Page 86 of Heartbeats & Highways

“I can’t stop thinking about what you told me about your husband,” he admitted, his voice low. “And the only thing I can think to do, is get in the ring and beat the shit out of someone.”

“But you said you quit.”

He shook his head. “I meant get in The Ring—at the gym the club owns and spar with another boxer.”

I took a deep breath. “I see.”

Savage came to me and dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around my waist. He placed his cheek against my shirt.

My hands sifted through his hair. “Do what you have to do, Savage.”

He looked up at me, his expression slashed with awe. “You really understand me, don’t you?”

I ran my thumb across his mouth. “You are who you are. And I love you. If you need to box to quiet your mind, then who am I to tell you no?”

He pressed a kiss to my stomach.

My phone chimed from the counter.

“Who could be texting me?” I asked in confusion. “No one texts me.”

“Look and see,” he suggested.

I stood and walked to the counter and peered at my screen. “It’s Brielle. She’s asking if I want to come over and hang out with her and Jazz.”

“Nice.”

“Tonight,” I clarified.

“You should go,” he said. “Don’t just sit here stewing while I’m at The Ring.”

“Good idea,” I said, shooting off a reply text.

“I’ll drive you over there. And pick you up when I’m done. I shouldn’t be more than an hour or two. Acid’ll go hard.”

“Acid? That’s who you’ll be boxing with?”

“Yeah. He’s skilled. He keeps pace with me. I’ll be fucking wrecked when I’m done. And I’ll be able to sleep.” He kissed my forehead. “Get your purse. Let’s go.”

Two dogs greeted me the moment Brielle opened the door.

“Oops, sorry. I forgot to warn you.” Brielle scooped up the white scraggle-muffin of a dog and then shooed the other, bigger one, back from the door.

“Don’t worry about it. I love dogs.” I came into the open floor plan loft and held out my hand to the dog in Brielle’s arms. “Not as much as lambs, but I love dogs.”

“Lambs?” Jazz asked from the kitchen as she opened a bottle of wine.

I blinked, not realizing what just slipped out of me. “I grew up on a farm.”

“Ah,” Brielle said as she moved deeper into the living room. “No lambs here. You’ll have to settle for Fluffernutter and Cuddle Bug.” She set the small dog down. “That’s Fluffernutter. The big, sweet girl is Cuddle Bug.”

“And before you say anything, yes, we know how ridiculous the names are. You should hear us calling for them at the dog park,” Jazz said with a laugh.

“Oh, I can only imagine,” I said, chuckling. “Savage is going to The Ring to box with Acid. He’ll pick me up when he’s done. We’ve got about two hours for you to tell me everything that happened between you and Homer.”

Jazz poured two glasses of wine. “What can I get you to drink?”

“Water’s good.”

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