“Hello?” she answered. She was up, working an all-nighter at the hospital.

“Alexa. It’s MacKenzie.”

There was a pause. “Where are you calling from?”

“I’m in Vegas. Ian lent me his phone.”

I glanced over to see Ian across the small room, sitting on his bed, watching me. Needing some privacy, I got up and went to his bathroom, shutting the door.

“I sort of need a favor,” I said under my breath. “I need to get home, like now. Can you loan me the money for a plane ticket? Normally I wouldn’t ask, but I promise I will pay you back.”

“Wait, why don’t you have your phone? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I paused, taking a deep breath. “Chris and I may have had a small…falling-out. I can’t stay here with him. I have to get out of here.”

“Oh God. I’m sorry, sweetie. Sure. I’ll go online and buy you a ticket. Don’t worry about the money. I just want to make sure you’re okay. He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“No,” I lied. Only my pride, my will, and my faith in humanity. Oh, and my boobs. “We just broke up.”

“And where’s your phone?” she asked.

Spanish inquisition, much?

“It’s in Chris’s room. I kinda stormed out, and I don’t want to go back in. I thought I would ask Ian to get my stuff from him once the fight was over.”

It was mostly true. I didn’t like lying to Alexa, but the truth hurt too much. I wasn’t ready to relive those horrible moments when I was alone with Chris and he tried to take everything away from me.

“Okay, sure,” she said. “I’ll find you a flight right now and call you back soon.”

We hung up, and I sat down on the edge of the tub.

Ian knocked on the door. “Kenzie?”

“Yeah,” I said.

“Everything okay?”

I got up and opened the door. No sense in hiding in his bathroom while I waited. “Yeah,” I said. “Alexa’s going to find me a flight home, then I can get out of your hair.”

“You’re going home?” He looked upset. Dang it, why was he upset that I was leaving? He was the one sleeping with prostitutes.

“What’s wrong with that?” I asked.

He ran his hand through his hair. I caught his eyes glancing down my body. “I guess I was just hoping you would see the fight.”

I wanted to see his fight too. More than he knew. I wanted to see him finally have his chance.

I shook my head. “I have to go. I don’t have anywhere to sleep.”

“You and Chris broke up.” He tilted his head to the side and gave me a sympathetic look.

If only it were just that. If it were only that easy. I wanted to tell Ian the truth, and maybe, if he still cared about me, he would take me back. But if he knew what Chris had done—how he’d forced himself on me—he wouldn’t let it go.

I’d seen how protective Ian was with his sister, and women in general. If I told him what Chris did, I had a feeling he would go after Chris. And that would not end well. It would definitely wreck him physically for his fight tomorrow. Besides, even if I did tell him the truth, would I ever be able to get him back? I had pushed him away so many times, there was no way.

“We broke up.” I nodded, chewing on the inside of my cheek. That was one way of putting it.

“Stay here with me. I’ll sleep on the couch. You can see the fight tomorrow, then get a flight after.”

“Thank you, but no. I’m not putting you out like that. I want you to get your sleep. As soon as Alexa calls back, I’ll be out of here.”

Ian’s phone rang. It was Alexa. “Sweetie, I have some bad news,” she said. “There are no more flights out until tomorrow morning.”

I felt my shoulders fall. “Crap.” My mind raced to find something else I could do. “I’ll go to the desk and see if they have any rooms left for the night.”

“I already called them and tried that. Your hotel and all the ones nearby are fully booked. There’s a bunch of conventions in town. Can you stay with Ian?”

I looked at Ian, who was watching me.

“What is it?” he asked.

I shook my head at him. “I can’t. I won’t put him out like that.”

Ian jumped up and pulled the phone out of my hand. “What’s up?” He listened while Alexa filled him in on the situation, then said, “Yeah. She can stay here. I don’t want her running off to some suburban motel in the middle of the night. I’d feel better if she stayed here.”

He handed the phone back to me. “It’s settled.” His look said there was no talking him out of it.

I put the phone back up to my ear. “I guess I’m staying here.”

“Look, there’s no reason you can’t stay for the fight. Cade and I are arriving tomorrow. I’ll text you our flight info and you can meet us at the airport. You can stay with us and come home after.”

I watched Ian as he pulled an extra blanket and pillow out of the closet and started setting up on the couch. He was still in just his boxers, and at the sight of his muscular arms, legs, and back, I licked my lips. His brow furrowed as if he was thinking about something. God, I wanted to watch his fight.

“We’ll see,” I said.

Forty-One

Ian

Kenzie hung up the phone. “You better be making up the couch for me,” she said. Her hands on her hips and bossy tone made me smile. She was so cute when she was demanding.