Page 36 of My Little Secret

“You could have gotten out of the hold,” Travis said after a few moments of unbearable silence.

“I couldn’t,” I said sharply. “He had my leg locked. The slip wouldn’t have worked.”

Travis looked about to add something more, but he just watched me instead, arms crossed. It was hard for him to accept defeat. And truthfully, it was for me too. But today was different.

“You put up a good fight,” he said at last. “Enjoy your time off. We’ll get back to training once you get back to LA.”

He let himself out, and I relaxed back into my seat, enjoying the cool quiet of the room. As always, wishing Sadie were here, or on her way here.

As if on cue, the door pushed open, and she poked her head in, eyes wide.

“Hawk?”

I grinned, opening my arms. “Come here, Sadie babe.”

She ran into my arms, burying her face in my sweaty chest. Another sign she was a keeper. “You did so well!”

“Yeah. So well that I lost.” I tried to sound pissed.

She sighed, looking up at me. “You didn’t lose on purpose, did you?”

I shot her a look. “Of course not. I wouldn’t jeopardize my career like that.”

“Good.” She nodded. “That’s what I thought.”

She settled into the seat beside me, holding onto my hand as if I might float away if she didn’t. She reached for the wet wipes at my desk, started dabbing at my wounds without my even saying anything.

I looked her up and down while she worked, at the tip of her tongue poking out of her mouth, at the elegant sweep of the hair style she’d done especially for today’s fight. My whole body warmed as I thought of the multitude of things about her that I cherished, from the angle of her toes to the way that she took care of her family.

“Brute said something to you after the fight,” she said as she swiped at some smears on my arm. “What did he say?”

“Called me buddy. Congratulated me on the fight.”

“Wow.” Her little smile sent shivers up my spine. “Sounds like he’s coming around sooner than I thought.”

A lot sooner than she thought. The seat creaked as I leaned forward, capturing her chin between my fingers. I placed a gentle kiss to her lips, one that made my belly flop. I’d never once sacrificed a fight in the name of love…in the name of anything. And yeah, it stung bad. It would be that dark cloud on my record. Brute might even hold it over my head, make it a point of conversation for years to come. And Sadie might be pissed if she found out—Brute would certainly never believe it. But it was worth it. Because Sadie was worth it.

So I guess it just had to stay my little secret.

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