Page 70 of Breaking the Habit

Marcus seemed unruffled. “Changed how?”

“I’m, like…with someone now.” But what would Riley say to that? “Sorta. I have a situation, let’s say. A situation similar to having a girlfriend.”

Marcus blinked. “So you want her in on it? We can make her one of the ‘other women.’ I wouldn’t be opposed to that.”

“No, it’s—” Levi paused, the air whooshing out of him. “I don’t want her involvedat all.”

“That’s fine. She doesn’t have to be.” Clearly Marcus didn’t get it.

“But you see, I signed this before we were a thing, and—”

“Ah.” Marcus nodded, sitting back in his chair as the waitress dropped off their plates. “I see. Well, if you’re asking whether you can tell her about it, the answer is no.”

“But I—”

“You signed a contract,” Marcus said, his voice hardening as he unrolled his cloth napkin and spread it over his lap. “There is no peep of this outside of our circle. I’ve been in the business a long time, Levi. Maybe longer than you’ve been alive. And thissorta situationof yours, I don’t trust her to keep her mouth shut. Because she won’t. Statistically, anecdotally, and otherwise? She won’t. So don’t even think about it.”

That didn’t leave a lot of room for negotiation. Levi blinked at the cedar-roasted salmon on his plate.

“There are very strict consequences for breaking the NDA,” Marcus went on, shoving forkfuls of Caesar salad into his mouth. “I won’t get into them now, because I want us to enjoy our lunch. Oh, look!” He swallowed his bite, lifting his hand to wave at someone. “There’s Titi.”

Levi twisted in his seat to follow Marcus’s gaze.Your future ex-girlfriend. The grapefruit knot turned into a cantaloupe as the French model sauntered their way.

She was pure magazine material. The Bella Hadid of Europe. Long limbs, a sultriness tinged with youth that made heads turn as she walked over to them. Blonde hair, pulled back into a low, tight bun, glistened in the sunlight. She leaned forward to kiss Marcus on the cheek. Marcus pulled up a chair for her to join them.

Levi could only stare.

“I’ve been waiting to make this introduction for so long,” Marcus said.

“Hi, Titi,” Levi said, offering his hand, feeling already like he was making the worst mistake of his life. Like some photographer might capture the handshake and send it straight to Riley with a caption that said “CHEATER.” “Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” Her vowels were decidedly French, and she giggled into her palm as she shook his hand. “You’re so much more handsome in real life.”

Marcus winked over at him. Levi glanced down at his salmon, unsure what to say to her. So he stuffed a forkful of salmon in his mouth instead.

That was the best he could do.

Titi didn’t stay long. The three of them chatted as amicably as possible before she took off to do some shopping. Marcus watched her go with a fatherly glow on his face.

“She is going somewhere,” he murmured, sipping from his martini glass.

“She seems very talented,” Levi, which seemed about the most useless thing to say. “I need to head to the gym now.”

“Great. I think today went well. Let me know if you have any questions. Otherwise?” Marcus cocked a finger gun. “I’ll see you in the mags.”

Levi left Beverly Hills feeling one hundred percent less excited for the deal than the day he’d met Marcus. He couldn’t soothe himself in the usual ways—fucking or alcohol—and not even in the new way—Riley. With the fight less than two days away, he wouldn’t see her again until the night of the match. Training was on hold until after the fight, so Riley had no scheduled practices to attend. And interpersonally, well…they both knew he needed to stay away from her. There could be no more sex slip-ups this close to go time.

So Levi continued as normal. He pushed the conundrum out of his mind as much as he could, through whatever means he could. He turned into an incessant joke-telling machine at home. He texted Riley enough to make her ask if he had an unlimited texting plan because he was about to break new records, and he watched movies with Gage so he could distract his mind for tiny stretches at a time.

It worked. Or at least, it worked well enough. By the time fight night arrived, Levi was the usual ball of energy waiting to unload on his opponent.

As he got to the dressing room, Levi had two things on his mind: winning this fight and seeing Riley.

She came inside while Travis and Lex were talking him up. He stared into the mirror, practicing a focal point exercise that felt a lot like meditation but without any of the Zen stuff. But as soon as she came in, his gaze shot to her. It was impossible not to notice her. She completely brightened the room when she came in. Even though she tried to stay dark and mysterious, she was still made of pure sunshine.

“Look at you,” Lex said, squeezing the tops of his shoulders. “You’re smiling like a goof.”

“A goof?” Levi twisted back to smirk at Lex. “That’s the best you got?”

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