by Ranae Rose
She started to step around him but paused to add something else for good measure before striding past. “I hope Cameron doesn’t pair you up with Sanchez again. He won’t take it easy on you next time – especially not in front of a paying audience.” The words did something to balance her internal equilibrium, slowing her palpitating heart just a little.
The March air was even colder than her words. A gust of it threaded its way through her messy ponytail as she opened the gym’s front door and stepped out onto the sidewalk.
“So what’d you think of the new guy?” Melissa asked, her tone light-hearted, as if she hadn’t been present for the exchange that had occurred only seconds ago.
“Seriously?”
Melissa donned a smile that was too knowing for Ally’s liking. “Seriously.”
“He’s too cocky for his own good.” At first, she’d been impressed by his lack of gloating after the fight. Then he’d ruined it as she and Melissa had made their exit. Maybe acting like a smartass to the nearest woman was his way of gloating. “I bet Sanchez will wipe the floor with him on Friday.” She said it, but her heart wasn’t in it. It was still too easy to remember his chiseled body in the ring, so brutally efficient that it was downright graceful. Truth was, Sanchez would have his hands full if Cameron paired them together for the weekend’s fight.
“Maybe you’ll get to watch him fight someone from outside the gym. Cameron doesn’t like to pair members together if he can help it – most of the guys participate because they want to test their skills against someone fresh.”
“Maybe.” Melissa was right. The opportunity to test one’s self against a stranger was what attracted most of the guys to the fights. For some, it was an opportunity to measure and better themselves. For others, it was a testosterone-fueled battle of egos. Either way, the fights drew in crowds. If the events got any bigger, Cameron’s dream would outgrow his venue. They’d almost run out of seats the week before.
“Too bad I have to work,” Melissa said. “I wouldn’t mind seeing him fight.”
Ally arched a brow at her friend. “Because of his left hook, or because of his blue eyes?”
The smug little smile that crept across Melissa’s face told Ally she’d walked into a trap. “So you did notice.”
* * * * *
“Hey, mamá.” Ally stepped through the front door of the modest little white one-story, three-bedroom house that had once been her father’s pride and joy, second only to his family. The smell of her mother’s enchiladas slipped over her like a warm blanket.
“Hey, mija,” her mother, Maria, greeted her as she turned from the fridge to smile at Ally, a container of sour cream in hand. “And Melissa. I thought you might join us for dinner.”
Melissa beamed. “You know I can’t resist your enchiladas, Mrs. R.”
“Well, there’s plenty for all of us.” Maria slipped on a pair of oven mitts and pulled a baking dish from the oven, depositing it on the small kitchen table.
What she’d said was true – the dish was more than full enough. She’d never stopped cooking for four.
Ally pulled three plates and a handful of silverware from a nearby cupboard and drawer and quickly set the table.
“How did things go at the gym?” Maria asked, placing glasses of water at three of the table’s four seats.
“Not bad,” Ally said. “Mel and I got in some serious practice. Her kicks just keep getting better, and I swear her legs got even longer overnight. She nearly kicked my butt.”
Melissa ignored the compliment as she took Maria’s cue and settled into one of the seats. “It was a pretty typical day at the gym.” She shot a teasing smile in Ally’s direction. “Oh – and a new member joined today.”
“Another woman?” Wielding a serving fork, Maria began doling out enchiladas. She attended enough Harbor City MMA Events functions to know that Cameron was striving to attract more females to the gym.
Melissa shook her head. “No, he’s all male.”
Sensing her friend’s intentions much like a seismometer measuring the telltale waves that signal impending earthquakes, Ally sent Melissa a warning look.
It wasn’t lost on her mother. “Did this boy give you any trouble?” She paused and frowned, her brows knit together.
Ally was quick to shake her head, crushing her mother’s train of thought before she could begin to freak out. It was her mother’s greatest fear that being involved in MMA – definitely a male-dominated sport – would somehow lead to Ally or Melissa being accosted by some overconfident musclehead. “No, mamá. You know Cameron doesn’t allow things like that in his gym. Melissa’s just being a brat. She thinks the new guy is really hot.”
“Your words, not mine,” Melissa countered.
Ally took a long drink from her water glass and leveled an exasperated look at Melissa over the rim.
“Oh, really?” Maria asked, still frowning faintly.
After a few moments, she was finally forced to concede the truth. Sort of. “He’s pretty good-looking.” Not that it mattered.
“And is he any good?” Maria had yet to take a single bite of her dinner. Instead, she sat poised with her knife and fork hovering in the air over her steaming plate of enchiladas. “At fighting, I mean.”
“He beat Sanchez in a sparring match,” Melissa volunteered.
Maria knew Sanchez – Ally had introduced her to him before, and she’d seen him compete at several of the events Cameron organized. “Hmm,” Maria said, as if unprepared to totally believe the praise. “Is he planning to compete in Cameron’s events?”
Ally gave in and nodded. “Yeah. You’ll see him for yourself on Friday. If you’re planning on attending the match, that is.”
“I’m planning on it.” Maria’s frown faded, slowly giving way to a sly smile. “This is the first time you two have come home from the gym and mentioned anything about a member being good-looking, and I’ve seen the men who train there. There are several of them who look like they could be on TV, if they didn’t have black eyes and busted lips all the time.”
A muted thrill of embarrassment rippled through Ally’s consciousness. On one hand, she was glad Melissa had waited until dinner to begin her teasing rather than making a big deal out of Ryan Moore at the gym. On the other hand, she wanted to kick her own ass for being so obvious. If Melissa had noticed Ally’s reluctant attraction to the newcomer, it must have been obvious that she’d been staring at him back at Knockout.
“It’s just looks, mom.” Repressing a sigh, Ally did her best to infuse her words with as much dryness as possible. “He’s not anything special – he seems like a smartass, and his back is covered in tattoos.” Her mother wasn’t fond of tattoos, and Ally wasn’t afraid to use Ryan Moore’s body art as ammunition. Not when Melissa was playing dirty.
Maria’s smile disappeared as she sliced into an enchilada. “That’s too bad.”
Even Melissa had the grace not to say anything – she’d known the Rivera family for years and knew exactly why Maria disliked ink.
With a grim sort of satisfaction, Ally took a huge bite and washed it down with half a glass of water. No way was she going to spend the evening talking about the guy who’d told her he was looking forward to hearing her scream his name. Even if his blue eyes did send an unwelcome little shiver down her spine every time she thought of them meeting hers.
* * * * *
Battered Not Broken is available at major ebook retailers everywhere, and in paperback.
See Battered Not Broken in the Kindle Store.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ranae Rose is the best-selling author of more than twenty adult romances and counting. Originally from Maryland, she grew up the daughter of a US Marine and always wanted to be a writer. Today she lives on the US East Coast with her man in uniform, young children, German Shepherd dogs and overflowing bookshelves. Writing and reading are lifelong passions that consume most of her time, and she’s always working on bringing her latest love story idea to life
for readers.
www.ranaerose.com
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OTHER SERIES BY RANAE ROSE
Click series title to check out Book 1 in the Kindle Store.
Lock and Key Series
Hard Love MMA Companion Novels
Half Moon Shifters Series
Sleepy Hollow Series
Check out all of Ranae’s books at her Amazon Author Page.