Description
He lives to fight. She spends her life saving people like him. Falling in love was never part of the plan. ER nurse Rhea Ashford has spent years healing together broken bones and stitching split skin, and shattered pride. She knows better than to get attached to fighters-they always promise they'll be more careful, and they never are. Professional boxer Atticus Hayes has one goal: save the small-town gym that raised him. With bills piling up and foreclosure looming, every punch he throws is for the only place he's ever called home. Pride won't pay the debts, and local fights aren't enough. When a brutal sparring accident lands Atticus in Rhea's emergency room, their worlds collide. She sees past his easy smile and stubborn bravado to the man quietly carrying the weight of everyone else's dreams. He discovers that beneath her cool professionalism is a woman who's forgotten how to put herself first. As the line between patient and friend begins to blur, desperation forces Atticus into the dangerous world of underground fighting, where there are no rules, no referees, and no guarantees of walking away. Refusing to let him face that darkness alone, Rhea becomes the one person waiting in the shadows to patch him back together after every brutal fight. When one unforgettable night earns Atticus a shot at the bright lights of Las Vegas, fame, fortune, and ruthless promoters threaten to tear apart everything they've built. In a world where every move is watched and every relationship becomes a headline, they'll have to decide whether the biggest fight of their lives is inside the ring... or for each other. Because some blows land below the belt. And some loves are worth fighting for.
Chapter 1
