Passionate Kisses 2 Boxed Set: Love in Bloom

by Magda Alexander

  Sweat formed on his forehead. What the heck was wrong with him? “I sure did. At least while she’s in town. It’ll give her some fun, you some too.” And it would force Rally to stay away from her. He might break his vow to himself but never the bro code with Elliot.

  Elliot shrugged. “Maybe. Let’s see how dinner goes tomorrow night. You can come over if you want.”

  “Nah. It’s Fern’s regular day off tomorrow, so I’m going to do something with Addison.”

  “You know, I think you kind of like Grace Avery.”

  “Nope. Not a chance.”

  “So it’s safe to make a play for her? I have your word that you won’t go for her too?”

  He nodded, dread blew through him like a wind machine. “You have my word. Bro code.”

  Elliot leaned over to bump Rally’s knuckles. “Bro code,” he repeated.

  Rally and Elliot had a lot of similarities in the looks department with tanned complexions, brown eyes, and near the same height and weight. They both even had close to the same shade of hair whenever Elliot decided not to shave it off. The biggest difference was their personalities. All Rally could offer Grace Avery was a token to ride on the Rally Brewer caboose… for one night. In a hotel room. With no mentions of a tomorrow. Elliot had so much more to offer a woman. He was the whole package-a package that many women were trying to snag.

  *****

  Grace returned to the hotel room with nothing but sleep on her mind. She wanted to visit with the backs of her eyelids so bad that she’d almost fallen asleep in her car after a quick trip through a drive-thru on her way back from the gym. Three bites of her Caesar salad and she’d set the clear plastic container on her ripped passenger seat and blinked back the fatigue. She’d blinked again, that time taking longer opening her eyes. Another time and her eyes didn’t open for a few minutes. A nearby car horn sent her jerking upright, her eyes wide open and her breaths coming out quickly.

  The fatigue was brought on by the most productive day she’d had in a while, even though things didn’t necessarily go well with her run-in with Rally. Relief washed over her the moment she stepped her room, shutting her door behind her. She kicked her shoes off into the corner, set her purse down on the small dresser that also held a television set, and fought the temptation to sleep in her clothes. If they weren’t wet from the rain, she probably would have. She peeled her shirt off and tossed it next to her zipped suitcase. Next went her pants. She rummaged through her baggage long enough to grab a dirty t-shirt and wished that she’d at least done some laundry before heading to Oregon.

  She slipped it over her head and climbed into bed. After turning off the bedside lamp, she snuggled deep in the comforter, the bed welcoming her into its warmth. The blissful feeling of sleep taking over where the day left off hugged her close as she rested her head against the soft pillow. Her eyes drifted shut.

  Her cell buzzed in her purse, the wood of the dresser made the sound even louder in the room. “Just great,” she mumbled as she climbed out of the bed and stalked across the room. She yanked her phone and checked the identity of the caller. Ray? Hell no! She didn’t want to talk to him, but she connected the call anyway.

  “Hello, Ray,” she said, forcing as much pleasantries into her voice as she had the energy for, which wasn’t much.

  “So you didn’t show up to our meeting and didn’t call me back like you said you would. Did you get the article today?”

  Sighing, she sat on the edge of the bed. Might as well pitch him her idea. “I told you I wasn’t going to make it. I’ve been at Rally’s gym all day.”

  “Waiting outside for an opportunity to get the job done.”

  “Whatever you say.” She wished that Ray found something positive to comment on her work instead of always putting her down.

  “Not many people get past the gatekeepers of that establishment. I’ve tried sending good journalists there with no result.”

  She flinched at his comment. Damn him. She was a good journalist. No. She was a great one. “I did. Anyway, I’m working on the article about Rally Brewer, but I came up with something else as well. You see, a lot of the boxers around here are single. I’d like to feature the bachelors in a set of articles.” She held her breath, waiting for a reply. When none came in a minute, she thought he’d hung up on her. “Ray?”

  “Maybe you should go pedal your fluff stories at Woman’s World or some other mag like that.”

  “They are serious articles, Ray. I promise. Elliot Hudson has already let me interview him about both his training and life outside of the gym. I’m going to his house tomorrow for pictures.”

  “Those guys have done interviews for us before. I’m not impressed.”

  “Were any of those interviews like what I’m doing?”

  “Not really.”

  “It’ll work, Ray. Just think of the new readers you’ll bring in. Women! We don’t have many people in that demographic area.”

  Ray groaned. She could picture him poking a pen tip into the mouse pad next to his laptop like he always did when he was trying to make a decision. “Get me the Brewer article and I will look at the others.”

  Hope for her promotion resurfaced. “Thanks, Ray.”

  “And one more thing. The same deadline sticks. No pushbacks.” Her article wasn’t scheduled for publication. The deadline was purely to make her job harder. He wanted to throw as many obstacles possible in her way.

  “I get it,” she mumbled. After telling him a quick goodnight, she put her phone next to the lamp and wished for her next boss to be less of a jerk.

  Chapter Five

  After a good night’s sleep, Grace found that the swelling had gone down and the bruising across her nose had changed colors. She also was ready for another full day of work at the gym before her dinner and photo shoot with Elliot. Hopefully Rally would be around so she could at least talk to him for a few minutes. The morning was off to a good start since the clouds had decided to take a break from dumping gallons of water onto everything below and Grace found a non-metered parking spot close to the gym. When she stepped inside, the stench of sweat didn’t seem as bad as the day before. She smiled. Yes, today was going to be great.

  At nine in the morning, the place was buzzing with more fighters than the day before. As soon as the door shut behind her, Felix turned from his spot at one of the punching bags. A woman stood next to him, giving the large bag several rounds of punches. Felix waved at Grace, giving his permission for her to be there.

  “Hey, Grace,” said a masculine voice behind her. It wasn’t Rally so that left one other option. She turned to find Elliot standing there with his hands tucked in gloves, and wearing a giant smile.

  “Hi, Elliot. It’s busy today.” She glanced around at the humming activity. Those people who had been training the day before were working in different areas now. She didn’t remember a single person in the same spot.

  “Sure is. We have two trainers here and about fifteen fighters. Still looking for people to feature?”

  “I am. Any suggestions?”

  Elliot held up his hand and motioned with the glove. “My friend Ajay Hamdon is interested in the feature and I’m sure I can round some other guys up for you, too.”

  A blond boxer walked up to her and held out his hand just as Rally sauntered by, eyeing her as he grabbed a jump rope from the wall next to her. Grace put her hand in the new guy’s grasp.

  “Ajay Hamdon,” Ajay said. He matched the rest of the other boxers in the gym by wearing shorts and missing his shirt, but he looked different. While most of the other guys held an edge, Ajay lacked the shadiness of a hard life that most of the others had hanging around their spark of talent. She’d classify this boxer as a pretty-boy with his chiseled jaw, a goatee that did nothing to change his image, bright, perfect smile, and the confidence of a knight.

  She introduced herself, told him about her series of articles, and asked for the interview. “I’d also like to do a photo shoot while I’m in tow
n, if that’s okay with you.”

  He gave a cheesy grin. “Sounds great.”

  She’d love it if Rally was as cooperative and friendly as Elliot and Ajay. He’d moved over a few feet and did a series of jumps with the ropes, swinging the rope so fast that the rubber rope made swish-swish sounds through the air. Her gaze switched to him, meaning for it only to last a second or two, but his latched onto hers, holding it much longer. Sweat dripped down his face and he didn’t stop to wipe it away.

  “Want to do it right now? Best to get it over with while I’m waiting to spar in the ring,” Ajay suggested.

  “Sure.” She ripped her attention from Rally and turned toward the bench. “Is this place fine?” Like yesterday, she pulled out her recorder and a pad of paper for extra notes.

  “Looks great.”

  “So tell me what got you started in boxing?”

  “Like a lot of the people here, I started young. Thirteen-years-old for me. My parents decided that they wanted me in as many activities as they could in order for me to be well-rounded or some crap like that. Boxing was one of them. You see, the problem was that I loved boxing.”

  “Why was that a problem?”

  “I preferred to be in the gym rather than playing the piano or on the football field. I no longer wanted to learn Mandarin. My focus centered on uppercuts and blocks, training and discipline. I ran miles every morning before my piano lesson. Breaks between activities were filled with boxing technique practice. I even cut down my social life by dumping my girlfriend to make more time for training.”

  “That’s impressive. What did your parents say about this new passion?”

  “They didn’t like it at all. We fought…”

  Rally came over for a cup of water, making Ajay’s voice trail off into the distance. Sweat glistened on his back and her gaze traveled from his shoulders to the damp waist band of his shorts. If only she could have a peek at the package hidden beneath that cotton clothing. She folded her hands over the pad of paper resting on her lap. He turned to the side, shooting her a glance before tossing his cup into the trash and sauntering back to the mats.

  “And they threatened to disown me.” Ajay’s voice brought her back to the interview.

  Crap! She should’ve been paying attention. She needed to in order to think of what to ask next. The thing was that the missed conversation was recorded and she would be able to go over it later at the hotel. Good thing for small favors. But he was available now and might not be later.

  A few feet away from her, Rally grabbed a mat and tossed it on the floor. He lowered down onto his stomach to do a series of pushups. Another great view of his back, ass, and legs as his chest lowered to the floor and pushed back up. The muscles in his legs tightened, his back sleek and taut. Grace squirmed on the bench, the uncomfortable tension building between her legs as she watched him flip onto his back with his knees bent for several fast crunches.

  Pecs tightened. The ridges across his stomach became more pronounced. Sweat dampened his shorts. He sat up and returned his attention to her. His face was soft as he stared, but his gaze burn her all the way to her soul. With his chest rising and falling in an attempt to catch his breath, he kept her locked on him. He put his hands on his knees and slowly shook his head, his mouth turning down in a frown.

  “Grace?” Ajay said, snapping her back to him.

  “Um, yeah?”

  Ajay darted a glare between Rally and Grace. “Would you rather talk to Rally?”

  Her voice rose up a notch. “I’m not interested in interviewing Rally Brewer.”

  Rally flinched at her remarked and rolled back to his stomach. Giving herself the opportunity to regain her focus, Grace went to the cooler, poured some water, and took the seat on the other side of Ajay, keeping her back to Rally. Yes, she wanted that man more than anything. Yes, she wanted to interview him for the magazine, too. But this was part of her plan. She was going to hurt his ego a little and make him yearn for her attention once he decided he didn’t matter to her.

  “I’m sorry that Rally has distracted me. Things should be better now.” Geez, that guy shook her to the core. Hopefully he’d see things her way soon, so her head could go back to normal and regain her professionalism.

  “Do you need me to repeat anything?” Ajay asked with a smile.

  “I have the recorder going and will listen to it later.”

  “So, as I was saying…” Ajay started again.

  Rally went right into her line of sight while he pulled the lid off the stinky bin of boxing gloves next to the bench by Ajay. She put a hand over her mouth and nose to block some of the stench, but not wanting to make eye contact with Rally again, she turned her attention down to the metal bench between her and Ajay.

  “Hey, man,” Ajay said, making Grace turn back to the men in front of her. “Either go away or do your own interview. Stop interrupting my time, got it?”

  Rally turned toward Ajay. “Got it.” He took out a set of gloves and slammed the lid shut again before storming away.

  “Him and his damned moods. Watch out with him. They change so much they’re likely to give you whiplash if you’re around him long enough.”

  “Mm hm.” She watched Rally walk to the ring, wishing that she had the opportunity to experience every mood Rally could muster. From the good to the naughty side, she wanted to know him. All of him. And not just for an interview, either. He glanced back at her once, his mouth twisted in a scowl. She wiped her sweaty palm against the leg of her black slacks. “Let’s get back to the interview,” she managed to break out. The wonderful day she’d looked forward to was quickly turning much too long.

  *****

  The scent of spices, bananas, and warm sugar danced around the clanging dishes in the kitchen. Rally leaned against the front of the couch and took a long whiff of the homey scent and let his mind wonder back to the days of his childhood. Before his dad had gotten sick, his mom loved to be in the kitchen, cooking delicious food like the banana bread in his oven now. Once Dad had started the beginning stage of his cancer, Mom had to start working for the first time because his dad’s employment staggered. They never knew when and how long each job would last because of the unpredictability of the disease. The baking stopped. Large, healthy meals were replaced with small, convenience foods. When Mom had found time to cook, she was exhausted. She’d often fall into the chair and put her feet up for a while.

  He shook his head at the way things had turned out back then. At least she enjoyed her job now and spent one of her days off with Addison. They played, she took Addison on outings, and she did ‘grandma duties’, as she liked to call them, such as cleaning out the fridge or gardening, and cooking for them.

  “Dada,” Addison said, holding a block out to him.

  He was on the floor, his legs sprawled out in front of him with Addison between his feet, facing him. Her big smile brightened her face and warmed his heart. He took the purple block and placed it on the pink one. She giggled as she clapped her hands. Next came the yellow block. After it was stacked on top of the others, Addison swung her sock-covered foot up, knocking the stack over and losing her balance. Her head hit the plush carpet, the shock of the fall making her cry out.

  “Oh, come here,” Rally said, scooping her in his arms. “You’re okay.”

  “Dada,” she cried and pointed to the blocks.

  His mom dried her hands on a dish towel as she came into the living room. “What happened?”

  “She kicked the blocks over on purpose and fell. She’s fine.” He patted Addison’s back and asked, “Right, cupcake?”

  “No,” Addison said. “No” had become her favorite word and one Rally decided he didn’t like hearing come from his daughter’s pretty little mouth. Whenever asked anything, Addison said that stupid word.

  His mom laughed. “Well, the bread is done. I did four loaves this time. Freeze whatever you don’t use tonight.”

  He checked the time. Nearly six in the evening and his mom was
still here, which was different. Addison and he had dinner together on Wednesdays, but tonight, Mom didn’t make any move toward her coat and purse hanging on the rack by the front door.

  “You headed home?” Rally asked.

  She shook her head as she sat down on the couch, keeping her gaze on Addison. “Want grandma to stay longer today?”

  “No,” Addison said, climbing out of Rally’s embrace.

  “Well, thanks, but I am anyway,” his mom said with a laugh.

  Addison picked up one of the kicked over blocks and handed it to his mom. His life was perfectly full. He knew it, but he still couldn’t get Grace out of his head. She was over at Elliot’s house right now, probably eating and getting to know his best friend when she should be at Rally’s house, getting to know him instead.

  His mom moved to the floor beside him and went through the routine of stacking the blocks. He picked at his nail and then checked the clock again. His mom tickled Addison, sending his daughter into a fit of giggles. Addison stumbled as she tried to get away from his mom and hid behind the couch.

  “Where did my cupcake go?” Rally called out.

  “I don’t know, son. Did Addison go in the kitchen?”

  “No, no,” Addison called out and giggled again.

  Rally smiled. “Damn, I love that kid.”

  “I know, son,” his mom said. “But I really want to know what’s on your mind. Don’t tell me ‘nothing’ either. I can tell.”

  He eyed her. At one time in his life he thought she had some kind of mom super power. Not now. Did he look mad or something? He stood. “Nothing’s wrong.”

  “I didn’t say ‘wrong’. I said, ‘on your mind’. Big difference. How are things at the gym?”

  “Fine.”

  “I haven’t talked to Elliot in a few days. Is everything okay with him?” She treated Elliot like a son.

  He went into the guest bathroom off the kitchen. Staring in the mirror, he tried finding some sort of hint of him being troubled. Nothing. The same dark eyes stared back at him and looked normal. No frown or worry lines. How the hell did she know?