Tyler's Undoing (Gloves Off #1)(34)

“Now that’s what I like to hear. Let me go change clothes and then we can leave and get something to eat. Afterward, we can go to my place.”

Biting my lip, I glanced up at him and nodded. “Hurry.”

I didn’t want to wait any longer.





THE LOOK IN Kacey’s eyes when she told me to hurry had me so f*cking hard. I couldn’t wait to get her to my house and lay her out on my bed. However, as soon as I changed and met her back in the gym, all hopes of getting out of their fast completely diminished. My mother had shown up with dinner, like she always did each night. I was about to pass on it, but then she put her clutches into Kacey. We weren’t going anywhere.

It was strange to see my parents so interested in Kacey. I didn’t know if it was because they felt sorry for the loss of her grandma, or if she just captivated them like she did with everyone. Then again, they’d never seen me interested in just one girl; it was always dozens, which pissed my mother off. She always made sure to tell me she raised me better than that.

My mother was an amazing cook and with Kacey being one as well, they had a lot in common. Especially when my mother told Kacey about my great-grandparents and how they owned a thriving restaurant in the nineteen-twenties. Even during the depression, they were able to stay afloat.

Kacey took notes as my mother went on and on about the do’s and don’ts of running a business. It was the happiest I’d seen Kacey since her grandmother died. She had that spark, a passion to succeed. It made me want to be better, to be the fighter I knew I could be.

Once dinner was over, Kacey and I bolted out of the gym to my truck.

“I was afraid we weren’t going to get the f*ck out of there,” I muttered, opening the car door for her. She’d enjoyed the time spent with my mother, but I could tell she was just as impatient to leave as I was after a while. “I love my mother and everything, but she sure as hell can talk. She seemed to be pretty taken with you though.”

Kacey hopped in the truck and snickered. “Is she usually not like that?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve never introduced her to any of . . . you know . . . the girls I’ve been with,” I sputtered hesitantly. We hadn’t exactly talked about all of the women I’d been with, but I was sure she had a good idea.

“Not even, Gabriella?”

I stiffened. “How did you know about her? That’s not something many people know.” I had a good guess though . . . Cole.

Instead of answering, Kacey bit her lip and sat there, warring with herself on what to tell me. Obviously, she was told not to say anything.

“So it is true?” she asked. “You two were seeing each other?”

Releasing a heavy sigh, I shut her door and walked around to my side of the truck and got in. Through her tone, I couldn’t tell if she was worried about something or if she was angry.

Once I started down the road, I reached for the hand laying in her lap and squeezed it. “Did Cole tell you?” I asked, glancing over at her. “You can tell me if he did.”

“Actually, no,” she replied, shaking her head. “He didn’t tell me, but I kind of figured it out on my own.”

How the hell could she do that? She wasn’t even around me during that time. “How could you figure something like that out?”

“It was in the video that went viral,” she stated. “It was the one where you and that other fighter started battling it out and then Gabriella and the other female finished. The way you two looked at each other wasn’t just a ‘friends’ look . . . it was much deeper.”

It had to be a female thing to notice something like that because no one else ever made any comments about it. “It’s not like that anymore,” I admitted honestly, staring straight at her. “What we had is over. We’re just friends now.” I hadn’t even talked to Gabriella since I’d been with Kacey.

“That video was shot just over a month ago,” Kacey stated adamantly. “You’re trying to tell me feelings just disappear?”

“A lot has changed in a month, Kacey. Look how far you and I’ve come in just the last week. There’s nothing going on. Besides, we were never even exclusive.”

She nodded, clearly uncertain by the rigidity in her body.

“How did you know about that video anyway?”

“Google will give you everything,” she replied. “All I had to do was type in your name and voilà. My only concern is that she’ll be at the fights with you. I just want to make sure I don’t have to worry about something happening between you two when I’m not around.”

“Nothing’s going to happen,” I promised her, tapping her on the chin to get her attention. “She’s moved on and so have I. I’m happy where I’m at . . . with you. It was a mutual understanding to end things. What I need from you is to trust me. Can you do that?”

“I do,” she murmured wholeheartedly. “Nobody likes to get their heart broken. I guess I’ve spent a lot of my time guarding mine.”

Bringing her hand up to my lips, I kissed it gently and locked my gaze onto hers, hoping to erase the doubt on her face. “I don’t want to get hurt either, but it’s a risk you take when you let people in. I can’t promise I’m not going to do stupid shit and piss you off, but I can promise I will always be honest and straightforward. If there’s something you want to know, I’ll tell you the truth.”