By the time they’d ordered and their food had arrived, the subject had moved on from the mixer to his upcoming fight. As much as she noticed he tried to downplay it, she knew this was huge. If he won, he’d be up there with such heavyweight greats as Holyfield, Foreman, even Muhammad Ali.

“The guys over at 5th Street and I were talking the other day, and we planned on having this conversation with you together, but I don’t see any harm in me bringing it up now.”

Nellie tilted her head, stopping her fork just before she brought it to her mouth. They were long past any conversation about the cocktail mixer, but aside from that, she couldn’t imagine what else he and the 5th Street guys would want to talk to her about. Roni hadn’t mentioned anything either.

There was a moment of what felt like uncomfortable silence on his part, but Nellie waited without saying a word as he wiped his mouth and took another drink of his rum and Diet Coke.

Chapter 3

Abel was not about to admit it to anyone, but the idea of having Nellie around 5th Street more often was one that pleased him. Between his intense training, which was getting even more grueling as the fight approached, and all the interviews and appearances he was contractually obligated to do lately, his free time was becoming increasingly non-existent. So when Noah and Gio had brought up the possibility of her not just coordinating events at 5th Street but the ones leading up to his fight, including the ones she’d have to travel out of town with him, he immediately agreed. Her success with the cocktail mixer for their charity foundation further confirmed she’d be a perfect choice.

Nellie was still staring at him, waiting for a response. “Well, we were thinking, since we have a few publicity events coming up for the fight that are gonna take place at 5th Street and a couple out of town, that you could be the one to get it all coordinated.”

Abel squeezed her hand when she lifted that sexy eyebrow of hers. He fought the urge to kiss her. It was something he’d been aching to do since they got there, but since he’d come on so strong when he first got to her place, he was trying to tone it down now. She’d made it clear once again that the way things were now between them was for the best. He completely agreed, but he felt so crazed around her that it was beginning to unnerve him. Telling her that she drove him crazy as he almost had at her place earlier might spook her.

Back when her divorce was going on, Noah had talked about her split with her douche bag ex-husband. Abel hadn’t really paid attention, but one thing he did get was that it was a bad one. It was so bad that the last thing she’d be looking for, for a while, was getting back into any relationships. Abel was more than fine with that, especially because serious relationships were the last thing he had time for anyway and certainly not with a divorced older woman. Saying things like what he almost did might have her backing out of this all-too-perfect set up. He didn’t want to blow it now. There was all this sexual tension that had built up between them for months. They’d let it go on for too long, and now he couldn’t get his fill, but he was certain it would start waning soon enough.

“Wow,” she said, putting her fork down then wiping her mouth with her napkin. “I’m flattered that you think I can handle something this big. I mean the cocktail mixer is turning out bigger than I had expected, but that’s because of this last donation. Otherwise, I wasn’t planning on this event being so big.”

She took another sip of her wine and licked her bottom lip as she’d been doing all night each time she took a drink. That was it. He’d held back long enough. Leaning into her, he kissed her softly, trying to not go overboard as he did earlier. This time he took his time savoring every inch of her delicious mouth. After that much needed and very long satisfying taste of her, he pulled his lips away but just barely. “Of course I think you can handle it,” he whispered against her lips.

Abel brought his hand to her face, lifting her chin to him so he could kiss her as deeply as he’d been dying to since they got there. It felt as if he’d never get enough of tasting her mouth, and the taste of her sweet wine only added to his frenzy. As usual, she kissed him back with just as much desire as he was feeling for her. Feeling the craze coming on that he felt every time they kissed like this, he forced himself to back off a little, and he came up for air.

Staring at her soft pink lips as he tried to catch his breath, he spoke again, trying to calm the yearning he was feeling already. “We meet again with the director of PR in charge of this whole fight in a couple of weeks. You think you can be there?”

She nodded as she too obviously struggled to catch her breath. Unable to hold back anymore, he placed his hand on her thigh, thankful that he’d gotten to her house before she’d changed out of her sexy-as-shit skirt suit. His fingers found their way under her skirt and caressed the soft warm inner thigh.

Feeling her quiver made him smile. “What day?” she asked.

“I’m pretty sure Noah said a week from next Friday after closing,” his lips were on hers again as soon as she nodded.

She pulled away mid kiss and thought about it for a second. “If that’s Friday the 13th, I can’t. I have plans that night.”

Abel’s hand froze on her thigh, and he stared at her for a moment, not sure if he should ask, but he sure as hell wanted to. “Oh?”

“Yeah,” she said, nodding, her eyes rushing from his lips to his eyes. “If it were any other night, I could, but that’s the only night that I can’t. Will you be meeting again with him another time?”