Two Months Later
“SOME OF THEM are pretty hot aren’t they?” I said, bumping Nic’s arm. We were in our seats at the MGM Grand, waiting for Zane’s first official UFC fight.
“You got that right.”
“What about Zane? He’s a good looking guy too, don’t you think?”
She turned her narrowed gaze to me and pursed her lips. “Are you trying to set me up with him?”
“No, why?” I asked innocently.
“Yeah, yeah, you expect me to believe that. You’ve been talking about him a lot around me. I started getting suspicious about a month ago.”
I shrugged. “Can you blame me? He’s a good guy and you’re both single. I thought it could work.” Besides, she needed to get over Greg. It’d been over a month since she last heard from him. The fucker broke up with her through a text. My goal now was to get her cheered up and back in the game.
“What does he say about it?”
“He doesn’t need to say anything. I can tell by the way he looks at you. Watch,” I said, pointing to the curtain.
Zane’s fight song blared over the speakers and he marched out with Kyle right behind him. I whistled and shouted and so did Kacey, beaming as her brother proudly walked down as not the fighter, but the coach.
This was the first time Kyle would be acknowledged as a coach. He was nervous on how the crowd would take his return, but that was why he had his friends and family there to watch. Kacey sat beside me with Tyler on the other side of her while Nic sat to my right.
When Zane got up into the ring, he waved at the crowd and took off the red robe Kyle had given him. It was actually the robe Kyle used to wear. Zane strutted to the middle of the ring to wait for his opponent and just as I expected, his gaze landed on Nic.
She gasped. “Oh my God, he looked straight at me.”
“Yep, just like he does every day at the gym. Maybe you should hang out with him tonight at the party. I think you’ll really like him.” Kacey and Tyler would be having a celebration party for Zane and Kyle at their house tonight. We were all going to celebrate his first UFC fight, win or lose.
She bumped me in the shoulder. “I think I just might.”
His opponent was finally announced and he entered the ring. Once the bell rang, the fight was on. I wanted to watch the fight, but I enjoyed watching Kyle more. The way he watched Zane’s every move and shouted encouragements and advice, made my stomach flutter. He worked hard with Zane and I could see Kyle’s own style in his fighting.
The first round ended quickly, but once the second began, Zane went on full attack. He knocked his opponent out in the first thirty seconds. We jumped out of our seats and cheered for him as his hand was lifted triumphantly in the air. And then we cheered even harder when Zane grabbed Kyle’s wrist and lifted his arm in the air as well.
“He looks good up there,” Kacey gushed, staring at Kyle.
He glanced down at me and winked. “That he does, and it’s only the beginning.”
“Do you want to go outside and get some fresh air?” Kyle asked, handing me a bottle of water. I took it and guzzled it down.
The party was a huge success. After hours of dancing, drinking, and celebrating, I was tired and ready to call it a night. Kyle and I had our own celebrating to do.
“Of course, after you.” I squeezed his hand.
He put his arm around me and grinned wide. “There’s just something I’ve wanted to talk to you about and I don’t want to wait any longer.”
We walked out the back door and sat down at the patio table. It was November and the air was chilly, especially now the sun was gone. I loved not being a sweaty mess every day. When Kyle sat across from me, he took my hands and kept his gaze on them as he traced my knuckles with his thumbs.
I laughed. “Are you going to leave me in suspense, or do I need to guess what’s on your mind?”
“Go for it,” he said, lifting his head. “I’d like to hear this.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jared and Patrick through the window. “You’re not gay, are you?” I teased. “Because you got awfully mad when the boys asked me to dance earlier. Maybe I had it wrong, and you were just jealous they didn’t ask you.” Instead of laughing, he stared hard at me, clearly not amused. Rolling my eyes, I squeezed his hands and smiled. “I was just kidding.”
With a small grin, he shook his head. “I know, love. But what I want to talk to you about is serious.”
My heart thundered in my chest. “What is it?”
He looked straight at me and breathed deeply, letting in out slowly. “I love you, Megan. Over the past couple of months, I’ve felt things that both scared the shit out of me but also turned me into a better person. It’s because of you that I’ve had a second chance at everything. What I want to ask is if you’d be open to taking it one step further.”
“One step further?” He didn’t have a box in his hands with a ring in it, so I knew it couldn’t be that.
He nodded. “I want you to move in with me. We’re together every day and night anyway. This would just make it official.”
“Oh, wow,” I gasped. “What about Nic? I can’t just leave her high and dry.”
“You won’t be. I’ve already talked to her about this. Instead of renewing your lease, she’s going to get an apartment so it’ll be more affordable.”
Eyes wide, I stared at him, shocked. “You’ve already talked to her? I can’t believe she didn’t say anything.”
He winked. “Nic and I have an understanding.”
“Really? Well, I’d like to know what that is.”
Standing, he helped me to my feet and pulled me in close. His fingers caressed my back as he leaned in to kiss me. “I’m sure you will soon, but right now I want your answer. What do you say? Are you ready to take that next step?” He stared at me like he was afraid I’d say no.
Grinning from ear to ear, I squealed and latched my arms around his neck. “Are you kidding? Yes! But I honestly don’t think you know what you’re getting in to.”
He chuckled. “That might be true, but I’m willing to take the risk.”
“I see you popped the question,” Nic called out from behind. Kyle turned us around and let me go. She giggled and shook her head. “It’s about time you got the balls to do it.”
Kyle shrugged. “What can I say? I had to make sure the time was right.” Leaning down, he kissed my cheek and whispered in my ear. “I’ll leave you two alone so you can talk.” He started toward the door and bumped his shoulder playfully into Nic in passing. She shook her head and punched him on the arm in return. I liked seeing the playful side of Kyle.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared at her. “I can’t believe you knew the whole damn time and didn’t tell me. Not even a clue!”
“He made me promise, Meg. Besides, I thought it was really sweet how he asked my permission first. There was no way in hell I was going to tell him that I didn’t want you to go.”
Reaching for her, I drew her in for a hug. “Thanks, Nic. At first, I thought he was going to ask me to marry him.”
She giggled and let me go. “I’m sure that’ll be coming soon enough.”
“Wait. Do you know something else and just can’t tell me?”
“No!” She laughed and shook her head. “No. It’s just, I have no doubt it’ll happen someday.”
Just the thought made my stomach flutter. I could see myself with Kyle for the rest of my life. “So where will you live? Our lease runs up at the end of December.”
She grinned wide. “Kyle helped me find an apartment and I already put the deposit on it. I can move in anytime. So whenever you’re ready, we can pack up the house.”
I glanced inside the house at Kyle who was busy talking to Kacey and Tyler, most likely giving them the good news. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
“Well, it is, my friend. And I have to say that Zane is growing on me. He’s actually a pretty cool guy.”
“I told you,” I said, bumping her in the arm. “Why don’t we go inside so you can talk to him some more?”
Taking my hand, she winked. “Let’s go.”
Before we could go inside, Mason came out the door, his concerned expression giving me pause. “Good, I caught you. We need to talk.”
“What’s wrong?”
Nic started for the door. “I’ll just go inside so you can have some privacy.”
Mason held out his arm, stopping her. “This concerns you as well, Nicole.” We moved over to the patio table and took seats. Dread settled in the pit of my stomach. “All right, I’m just going to get right to it . . .”
“He’s back, isn’t he?” I said, interrupting him.
He nodded and sighed. “I guess this comes as no shock to you.”
“No. I knew he would. It was just a matter of time. How long has he been back?”
“Two days. The agent I have following him says that Alex has been watching you. We think he’s waiting on a time to get you alone.”
“Well, thank God that’s not possible. She’s never alone. Kyle’s always with her,” Nic informed him.
Mason blew out a frustrated breath. “And that might be the problem.”
Nic glanced over at me, confused, but I knew what Mason was getting at. I could read it in his expression. “Kyle will never agree to it,” I said.
Mason nodded. “You’re right, he won’t. But what other option do we have? This needs to end now. What concerns me more is where Alex has been staying.”
“And where would that be?” I asked.
He glanced over at Nic and then back to me. “Does Greg Mullen ring a bell? I do believe you all are friends.”
Gasping, Nic paled and threw a hand over her mouth while I stood there, my mind reeling. How could that be possible? “Greg, Greg? As in the guy Nic dated for a couple of months? Are you saying he’s connected to Alex?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’ve worked nonstop the past two days to figure out what was going on. From what I could gather, it looks like your buddy, Greg, might have been the one to hack into the computer system. We don’t know for sure, but we have our tech team looking into it. I don’t think it’s a coincidence he lives a neighborhood over from you.”
Nic had tears falling down her cheeks. She’d cared about Greg and to know he deceived us hurt her. “He used me,” she cried. “All this time we were together, it was just to get information.”
Putting my arm around her, I let her cry on my shoulder. “It’s okay. We didn’t know. He fooled all of us, sweetie. At least we know to stay away from him now.” Then to Mason, I said, “When does your plan start?”
“Tomorrow. I’m going over to Kyle’s first thing in the morning to tell him the plan.”
“I’ll be there. That way I can keep him from trying to kill you.”