The Fight for Love (Contemporary Romance) by Kate Goldman Read Free Book Online

beautiful women but never in a serious capacity. Maybe Dalton was brushing her off because he didn’t want anything serious. Lucie wilted at the thought.
     
    “Look, whatever reason he has for not calling you, a real man would tell you directly, none of this childish avoiding you business.” Deena’s words were spoken with brisk certainty.
     
    “That’s all I want really,” Lucie admitted forlornly, “just a reason why he hasn’t called. Some sort of closure.”
     
    “Then get it!” Deena urged enthusiastically. “Go to the source and demand to know why he isn’t being a real man about it.”
     
    “Isn’t that a bit…” Lucie squirmed in her chair, “desperate?”
     
    “Would you rather risk looking desperate and get the answers you seek or spend weeks, maybe even months moping around after this guy?” Deena asked fiercely. “It doesn’t matter how you look, Lucie. What matters is how you feel.”
     
    Lucie reasoned that she must look pretty dire at the moment. She’d taken a quick shower that morning and allowed her hair to dry during the drive into the city and she’d forgotten to put on any makeup. She looked exhausted and wrung out which was exactly how she felt. Maybe Deena was right, it was worth looking desperate in front of Dalton just to know with certainty why on earth he hadn’t called.
     
    “No man is worth making yourself upset for,” Deena reached across the table and patted Lucie’s hand. “You’re a successful, independent woman, Lucie Walters. Don’t let this mystery man of yours make you forget all the things that are wonderful about you.”
     
    “Thanks, Deena, I really appreciate you talking to me about this.”
     
    “Anytime,” Deena smiled kindly.
     
    “How are you so clued up about men anyway?” Lucie wondered.
     
    “I grew up with four older brothers.” Deena rolled her eyes dramatically. “Trust me, in a house bursting with testosterone you learn a thing or two about the opposite sex.”
     
    Lucie chuckled as she raised her mug up to her lips.
     
    “But I’m serious.” Deena’s expression hardened. “Find this guy and have it out with him. You’ll feel better if you do. Imagine he was a client or a source ignoring your calls. You’d challenge it, right?”
     
    “Right.”
     
    “Then approach this in the same way. Because after all, it’s not a contract he’s breaking but your heart and you can’t let him get away with that.”
     

***
     
    Dalton did his best to ignore how much he ached. His muscles were burning in protest with every move he made but he had to push the feeling out of his mind. He’d overdone it at the gym the previous day and he knew he only had himself to blame.
     
    “Do you want to take five?” Steve asked, sounding concerned. Dalton realized that the pain he was feeling must have been written upon his face.
     
    “Sure.” Dalton swung out of the ring, dropped down onto a nearby bench and reached for his bottle of water. He was so thirsty his throat felt like it was coated in sandpaper.
     
    “Sleep badly last night?” Steve wondered as he came and sat beside him on the bench and handed Dalton a towel.
     
    “I guess.”
     
    “Too many women in your bed with you?” Steve laughed.
     
    “Yeah, something like that,” Dalton agreed softly. In reality there had been but one woman in his bed with him preventing him from sleeping soundly and that was Lucie. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. His body felt physically torn trying to decide between being with her and his career. He’d never felt so conflicted before.
     
    “You feeling good about the fight next month?” Steve enquired politely.
     
    “I always feel good about a fight,” Dalton scoffed playfully.
     
    “Aha,” Steve reached for Dalton and rubbed his head. “That’s my boy! Total powerhouse you are, son! You’re on fire right now! There’s whispers that you could get the trifecta of titles this year – you’d make