Jogging out of the room, I hear my entourage following behind me, but nobody makes it far, because what I see in front of me causes my entire body to freeze in its place.
Tulip is standing right where I left her, but she’s no longer alone. In the five minutes that it took me to change, Meghan found it necessary to slide up next to her. No fucking telling what the bitch is saying to Tulip.
My feet become unstuck, and I stomp toward them. Tulip must sense me because her gaze snaps to mine before I arrive. She licks her lips and widens her eyes at me. Smirking, I reach my hand out palm up and my chest puffs up when she slips her hand in mine.
Tugging her toward me, I glance over to Meghan and jerk my chin at her. “We’re leaving now,” I state.
Without waiting for her response, Tulip and I walk out of the arena. The SUV is waiting, running with Gary in the driver’s seat. Shawn and Aaron are taking their own car home, but I didn’t want to drive.
Gary grips the steering wheel, but I ignore him as we climb inside. The drive home is tense, at least for him, but not me. I’m not going to be led around in my personal life.
Who is in my bed and who I love, that doesn’t have anything to do with my career. Tulip is the woman that I’ve chosen and Gary, along with everyone else, doesn’t have any say in that.
A few moments later, Tulip and I are finally alone. Her bag is next to the front door and I lift my gaze to look at her, waiting and wanting to know exactly what Meghan said to her.
“Are you going to tell me what she said?” I ask.
Tulip shrugs a shoulder. “That she was the first woman you ever loved. That she wants you back and she will get you back. That there is no way that I can love you like she did. I don’t know you the way that she does.”
I let out a snort, then a bark of laughter shortly follows. “You believe her?”
Tulip shrugs again. “I don’t want to, mainly because I know that you know me better than Joey ever did. You love me more than he could and I love you more than I ever loved him.”
“She said she wanted to get back together, mainly because she’s getting a divorce and her husband is her cash cow. She’s doing photography right now for extra money. She doesn’t know me, not in the slightest. Nobody knows me the way that you do, Tullie.”
Tulip nods, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. I can see the little bit of doubt swirling in her gaze as she watches me. Taking a step toward her, I close the distance between us before I lift my hand and cup her cheek with my palm.
“Nobody, Tullie. You’re the only woman that I’ve ever loved.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
TULIP
Last night Louis and I ate dinner, then went to bed. He reminded me that we wouldn’t be having sex until we celebrated his win. Lying in bed, I watch as he showers and dresses for the day. He has an interview, then meditation for the rest of the afternoon until the fight.
“You’re going to be okay?” he asks.
Nodding, I sit up straight in bed. “Shawn is picking me up right before with his girlfriend. I’ll be sitting with them on the sidelines. I’ll be okay.”
He nods, his gaze cutting to me after he tugs on his jeans. “I will win,” he states.
Shifting my legs to the side of the bed, I slowly stand to my feet. Closing the distance between us, I place my palms on his still bare chest and tilt my head back.
“You will win and then we’ll come back here and celebrate.” I smile.
He shakes his head once, his lips twitch before he lifts his hand and buries his fingers in the back of my hair. He tugs on the strands gently, lowering his face so that his lips are brushing mine.
“We’ll celebrate in the locker room so that he can hear just how goddamn victorious I am,” Louis growls.
“Louie,” I breathe.
He grunts, his teeth scraping my bottom lip before they nip my flesh. “Fuckin’ you in that locker room, Tulip. Victory will never taste so goddamn sweet,” he growls.
“I don’t think I want to know what he really said to you.”
Louis chuckles, his eyes dancing as they search mine. “You don’t. But trust me when I say that men like him need to be knocked down a peg or two and as much as I’m dreading walking into that ring, I will not hesitate to knock him off of his self-built pedestal.”
My fingers flex against his chest. “I’ll see you tonight,” I whisper.
“Never looked forward to something as much as I’m looking forward to seeing you sitting ringside, baby.”
I wish that I felt the exact same way, but the fact is that I’m extremely nervous. It seems that I’m actually more nervous than Louis is, or maybe he’s just pumping himself up. I don’t know, but whatever it is, it has my stomach in knots.
“I’ll be right there, cheering you on,” I murmur.
Louis’ lips twitch and he touches them to mine just as there is a knock on the door. “It’s my ride. You’ll be good? Call Shawn if you need anything at all. He’ll be around and available for you.”
“I’ll be okay.” I nod.
Louis takes one step back, his eyes searching mine before he slips his feet into a pair of sandals and pulls on a t-shirt. “Fuck, you’re pretty, baby,” he murmurs.
Shaking my head slowly, I can’t hide the smile on my lips from his words. “Go, you got this,” I say.
He nods once, taking another step back, then another before he turns around. I watch him walk out of the room, but not before he pauses and looks back at me from over his shoulder.
“I love you, Tulip,” he calls.
“I love you too,” I breathe.
He winks, and then he’s gone. I hear him lock the door and after I’ve gathered myself, I take a quick shower. I was told, with eerily specific instructions not to wash my hair or apply any makeup.
I only have enough time to eat lunch and shower before people start arriving. Apparently, Gary thinks that I have no clue how to do anything for myself, that includes my hair, makeup, clothes, shoes, jewelry, and weirdly enough, picking out my own undergarments.
The stylist is nice, his name is Moe. He seems to be the one in charge, as he bosses everyone and I mean every single person in this apartment around, without hesitation. When my hair is setting in curlers, he starts to show me some dresses.
He tries to push a red one on me, but I wrinkle my nose. “Louis’ shorts are royal blue, his gloves black for this fight. Sometimes he wears red, but I’ve asked and have been assured that they are indeed black.”
“Okay…” I say, unsure of what any of that has to do with me and a dress.
“You need to complement him,” Moe sighs, completely exasperated.
Biting the corner of my lip, my eyes shift over to the small clothing rack that he’s set up. “What about the royal blue one?” I ask, lifting my hand and extending my finger to a strappy royal blue, sequined short dress.
Moe turns to look over his shoulder at the sparkly dress, then slowly shifts his gaze back to meet mine. “I didn’t peg you for sparkle,” he murmurs.
“I’m not really, but this is Vegas and I’m going to be right there in front,” I offer.