Fireworks For Three (Holiday Menage Book 3)

"I don't care what favor you owe him, Tommy. You're not doing this tournament!"

Lexi's eyes widened in shock as she approached the door to Frank's office. The raised voices of her two boyfriends penetrated the wood and echoed in the stillness of the corridor. She glanced around the small hallway and waiting room and was glad to find it empty. This time of night, the gym was so quiet. Only the bottom floor was open to members this late. She just hoped the loud music downstairs among the treadmills, elliptical machines and weight stations covered up the knockdown, drag-out fight going on between her men.

Cautiously, she cracked the door and peered inside the spacious office. Frank and Tom stood toe-to-toe in front of Frank's desk. As usual, Tom was half-naked and wore only shorts and his running shoes. He'd obviously been training before the fight started. His tattooed skin still glistened with sweat. Frank wore his usual gym outfit of a sleeveless black tee and matching shorts, both emblazoned with his gym's logo.

"Shit, Frank, it's one damn tournament." Tom's hand slashed through the air. "I gave my word. It's done. I'm going."

"Going where?" Lexi finally worked up the courage to enter the war zone. She closed the door behind her and leaned against the cool wood. "You can hear the two of you all the way down the hall, by the way."

Frank grimaced. "Sorry."

"I'm not the one you should be worried about," Lexi reminded them. "It's a good thing Bobby has that music of his blaring down there. He's sparing the customers ring-side seats to whatever the hell this blowout is."

"He's going to fight. On the Fourth of July," Frank added as he stabbed an accusing finger Tom's direction.

Lexi frowned. "Wait. I thought you were just going to that tournament in Atlantic City as part of an endorsement deal. You told us you were going to do some commercials and interviews, sit ring-side and do some post-fight analysis."

"I was." Tom rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. "Billy had a fighter drop out of the tournament. He was in a car accident this morning. He can't fight and Billy needs a big headliner to draw the crowds and fill that space."

"And that's you?" Lexi didn't like this at all. She'd only been intimately familiar with Tom's training and fighting career since February but she knew that men fighting at Tom's level trained for months ahead of fights. He'd have, what, three weeks to get ready for this one?

Tom nodded. "It's short notice but I'm not concerned. Also the money is good."

"The money is good?" Frank made a throaty sound of disgust. "Money is the last thing you should be considering right now. What about your body? What about your head?" He took a step closer and gripped Tom's shoulders. "You could get hurt, Tommy. Badly hurt. This isn't one fight. This is two nights of multiple fights."

"Multiple fights?" Lexi didn't understand how this tournament was going to work.

Frank glanced at her and gave a nod of his head. "This tournament pits sixteen of the top fighters against one another. So there will be four sets of matches. On the first night, sixteen fighters become eight and eight become four. On the second night, it's four to two and then two to a champion. If Tom wins the tournament—and it's likely he will—he'd have to fight four times in forty-eight hours. With five rounds per match, that could be as many as twenty rounds."

"Twenty?" Lexi's knees wobbled. "Oh, hell no, Tom. No. Just—no!"

Tom rolled his eyes. "You two are blowing this hugely out of proportion. I've seen the roster. Depending on the match-ups, I probably won't fight more than five rounds total."

"And if you're wrong?" Lexi understood Frank's concern now. "Tom, that's a lot of blows to the head and to your body." Her gut clenched with worry. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't." Tom crossed the distance between them and pulled her into his brawny arms. She nestled close to his chest and enjoyed the reassuring thud of his heartbeat. "I'd be lying if I said I won't come away from this bruised and battered, but that's the nature of this business. I earn my living knocking the crap out of some other guy. That means injuries but not the kind you two are thinking."

"You can't know that," Frank insisted. He stalked across the room and stood in front of them. "You promised me that the fight later this year, the one in December, would be your last fight. We agreed you would retire. This tournament wasn't part of the plan."

Tom shrugged. "Plans change, Frank."

"Plans change?" Frank repeated in frustration. "That's some real bullshit right there, Tommy."

"No. What's bullshit is the way you're making this into some big deal, Frank." Tom shook his head. "It's a favor for a friend. I owe him this one. I made those plans for retirement without ever thinking something like this would come up."

Tom glanced at Lexi. "What do you think, sugar? Which one of us is being the asshole?"

Lexi's chest tightened. Even though she had been in a serious relationship with both men for four months, there was still so much about the two she didn't know. Frank and Tom had been best friends since childhood and lovers since they were teenagers. There was a lot of history between them. At times like this, she felt completely in the dark. She could see the betrayal etched on Frank's face. Tom looked utterly unsupported and hurt.

"I think I'm not qualified to make a decision," she said finally. "I don't really think my opinion matters on this one."

Tom and Frank both looked surprised. Frowning, Tom stroked her arm. "Why would you say that, Lexi? You're part of this relationship."

"Only for a few months," she reminded him. "This thing you two are fighting about pre-dates my involvement in this relationship. Besides, whatever I say is just going to piss one of you off. I so didn't sign up to play the role of pawn."

Frank's face softened. "Oh, honey, we never meant to make you feel that way." He cupped her face and let his thumb trace her cheek. "You're right. It's unfair of us to make you choose sides."

"Look, I've spent pretty much my entire life being pushed and pulled between my parents." Lexi shuddered as the memories of their horrid Cinco de Mayo getaway flashed before her eyes. A fake pregnancy, a robbery and assault plus an attempted blackmail—it had been absolute mayhem. She'd been torn between her parents then and it had ended badly. She wasn't about to put herself in the same position with the two men she loved. "I'm not going there with you two. Sort this out between yourselves."

She eyed Tom and thumped his arm. "But, for the record, I'm not thrilled by the idea of you climbing into that cage four times. You mixed martial arts guys are wild and mean. I don't know if I can sit through four fights, Tom."

He kissed her temple. "You can hide out in the casinos. I won't mind."

"I will," she replied. "I love you, Tom. I'm not going to hide in a hotel room or lose money to a one-armed bandit while you're getting the shit knocked out of you."

"Well, unless I've suddenly lost the skills that helped me clench three world championships in a row, I'm not too concerned about having the shit knocked out of me, Lexi."

She fought the urge to roll her eyes at his arrogance. Honestly, she found it a little sexy. In the cage, Tom was a beast. He owned the mixed martial arts world and was damned proud of it. If anyone could come through this tournament on top and with little injury, it was probably Tom. Still, she shared Frank's worry. There was only so much risk Tom could prevent on his end. Fighting for money lent itself to a whole world of hurt and problems.

Tom fingered the silver charm dangling from her necklace. "This is new. What is that?" He leaned closer. "A palm frond?"

"It's a heart shape inspired by a palm frond. It's something new I've been working on this week. I'm wearing it around to see what people think."

"How's the construction going?" Frank slid his fingertips up and down the thin silver chain of the necklace. "The lighting is supposed to go in this week, right?"

"That's the plan. I'm not getting my hopes up though. I swear renovating that building and turning it into a boutique was the worst idea I've ever had."

Frank chuckled. "I'll agree it's been a rough go but it's a beautiful space, Lexi. You're right in the heart of downtown. There's lots of foot traffic in that area. I'm sure it'll be great for business."

"Let's hope." Her breath caught in her throat as Frank's fingertips abandoned the necklace and drifted along her skin toward her cleavage. Her nipples hardened at his touch. She lifted her gaze to his. "Frank…"

"What?" He smiled and teasingly brushed his lips across hers. "We're in my office and it's after hours."

Tom reached behind her and turned the lock on the door. "You were out of bed and gone before we could squeeze in our usual morning quickie." He dropped his lips to her neck and nipped lightly before swirling his tongue over her skin. "I think you owe us this one."

"Owe you, huh?" Lexi grinned. "Having sex in an office is on my naughty bucket list. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to check that one off, would it?"

"Then we better cross it off in a big way," Frank murmured against her lips.