Ali’s smile flattened when she realized Lila had caught her giddiness. She shrugged, tapping something into her phone. “He texted me earlier with some info he didn’t have on him that I needed for the story. I thought I responded—”
“He who?” Lila asked, already dreading the answer.
“Beast,” Ali said simply as if every hair on Lila’s body wasn’t already at attention.
“He’s who you’re texting with?”
Ali glanced up at her and tilted her with what looked too much like defiance. “It’s not really texting. I just could swear I’d responded to his earlier text with the info he sent me, but I guess I never hit send. So, he was asking if I got the text.”
“What else did he say that has you giggling, Allison?”
That made her sister smile big. “He’s still referring to me as Jelly. And I already told you it has nothing to do with what you thought he meant by that. It just made me giggle to see it written out.”
Lila took a deep breath. She did not want to be that kind of big nagging sister. Ali wasn’t stupid, just young and impressionable still, especially given how much she seemed to be enjoying the new-found attention of “hot guys.”
Before Lila could even try a subtler approach to her nagging, Ali put her phone down and stood up. “I have to get this story written, at least the first draft so I can run it past my editor tomorrow.” She closed her laptop and picked it up. “But I’m gonna finish up in my room.” Lifting her phone as she walked past Lila, she smiled. “See that’s all he wanted: to confirm I got his text. I’m not texting with the guy, so don’t worry. Aside from his jelly remark, he was actually very professional. Used some big words too. In fact, he came across as pretty smart. He’s not as loathsome as I know you’re thinking, Li. But again, you have nothing to worry about. This is probably the last I’ll hear from him.”
The tea kettle went off, interrupting any attempt to respond to her sister’s comments, so Lila let it go. If Ali was really done with her story, then there’d be no more reason for her to keep in touch with the guy. She’d spare her sister any further nagging and just let her enjoy the little attention the guy had given her. It was nice to see her sister so giddy for once.
Ali stopped before going into her bedroom and turned back to Lila with a smile. “Let me know when we move into that mansion.” She winked at Lila. “Stop overthinking everything, Sissy. I think you and Sonny are perfect for each other, and I’m telling you there’s no denying he’s crazy about you. I don’t think you have anything to worry about, no matter how fast this is happening.”
Lila smiled nervously, taking a deep breath, but shrugged. “I’ll give it a few days before I decide. But I’ll let you know as soon as I do.”
She knew her sister was right. Lila was overthinking it. Worst case scenario, if anything that bad occurred and she needed to get away from him, she already had some money put away from her endorsement deal, and she had more coming. Maybe she’d just wait a little longer until she had more put away. This way, if something did go wrong, she’d have her first and last for another place ready to go and still have enough left for Ali’s school.
Chapter 21
Sonny
It hadn’t even been two weeks since the day Lila told Sonny she wanted to hold off on moving just yet. From the sound of it, she was hoping to give it at least a few more weeks, maybe even wait until after her first fight to make the move. Unfortunately for her but fortunately for Sonny, she found out less than two weeks later that what Sonny had warned her of was all too real. After the announcement of her fight was made, the buzz was on, especially because of her next opponent’s large following.
The media was all over it, and Lila’s face and the promotional photos were everywhere. As he’d warned, it’d been just a matter of time before someone got wind of where she lived, and one morning she woke to several reporters and photographers just outside her apartment building. She’d been more annoyed by it than spooked. But all it took was for one of those reporters to harass Ali, and the next thing Lila and Sonny were discussing was getting their things moved into his place ASAP.
That was weeks ago, and now Lila’s first major fight was just a few days away. She and Ali were now Sonny’s roommates, and he couldn’t be happier. It’d help knowing she was sleeping in his bed when he had to leave for spring training next year. He couldn’t be more grateful for the timing. Sonny had always known a relationship on his busy schedule would be a challenge. But busy schedule or not, nothing was keeping him from doing this now. It just helped that this was happening during his off-season. By the time spring training started up, they should have things figured out.
Sonny had figured living with Lila would be heaven, but he didn’t expect for things to feel so normal as fast as they had, especially given Lila’s initial unease about things moving so quickly. But as the days and weeks quickly passed with each day proving this was meant to be, Lila’s misgivings were now gone.
It was slow and subtle, but the transformation Sonny was seeing in Lila was inspirational to say the least. She’d gone from the girl with the impenetrable walls to opening up and accepting that she deserved to be happy. This wasn’t a fluke that was going to slip through her hands as swiftly as it appeared.
She’d even made strides in the ability to control her temper. Though every now and again the blaze was there just simmering under the surface. While she was making progress, she did have a few slips here and there. The “Jelly” incident with the tatted guy was a perfect example. She may’ve previously admitted to Sonny the work-release guys were scary-looking, but the moment she thought one of them might be insulting her sister, scary or not, there’d been zero hesitation to prepare to lunge if she had to. The girl was a force to be reckoned with, and while Sonny encouraged her efforts to maintain control, he reminded her often how her passion was part of what he loved so much about her.
The moment he walked in the house and met Lila’s beautiful eyes, he saw it. She was on her phone, and there was no hiding the concern in her eyes. She lifted a finger before he could ask her what was going on.
“Yes, can you do that please? It’s just not like her to not respond to my calls and texts.”
Sonny put his bag down, already feeling concerned, and waited until she was off the phone. “Ali,” she confirmed what Sonny knew could be the reason for such concern in her face. “Last text I have from her was from early this afternoon when she said she was driving to downtown for a breaking story. Downtown can be dangerous, and it’s been a while since I asked her about the drug-dealing story she got chased for, so this makes me nervous. I didn’t read the text until I was off today. I tried calling her, but she didn’t answer. I didn’t think too much of it. I lost track of her schedule, but I was sure she either had school or work in the evening. Then I got home and looked on the calendar. She doesn’t have either today. I’ve been trying for over an hour now, but she still hasn’t responded to my texts—”
Her phone rang and she answered it immediately. “Did you get a hold of her?”
She was quiet for a moment, and Sonny glanced down at his phone, on the off chance that maybe Ali had tried him. His thoughts were derailed when he heard Lila address her caller by name—Marcelo. He jerked his head up and away from his phone, and their eyes met immediately. But he waited until she hung up.
“That was Marcelo?”
She was already dialing someone else. “Yes, when neither Ali or Jen were returning my calls, I had no choice but to call him. I wasn’t even sure if they’d be together. He said Jen was at work, which explained why she couldn’t answer my call, but he agreed to call the store and see if he could find out where—” She stopped and held up a finger again. “Gio, can you do me a huge favor? I’ve been trying to get ahold of my sister, but she’s not answering. Her friend said she’s at the gym of all places. Can you please look around for her, and if you see her, just tell her to call me ASAP? Thank you so much.”
She got off th
e phone with a frown. “She’s still at the gym?” Sonny asked.
“It’s what Jen told Marcelo. I forgot she’d mentioned she was going to start working out. She just hadn’t mentioned when.”
Pulling Lila’s tense body to him, Sonny didn’t even get the chance say anything when her phone rang and she pulled away immediately. She hit the screen the moment she saw who it was and brought it to her ear. “Where have you been? And why haven’t you answered or responded to any of my calls?”
She was quiet as, apparently, Ali explained. Sonny watched closely, massaging Lila’s back to try and relax her, since she was still so tense He kissed her temple as she continued to grill Ali. For a moment, he wondered if Ali’s decision to start working out had anything to do with the Beast dude. Lila had since shared with Sonny her unease about her baby sister having given the guy her number. She’d also mentioned the fact that the guy was still referring to Ali as Jelly, something that felt too uncomfortably close to flirting.
But it’d been weeks and Lila hadn’t mentioned anything more about him. She was already too riled up about this. No sense in bringing that up too.
“Okay, text me when you head home.” She shook her head as she hung up. “She was working out. Left her phone in her gym bag in a locker.’
Sonny rubbed her back one more time before pulling her to him and leaned against the sofa back. “Did she mention what the story downtown was about?”
She nodded, her expression easing up. “Small fire at one of the school’s extension campuses. But I’ll ask her about that other story tonight.”
“You see,” he said, pecking her softly. “All that worrying for nothing.”
She nodded, finally giving him a glimpse of that beautiful smile. “So, you’re back now, but when do you do your next promo out of town?”
Sonny kissed her pouty lips. “At least a week. I made sure they didn’t schedule me on or around the weekend of your fight. So, I’m sticking around for a while. But”—he paused, hoping she’d go for it— “since you’re gonna get some time off from your training after this fight, I was hoping you’d come on my next trip with me.” The second her brows jumped in reaction to that, Sonny spoke again before she could begin to make excuses. “It’ll only be a week, and I’ll get added security at my front gate that can help us track Ali down in case she ever doesn’t answer your calls like today.”
The corners of her lips slowly curved into a sweet smile. “I’m not that bad.”
“Yeah, you are, but I like when you’re bad.”
The sweet smile morphed into a sexy one, and Sonny picked her up effortlessly, throwing her over his shoulder. “I’ll take that as a yes to the trip, and now it’s time to make up for the last two days.”
Lila squirmed in his arms but was no match for his strength, despite all the muscle on her hard body. “Sonny, I haven’t showered!”
“Sweetheart, I don’t care.”
“But I do. I feel gross!”
Sonny made a bee line to the bathroom in his master bedroom instead of the bed, already feeling his cock pressing against his jeans. “Then the shower it is. Wouldn’t be our first time, and I’m sure it won’t be our last.”
Chapter 22
Lila
Just as her trainers and Sonny had assured her, her fight against the reigning champ was still an undercard fight, therefore, nowhere as big as she’d first thought. When she’d heard the phrases “reigning champ” and “Olympic gold medalist,” they also reminded her that, sadly for women, the excitement in the sport still wasn’t quite there. So, even though her fight had been for the title, just as they’d predicted, the stands had been mostly empty. After her fight, there were still several fights scheduled before the main event. All of them men.
Lila wasn’t sure whether she should feel flattered or annoyed that all her trainers had seemed so surprised—almost let down—that she hadn’t been able to knock the champ out. It’s like they’d forgotten this was Lila’s first fight against a real contender, and while she’d given the gal a run for her money, she hadn’t been able to do it. But at least she hadn’t lost. They’d gone the full ten rounds. Unlike any of her other fights and sparring matches where Lila had barely been winded, this had been beyond intense. She’d gone toe to toe with the champ, a few times having her in the corner or on the ropes fighting, and everyone in her corner had gone wild.
It ended in a stunning split decision, and now suddenly, people were interested. Apparently, not only was Mannering a former Olympian and the champ, she was undefeated, a fact Lila’s trainers and manager had all curiously failed to mention. They’d showed her footage of Mannering taking a loss, but it had been before she’d gone professional. Lila hadn’t bothered doing much more homework on her own, since she assumed her trainers had done it and they’d tell her anything she needed to know.
“You were already so worked up when I told you she was the champ,” Preston said with an annoying smirk when she’d demanded to know why he hadn’t told her.
“Yeah,” Gio had been quick to back him up. “And we’ve talked about what a huge part of this sport is mental stamina. Remember? It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. Clearly, your fight is bigger, but if you’d gone in there with the mentality that she’s the bigger dog, it would’ve affected your fight. Only reason you didn’t beat her ass is because of the size of her experience. It’s the only advantage she has over you. But you’re a natural, Lila. You don’t need all the experience she has. You nearly took the title tonight.”
Of course, Preston had thought far enough ahead to make sure to get it in the contract that should the fight end in a draw—something he said he’d been sure Mannering’s people must’ve chuckled at—there’d be an instant rematch. He’d also left the amount Lila would be asking for a rematch open. The promoters had been as confident as Mannering’s people that nothing of the sort would happen, so they agreed.
Now that buzz of the little nobody who nearly took the champ was turning into a roar, Preston held off negotiating Lila’s percentage of the take. Sports magazines suddenly wanted her on their covers. TV, cable, Internet, and radio talk shows all wanted the exclusive Cinderella story.
After the fight, Lila agreed to accompany Sonny on more of his promotional travels. At first, she dreaded it. She wasn’t sure what to expect. But now that she’d be doing her own promoting, she was glad for the heads-up, not just for what promoting would be like, but for getting a taste of what it was like to be recognized with someone who was so used to it.
Their first official night out together was in Vegas. Sonny had sweetly remembered her saying she’d never been. So, before he had to be in Chicago that following week, they left a day early and stopped over in Vegas first. Being in his home and riding in his luxury cars had given Lila a taste of the lavish life. She thought she’d seen enough movies and Netflix shows about the rich to have an idea of what a day in the life of the filthy rich was like.
From the first-class seats on the plane to the instant VIP treatment both at the departing and arriving airports, it almost felt unfair. How could some people like Sonny, who seemed very used to it all, have this as their regular lifestyle? When people like Lila and her sister may’ve never experienced anything like it, had it not been for the unusual circumstances that had Lila here now.
The suite they checked into at the Palms resort was just ridiculous. While Lila wasn’t by any means complaining, it just felt so over the top. It brought back memories of Sonny and their first FaceTime date, which felt like a lifetime ago now, of his sitting in his room with a grand piano just behind him. Again, the room was bigger than the apartment she and Ali had moved out of. Much bigger with every luxury imaginable, things Lila wasn’t even aware existed in hotel rooms, such as the steam showers and fog-resistant mirrors. When she’d been handed the iPad at check in, Lila had turned to Sonny at a loss.
Sonny smiled, thanking the lady behind the desk, and winked at Lila.
He later explained it was the hotel’s virtual concierge. “It’s how we’ll access any hotel info or services,” he’d explained on the ride up in the elevator. “Which reminds me,” he said, pointing at the screen. “Press the service button.”
Lila had glanced down at the different icons on the screen. Within seconds, Sonny had walked her through scheduling a couple’s massage in their suite for later that day before their night out.
It wasn’t her first massage. Sonny had insisted on having a masseuse come out the day after her fight the week prior, when she’d been far more sore than she’d expected to be. But the couple’s massage felt more special, and just like the first time, it’d been heaven.
The night out included dinner at a swanky steak and seafood house. Even all the times she and Sonny had gone out in Los Angeles had never been this fancy. It was always more about trying to keep things on the down low. Lila enjoyed her alone time with him, buying take out for the most part and eating back at his place versus the times they’d dined out and were inevitably interrupted. She hated having to pretend not to see people blatantly gawking at them too. It was awkward as hell.
That night, heads had turned as they’d been walked to their table, and by the time they were done with dinner, there’d been photographers outside. Sonny had warned her there might be. Vegas knew its boxing since the city was the boxing capital of the world. The restaurant was known to be frequented by celebrities. As much as restaurants like the one they’d dined at did their best to give their celebrity guests as much privacy as necessary, he said they all had moles, workers on the paparazzi’s payroll.
It’d been a bit surreal when they’d walked out and the handful of photographers had called her name, not just Sabian’s like in Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, most questions asked of Sonny were playful, things like if he was getting Los Angeles a much-needed championship. But with Sonny being one of MLB’s most eligible bachelors, there were some nosey questions as well.