“So?” Charlie leaned over the back of the couch and shook my arm. “Tell me all the juicy details.”

When I’d arrived home, I threw my body on the couch and fell asleep immediately. I was a light sleeper, so at the sound of Charlie’s voice I was forced awake. Rubbing my eyes, I looked up at her. “What juicy details?”

She lay down on the back of the couch and let her body fall on top of mine. I let out a loud sound the moment her body hit me. “When Julian walked back into the gym”—she inched her body forward to whisper in my ear—“he was smiling, and that man never smiles.”

I groaned and threw the pillow over my head.

“Nope,” she teased, pulling the pillow away. “Brooks wants to know the recipe to your secret sauce.”

“Secret sauce,” I said, pushing her off me and standing up. “What is that shit?”

My body ached today. Nothing new but I knew an Epson salt bath would ease me. As I walked toward the bathroom for some peace and quiet, Charlie was fast on my heels. I turned and almost barreled into her. “Listen,” I said, placing my hand on her shoulders. “I arrived in Vegas one month ago.”

“Yeah,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

“I need to make the gym trust me, not hate me.”

“What do you mean?”

“What if”–I pointed my index finger in her direction–“we go out and then it doesn’t work? Where am I then?” I lifted my shirt over my head and threw it into my room as I walked to the bathroom. Grabbing the door handle, I motioned for her to move so I could close the door. “Are you following me in here, too?” She looked around and then stepped into the bathroom. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Lils, why are you so against getting to know him?”

“Well, for one—I barely know him.”

“That’s why you go out, so you can get to know each other.”

I tried to ignore that thought. “And two—he’s the owner of the gym. It looks tacky.”

“Everyone there today seemed excited at the prospect of you dating Julian.”

I had my leggings around my ankles. When she said everyone seemed excited, I lifted my body up so fast and almost fell backwards. “What did you say?”

“Which part?”

“Don’t which part me.”

“Listen,” she said, closing the lid on the toilet and sitting down. “I think it would be cool if you dated, Julian.” She held her hands up in a gesture to let her continue talking. “I never said you both need to fuck like bunnies. I just think it would be good for you to get out.”

“Fuck like bunnies?”

“Lily?”

I sat down on the edge of the tub and turned on the water. “Yes?”

“Just go out with him.”

“I am tonight.”

“What?” She screamed a little too loudly. “Why didn’t you tell me that fifteen minutes ago?”

“You didn’t ask.”

“You suck. You know that, right?”

“No. Now will you leave so I can enjoy a bath in peace?”

Charlie actually skipped out of the room. Before she closed the door, she turned and looked at me. “I’m so damn excited right now. Want a glass of wine to celebrate?”

“I still haven’t taken up drinking. Maybe I need to, though.”

She touched one finger to her nose and pointed her index finger at me. As the door closed, I sank my body down in the scalding hot water.

It was almost four months ago that my dad and I were talking about Julian Moore. Now here I was going on a date with him. Weird much?

As I laid my head back against the edge of the tub, I thought about my luck with men. The last time I’d dated was two years ago. Men were a distraction my dad would tell me. Especially the men I dated. None of the men were fighters and usually found it intimidating that I could kick their ass.

After my last date, I pretty much swore off men and decided to put all my attention toward working on winning my first title. So much for that plan.

To be fair, this was the first time a fighter had ever asked me on a date.

Maybe it was time to turn over a new leaf…and I really needed to think about drinking wine.

“Why am I getting a pedicure?” My feet were propped up on a stool while a woman was rubbing a pumice stone over my heels.

“What if,” Charlie said, leaning closer to me, “you both do end up fucking like bunnies?”

“Again with the bunnies and the fucking.”

“You never know,” she teased. “It is a great way to let out pent-up energy.”

I shook my head. “Can I get to know him first? Then the bunnies can intervene later.”

“Oh, they will.”

Some days I wondered how Charlie and I were friends. Most days I knew why. I loved how she always found a way to make me laugh.

Charlie grabbed her green goddess–fresh-squeezed juice–and took a sip. “Did Julian seriously help you during training today?”

“Yup.” I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t think Devon really cared about being pushed to the side.”

“You think?”

“Devon’s not really a fan of me. Well that’s the impression I get.”

“Maybe training with you today sparked something for Julian.”

“Sparked? We’ll see about that. I’m waiting to see if Julian will cancel.”

Charlie slapped my thigh. “Oh stop. I bet he’s excited to go out with you.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

We ended up spending way too much time making my feet pretty and not enough time planning for what to wear. When we walked into the house, I threw my purse on the overstuffed chair by the door and walked straight to my bedroom. From the few details shared, I knew if I wore a nice pair of jeans and dressy top, that would be enough. I stepped into my closet and started riffling through my pile of jeans. Was there an AA group for my shopping addiction? Charlie and I loved online shopping. We would try to race to find the best pair of jeans or who had the lowest discounts. Thank goodness for walk-in closets.

I heard my phone vibrate on my dresser. When I reached for it, a part of me knew it was Julian canceling. I looked down at my screen and burst out laughing. He seriously canceled with a text. What an asshat. I threw my phone on the bed and walked across the hall to Charlie’s room.

“Guess what?” I said, plopping down on her bed.

She was sitting at her desk on the computer. “What?” she asked, turning to face me.

“Julian just canceled.” I waited to tell her how he had done the deed.

“What?”

“Better yet. He sent me a text.”

She stood up and walked over to the bed. “Wait, did you just tell me he canceled your date via text message?”

“Yup, I did.”

She didn’t say a word, just stormed out of the room and walked to the kitchen. When I caught up with her, she was on the phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Hold on.”

I tried to grab for her phone. “No, stop. What are you doing, Charlie?”

“Brooks,” she said, waving her hand at me to stop. “Yeah, where’s your brother?” I couldn’t hear what he was saying, so I had to decipher the conversation through her words. “Really? Interesting.” Her face was actually turning a very dark shade of red. “Nope, all good. Just tell your brother he’s an asshole.” Then she hung up.

“So,” I said, leaning against the kitchen island.

“He’s in the office working,” Charlie said, reaching for a wine bottle. “Apparently he’s been there all day. I bet he’s hiding out.”

I was struggling to process this bit of information. Why would a man ask a woman out and then bail two hours before he would be set to arrive? Nope, not cool. “I need to go.” I turned on my heel and headed into the living room to grab my purse.

“Wait”

“No, Charlie. This is bullshit. He made a big deal about asking me out and then made me feel uncomfortable all week.” I threw my purse over my shoulder and headed for the door.

“Lily, wait.”

“Why? He needs to know what a dick move this is.”

“Lils, look down.”

I stopped with my hand on the door handle and burst out laughing. “Maybe I better put on pants first.”

“It might help.”