Page 64 of Crazy In Love

“Fine.” Eliza snaps. “I’ll tell her to have nine more babies, just for you. Maybe she and Tommy can light some candles and include a framed portrait of you, to really include you in the baby making. Then you’re gonna chill the hell out and come back to us as a normal, functioning human being again?”

“Yeah.” He smacks his lips, drifting toward unconsciousness. “I think that would make me feel better.”

“He’s out.” When a fresh set of fighters approaches the ring, gloves and mouthguards ready, I turn and shake my head. “This one’s closed until he’s done.”

“Sleeping, Coach?” One of them leans to the left and spies Ollie laid out on the canvas. “We allowed to do that now?”

“He is. Which means this ring is out of commission until he’s up again. If you intentionally wake him because you wanna train, you’re on bathroom duties till my mood stabilizes.” I pause, driving my point home. “You understand?”

He lifts his gloved hand and nods. “Understood, Coach.”

“Good.” I turn to Eliza. “You wanna be on babysitting duty to make sure he gets his rest?”

“I’ll sit here for a bit. Kids classes start in a little while, so?—”

“Gosh. Is this how fight gyms typically function?”

Her voice is like a sucker punch to my solar plexus. Her taunting smile, even before I see it, a jab to my throat.

I spin on fast feet and almost trample Ollie despite my orders to everyone else, and catching an eye full of Fox Tatum in a beautiful dress, the kind she might wear to the office, she becomes a feast for my senses, a feast I feel all the way to the base of my stomach.

“He’s asleep?” With a seductive sway of her hips, she wanders forward and sets her hands on the ropes. “Are you charging him for this? Because if I knew there was money to be made for a group sleeping situation, I might buy a warehouse in the village and set up a few bunks.”

“Fox.”Don’t you put your hand on your heart, stupid. Don’t you dare! “What are you doing here?”

“Fox Tatum.” Eliza meanders closer and stops with her shoulderbrushing my arm. She’s sweaty, with her hair tied in messy braids and washboard flat abs Fox’s eyes inevitably drop to. “Heard you were in town. Figured I’d see you at some point.”

She offers her fist and waits for Fox to return the gesture with a bump, and though I step forward to mediate,since that’s not really Fox’s thing, I snap my lips shut again when I’m proven wrong.

“Hey. It occurred to me today that I’ve only been in town for a weekend. Though I swear, it feels like it’s been an eternity already.”

“And, of course, I heard all about the baby.” Eliza jabs a thumb back toward Ollie. “He’s a very proud quasi-uncle, if not a little emotionally stunted and over-tired. You running the bookstore today?”

“Mmhm. Running it for the next six weeks. Do you have an outside job, or is this it?”

“Uh…”

“I only ask, because I realized today that not all fighters get paid for it. Some have regular jobs, and fighting is just a fun hobby on the side.”

“This is my job.” She slides her tongue over her lips, grinning. “Sponsorship deals pay my bills, and Chris and Tommy pay me a salary to run the kid classes five nights a week. You looking at joining up and hitting something?”

“I get to hit things?” She swings beautiful, bright eyes my way. “Do I get to choosewhoI hit? Because I have a list, and it only has two people on it so far. One of them is Chris, and the other is a little old lady. She’s small and kinda frail looking. So I bet I could really mess her up.”

Eliza laughs. “I get to hit Chris often. It’s fun. And I’ve wanted to smack little old ladies my whole life. Which one pissed you off?”

“I’m actually not sure…” She drags her bottom lip between her teeth. “They all look kinda the same. But let’s circle back to the hitting Chris thing?”

“Sounds to me like you got yourself a PT client.” Eliza slaps my back and turns to her brother. “I’ll keep an eye on this dipshit until classes begin.”

“Where’s Franky?” I climb through the ropes and move to the padded floors in bare feet. Bare chest, too, now that I look down and pay attention.

Fox’s glittering eyes do the same, her not-so-subtle body tilt, allowing her a better view.

“Fox?” I clear my throat. “You didn’t forget him at school, did you?”

“Oh shoot! Franky!” She claps a hand to her mouth. “I thought you were picking him up?”

“What?” My lungs squeeze flat, and my heart thunders, painfullybruising the inside of my chest. To be forgotten. Made to feel like he doesn’t matter.Jesus, I know what that’s like. “Are you serious? You were supposed to pick him up hours ago!”