Page 85 of Breaking the Habit

Which made Teddy vaguely sociopathic. Another clear reason to stay away.

Still, images of her someday-gallery exhibit haunted her thoughts the rest of the day. As she edited head shots and replied to emails and worked on a composite image for a different client, she imagined the nerves of an opening night. The curious faces of guests, perusing her work. The look of disbelief on her father’s face as he showed up and saw the hundreds of people there, in love with her work. The work that he himself urged her to abandon. Yes, she could already hear the laughter and champagne corks rocketing open and the clink of glasses as everyone enjoyed themselves.

Or maybe she was being stupid—rejecting a golden opportunity to make those dreams become reality because she had some misguided loyalty to a celebrity.

She just had to believe that she’d get there.

Someday.

Chapter 28

Fight week blurred by in a flurry of photography work. The notable highlight was the social media gig—the lifestyle shoot that took place in Hollywood Hills late one Friday night. An up-and-coming Instagram influencer needed Riley to take the perfectly casual shots, and the two of them had fun roaming the streets outside of ritzy clubs and restaurants.

Riley didn’t often come to the Hills, and for good reason. It wasn’t her scene, made more than evident by running into Teddy Wilcox, skeevy photographer extraordinaire.

Her stomach had shrunk to a dense nut the second she spotted him. He just grinned like the Cheshire Cat and even snapped a few pictures of her as she scowled and avoided him. Weirdest thing ever, and the mere brush with him left her feeling unnerved. Anxious, almost.

When just two nights until fight night remained, Riley felt as jittery as Levi probably did. They texted every night before bed, and occasionally, they video chatted, which was both what she needed and the last thing she needed. Because seeing him, hearing him, reminded her of how much she needed him.

And it was only two more nights until they could tumble back into their sweet, unexpectedly beautiful routine. But it might as well have been years.

“Anybody home?” Riley called out as she entered the house. It was damn near nine o’clock. She’d be hearing from Levi soon, since he went to bed by ten these days, and then she’d veg out with Nikki.

But nobody answered. The whole house was dark. Riley’s footsteps clomped down the hallway as she flicked on the lights leading to the kitchen. The hum of the fridge was the only sound that greeted her, followed by a quietclick—the ice maker.

Her phone vibrated.

LEVI: Babe we should talk.

LEVI: About things. About us. About life.

Riley knit her brows together, a pit forming in her stomach.

RILEY: Good or bad?

LEVI: Good. I think.

She studied the far side of the kitchen. He was two nights out from fight night. If something weird exploded between them, it would affect his performance. At this point, she was one hundred percent Team Levi, which meant one hundred percent Team Winning This Damn League.

RILEY: Why don’t we wait until after you win the title? You need to focus. Don’t be distracted by anything that isn’t you fighting like a sexy ass champ on Saturday.

LEVI: Yeah yeah. Good point.

She paused, her fingers damn near ready to typeI love you.But she needed to wait. Once they could enter the honeymoon phase, when he’d won the title and they were falling back into bed and life together.

RILEY: Did Gage decide if he wants to go to the match?

LEVI: He’s in. As long as Amara, Lila, and Gen can personally escort him, he said he’ll make the effort.

RILEY: He’s gonna be so baller.

LEVI: He’ll probably talk about it for a year after.

RILEY: I hope so. I’ll get the rest of those details squared away for him. I just want him to love it.

LEVI: Hey Riley?

RILEY: What

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