Fighting Hard by Marysol James Read Free Book Online Page A

good, Mia.”
    “OK, so… dinner at my place? Seven-thirty or so?”
    “Yeah. OK.”
    She scribbled her address on a piece of paper and handed it to him. “So. Tomorrow.”
    “Perfect. I’ll be there.”
    Nick walked her to the door and she turned to him. “Bye, Nick.”
    “Bye.”
    She gave him a kiss on his cheek and it took everything he had not to turn his face to hers. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her and lick those gorgeous lips with his tongue. His skin tingled where her lips touched him, and his hands tingled where he touched her.
    He watched her go to the car and he waved at Katie. He went back to the gym and went over to Adam.
    “What the hell, man?”
    “No kidding.” Adam shook his head. “Look, Mia is fantastic, one hundred percent. But that friend of hers? A bitch on wheels.”
    “I wonder what she thinks about you.”
    Adam glared. “I don’t give a good goddamn, Nick. I hope I never have to lay eyes on her ever again.”

Chapter Five
     
    “So, wait. Nick is coming here tonight? For dinner?”
    “Yeah.”
    Maggie Branson turned to Katie, her green eyes sparkling. “Tell us the truth now: exactly how hot is this guy?”
    Katie grinned. “Smoking. Like, crazy, insane hot. I have photographic evidence.”
    “Show! Show!” Reena Mackay clamored from Mia’s kitchen. She added milk to her coffee and came back in to Mia’s bright living room.
    Katie attached her camera to Mia’s laptop and the women gathered around to look at the photos. When Nick appeared on the screen, Mia felt lust and longing curling in her stomach.
    “Wow,” Reena breathed. “He is amazing.”
    “Ummm-hmmm.” Maggie blinked. “And you say that he took care of you?”
    “Yeah,” Mia said. “He was a perfect gentleman.”
    Three pairs of eyes stared at her.
    “What?”
    “Well, that’s a damn shame,” Maggie said. “I can tell you – the last thing I’d want that guy to be in bed is a gentleman.”
    “Mia was hurt,” Reena objected. “If he’d taken advantage of her, we’d all be screaming for his blood right now.”
    “That’s true,” Katie said. “But she’s not hurt now and he’ll be here tonight. I hope that he sees no need to be a gentleman anymore. Unless you want him to be?”
    Mia was silent.
    “Mia?”
    “I don’t know what I want.”
    “Well, there’s one way to find out,” Maggie said.
    “What’s that?”
    She shrugged. “See him again with your head on straight. You’ll know what you want then. And if what you want is him? Honey, I say enjoy him.”
    “Whoa, wait.” Reena was scrolling through the rest of the pictures. “Who is this? ”
    “Urgh,” Katie said rolling her eyes.
    “‘Urgh'?" Maggie repeated.
    “Yeah. That’s Adam.”
    “Why ‘urgh’?” Reena said brushing her strawberry blonde hair out of her eyes. “The man is devastating. Look at that muscle! And that ferocious glare! He makes me all shivery.”
    “He’s an asshole.”
    “He is not ,” Mia said. “He's very nice, actually. Smart and funny and ambitious, too. But he and Katie had some… ummm… creative differences.”
    Maggie and Reena looked at Katie.
    “Ah,” Reena said.
    “Yeah. He’s an asshole.” Katie looked at the photos. “But the pictures turned out great. His body is a dream to photograph – look at those muscles and angles and tattoos. Amazing.”
    She saw that they were looking at her with knowing smiles on their faces.
    “Shut up,” Katie said to them.
    “We didn’t say a word,” Maggie protested.
    “You did too. I can hear you.”
    She glared at them and they kept smirking. After a few seconds, all four of them burst in to laughter.
    **
    Nick knocked on Mia’s door. He felt incredibly nervous.
    When was the last time that I actually went to a woman’s place when I hadn’t picked her up at The Cave? And when she was sober?
    She opened the door and a delicious smell rushed out to greet him.
    “Hi.” Mia reminded herself again to stay cool but that tight