Paxton's Promise (Gloves Off #3)(22)

“Is this for a title fight?” I asked, biting my thumb nail.

“Yep, and she’s ready to take you on. Do you think you’ll be ready in two months with your brother taking time off? If so, I’m going to call and confirm.”

“Yes,” I shouted, running up to Paxton, smiling. “I’ll be ready. Matt might be out of town but I have someone else who can help me.”

Garrett sighed in relief. “Good, I was worried you wouldn’t agree. All right, I’ll get it scheduled. Next time when I call, you make sure to answer.”

Bouncing on my feet, I was ready to get off and tell Paxton the good news. “I will. I’ll talk to you soon.”

After Garrett said his goodbye, I jumped into Paxton’s arms and squealed. “Guess who’s going to be fighting in two months for the title?”

He chuckled and swung me around. “Uh, I don’t know. You, maybe?”

When he set me down, I couldn’t stop smiling. “Yep, and you know what that means?” I asked, biting my lip.

“I’m assuming it means I’ve taken up coach duty?”

“That’s right,” I replied with a giggle. Allie was a hard hitter and I needed to train like a beast to get up to her speed and agility. I could do it, but it was going to be a lot of work.

Putting his arm around my shoulders, he led me out of my room and down the stairs. “If I do this, I’m going to need compensation. Hopefully, you don’t expect me to work my ass off for nothing.”

“And what exactly do you want?” I asked.

He paused and lowered his arm when we got to the door. “How about you stay here for the next two months until your fight? I don’t have any scheduled right now, so I can devote my time to you. We can stay here and train in my garage and you can come and go as you please. I’ll be your own personal trainer . . . in all things.”

“How can I say no to that?”

He grabbed my hand and led me out the door. “You can’t. Now let’s go, I’m f*cking famished. You made me work hard this morning.”

Instead of going to his Hummer, he led us to his other garage and pressed a set of numbers in the keypad. I hadn’t seen him go into that garage so I had no clue what was inside. When the doors lifted, he had two other vehicles in there, both different types of sports cars; one red and the other black. Then off in the corner he had a metallic blue sport bike, all shiny and pristine.

“Are you ready, sunshine?”

Paxton tossed me a helmet before rolling his bike out into the driveway. “You’re kidding me, right?”

Chuckling, he slid his helmet down and fastened it, straddling the bike. The engine roared to life and my stomach rolled in knots. I had never been on a bike before and with the way Ryley and Camden rode, I was scared shitless to even want to.

Holding out his hand, Paxton beckoned me forward. “Come on, Gabby, it’s not that bad. You’ll have fun, I promise. Trust me.”

“You and your damn promises,” I grumbled, sliding the helmet on. “Just don’t go too fast.”

After he helped me fasten it, I straddled his bike and he guided my hands toward the tank. “Going fast is the best part. Just make sure you hang on to the tank.” I wanted to hang onto him, but I guess safety was the number one thing. “All right, here we go.”

Closing my eyes, I held onto the tank as hard as I could and squeezed my inner thighs against the bike when Paxton bolted us out of his driveway. My heart pounding in my ears was all I could hear, and of course, his laugh as he picked up speed. I was going to kill him.





After breakfast, Pax drove us around on his bike until my nerves were shot. I had fun, but every time a car would get near us I’d cringe. I could be fearless about getting into the ring and having someone come after me, but getting on a motorcycle was a whole other story. Paxton lived up to his promise because I did enjoy it . . . somewhat. He didn’t do anything stupid, other than go fast, which meant I didn’t have to kill him.

The rest of the day we spent together exploring Manhattan Beach. We walked up and down the boulevard and we even went to an aquarium at the end of the pier. I loved it. It wasn’t only an aquarium, but a research facility as well. We stayed in there for hours while I talked to the various employees about their research results.

Now I was sitting on the beach out by Paxton’s home, while he went to pick up a pizza from a local Italian restaurant. Beside me, I had a cooler packed full of goodies. The sun wasn’t far from setting and I couldn’t help but admire it.

Knowing Paxton would be back in a few minutes, I picked up my phone and dialed my brother. If he knew about my fight with Allie he would’ve called by now, so I assumed he didn’t know. He answered on the third ring.

“What’s up, Gabby?”

“A lot, actually. Have you talked to Garrett?”

“No, why?”

“Well, I thought I’d tell you that I have a fight in two months.” Before he could say anything, I continued. “And no, you don’t need to come home early from vacation. I got this.”

“Yeah, but if you need me, I’ll come. Who are you fighting?”

He was going to flip. “Allie Portman, for the title,” I replied.

“Holy f*cking shit, are you serious? I have to come home. You need me.”