Semua Bab Fighting History (Fighting For Love 4): Bab 41 - Bab 50

“Where’s Maggie?” Mia asked, clutching another man’s hand. His gray eyes were hard in his face as he surveyed Joe, but at least he wasn’t acting like he wanted to kill Joe. And thank God for that, because he was sure that any one of these three men could take him down without a second thought. Yeah, he was a big guy, in good shape and strong, but these three? Fuck, man. They looked like they pumped iron for a living and ate nails for breakfast.The third man was standing behind Reena protectively. He hadn’t said a word, but he was looking at Joe with some warmth. They exchanged half-glances, and Reena managed to give Joe a small smile.“She’s in the visitor’s lounge,” Joe said. “This way.”They followed him down the hall, and when he got to the room, he stepped aside to let the women pass. He stood in the doorway with the other men, and they all watched as Maggie’s friends surrounded her. She looked shocked, shattered. Joe wasn’t at all sure that she was fully aware of what was going

At six-thirty in the morning, Joe pulled up in front of Maggie’s apartment building. He turned off the ignition and looked at her. “Maggie?”She blinked at him, her face deathly pale in the light cast by the first rays of the summer dawn.“You’re home, baby. Come on. I’ll walk you up.”She nodded and opened her door. Her movements were slow, deliberate. Joe thought she looked like she was moving under water, and again, he wondered just how aware she was of what was happening.When she spoke, she was clear. Even forceful. She’d handled all the paperwork perfectly, almost professionally; she’d asked logical questions, listened carefully to the answers. Maggie seemed at peace with the notion that Rita would live on in others, and she’d shaken the hands of the doctors and nurses on her way out. But on the ride from the hospital to her apartment, she’d withdrawn again, gone silent, pulled back into herself until she was almost gone.Upstairs, Joe unlocked the door for her, flicked on the

It was dark when she opened her eyes again, and for several seconds, she was confused. Then she felt a hard body against her own soft one, and she gasped. Panicked, she pushed back and away, then Joe spoke to her.“It’s me, Maggie. You’re OK.”Memory returned now, and with it, a rising sense of humiliation.Oh, God. I threw myself at Joe, and he turned me down. Argh. Can I have a nice big hole open up in the floor here, so I can toss myself into it, never to be seen again? Can that possibly be arranged? Thank you…Joe ran his fingers through her tumbled hair. “How are you?”She decided to just tackle the whole thing head-on. “Totally embarrassed.”“No.” He raised her chin, and she saw his eyes gleaming in the darkness, glowing in the lights from the street lamps outside. “Don’t be, sweetness.”“I flung myself at you, Joe. Completely naked.”He grinned. “Yeah, I remember.”She blushed at the heat and darkness in his voice. God, she remembered that voice, the one that he had used when h

Late the next morning, Joe brought Maggie a cup of coffee and a croissant that he’d bought from the café across the street from her apartment while she was still sleeping. She took both with a tired smile, and he sat down next to her on the sofa.“Maggie?”“Hmmm?”“Can we talk about us now?”She looked at him. “I suppose we should, right?”“What do you want to happen?” he asked quietly. “You have so much to deal with right now with your Mom, and I want to be here through all of it. Will you let me?”“Yes.”“…Yes?”“Yes. I – I like having you around.” She paused, gathering her thoughts. “I like it a lot.”“I’m glad.” He touched her cheek. “What do you need me to do right now?”She glanced at him, her eyes welling with tears. “Help me plan a funeral?”“Oh, baby.” Joe pulled her to his chest and held her close. “I’m so, so sorry.”She gripped his upper arms, glad to have him there with her. Mia and Katie had both offered to stay with her, and she'd definitely have them come over to help

For the first time, Mia looked angry. “I was going to talk to him about the offer ten times over the past week, but he couldn’t seem to find the time, or he was too tired to come to my place, or when I brought up a more serious talk over coffee, he begged off. The man’s had plenty of chances, believe me, including last night, when he just blew me off.” She poured some more wine. “I have a deadline of this weekend to give Grant an answer, and I’m not going to make him hold on just because Nick won’t grace me with a conversation.”Katie and Maggie studied her face.“You OK, Mia?” Katie said.“Yeah, I really am. It’ll feel good to make a decision at last, you know?”“Goddamn,” Maggie said. “I can’t believe it.”“I don’t know,” Katie mused. “If you go, it may well be the best thing for you guys. If he’s not sure what he wants, give him some time and space to figure it out – and advance your career in the meantime, right? Like you said, this is how your job has been for years, and if Nick