“It’s Liv,” she whispers and opens the door wider. “I didn’t want to wake you.”

“I’m up.”

“Are you in pain?”

“Yeah. It feels like I was run over by a Mac Truck. And then it backed up and did it again.”

“You slept so long your pain meds probably wore off. I’ll get your pills and some water.”

“Wait.”

“What?”

“Where am I?”

“In the Penthouse suite.”

“I don’t remember getting up here last night.”

“You were pretty out of it. Vince said the Doctor gave you a double dose of meds before you left the hospital and you were out before you got back to the hotel. Took Vince, Nico, and Preach to get you up here.”

Shit. I don’t remember a thing. Last I remember, I was still sitting in the hospital with Vince and the doctor came in to tell me my rib was broken. Liv disappears and comes back a minute later with water and a pill. I sit up in the bed, the change in position is painful.

“Thanks.” I gulp down the water and the pill.

“What time is it?”

“Four.”

“In the afternoon?”

She giggles. “Yes, in the afternoon.”

“Where’s Vince?”

“He had to go down for some appearances and then to host the afternoon session.”

I sit up a bit straighter, wincing when my chest muscles flex, but pull the covers off of me. “I should go.”

“I think you should rest.”

“I will. But I’m going to go back to my room.”

“Ummm…,” she hesitates. “I brought all your stuff up here. Vince gave me your key card and I checked you out of your room.”

“Thanks. It’s about time I head back to D.C. anyway. I’m good. I can get around. But I appreciate everything.” I swing my legs to the side of the bed. Fuck, it hurts like hell when I move.

“I think you should stay,” Liv says. “For Vince’s benefit too.”

“Why for Vince?”

“He was pretty riled up last night. Nico had to talk him down from hunting down the guy you fought. He takes the sport very seriously and says guys like that set back the advances of getting it accepted as a legitimate sport by ten years.” She pauses. “Nico has to leave tonight. His wife is pregnant with their second child and they have a one year old. I’m surprised he even came.”

“Not sure I’m in any condition to stop Vince from doing anything.”

“Maybe not. But having you here is good for him too. He’ll never admit it, but he’s been curious about you since he found out you were related.”

I smile because I’ve felt the same way.

“Will you stay?”

“Yeah.” The truth is, I was only leaving because it seemed like the right thing to do. I have nowhere I need to be anyway. “Do you know where my phone is?”

“Sure, I’ll get it for you.”

Liv opens the curtains and brings me some fruit while I check my phone. There are hundreds of new texts. Brady, Marco, my father, business associates that saw the fight…but none from the one name I want to see flash on my phone. I didn’t jump into the ring with the foolish notion that winning would mean I’d win Lily back, but seeing her face in the arena last night I thought maybe, just maybe, there was a chance in hell. I toss the phone on the end table feeling rejected all over again.

“She didn’t call?” Liv asks reluctantly.

I shake my head no.

“I was on the other side of the arena with Vince during the fight, but Vince pointed out who she was. I watched her reactions as she watched the fight. She sat on the edge of her seat the entire time. Nervous. She was white as a ghost when Caden stomped you. I saw her run toward the cage. But then I lost her in the crowd. I think she still cares about you if that matters,” she offers trying to make me feel better, but it feels more like pity.

I attempt a smile, she’s sweet for trying to help. “Thanks, I’m going to take a shower.”

“Jax?”

I turn back.

“It’s her loss if she doesn’t forgive you, because you’re totally worth forgiving.”

Chapter 34

Lily

I barely slept last night thinking about Jax. Wondering if he’s alright, how he’s feeling after the fiasco in the ring. He walked away, but he’s bound to be in pain today. The insanity of what Caden did yesterday still leaves me unsettled. Surely he’ll be barred from ever competing again in the octagon. No organization accepts multiple intentional fouls.

Sitting at our table at the Sponsors’ luncheon I know I should be networking, but I feel empty. Everything seems hollow and meaningless. Like there’s a gaping hole in my heart that I’ll walk around with for the rest of my life unable to be filled.

“You okay, dear?” An older women sitting at the table with white hair and deeply set wrinkles asks. Her smile is soft and her face warm and concerned.

“Yes, thank you.” I smile politely.

“Man trouble?” she asks, leaning in.

I smile at her persistence. “Is it that obvious?”

She nods. “I was married for forty-one years. Lost my Gerald last year.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Want some advice?”

I haven’t even told her the problem, so I’m not so sure how she could advise me to fix it. But I’m polite nonetheless because she seems sweet.

“Sure.” I smile.

“There’s only two choices with a man. Forgive him or forget him. If you can’t do the latter, then you need to forgive him because he’s already stolen your heart.”

I have no idea what I expected her to say, but it certainly wasn’t that. So simple. So poignant. So clear. Yet it takes a woman I’ve never met to point out the obvious. I stand and kiss her on the check. “Thank you.”

She nods knowingly.

***

“Can you tell me what room Jackson Knight is in, please?” I ask the clerk at the front desk.

“I’m sorry, we can’t give out that information.”

I show her my sponsor badge, as if it carries some sort of authority. “I’m a sponsor here, I’m supposed to meet him this evening, but I’m going to be a little late and I just want to let him know,” I lie. “Do you think maybe you could help me? My boss will kill me if I blow this deal.”

The woman hesitates, assessing me briefly, but then punches a few keystrokes on her computer and looks up at me confused. “I’m sorry. Mr. Knight has already checked out.”