Page 13 of Stone's Promise

Trey barely looked up as his phone buzzed on the table. Without missing a beat, he picked it up, already distracted by whoever was on the other end. “Yeah?” he answered smoothly, as if I had already left.

I stood, sliding my chair back without another word.

As I walked out of the restaurant, the tension in my shoulders didn’t ease, but at least I was free of my ex. For now.

CODY

I pushed through another round on the heavy bag, sweat rolling down my back, my knuckles stinging under the wraps. My focus this Sunday morning should’ve been locked in footwork and precision. But instead, my brain kept short-circuiting back to Emily.

Whenever she laughed at the comedy club a few nights ago, it lit up her whole face. She had that soft kind of beauty, the kind that made a man want to reach out just to see if it was real. Her hair looked just as touchable. I had no business thinking about it.

Or the way she’d made sure Max had a treat at the comedy club. The one little gesture stuck with me .

I threw a harder punch, forcing my head back into the fight. This thing between us was just for show. That’s it.

“Looks like the internet has a lot to say about you and your date the other night.”

I turned to see Liam smirking as he leaned against the ropes. I reached for my water bottle while listening to him.

“Some of your online female fans especially have plenty of things to say about it,” he added.

“You know I never look at that stuff.”

“Yeah, lucky you,” Liam scoffed. “A couple million followers and all you ever post is fight pics. No captions, nothing.”

I took a long drink. “Guess some people like me to keep it simple.”

Liam rolled his eyes and grabbed the pads. “Come on, let’s spar a few rounds.”

I shoved my hands back into my gloves. Fake or not, Emily was getting under my skin. I needed to fight it off. The Intercontinental Battle Royale was coming up right behind me and if I didn’t focus on winning, I’d lose everything.

Liam grinned as he dodged a jab from me. “Now that’s the Cody I know.”

I just hoped getting punched a few times would knock some sense back into me.

We practiced for a few more rounds before I had to wrap it up and meet Emily and her son at the park. The sting of the sparring session lingered in my muscles as I stepped out of the gym, showered and refreshed. The walk through the park was filled with the usual—joggers, dog walkers, a few people who recognized me. Some waved, some whispered. I nodded politely but didn’t slow down. Today wasn’t about them.

Today was about Emily.

As soon as I spotted her by the pond, my focus narrowed in. She stood with her back to me, her small body hugged by a matching leggings and jacket set. The outfit highlighted the curves I’d tried really hard not to notice before. Gold hoop earrings peeked out beneath her baseball cap, and when she turned toward Oliver, laughing at what he said, I felt something in my stomach.

Damn, I didn’t have time for flutters.

Before I could overthink it, Oliver spotted me. His baseball cap, already slipping forward, flew off his head as he bolted toward me.

“Let’s do some moves!” he yelled, already shadowboxing. His little fists pumped the air with determination.

Emily turned at his outburst, her eyes meeting mine. She smiled, easy and bright. The flutter in my gut turned into a full-blown somersault.

“Hey, champ,” I said, catching Oliver’s hat before the wind took it. I ruffled his hair, chestnut brown with tight curls just like his mom, before setting it back on his head.

“You ready?” He grinned up at me, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He also had Emily’s big smile and dark brown eyes.

Emily laughed, stepping closer. “You’ve created a monster. He’s been practicing in the mirror all morning.”

I took in the warmth in her eyes, the way the sunlight caught the sheen of her skin. I had a feeling this Sunday was going to be a little harder to keep things strictly business than I’d planned.

EMILY

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