Page 10 of Giving Up the Ring
Gia’s grin widened. “Oh my God,” she breathed dramatically. “You like him.” Luna grabbed a pen from her desk and threw it at her boss. Gia dodged it easily, laughing harder.
“This is why HR hates you,” Luna muttered.
“Sure,” Gia said. “So, are you going to tell me about him, or am I supposed to psychoanalyze you now?”
Luna groaned and scrubbed both hands over her face. “I hate you.”
“No, you don’t,” Gia insisted. Unfortunately, she was right. Besides being her boss, Gia was one of her best friends. In fact, she had been one of Luna’s closest friends since grad school, which meant she was also one of the few people capable of reading Luna like a damn book. And right now, the woman was picking up way too much.
“He’s just—” Luna stopped, trying to find the right word.
Gia’s expression softened slightly. “Important to you.” That landed harder than Luna expected, because yeah, he was, and that terrified her.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Luna admitted quietly.
Gia leaned against the desk. “That’s because this matters to you, Luna.” She looked away because she hated how accurate Gia was. Most relationships had always been easy for her to walk away from. If a guy got intimidated by her personality or annoyed by her work schedule, she let him go without much thought. But she wasn’t sure that she’d be able to do that with Rocco. She already knew losing him would hurt, and they hadn’t really even begun yet.
“You deserve something real too, Luna,” Gia said softly.
Luna scoffed lightly. “Since when did you become wise?”
“Since you started looking at one man like he hung the moon,” Gia said. Luna flipped her off, and Gia laughed again, pushing away from the desk. “Go to your gym date, psycho. Try not to ruin the poor man emotionally.”
“I’m not emotionally ruining anyone.”
Gia paused in the doorway. “You absolutely could. Just be careful,” she said. Then she left before Luna could argue. The worst part was that Luna knew she was right. That was why she kept checking herself around Rocco, because she could already feel herself wanting too much with him—wanting more, and that was dangerous for both of them.
By the time seven o’clock rolled around, Luna had changed into black leggings and a fitted tank top, her hair braided back tightly. That was her usual gym attire because it was comfortable and familiar. It was a safe choice—much safer than the cocktail dress she wore on their date. She thought about the heated kisses that she and Rocco shared at her apartment door, and debated rethinking her outfit, but she was pretty sure that wearing a cocktail dress to the gym was overkill. At least that was what she told herself.
The second Rocco walked through the gym doors, her stomach flipped immediately, which was annoying. He made her feel like a teenage girl, and she was not the kind of woman to swoon over a man. But Rocco made her want to swoon. He wore gray sweats and a black T-shirt that stretched across his chest and arms like the fabric was fighting for its life. And he was smiling—actually smiling. It wasn’t the guarded half-smirk she usually got from him. This one was real and warm, and it hit her straight in the chest.
“Well,” she said as he approached, “you actually listened for once and showed up on time.” Rocco stopped in front of her, his eyes dragging slowly over her body before meeting her gaze again.
“I always listen,” he said quietly. “To you.” Damn him.
Luna crossed her arms like that would somehow help to shield her from his charm. “Careful, you’re getting smooth.”
“Nah,” he said. “Just honest.” She still wasn’t used to his honesty. Most people hid behind something—charm, ego, or even humor, but Rocco just said the things that he wanted to say, and every time he did, she was left speechless.
“You boxing tonight?” he asked.
Luna arched a brow. “Thought you were afraid to spar with me.”
“I’m not afraid,” he insisted.
“You refused to get in the ring with me last time we were here,” she reminded.
His mouth twitched. “Because I was trying to be respectful.”
“And now you’re not worried about that?” she asked.
His eyes darkened slightly. “Now I know you’d probably kick my ass.” She laughed before she could stop herself. God, she liked him. Way too much.
“Come on,” she said, nodding toward the ring. “Let’s see what you’ve got then.” Rocco followed her without hesitation this time. He was giving her his blind trust, and that realization settled strangely in her chest as they climbed into the ring together.
The gym around them faded into background noise as Luna pulled on her gloves and bounced lightly on her feet. Rocco mirrored her movements across from her, focused completely on her. “You gonna hit me this time?” she teased.
His jaw flexed. “You’re enjoying this too much.”
