Faking It

by Christine d'Abo

  Max cleared his throat, hoping to snag the drunk’s attention. “I’m going to go back inside now. How about you come with me so we can get you someplace safer?” At least Cameron had ordered the security cameras for the alley while he’d been gone.

  The guy pushed away from the wall, clearly not as bad off as Max had first thought. He wandered back down the alley, as though Max wasn’t there.

  Well, you’re welcome.

  He watched the guy turn the corner before going back in through the side door. It was shortly after midnight, which meant Max only had a few more hours to get his things done before he’d be able to go home. Funny that the one thing no one bothered to do for him while he’d been away was the paperwork. Hardly seemed fair.

  Rubbing the back of his neck, he walked into his office. He jumped when instead of an empty chair in his empty office, he saw Grady sitting there, a smile on his face and a small bouquet of grocery store flowers in his hand.

  “Hi.” Grady’s smile wavered, before he jumped to his feet and crossed the room. He held the flowers out to Max. “Umm, I know these aren’t great, but it was all I could afford on a shoestring—”

  Max grabbed him by the head and pulled him in for a kiss.

  The second their lips connected, Max’s entire world righted. His heart pounded, not from desire, but excitement. Grady was here, here, and no matter what had happened between them, everything would be okay. It had to be, because his body was there and so warm; the familiar scent of aftershave had faded, but Max recognized Grady’s deodorant and it sent little waves of happiness through him.

  Grady’s mouth was tense for a few moments before he relaxed into the kiss. If Max had been thinking straight, he no doubt would have realized how awkward this entire meeting should have been, considering what had happened between them the last time they’d been together. But he wasn’t thinking straight, or at all. The only thing he could focus on was want and now and more.

  Clearly, Grady wasn’t as far gone as he was, because one moment Max was kissing him and the next Grady was pulling back. “Hang on a second.”

  Max closed his eyes and counted to three in his head before opening them again. “You’re here.”

  “Yeah. Not that I don’t love the kissing, but we should probably talk.”

  Max chuckled. “Since when did you become the practical one?”

  Grady blushed. “Right around the time I told Father I was leaving home and he cut me off.”

  “He what?”

  “Like I said, we should probably talk.” Grady took Max’s hand and led him to the desk’s chair. “Sit.”

  Max did as he was told. He couldn’t believe that not only was Grady here but he was apparently broke. “What’s going on?”

  Grady sat on the edge of the desk, and Max opened his legs so he practically stood between them. Grady’s gaze slid beyond Max, and he took a deep breath. “First, I need to apologize. I’m sorry about that stupid fight and for saying the things that I did. After what happened between us, I mistakenly thought you were turning against me. It took a lot of soul-searching to realize that thinking it was me against the world was not only false, but harming everyone around me.”

  Max reached over and took Grady’s hand. Once Grady looked at him, Max gave Grady’s hand a squeeze. “Apology accepted.”

  “Thanks.” Grady lifted Max’s hand and kissed the back of it. “You were right about a lot of things. I wasn’t living my life, not the way I wanted to. It took me a while to realize that I was terrified of being on my own, of screwing up and proving my father right. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it wasn’t the lack of money or security that scared me, but the idea of being alone. When you left . . .” He shook his head. “When I pushed you away, I realized that I was scared of being abandoned. I guess I never did come to terms with my mother’s suicide. But that will change. I’m looking at going to counseling, and I’ve started talking to Father. It will take time, but I think I might finally be on the right track.”

  Max pulled Grady forward off the desk and into a hug. “Good for you.”

  “And I have you to thank for it.”

  “No, you don’t.” God, the last thing Max wanted was for Grady to feel indebted to him, especially after all the soul-searching he’d done. “If anything, I should be thanking you. I’d been at a weird crossroads myself, before the night that I found you in the alley. Being away made me realize how much the bar and the gym mean to me. It took you, seeing your perspective on life to realize how important, how special my work life and friends are.”

  Max lifted his head and kissed Grady gently, savoring the brief contact. “And I’m sorry for leaving, for walking away when you needed me.”

  “I didn’t give you many other options.”

  Max smiled. “You were being an idiot.”

  “I know. And for once I didn’t need anyone to tell me that for me to make the connection.” He kissed the top of Max’s head. “I know we haven’t known each other very long, but I was hoping that you’d give me another chance to make this work. To see if there really is something between us.”

  The frustration and restlessness he’d been feeling since his return to Toronto evaporated. “Yeah. I think I’d like that.”

  Grady relaxed in his arms. “I also have a proposition for you.”

  “About what?”

  “A business one.”

  Grady sat down and quickly laid out his thoughts. The loan from his father, his thoughts about investing in the gym and taking on a position there. “I’d have to pay it back within a year, but it gives me a chance to make something of my own.”

  “That’s what you want? To owe your father?”

  “I don’t know. It’s a chance, but he’s taking one as well. He won’t be involved at all, which means I’ll sink or swim based on my own skills. I think it’ll work.”

  Max sat there and stared at him, in awe of the changes that he’d made in a small period of time. “We should have a drink to celebrate.”

  Grady smiled but shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’ve also decided I need to cut out the booze. I’ve even been to my first AA meeting.”

  “Wow.” Grady really was serious about change.

  “It’s . . . hard. Way harder than I realized.” Grady’s smile faltered. “I’m a bit terrified that I’ll fail.”

  “You won’t, because you’re Grady fucking Barnes, and you can do anything. I’m here to help. Whatever you need. Or don’t need.” Without giving him any warning, Max pulled Grady into his lap. Their mouths inches apart, Max wanted to do nothing more than kiss him, to make love to him. But that wasn’t what Grady needed. Instead, Max cupped his face. “Hey,” he whispered. “You’re that famous reality show guy.”

  Grady laughed. “I am. And who are you, sexy?”

  “I’m Max. Your boyfriend. If you want me.”

  “Hell yes.”

  “Good. If it’s okay with you, I’m going to tell Cameron that I’m leaving work early. Then I’m going to take you back to my place and make love to you until sometime tomorrow.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “Keep your hands up, Grady!”

  The head protector made it more than a little challenging to hear what Zack was yelling at him, although when Max landed a left hook, the sentiment became obvious. Lifting his hands a few inches higher, he did his best to fight the impulse to make a play.

  Max was grinning as he danced around the ring. “Come on, baby. You’re not even trying.”

  “Don’t let him bait you,” Zack called out, slapping the ring from the floor. “Now, go for the combo.”

  The hours of practice boiled down into a few moments. He shuffled to the left, bobbed, weaved, and landed a quick jab and cross. He didn’t hit hard, but did land the punches where they were supposed to be.

  “Excellent!” Zack laughed. “We’ll make a fighter out of you yet.”

  Max dropped his hands, and Grady
instinctively landed another jab, this time to Max’s chin. “Yeah!”

  Stumbling backward, Max held up his hands. “I surrender.”

  They touched gloves before they climbed out of the ring. Grady was drenched in sweat from the half-hour work out. “I might get in shape yet.”

  “Then I’ll have to fight your adoring public off with a bigger stick.”

  Working at Ringside had turned out to be a blessing in more than one way. Grady had developed friendships with Nolan and Zack and found that the skills he’d picked up working for his father were put to good use at the gym. And despite what had happened in the past, the relationship with his father was taking tentative steps in the right direction.

  Having Zack and Nolan around certainly made life fun. Together, the three of them had soft launched the opening of Ringside and were starting to get a decent-sized membership. It hadn’t hurt that his celebrity brought in a few curious people, and more than a few ended up registering. If they were only here to gawk at him, then so be it. Though everything seemed to be going along nicely for Ringside.

  “Zack,” Nolan stuck his head out from the office. “Phone.”

  “I’ll let you two get cleaned up.” Zack clapped him on the shoulder. “Good job in there.”

  “Thanks.” Grady waited until Zack was gone before he leaned in and gave Max a kiss. “And thank you for not going too rough on me.”

  “I don’t want you to be too tired for tonight.” When Max had found out that Grady had been living in a hotel, he’d insisted that he stay with him. Sure, he had a second bedroom that was technically Grady’s, but he’d yet to actually sleep there. “I’m taking you out to dinner. And afterward . . .” He wagged his eyebrows.

  “Are you playing coy?” Grady slid next to Max. “Or are you propositioning me?”

  “Have you ever known me to be coy? Yes, I’m going to feed you, then we’re going to have sex.”

  “I love the sound of that.” This time when he kissed Max, he let it linger. “And I love you.”

  Every time he said the words, his heart lightened. No matter how hard life had been before, things were getting better. Each day he was together with Max, everything improved.

  “Love you too.” Max made a show of smelling him. “But no more kissing until you shower. God you stink.”

  “Hey, good news!” Zack came bounding out of the office, Nolan a few steps behind him. “My secret plan came together.”

  Max’s goofy smile made his eyes sparkle. “If it’s a secret plan, you can forgive us for not being more excited.”

  “You’ll be excited.” Zack clapped his hands together. “After weeks of trying to get things to line up, Eli has agreed to come to the gym for the grand opening. He’s going to put on an exhibition fight with all proceeds going to charity.”

  “Wow.” Grady pulled his gloves off. “That will be phenomenal publicity for us.”

  “I don’t know if Ringside can handle having two celebrities in the same place.” Max draped his arm over Grady’s shoulder.

  “I have no problem relinquishing the title.”

  “It will be good to see Eli again.”

  Zack grinned. “It will. Now excuse me, we need to get some press releases ready to go.” Without giving Nolan a chance to respond, Zack yanked him back to the office.

  “We’re not going to see them for hours.” Max turned Grady in his arms and kissed his sweaty forehead. “That means we can leave early.”

  Despite being sore and hungry, Grady hadn’t felt better in his life. “We can. Though do you mind if we skip supper and move right to the after-party?”

  Max chuckled. “You’ll always be the playboy, won’t you?”

  “Nope. You’re the only man for me.” He tugged Max toward the showers. “Come on, you can help me clean up.” Grady led the way, thankful that fantasy had finally turned into reality.

  Explore more of the Ringside Romance series: riptidepublishing.com/titles/universe/ringside-romance

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for reading Christine d’Abo’s Faking It!

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  Faking It was a lot of fun to write. As always, it takes the efforts of more than myself to make a book successful. To the wonderful staff at Riptide Publishing for all of their efforts. From blog tours, amazing cover art, and social media support, the staff at Riptide are second to none. Thank you.

  To my amazing editor, Sarah Lyons. You’re a gem and I’m so lucky to have the opportunity to work with you. Thank you for your patience, keen eye, and your sense of humor.

  Finally, to my agent Courtney Miller-Callihan. Darling, you’re the best.

  Ringside Romance series

  Working It

  Making It (coming soon)

  Losing It (coming soon)

  Rebound Remedy

  Bounty Hunter series

  No Quarter

  No Remedy

  No Master

  Double Shot

  A Shot in the Dark

  Pulled Long

  Calling the Shots

  Choose Your Shot: An Interactive Erotic Adventure

  Sexcapades

  Club Wonderland

  30 Days

  30 Nights

  Submissive Seductions

  A romance novelist and short story writer, Christine has over thirty publications to her name. She loves to exercise and stops writing just long enough to keep her body in motion too. When she’s not pretending to be a ninja in her basement, she’s most likely spending time with her family and two dogs.

  Find Christine online:

  Website: christinedabo.com

  Twitter: @Christine_dAbo

  Facebook: facebook.com/christine.dabo

  Instagram: instagram.com/christine.dabo

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