“Em baked it for the little fucker,” Mac told him.

“Sunshine, I’m your boyfriend’s best friend. If you should be baking anyone chocolate cake, it should be me.”

“It’s not for Tommy, it’s for his mum,” I reminded them. “I’m sure Tommy will get a piece, but his mum’s been under a lot of stress lately, so this is to make her feel better and I’m your best friend’s friend not his girlfriend.”

None of the guys actually said, “aww,” but they did all look at me like I was a cute little puppy.

“Wait,” said Tommy, “you called Con her boyfriend.”

“Only a matter of time, my friend,” replied Kieran, slapping Tommy on the back.

“Fuck,” muttered Tommy, as a few people round the gym groaned or muttered.

“What’s wrong with them?” I whispered to Kieran. “Don’t they think I’d be good enough for him?”

Kieran laughed at me. “Are you kidding me? You’re the sweetest, most innocent thing this bunch of depraved maniacs has ever seen. You’re smart, gorgeous, and you bake. They’re pissed off that Con wants to take you off the market. He’s shown his hand, so if anyone of these fuckers wants to ask you out, they need to go through him, and there’s no one in this gym who can take Con.”

I was thinking that Kieran wildly exaggerated my attributes, but I was still pleased. I wasn’t great at cooking, but I could bake a mean chocolate cake. In all of this, I did wonder if O’Connell had heard me at all when I told him that we’d only be friends. Maybe I was fighting fate, but I needed to know that I was strong enough to stand alone before I’d fall back on O’Connell for support.

“When me Ma sees this, she’s gonna be pissed that I didn’t bring you home first,” Tommy said gloomily, then after a short pause, he smirked.

“Still, it’s not like she’s engaged or married or anything, so there’s still plenty of time for her to wise up, blow off O’Connell, and marry me.”

“You really are fucking relentless, aren’t you, Tom,” Kieran told him. “Con’s gonna be ten times more protective now that he’s staked his claim.”

“Tough shit, arsehole,” Tommy replied cockily, “cause right now Danny’s dropping medicine balls on Con’s stomach, and I’m going home with his girl’s chocolate cake.”

I laughed as Tommy ducked Kieran’s jab, without as much as tilting the tin. He might not be as tall as the other boys, but he sure was quick. As the guys went back to their training, I felt a quick wet peck against my cheek.

“Thanks, sunshine,” Tommy told me, in possibly the first serious tone that he’d used since I’d known him.

“No one’s ever done anything that nice for me before. Making it yourself rather than buying it takes work. It’s gonna make me Ma cry, but in a nice way, you know? So thanks,” he said, then kissed me quickly on the cheek again and legged it before Kieran caught him.

“You’re welcome,” I called back as he fled.

As I turned to go into my office, I saw O’Connell back in the gym. He’d finished with the medicine ball and was pounding on the speedball so hard, I was sure it would break. His rhythm was literally seamless, and his face a mask of concentration. He didn’t miss a beat, though, as he caught my eye, smiled, and winked at me. This earned him an ear bashing from Danny, which didn’t faze O’Connell, but had me fleeing back to the computer. I didn’t see him when Kieran came to take me home, and I suspected that Danny was deliberately scheduling O’Connell’s runs to coincide with my arrival and departure. He didn’t even come in with subs, but Kieran explained that O’Connell wouldn’t be paying them anymore.

“How’s he doing?” I probed, as we walked out.

“Seriously, he’s training like a fucking animal. I’ve never seen him fight like this. He’s like a machine. Danny would be pretty excited if he wasn’t waiting for the other shoe to drop,” he explained.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Con only goes off the rails when his ma falls off the wagon. It’s like they’re linked. When’s she’s doing good, he’s doing good. Danny’s agreed to train him because he left home, and he’s never done that before. When she finds out what Con’s doing, she’s gonna be pissed. Either that or she’ll want a piece of the action. That’s when Danny thinks the shit will really hit the fan.”

“Why wouldn’t she be happy that O’Connell is really trying to make something of himself? Unless she’s worried about him getting hurt.”

“She couldn’t give a fuck about him,” scoffed Kieran. “The selfish bitch likes Con to come running when she needs him. She likes being the centre of his world. I guess fighting takes away from that. Plus, he doesn’t have any money to help her out now.”

The whole relationship sounded toxic to me. My own example of a mum was just as bad, though, so I kept my feelings to myself.

“Do you think he’ll go back once she finds out?” I asked.

“No, Em. I think you were the game changer he needed. As long as you don’t bail on him, I think he’ll see past her bullshit this time.”

Kieran was good company on the walk home, keeping me entertained with stories of all the trouble they used to get into. After he made sure that I was safely in my apartment, I went straight to bed, happier than I’d been in a long time.

A tapping sound against the window woke me with a start. As usual, my first thought was that Frank had found me. But he’d be breaking down my front door like it was his right to come in that way. The noise continued, and I risked moving back the curtain slightly to see who was out there. O’Connell stood under the street lamp throwing stones. I looked back at the clock to see that it was gone midnight. Pushing up the window, I could feel the bitter bite of frost creep into the already chilly room.

“Hey,” I called down.

“Hey, baby. I’m sorry to wake you, but I missed you today. I was hoping to say goodnight.”

“Come up then. I’ll buzz you in.”

There was no time to change or even check my appearance in the mirror. Seconds after pressing the ancient buzzer to the main front entrance, O’Connell was knocking lightly on my door. He must have raced up the stairs. I opened up for him, bleary-eyed and conscious that I was dressed only in a pair of old boy shorts and a fleecy sweater. Dumping his training bag inside the door, he pulled me toward him, and I became a soft sleepy puddle in his arms. He kissed me gently, almost reverently. He kissed me like it was our first kiss, like I was a priceless treasure that could be broken or stolen from him at any moment.