Noticing me, he looks away from his computer screen, and I’m surprised by how damn blue his eyes are. There’s no denying the man is absolutely gorgeous, but he doesn’t make my heart race like Nikolai does, and I’m at least grateful for that. I really like Gina, and I’d feel terrible for secretly crushing on her husband.
He gives me a big smile, and I can’t help but wonder how he got the scar that runs down the lower part of his cheek. Meeting his eyes, I return the smile and say, “Hi, I’m Moira O’Connor.”
“It is nice to meet you,” he says, and I notice his accent is a lot thicker than Nikolai’s. “Gina told me you would be in soon.” He gestures to one of the chairs in front of his desk. “Please sit down.”
I take a seat and drop my bag by my feet. The office is pretty basic, but the line of family photos along his desk give a human feel to the place. The ones I can see are all pictures of a smiling Gina. There are some where she’s all by herself, and then others that show her with a very pregnant belly, and then finally where she’s beaming at the camera while holding their adorable son.
“You have a very beautiful family, Dmitri,” I say, pointing at the photos. “Your wife came in with your son the other day. She’s very sweet.”
“Yes, I got very lucky. She is much too good for me.”
Most men say that and then laugh as if it’s all just a joke, like it’s something they know they’re supposed so say, but Dmitri is dead serious, and it takes me by surprise.
“I want you to know that I have no problems with you opening the Irish club back up. Paddy and I have a history. I do not mind telling you that I never liked the guy, and I am guessing you know how I feel about Liam and Sean, but none of that extends to you. I do not judge people by the actions of others. Gina likes you. My wife’s opinion means more to me than anyone’s. Nikolai’s as well.”
I groan and say, “Well, that doesn’t bode well for me.”
Dmitri smiles and shrugs his broad shoulders. “You get under his skin. That is not always a bad thing.”
Before I can ask what he means by that, he slides a membership card across the desk. “This gives you complete access to the club. We will be closing soon, but feel free to stay as long as you like once the others leave. We have showers, hot tubs, saunas, use whatever you like and then when you are done, go through the door over here.” He points to his right and says, “That will lead into the Arctic Fox, and you can leave from there since this place will be all locked up.”
“This is too much, Dmitri. What do I owe you?”
He waves my offer away. “Nothing.” His eyes run over me, but it’s not in a sexual way at all, more like he’s sizing me up a bit. “You are boxer, right?”
“Yeah,” I say, trying not to sound as defensive as I always feel when I get asked that.
He smiles, picking up on my tone. “Good. We could use some female boxers around here. You are doing me a favor by being here. I would like to get more women in here, but is hard. Gina and I run another club on the outskirts of town. It is aimed at teenagers and young adults. A place for them to go after school and on weekends. We teach them to box and some self-defense. Even there it is hard to get young girls interested, even though it is most important for them to learn.”
“I had no idea that you offered all this. Your online presence is really lacking.”
He laughs and sits back in his chair. “I know. Gina keeps telling me I need to fix that, but I never seem to have the time.”
He doesn’t seem too concerned about it, and, honestly, the place seems to be rolling in money, so he really has no reason to be. I grab the membership card and shove it in my bag.
“Thanks again, Dmitri. I really appreciate you letting me use the place. Mine is a complete wreck at the moment.”
“I can imagine. The youth boxing center was a disaster when I bought the place. I hired a crew to do all the work, though, so is not the same thing.”
He laughs, and I can’t help wishing I had the money to do that. When he stands, I do the same and grab my bag.
“It was nice meeting you, Moira.”
“Nice to meet you, too. I wasn’t expecting you to be so nice.”
I don’t mention that I was expecting him to be a dick like Nikolai, but he seems to know what I’m thinking because he laughs and says, “Gina has made me friendlier and not so grumpy.”
I smile because it’s obvious how in love he is with his wife, and it’s nice to see. A love like that is so rare that I can’t remember being around a single couple growing up that had that same kind of love for one another. Most of the guys at the boxing club I went to would stay there on purpose just to avoid having to see their wives, and that’s not even mentioning all the girls on the side they had. I think a naked, gorgeous woman could walk by right now, and Dmitri wouldn’t even notice. One day I’ll have to ask Gina how she managed it.
“Let me know if you need help with anything. I’ll be around for about another thirty minutes.”
I tell him I will and thank him again before grabbing my bag and walking back out to the gym. The guy at the bags must’ve left because there’s no one else hitting them when I walk over and drop my bag. Ignoring the curious looks from the other guys who are still lifting weights, I do some warm-up stretches and then wrap my hands before sliding my boxing gloves on. I almost give a sigh of pure joy when I get them on my hands again. It’s the mostmeI’ve felt since I moved here. If the bags at the Irish club hadn’t been in such shit condition, I would’ve kept one up just so I could hit it every night.
Walking over to the heavy bag hanging from the ceiling, I get in position and throw my first punch. I resist the urge to let out a very girly squeal of pure happiness at hearing the familiar thud of glove hitting bag and instead throw a fast combination of punches. I keep at it, circling the bag and even throwing in some kicks as everything else fades away.
Somewhere in the back of my mind it registers that the others have left and that Dmitri’s activated the alarm system, locking me inside so I can keeping punching my little heart out. I keep at it until my arms are shaking, and I doubt I could lift them to swat away a mosquito, but damn does it feel good.
As I pull off my gloves, I remember what Dmitri said about showers, hot tubs, and saunas. I’m the only one here, so it’s not like I’ll be bothering anyone, especially since it’s not like I thought to bring my bikini. The lure of the hot tub is too much of a temptation, so I grab my bag and investigate.