I walk onto the elevator that leads up to the NDB offices, trying to keep my shoulders square and my demeanor confident. It’s my first day back at work since the attack, and I have this irrational fear that everyone is going to look at me differently now. I was only in the hospital overnight, but I had to stay out of the office for three weeks while I healed.

My swelling is gone, my stitches are out, and I just look a little puffy from the broken bones in my face. Otherwise, the biggest issues are I’m not moving very fast, and that I will forever be connected with Ryan Miller.

I lucked out in that I wouldn’t have to testify against him, because the minute Ryan got in front of the cops, he crumpled like a cheap suit and admitted to everything. It turned out he was only tough when he thought he was going up against someone he could take, but that didn’t apply to the justice system. The last time I heard from the assistant district attorney, Ryan had accepted a plea deal for aggravated assault and would be spending two years in prison. That suited me just fine.

Adam didn’t think it was enough though. When he found out Ryan wasn’t getting the maximum sentence, he almost stomped right down to the courthouse to give the ADA a piece of his mind before I’d stopped him. The last thing I wanted to do was get involved in some splashy media event, and if a plea deal avoided it, that was good enough for me. It had taken some convincing, but Adam had finally agreed.

The truth is, I’d almost relented. I owed Adam so much. During my whole recovery, he’d let me stay with Hazel and him, and he had tended to my every need. If he wasn’t fixing me dinner or getting my medication, he was rubbing my feet and buying me fresh flowers every few days. Between Adam and Hazel, and even Ringo curling up on my legs to keep me warm at night, I don’t know if I would have recovered as quickly without them.

And the whole time I was in their apartment, I felt myself falling harder and harder for him. I’d never had a man be sweeter to me in my life, or care more gently for me. Part of me was worried he just felt guilty because I’d been hurt while working for him, but a bigger part of me had to believe he felt the same way. Nothing happened between us while I was there; I was in too much pain, and Hazel was always scampering around, tending to me as well. But sometimes, I’d catch him looking at me in such a way…

That had to be love, right?

The elevator doors open and snap me out of my thoughts. For a second, everyone wordlessly just stares at me. Then the whole office erupts into applause, and I feel my body relax for the first time in days. I few of my coworkers come up and give me gentle handshakes, and others shoot me a thumbs up and big smiles that take a ton of the pressure off of my return. I’m just about to open the door to my office when Lisa comes running out of her own.

“Kylie, baby! I’m so glad you’re back! Did you get the flowers we sent?”

I nod gratefully. “I did. Thank you, Lisa. That was very kind.”

“Excellent. Listen, I hate to throw you right back into the deep end, but can you come into my office for a minute? I need to go over a few things with you.”

I take a deep breath and follow Lisa slowly to her office, since I am still having trouble moving at more than a snail’s pace. When we get inside, she shuts the door and plops down in her chair.

“I have some news, kiddo. So, you know that fight in Vegas next month where you arranged for Adam to take one of the undercard slots?”

Oh, no, I think in a panic. Because I’ve been out of work, they’ve pulled him. I gulp. “Yes…”

Lisa starts typing into her computer. “I take it you didn’t get a look at the news before you left this morning?” I shake my head, confused, and she turns the screen around. A huge headline flashes at me.

I drop my head into my hands and groan. “What the hell? Why would he even…”

Lisa holds up her hands defensively. “You’re asking the wrong lady. I don’t know why these jerks do this shit. I’m just glad he isn’t one of our clients. He’s Jason Mohr at WSE’s problem.”

I can’t help but snicker. He’s the punk who tried to get me and Adam blackballed. He’s going to have a long day ahead of him. “Okay, well, that’s unfortunate, but what does it have to do with me?”

Lisa gives me a conspiratorial grin. “They’ve asked Adam to take Wilson’s spot in the title.”

All of me instantly runs cold. “Lisa! The opponent in that title fight is Benny Blade! He makes people call him ‘Bone Crusher’ and his last name is already Blade! I don’t think that Adam is ready for that kind of…”

I can tell by look on Lisa’s face that this isn’t a negotiation. She slides me a stack of papers across her desk and taps them with her perfectly manicured finger.

“Sent over from the lawyer’s office this morning. All Adam has to do is sign, and in three weeks he has his first title fight at the NHN Mondo in Vegas. If you turn down a fight like this, he might as well go back to whatever cagey shit he was doing before, because he’s done in the sports industry.”

I flinch at her comment. One thing we both got to avoid during my recovery period was the media onslaught caused by Adam’s interview with Kitt Ashley. From entertainment journalists to every sports channel ever, everyone wanted to know more about the “Widowed Veteran Taking the Boxing Ring by Storm,” as Kitt had called him. One magazine had already approached him about being their “sexiest athlete of the year,” and I knew from there, the sky was the limit. If he kept winning fights and became a media darling, he pretty much covered every base.

The problem was, Adam was super resistant to letting people “exploit his story,” as he put it, and he refused to talk to anyone until he’d had some time to mull it over. I also knew that meant he was going to fight me on taking on such a huge fight after so few bouts leading up to it. But Lisa was right. If we turned this opportunity down… that was it for him.

I take the stack of papers and give Lisa a resolute nod as I stand up to walk out. “I’ll take care of it. You don’t have to worry about anything.”

Lisa looks back at her computer and waves me off.

“See that you do. And Kylie?”

I turn around nervously. “Yes?”

“I really am glad you’re back. We missed you around here.”

* * *

Adam’s eyes go wide with mild panic. “Are you kidding? They want me to fight Benny Blade? The Benny Blade? I thought I was going to be an undercard…” he whispers.

Adam and I are sitting at my favorite Italian restaurant as Hazel eats a pizza at the table behind us with her best friend Ellie. I hadn’t planned on telling Adam about this in front of Hazel, but apparently he owed Jake and Bree a favor, and that meant babysitting Ellie for the night so they could have a date night. All five of their kids had been spread out among different caretakers, so Adam was lucky he only got one of them.

“You were, but Joey Wilson is out for mouthing off on social media and they want you. Based on my conversation with the promoter this afternoon, they wanted you as soon as Kitt’s article dropped, but they had no cause for dropping Joey. He did them a favor, I guess.”

Adam winces. “That’s awful. I don’t feel great about getting my first major title this way, Kylie.”

I sigh and reach over and touch his hand gently. He doesn’t pull away, but he doesn’t make eye contact with me either. Shit. Am I overthinking all of this? Have I made a huge mistake? Stop. Focus. Work. I pull my hand away slowly and just nod.

“Sure, it sucks for Wilson, but we have to play the cards we’re dealt and you can’t pass up this opportunity, Adam. The bigger question is, do you think you can take on”—I pause and roll my eyes at the name, even though it makes me shiver—“the Bone Crusher?”

Adam chuckles and shakes his head. “I can take him, but I don’t know if I can win, Kylie. He has five years on me, and he’s all muscle. He’s a damn brute.”

Hazel and Ellie poke their heads up over the booth. “Language, Daddy!” Hazel shouts.

“Mind your business, Nosy Nancy!” Adam shoots back at her. She and Ellie burst into giggles and disappear again. Adam waves at the waiter for another beer and sighs. I can tell he’s already doubting himself, but I won’t let it happen. It’s my job to be brave for both of us, even when I’m not sure either.

“Adam, you can do this. I know you can. You have time to train, and bulk up a little more, get yourself to a place where you feel more comfortable confronting Blade. We don’t have to leave for Vegas until the last minute, though I think it would do you good to practice some in the venue, and I can set that up. But half of the battle here is you believing in yourself. If you can’t dig down to make that happen, then I don’t know if you will win. But you deserve to.”

Adam surveys me for a moment, as if he’s analyzing me for any hint of insincerity. I suspect he’s using his military training on me, which would normally give me pause, but if it will help him dig down deep and find his courage, I will let it slide. For a moment, I think he is going to tell me no, but then… he leans across the table and kisses me. It isn’t an especially passionate kiss, but it is tender, and sweet, and I can feel the warmth of his touch simmer all the way down to my toes. It is the kind of kiss a woman waits her whole life for, the kind of kiss that makes your head swim and muscles tingle. I am sure that I could stay forever in that kiss…

Until the sound of little girl giggles snap us back to reality.

“I told you, Ellie! I told you, he liked her!”

Adam pulls away with a shy smile just as the waiter comes back with his drink, and we are given an excuse to return to our discussion about business. But in the back of my mind, I never stop thinking…

He does like me. He really does…