Page 60 of The Thug And His Doll

“Yeah, that’ll do it,” I agree with a laugh.

“He’s on shift right now, but the others are in the staff room on their break. Let me buzz you through,” she replies, waving at Toby who gives her a shy smile.

When we pass through the door, Toby giggles. “She’s pretty.”

Lia and I exchange looks, grinning. “She sure is. She’s also sworn off men for life, apparently. ”

Toby puffs out his chest. “I could be her boyfriend.”

“You’ve got a few years left until you can even think about having a girlfriend,” Lia says with a chuckle.

“Wow!” Toby exclaims, his steps faltering as his attention is caught by Baxter, one of my good friends and employees, as he strides towards us from the other side of the gym. Pretty sure the whole room takes a collective breath as he moves, attracting glances from both male and female members alike.

“He’s a powerhouse, that’s for sure,” I say, patting Toby on the head. “Not sure how he manages to take pilates classes though.”

Now, I pride myself on my own muscular physique, but Baxter takes the cake. Standing at six foot six, he’s built like a mountain, with muscles to match. He could be seen as intimidating with his shorn hair, long brown beard and brightly tattooed arms, but he’s a good guy with a heart of gold that shines through when he smiles.

“Yo, Drix! Slacking looks good on you,” he jokes, slapping me on the arm as he greets us all with a smile. Not one for keeping himself hidden away, he wears bright red shorts and a matching gym shirt that hugs his muscles, leaving very little to the imagination.

“A man could get a complex around you,” I say, chuckling.

“If you’ve got it, flaunt it. Am I right?”

“You’re even bigger than Drix!” Toby exclaims innocently as he looks up at the beefcake.

“In all the ways that count, little fella,” Baxter replies with a chuckle, throwing a wink at Lia.

I side-eye her, noticing how her cheeks pink up and her lips jerk up in a smile. Well, fuck, now I feel a stab of jealousy at her obvious appreciation.

Baxter grins, glancing back at me.“We’ve missed you around here, mate.”

“Been a little busy sorting out the security for Robert Blade’s wedding. Are you still up for some overtime covering the biggest social event Princetown has seen since you beat AJ’s arse at last year's heavyweight championship?” I add jokingly, shoving the jealousy aside.

“You know I’m good for it,” he grins, turning his attention back to Lia and Toby.

“And you must be Lia and Toby, Drix has told us all about you. Pretty sure he could write a full on soliloquy about his feelings for you. The texts messages he’s been sending are like poetry–”

“Thanks mate,” I groan as Lia blushes an even deeper shade of pink.

“Nice to meet you,” Lia says politely.

“We’re heading to the staff room. I wanted to introduce Lia and Toby to you all, given they’re going to be sticking around a while,” I explain, hoping I’m not speaking out of turn.

Since our conversation at the shopping centre, she hasn’t mentioned leaving again, and I’m hoping that means she’s considering staying for longer than just a few short weeks, that she’s beginning to trust her feelings like I asked her to do.

“Awesome, the guys will be glad to see you. But unlike those lazy buggers, I got work to do,” Baxter replies, turning on his feet to move away. He hesitates, turning back. “Hey, why don’t we meet for a drink at Bandits this weekend to have a proper catch up. The band is playing Friday night, and Ben’s got some guy from a label coming in from the city to check them out.”

“Yeah, he mentioned that,” I reply noncommittally. It’s not that I don’t want to support Ben and the band, it’s just that I enjoy spending all of my time with Lia and Toby, and I don’t want to go swanning off on a night out when I’d rather be with them.

“He wants the place packed out. You should come too, Lia,” he adds with a quirk of his brow and a twinkle in his eye, because he knows that’ll needle me.

“Maybe,” she replies, looking at me hesitantly.

I relax my face, plastering on a smile because the bastard is obviously intent on winding me up today. “Catch you later.”

“Sure thing, boss,” he says with a chuckle, stepping aside as we move past him.

“Do the men you’re about to introduce me to all look like that?” Lia whispers under her breath as she glances over her shoulder at Baxter.

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