Love On The Ropes (Ringside Romance) Read Online Free Page B

him sharp.
    “You don’t have to be macho. That
doesn’t impress me.” She raised her eyebrow as if she were growing impatient.
    “Not much impresses you, does it?”
he guessed. He wanted to know more about this woman but knew she’d never willingly
give up information.
    “Well,” she said, “I’m impressed
by a truly amazing sunrise over the Grand Canyon, and the sight of Mount
Rainier on a clear day.” The corner of her mouth curved up. Was she smiling at
him?
    He sat up and rubbed his knee,
realizing he’d banged it up but good. 
    “You messed up the knee, too?” she
asked.
    Damn, she read him like the Sunday
comics, quickly and with little effort. How could that be? His best friends,
Chauncy and Beef, always accused him of playing his cards so close that even
they couldn’t begin to guess what was going on in his head.
    Right now the only thing
registering in his head was the pain from his bloody head wound and bruised
knee.
    “Change your mind?” she asked,
rattling the bottle of pills.
    He’d have to watch himself around
this female.
    “I could use one, I guess,” he
said.
    “Just one?”
    “Please.”
    She tapped a pill into his palm.
He noticed she was careful to avoid skin-to-skin contact. Strange. Her hand was
all over his chest a minute ago yet now she couldn’t stand to touch him?
    He swallowed the aspirin and she offered
him the cup of water. This time his fingers grazed hers. She froze for a second
before stepping back.
    “X-rays wouldn’t be bad idea,” she
offered, stuffing something into her backpack and avoiding eye contact.
    “No thanks, doc.”
    “You’re a smart-ass, you know
that?”
    “What am I supposed to call you? I
don’t know your name.”
    She planted her hands on her hips.
“Sandy.”
    “Thanks, Sandy.” He extended his
hand, waiting to see what she’d do.
    To his surprise, she stuck out her
petite fingers and shook his hand. “Hopefully, I’ll never see you again,” she
said.
    He wasn’t expecting that response.
“Excuse me?”
    “If you use half the brains God
has given you, you’ll make nice with the boys, stay out of trouble and take
care of yourself.”
    She was insulting him again,
wasn’t she? And here he thought she was starting to like him, that maybe she
could be his insider for this assignment.
    “I’ve got more brains than you
think,” he said, taking another swig of water. Suddenly he felt dehydrated.
    “If that’s true, you’ll apologize
to Floyd.”
    “Apologize?” he snapped, then
grabbed his head to ease the pain.
    She placed an ice pack on his
knee. His head, his knee, this woman, this stupid assignment. He was going to
lose it. No, she’d avoid him for sure if she thought he was hot tempered and
dangerous. Yet she’d gotten in his face before. Nothing seemed to intimidate
her.
    “I have nothing to apologize for,”
he said. “Floyd started it.” And Jason sounded like an eight-year-old.
    “Swallow your pride and smooth
things over. You don’t want enemies before you step into the ring.”
    She made a good point. He’d learned
that wrestling was a team effort, that if everyone executed the moves the way
they were supposed to, no one got hurt. Not severely, anyway.
    But that son of a bitch Floyd
crossed the line.
    “What did he say to you?” she
asked.
    There she was with the mindreading
again. He’d have to watch her. Yeah, watch her crawl right under his skin.
    She crossed her arms over her
chest, a beautiful round chest stretching the fabric of her army fatigue
T-shirt. Camo? He’d have to ask her about that fashion statement when he got to
know her better.
    “We had words,” he said.
    “What kind of words?”
    “We were trying out some moves and
called me a baby face.”
    “And you attacked him for that?”
    “He started dissing my mother.”
    She burst into laughter, her
cheeks flushing a soft pink. It was then that he noticed the slight freckles
dotting her nose. She looked sweet, like the proverbial girl