Page 21 of Breaking the Habit

Headline. Exclamation points erupted behind Levi’s eyelids. “Hm.” He kicked an ankle up over a knee, leaning back into his chair to really start talkingbusiness.“Headline like…tabloid coverage?”

“Yes. A whole involvement, really.” Marcus laced his fingers together before continuing. “I have a client right now who’s looking for a particular type of coverage. She’s an international star. I’ve been trying to find her match. And I think it’s you.”

Levi tried to keep his mind from racing and latching onto this as the be-all and end-all. But it was hard. All he could see was dollar signs. “And what would I get out of it?”

“Well, fame, for one.”

Levi’s stomach jerked. That was a pretty good place to start. “And?”

“Money, of course.”

Levi fought the urge to ask where he could sign. He cleared his throat, pretending to study the floor with indecision.

“Listen, you’ve got the whole package. When I look at you, I see an MMA celebrity waiting to bloom. Forget Conor McGregor—this will be the Levi Swain Show. You’ve got the looks, the body, and this hair?” Marcus hefted with a laugh. “I could get you a modeling contract afterwards, just for shits and giggles.”

Excitement tremored through him. From the sound of it, this was exactly the type of thing Levi had been gunning toward. All he wanted was exposure and money. And he didn’t care how he got there.

“We should talk more about this,” Levi finally said.

“Let’s meet next week.” Marcus offered a cool smile while he dug a business card out of the inside pocket of his sport coat. “You call me and give me a day and time that works best for you, and I’ll make it work.”

Levi took his card, inspecting the no-nonsense font. “How much money are we talking?”

“That depends on how deep you want to go.”

“Sounds like the Matrix rabbit hole,” Levi said.

Marcus winked. “Yeah. It sorta is.” He pushed to standing and offered his hand. “I really hope to hear from you. This could be a great partnership for both of us.”

Levi shook, already knowing that he’d say yes.

It pretty much didn’t matter what they needed from him. If it promised him a payday and notoriety, Levi was already all in.

Chapter 8

Three days after Levi’s fight, and Riley still didn’t feel quite normal.

Something in that matchup had shaken her up. One of those flying punches had broken her on the inside, in a way that she couldn’t understand or even talk about.

“Riley?” Her housemate Nikki came into the living room, pausing when she caught sight of Riley. “You’re staring again.”

It had been happening on and off—random bouts of staring at Levi’s picture on her laptop.

Riley sighed, closing her laptop. In the beginning, she’d justified the pictures by saying she was finishing editing, even though she’d done that in her studio the day after the fight. But now? She was fangirling, plain and simple. She’d sent the packet of edited photos to Levi hours ago. She had no excuse.

“He’s easy on the eyes,” Riley muttered, setting it aside. And easy on the ears, too. Three days since she’d last seen him, and somehow she was craving a dad joke. That mistletoes one had really gotten her.

“Why don’t you bone him already?” Nikki asked as she rummaged in the kitchen for some snacks. They were about to start their weekly girl’s night. Their best friend Fiona was on her way over, and tonight’s viewing party included restartingBroad Cityfrom episode one.

“I can’t. He’s very clearly a man whore.”

“What does ‘very clearly’ entail?” Nikki asked as she pulled out a tub of hummus and a bag of carrot sticks. “Is it the fact that he has a penis?”

“Basically,” Riley admitted with a sigh. “Besides, even though every fiber of my being wants to bone that man, I shouldn’t because apparently I’m too jaded to live.”

“There is no ‘shouldn’t’ when it comes to casual sex,” Nikki said, knocking the fridge door closed with her hip. She padded over to the sectional couch, her raven hair pulled up into a messy bun.

“Oh,laaaay-deeez!” Fiona’s rich singer’s voice filled the apartment, and a moment later, their friend appeared in the living room.

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