all down the toilet now. She probably thought him full of shit.
Noah glanced up at the back door as Roni closed it behind her. She’d come out to bring them each bottled waters, but again she’d been a bit on the cold side with Abel. Abel downed half the bottle just before replacing the final sparkplug on the Ninja. He glanced at Noah, not sure if he should address it. He didn’t have to because Noah addressed it for him.
“She just hates the whole situation, man. Don’t take it too personally. She’ll get over it.” He shrugged. “Nellie is the only family she had before me—before us. She never had this group thing that we brought into her life. She loves it, and she’s terrified that things are gonna change. More than anything, she’s afraid of Nellie getting hurt again, but I keep telling her you two are good with the way things are. Hell, Nellie’s out on a date again right now. I think with the same guy from Friday night. But even that has her worried.”
Abel stared at Noah, feeling every hair on his body go on alert. He was dying to ask, but he knew he shouldn’t. It was impossible not to care now. She was out on fucking date again? After last night? This morning? It took everything in him as he stood slowly not to pick up Noah’s bike and slam it back down on the ground. Instead, he took another long slow drink, nearly finishing his water bottle.
He didn’t dare make eye contact with Noah for fear he’d see the rage in his eyes. They both turned when they saw the Town Car pull up at the end of Noah’s driveway. A guy got out of the far side and came around to open the door on the near side. Abel almost looked away until he realized the girl exiting the car in the hot dress and three inch heels was Nellie.
Feeling his insides instantly ablaze, he stared at her hard as she smiled at the guy who helped her out then said something to him. The guy had his back to Abel and Noah, so Abel couldn’t see his face, but if he had to guess this wasn’t Logan. This guy was way bigger and taller than he remembered Logan being. So this was another guy?
And then it happened. She kissed him. It wasn’t a long kiss by any means, barely a peck on the lips, but it was enough to have Abel slamming his water bottle in the nearby trashcan not giving a fuck what Noah or anyone thought anymore and charging down the driveway.
Chapter 13
For a moment, Abel thought the growl he’d heard had come from deep inside him because he sure as hell felt like growling, until Noah leaped in front of him, and he realized it’d come from his friend. Just like Abel, Noah looked ready to spit. “Damn it, Abel!” he said, shoving his chest with both hands. “Don’t you fucking do this! You said you had your shit under control.” Noah shoved his hand in the air, now pointing toward his house. “My wife has lost sleep over this. And I knew it. I knew it. God damn it! I knew it the day I told you about her date, and I knew it this whole past week when you walked around looking ready to detonate.”
The only reason Abel didn’t shove past Noah was because Nellie had already gone in the house and the guy she’d just kissed was long gone. “I will not let you do this.” Noah said almost through his teeth. “Do you hear me? Either you talk to her and tell her how you’re feeling or you suck it up.”
“I can’t tell her,” Abel said, stalking back toward the garage now. “It’s not what she wants. Hell, I don’t even know what I want. I just . . .” He glanced back, grinding his teeth as he felt the image of Nellie kissing someone else literally slapping him.
“You just don’t wanna hear about or see her with anyone else?” Noah shook his head. “Well, too fucking bad! You knew what you were getting yourself into when you started this. I warned you that this would happen. And how do you know it’s not what she wants?”
“Because she’s told me she’s great with this arrangement more than once,” Abel said, still trying to calm his breathing, his twisting insides, but the more he thought about it, the more incensed it made him. “And now this,” he said, pointing down the driveway. “This is exactly how she said she wanted things to be. Said it was for the best. How much clearer does she need to be? This is the second guy she’s been out with this weekend alone.”
Third if he was counting himself. Fuck! Running his fingers through his hair roughly, he struggled to remain calm. Had she been with this guy all day? And why the hell was she dressed so damn provocatively? The shoes alone screamed fuck me.
Hearing the girls giggle in the kitchen only ignited him further. Was she filling Roni in on her fabulous date?
Gnashing his teeth, he reminded himself he had to think rationally before he blew in that back door and told her off. Noah would never forgive him, and there was no faster way of killing this thing than doing just that. He thought back to what had been bothering him before he found out she’d been on a date today. If it really didn’t matter and she was really great with this arrangement, then why the hell would she feel the need to lie to him this morning about her plans for the day? Why wouldn’t she have at least mentioned she was meeting a friend or something? She
specifically said she had no plans. She was working on the mixer and doing laundry. Period. So either she didn’t want him to know about her date because she already sensed something like this would upset him, or she didn’t have plans until she saw the photos of him and Rachel, which meant that she’d been pissed too because she was feeling the same thing he was.
This rationale should calm him, but it didn’t, not at all. And there was still a whole lot of giggling coming from the kitchen window. There was no way he was staying at her place now tonight, not the way he was feeling. He needed time to calm down, or he might snap and spill his guts. As angry as this made him, he still couldn’t bring himself to say he was through with her for good, and if she found out how he felt, this could be over. He turned to Noah. “Don’t tell Roni about this.”
“Are you kidding me?” Noah said, lowering his voice. “I don’t want her to know. She’ll be a mess, waiting for things to blow up. And don’t tell me they won’t, because they almost did today.”
“It was just a surprise,” Abel insisted, trying to sound convincing. “It caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting that, but now I know.”
Noah rolled his eyes, looking completely unimpressed as the back door opened. Roni stuck her head out. “Babe, Jack’s napping. Can you keep an eye on him? I have to give Nellie a ride home.”
Noah looked confused for a moment. “Didn’t she leave her car here this morning?”
This morning? She’d been with this guy all day?
“Yes, but she’s had a little too much to drink. So I don’t think she should drive.”
“I’m fine!” Nellie said from inside.
“I’ll take her,” Abel said as his mother’s words instantly came to him. Only three types of people tell the truth: Kids, the drunk, and the angry. She might say more than he wanted to hear, and as pissed as he was, he might spit out a few truths himself, but at least it’d be out there. They could move ahead or end this because obviously this wasn’t going to work anymore. Immediately, he saw the look of resistance on Roni’s face. “I was spending the night at her place anyway. We have some business in the morning.”
Roni lifted a brow then turned back and said something in a voice too low for him to make out what she was telling or asking Nellie. Then there was an awkward silence and finally Roni asked. “Honey, what’s wrong?” Abel and Noah exchanged glances as Roni closed the door, rushing back in.”
“God damn it!” Noah muttered, rushing toward the back door.
Abel followed with his heart completely twisted. Was she crying? Upset? About him and Rachel maybe? He followed Noah through the kitchen and up the hallway where Roni stood outside the bathroom door, talking in a hushed voice. She motioned for Noah and Abel to go away when she saw them coming.
They walked back into the front room, Abel’s insides tightening at the sight of Nellie’s extra-high-heeled shoes on the floor. Both he and Noah turned when they heard Roni’s voice just behind them. “She says she thinks it’s mixture a few too many mimosas that she had with brunch and car sickness from the long drive back.”
“Long drive?” Abel asked, immediately getting a warning stare down from Noah.
“Yeah,” Roni said, rushing to the purse next to Nellie’s shoes on the floor and dug through in until she pulled out an inhaler. “They went to a restaurant down in the San Diego area. La Jolla, I think.”
La Jolla?
Roni headed back toward the bathroom, turning to Abel. “But she will need that ride home, so if you don’t mind giving her a few minutes, she’ll be out in a little bit.”
“We’ll be outside,” Noah said before Abel could respond. Roni was already down the hall. “Outside.” Noah motioned with his head and walked out before Abel.
Abel followed, knowing he was in for one of Noah lectures. Noah just better keep it short because Abel was in no mood for anything lengthy. Noah walked all the way down the porch stairs and onto the sidewalk; obviously, whatever he planned on saying to Abel, he wanted it as far away from Roni’s earshot as possible.
As soon as he stopped walking, he turned to Abel with a purpose but spoke in a lowered voice. “First of all, if you think seeing her with other men is something you’re gonna get used to, let me tell you right now that you’re out of your mind. It’s only gonna get worse each time. And I don’t think I need to tell you that this couldn’t be happening at a worse time. You’re in training for the biggest fight of your life, man. You really wanna blow it by having this shit messing with your head?”
“It’s not.”
Abel didn’t even know why he bothered to try to sound convincing. He knew Noah wasn’t buying anything from him now.
“Are you kidding me? You don’t think I’ve noticed all week how off your training has been?”
“I told you. The closer the fight gets, the heavier the hype and paparazzi are getting.” And again he didn’t know why he bothered. The bored look on Noah face said it all. “It’s what I’ve been trying to adjust to. It threw me for a loop this past week, but I’ll get back in the swing of things.”
“Really?” Noah crossed his arms in front of him. “So if that dude—the one she kissed,” Noah emphasized that last word as if it were necessary to have Abel instantly lit again, “comes back here right now and offers to take her home, maybe even to spend the night, and she sends you packing, you’d be cool with that?”
Swallowing hard, Abel glanced away. The thought of Nellie kissing the guy alone was enough to jumpstart his already wounded heart and had his nostrils flaring. Noah was just being an asshole now by taking it a step further and suggesting that maybe Nellie was sleeping with the guy. Abel wouldn’t—couldn’t even pretend he’d be cool with that.
To his relief, noise at Noah’s front door got their attention. Roni and Nellie stood by the door, still talking. Nellie held her shoes in her hands and appeared to be reassuring that Roni she was fine.
“Either you come clean and tell her how much this bothers you—try to change things so they’re not as casual as she seems to think they are since she’s obviously still seeing other guys,” Noah warned in a hushed but urgent voice, “or you end this shit now. I don’t care what you say, Ayala. This is already making you crazy, and it’s gonna fuck everything up, not just any kind of delusional friendship you think you might still be able to handle once this is all over but this fight. You could seriously get hurt in that ring if your head’s not all there.” Noah took a step further as Nellie started down the long porch toward the steps. “Are you listening to—?”
“I heard you!” Abel snapped through his own clenched teeth.
The image of Nellie kissing that guy was already making him breathe hard again. Noah made some excellent points, but he had no idea how impossible both his suggestions were. For one, infuriatingly, it was true. Obviously, Nellie was still great with this arrangement since after the night and morning they’d had, she got all dressed up to meet with a guy she was on kissing goodbye terms with—more than just an acquaintance. If he did what Noah said he should, tell her how he felt about this, she may suggest they take a step back and slow things down. He may very well be forced to do the other impossible thing Noah had suggested: end this—stay away from her—something he didn’t think he was capable of doing anymore.
He turned to Noah just as Nellie made her way down the porch steps. “I’ll handle this. Don’t worry.”
~*~
Nellie waited with baited breath as Abel, who didn’t look at all thrilled, walked around the car after letting her in the passenger side. She’d forced herself the entire day to look at the photos of him and Rachel on her phone as often as she got the chance. The guilt she felt for being out with Sam was unreasonable. She and Abel had never agreed to anything exclusive, and those photos of him with his juice bar girl were painful reminders of that.
She hadn’t even realized that Abel was there until Roni mentioned telling Noah that she was giving Nellie a ride. Hearing his voice had been enough to choke her u
p. The alcohol mixed with all the agonizing she’d done all day over those damn photos had really done a number on her. But hearing him say he’d take her home—that he was spending the night at her place—so matter-of-factly, knowing she’d been out all day with another man, had finally done her in. Claiming to be carsick and needing to throw up so she could run out of Roni’s sight before the tears really started flowing, had been her only choice.
Now she couldn’t be sure, but she sensed that he wasn’t as casually okay with this as she first thought. The memory of how he reacted to Logan in her office came to her. Was he really going to have the nerve to go all caveman on her after his sweet morning greeting with the juice girl?
“That wasn’t Logan,” he said as soon as he got in the car. “Noah thought maybe you were out with the guy from Friday night. I thought you went to the concert with Logan?”
He started up the car but was still staring at her, so she sat up straight, lifting her chin. Not that she owed him any explanations but she wouldn’t make a big deal of it. “I did go to the concert with Logan. He had an emergency and had to leave early. His friend offered to take me home and then asked me if I wanted to have brunch today.” His already outstretched brow went more severe. “Logan and I are just co-workers, nothing more.” Lifting a shoulder, she glanced away from his pressing eyes. “Sam seemed like a nice enough guy, and I had a good time with him Friday, so I figured, why not?”
“This morning you said you had no plans,” he reminded her as he pulled out into the street.
“I didn’t because I hadn’t heard from him yet, and I hadn’t confirmed for sure that I’d be going.” Nellie wasn’t sure what to think of this line of questioning, but one thing was for sure: Abel wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he was irritated about all of this. The giant balls of brass on this guy! “He texted me this morning, so I agreed. He’d told me about this restaurant Friday night. It was as good as he’d heard it was, totally worth the two-hour drive.”