"Who is?” I ask, moving her feet off of my chest.

“Max,” she replies, rolling her eyes, “who the else would I be talking about?”

“Oh,” I say, in realization. I get her mania now. Max is the big motherfucker that knocked her teeth out and almost put her in the hospital. “Okay, and?”

Aiden sighs and sits up, pushing her hair behind her ears. “And I’ve got another chance to show him what’s up and redeem myself from last time.”

I eye Aiden wearily. Max Boothe is about six-foot-three and is two-hundred fifty pounds of solid muscle. The fact that Aiden even survived the first round was a fucking miracle in itself and she wants to fight him again?

“What if I say no?” I ask counter.

“Then you say no. You’re not my father, uncle, grandfather, brother, husband, or boyfriend. I don’t need your permission to fight anyone,” she huffs, getting to her feet and moving over to the recliner.

“How much is it worth?” I ask, doing mental calculations in my head. Those bare-knuckle fuckers make bank when they win, and I know that Aiden has every intention of winning, but I also think I have enough left to bribe her out of doing it.

“More than you’ve got,” she replies with a smirk. “This is the rematch of the century and people are coming out for this one by the dozens—lots of money getting tossed at us for it.”

“You already agreed to it?” I ask her incredulously. How the hell did she find the time to do this since this morning? I sigh. Considering Aiden is a big draw just herself, it wouldn’t surprise me if she had an organizer waiting for her when she got home this morning.

“Yup, and the cock du jour is putting a ton of money on me winning,” she states proudly.

I wrinkle my nose at her. Sometimes she says the craziest shit and it usually gets a laugh out of me, but I don’t find the humor in this.

That reminds me.

“Aiden? Penn says he’s never seen you fight before, but I could swear that I saw him at one of your bouts. Am I crazy?” I ask, running a hand over my face.

“Well, that’s obvious. You are crazy, but you’re letting your crush take over your senses,” she says, pulling her legs underneath her. “Honestly, I don’t know if he’s ever been to one of my fights. That’s not how I met him, remember?”

I let my breath out in a huff and fall back against the couch cushions, my arms at my sides, and nod.

“I know.”

“Does that bother you still?” she asks softly.

“No.”

“You’re lying.”

I can feel the agitation rising in me, so I decide to change the subject.

“What’s the biggest bet going right now?” I ask, letting my eyes drift toward the ceiling.

“I think it’s Penn’s,” she replies with a laugh.

“How much?”

“Five thousand.”

Fucking trust fund kid.

“Okay, well, let me know when the fight is, and I’ll come,” I say, finally relenting. There’s nothing I can say or do that will make Aiden walk away from that kind of cash.

“It’s on Thursday night.”

“Aiden, it’s fucking Sunday,” I reply, staring at her.

“You know that’s one of the many things I like about you, Gray—you’re so goddamn smart,” she says with a laugh.

I grit my teeth and tear my eyes away from her again. Aiden’s not being cruel to me and she’s not mocking me. She’s always been kind to me and she’d never say anything that she knows will afflict my soul further than it’s already broken, but sometimes, the things she says does manage to hurt—even if it’s just a little sting.

“I know what might make you feel better,” she says as she leans forward on the recliner and smiling at me.

I grunt.

I don’t know what she’s offering but she knows if it’s anything other than her friendly company, I’m not interested.

“Wanna shape me up?”

A small smile plays across my lips as I feel the anger and hurt leave me almost immediately.

“Get off your ass and get into the bathroom, you little shit. Let’s make you presentable.”

Aiden laughs and gets to her feet, then walks over to where I’m sitting and pulls me off the couch.

“Can I buzz you?” I ask her playfully as I rub the top of her head.

“I need to go short for this fight, but not that short,” she replies, laughing again.

I smile as she throws an arm around my waist and let her light up with excitement all the way to the bathroom. I have to start thinking of Aiden as the tough girl she is because she won’t hesitate to remind me or attempt to put me in my place.

I’ll still do my best to talk her out of it and if that doesn’t work, then I’ll take her place. I’ve never been in an organized bare-knuckle fight, but I refuse to let her get hurt again the way she did before.

Besides, maybe if Penn sees what I’m capable of, he’ll tell me what the fuck he did with Julie instead of making me wonder where in the building she could possibly be.