Page 13 of Big Girl Panties

"Really?"

I shook my head. "No. I wanted to see you again."

She stood silent for a long moment. "I should probably apologize for last night."

"You don't have anything to apologize for. I had a good time, and I hope we can do it again." I paused, clearing my throat as I reached into my pocket. I suddenly felt like a middle school boy asking his first crush out and was secretly scared that after last night, I'd ruined everything. "I have a match tomorrow night," I pulled a ticket out of my pocket, "and I was wondering if you wanted to come watch me, and then we could have dinner after?"

She smiled. "I want to say yes, but I don't think I'm really in the right headspace for dating."

Rejection shouldn't sting this much, not when I barely knew her. But something about the careful way she held herself, like she was braced for the next hit, made me want to prove that not all men were dicks. She needed to know she was safe with me, that I wasn't going to hurt her like her ex did.

It didn't help that I'd embarrassed her last night, which was the complete opposite of what I wanted to do. I wanted to kiss the shit out of her until she couldn't breathe. I wanted to take her back to her place and show her exactly how attracted to her I was, but I was afraid she'd regret it when she woke up.

"Did you still want that coffee?" I nodded. I wanted that coffee every day for the rest of my life. "What kind of coffee?"

"Surprise me and a…" my gaze lifted, scanning the large menu above her head, "bagel."

Twenty years of discipline, strict diet, rigid training schedule, every calorie counted. And here I was ordering a bagel I wouldn't eat just to stay in the same room as a woman who'd already turned me down.

She slid my coffee across the counter. "You can have a seat, and I'll have your bagel ready in a few minutes."

I wedged myself into what appeared to be a chair designed for hobbits because it definitely wasn't made to fit a six-foot-four, two hundred and eighty-seven-pound wrestler. My knees were somewhere around my ears, and I was pretty sure I looked like a giant trying to have a tea party.

Smiling, my gaze swept out over the busy streets of downtown Tampa as I waited. I'd googled cafés in downtown Tampa, and it turned out there were eight. Eight cafés. I'd hit all eight cafés this morning like some lovesick stalker, telling myself I just needed coffee, except I didn't drink coffee.

The front door exploded open with enough force to rattle the windows. My coffee cup froze halfway to my lips.

A man in an expensive black suit cut through the café like a blade, tall, lean, and radiating fury.

I knew who he was before Brooke's face went white.

"What the fuck, Brooke?" His voice cracked like a whip across the sudden silence.

My chair scraped against the floor as I stood. Every muscle in my body coiled tight.

Brooke's head twisted, and her eyes widened when she saw the man. "Chris?" Her brows pulled together like she was confused. She shook her head.

"Your dad just passed me up for partner."

I was right. He was the ex-husband. I stepped forward.

She rolled her eyes. "Chris, I run a café. I have nothing to do with my father's choice of partner. Just like I had no choice…"

"That's fucking bullshit, and you know it."

I wasn't going to let him talk to her like that. "Hey, babe," I smiled, strolling past him and meeting her in the open space that led behind the counter. My hands cupped her face, holding her in place as our eyes met, and a brief moment of confusion flashed across her face. I pressed my lips to hers.

It wasn't the first kiss I'd wanted.

I'd wanted to thrust my tongue into her mouth and tangle it with hers. I wanted to taste her to see if she tasted as sweet as she looked, but I wasn't sure how she'd feel about that yet.

Breaking from the kiss, I released her face and shifted my weight so I could throw an arm around her possessively. My gaze met his, a smirk pulling at the corner of my lips.

"This is Chris," Brooke sighed. "My ex-husband. Chris, this is…"

"You're The Mountain."

Forcing a smile, I nodded. "Yeah, and I'm going to have to be real with you, man." I kept my tone cool and calm. "If you talk to my girl like that again. I'm going to have to readjust your jaw." My fake smile faded.