All Chapters of Fighting History (Fighting For Love 4): Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Joe Carlisle glared around his restaurant. Six months until the planned opening, and nothing was fucking coming together. It was still a goddamned construction site, he was having trouble finding staff, he was struggling to finalize the menu and worst of all, he had nobody competent to handle the sculptures he so desperately wanted. In his original vision of the restaurant, he’d imagined the sculptures being a talking-point of his place; a highlight that would set his restaurant apart from any other in Denver.Of course, that plan had assumed a lot of things. Mostly, it had assumed that she’d accept the commission. Without her, the whole fucking thing had fallen apart pretty fast, and despite almost a year of asking her to reconsider, the stubborn woman just refused to do the job.Joe had tried everything he could think of. The year before, he’d gone to a conference he knew she’d be at – though he had no earthly reason to be there, since he was a chef and the conference was for artist

“My God, Maggie.” Katie Lloyd’s large brown eyes were bigger than Maggie had ever seen them. “You actually took the job from Joe?”“Yep.” Maggie took a swig of wine, contemplated chugging the whole damn thing. “I signed the contract this afternoon and sent it back by courier. As of that signature, I work with the asshole.”“And how was it seeing him again?” Reena Mackay’s soft voice was cautious. Maggie shrugged, trying to look uncaring. “OK. Fine. No big deal.”“Yeah?” Mia Ferris asked, bringing another bottle of wine from her kitchen. “You telling us the truth now?”“Uh-huh.”They looked at Maggie and then at each other, knowing full well that she was lying. Joe Carlisle had been the first man that she’d ever really loved – she’d let him in in a way that she’d never done with any man ever before. When she’d discovered his cheating, Maggie had been beyond devastated.Not that she’d ever said so, of course. But since losing Joe two years earlier, Maggie had become tougher and more cl

“So did you tell your friends last night? That we’re trying?”Katie looked over at Adam Pierce, and smiled. He was standing in the kitchen with a steaming cup of decaffeinated coffee, his blue eyes bright in his handsome face. He was dying to be a Daddy, she knew, and she was dying to see this hulking ex-boxer cradling their tiny child in his tattooed arms. “Not yet, babe,” she said.His face fell. “How come?”“Honestly? Because it wasn’t the right time. Reena’s worried about the trial, and Maggie’s upset about being around Joe again, and I think that Mia would be hurt by it.”Adam walked over and handed her the coffee. “Mia hurt? Why? Has she said something?”Katie sighed. “No, not in so many words. But… well. She and Nick have been together longer than any of the rest of us – but they’re the only ones who don’t live together. I know when I moved in here with you, she was happy for us, but she also kind of hoped that she and Nick might finally have the ‘living together’ talk. She br

“Maggie.” He fought to keep his voice even. “Time is short. You know that, right? If we can save two or three days and the whole back-and-forth with couriers and e-mail comments, don’t you think we should do that? Especially since you’ll need to send me an estimate for an upfront payment of materials?”She narrowed her eyes. Lord, I hate it when he’s reasonable. “I guess so.”“OK,” he said, relieved. “So, I’ll drop by your studio on Friday morning. Does nine o’clock work for you?”She shrugged. “Sure.” She turned to go.“Wait. Maggie, wait. Please.”“What?”Joe struggled with his words. “Don’t you think – maybe we should – since we’re working together now, do you want to clear the air? Between us?”Maggie crossed her arms. “I have nothing to say to you, except send me my damn money and I’ll see you on Friday at nine o’clock. If you have anything non-professional to get off your chest, go ahead.”“Uh. OK.”She stared up at him calmly.“I – I just… oh, God, Maggie. I wanted to say I’m s

Reena was naked underneath it, and his hands skimmed down her stomach, dipped between her thighs. She gasped and opened her legs to his touch, and her heat rushed at him, so strong and immediate, it was like a wave. Mitch found her taut little bud and rolled it under his thumb, holding her close as her whole body arched and stiffened with pleasure.“Turn over,” he whispered. “I’m going to take you from behind. I’m going to go deep and make you come hard.”She gasped again as he flipped her unresisting body. She raised herself on her knees, pushing her elbows into the bed. She heard the crinkle of foil as he opened the condom, and she waited, breathless, for him to enter her.Oh, please, Mitch… hurry. It was like he’d heard her silent plea because he lifted her gently, resting her body against his. She felt his strong, steady heartbeat at her back, and she leaned into him, loving knowing that he was right there, knowing that Mitch was always right there. He was never going to leave he