“What?”
“The whole reason I wanted you to hire someone was so you could go out and have some fun.
Have you?”
These little reminders of how unbothered Tommy was with her dating other men were always welcome, though each one came with a little pinch of hurt. They kept her from pining away for the man, waiting for him to open his damn eyes. She didn’t want to be that woman. She felt sorry for women like that. Women who refused to let go of men who didn’t return their feelings. Julie wanted to marry, have kids. Tommy had no interest in those things, and most likely never would.
“Been on a few dates,” she said with a shrug. “I still work a lot, Tommy. So it’s hard meeting someone.”
“Tried the dating websites?”
“With disastrous results.”
“Maybe we should go to the club. It’s a great place to meet people.” His ideal place for partner shopping.
“That’s not my scene anymore. You know that. I hate going to those parties after a fight.”
“I also know you need to relax and let your hair down.”
“I can let my hair down without resorting to something I did in my early twenties.”
His jaw clenched, and she shook her head, silently cursing her snippy comment. She’d pretty much told him, again, he needed to grow up.
Hell, not her business. It was his life. Her priorities were different. They had been since she returned to Atlanta four years ago and opened her practice.
“One day you’re going to open your eyes and realize you’ve worked your life away, Julie.”
“Yeah, and the flip side to that coin, Tommy, is that one day you’re going to open your eyes and realize that you had a career but lost it because your ego got too big and you were always searching for a good time.”
Which was why she and Tommy would never work. As friends they were great. That way, the stuff he chose to do didn’t affect her personally. He unknowingly hurt her feelings on occasion, but that was more her issues than his. However, if they were together, as in sharing a life together, she would never tolerate some of the crap he pulled that she did as his friend. Then she’d lose far more than just a relationship—she’d lose her dearest, most treasured friend.
So, Tommy not feeling for her the way she felt for him was actually a good thing. Now she just had to convince her damn heart.
“That was a cheap shot, Julie.”
“Was it? You know I love you, and we have always been straight with each other. But you were screwing up. Sure, you loved to party before you won the championship, but there was always some sort of balance. After you won, hell, I don’t know what happened to you.” She shook her head. “Watching that cop handcuff you and put you in the police cruiser—that was absolutely one of the worst moments of my life. And it was because of your actions.”
Anger burned bright in his eyes as he glared at her. He had never told her the reason he’d punched the son of the CMC official who controlled his ability to enter the professional cage, he’d just said the punk had deserved it. As he leaned forward, she knew she was about to find out.
“You want to know why I hit him?” His teeth clenched. “Because of you.”
She jerked back. “Me?”
“He hit on you, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, he was past drunk. I told him to get lost.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen you do that. Icy eyes, frosty tone, superior expression. He let me know how much the stick you had up your ass pissed him off. Let me know in graphic detail what he’d do to you to make you regret rejecting him.” His face transformed into the murderous scowl he got when he entered the cage. “And sitting here today, knowing the consequences, I’d hit the fucker all over again for even thinking of laying a hand on you.” He shot off the couch, and a few seconds later, the door to his bedroom slammed.
Stunned, Julie stared at the empty space on the couch across from her. Not that Tommy defending her was any surprise; he’d done so before. What filled her with horror was how grossly wrong she’d been about the events of that night, the things she’d so easily believed of him, that had led her to yelling at Tommy that he needed to grow up.
A few hours earlier, he had lost the championship belt—just two minutes into the first round.
Ethan had chewed him out for his crappy performance, which really had been terrible. Surly, and being a total son of a bitch, Tommy had been knocking back shots at the bar. For once, she’d been glad he was ignoring her.
Ethan’s son approached him and they started talking. Next thing she’d known, Tommy had busted the guy’s nose and taken out the two friends who’d tried to defend the kid. Tommy was left standing in the middle, a quivering mass of rage.