“Yeah, we heard you,” Noah added with a smirk, “with your firm ‘When?’”

Felix laughed. “Shut up. I’m out,” he said, waving his hand behind him. “See you in the morning.”

“Bright and early,” Noah reminded him.

He’d told Ella he’d call at the usual time: nine-thirty. It was a few minutes ’til, so he figured what the hell. Plopping down on his bed, he hit speed dial. The second he heard her voice he was smiling like an idiot. “Hey, baby.”

“Hi, Felix.” He could practically hear the smile in her voice. “I was rushing to get in my sleep clothes and in bed so I could be ready for you.”

Ready for him. Why did that make him smile even bigger? This was ridiculous, but he’d since decided he wasn’t going to fight it anymore. He’d tell her exactly what he was thinking—feeling—because he loved when she did the same. “I miss you,” he said, letting his head fall back on his pillow. “God, I miss you.”

“I miss you too. How was your workout today?”

“Good, but according to Noah I’m not focusing like I should.”

“Why’s that?”

He smirked. “I thought I was focusing, but he caught me zoning out a few times.”

“Zoning out?”

“Yeah, today I zoned out, thinking about this past Saturday morning.”

She was quiet for a moment and then came the “Oh.”

Once again, he knew she was smiling as big as he was. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it and how much he was dying to be with her again. He chuckled when she didn’t say anything else and wondered if maybe she was zoning out too.

“I have to snap out of it though. We have some trainers flying in from Bosnia Friday afternoon.”

“Bosnia?”

“Yeah, they’ve coached several gold medalists and are supposed to be the best in the world, though Noah only wants to train with them on a few key things. But I can’t be zoning out when they get here.” He laughed. “Noah will kick my ass. These guys are coming a long way just to work with me. But anyway, how was your day?”

Ella began telling him about her day at work and the weird lady who yelled louder than anybody else even when she wasn’t told to yell. Ella’s giggles made him smile. Felix fixed his pillows behind him, getting comfortable because he could already tell he was in for another night of not wanting to say goodbye.

~~~

That Thursday, as promised, Adelina arrived before the Mercedes-Benz guys to go over the counter offer she’d put together. Then she had the two guys from Mercedes-Benz in and out of his complex in half an hour’s time. She’d been right; the offer was more than generous, the biggest one he’d had to date.

The second their car was down his snowy driveway and out of sight, Adelina turned to him and screeched. “Are you kidding me!” she said, bringing her hands to the side of her face. “They didn’t even blink at our counter! You’re gonna make almost as much on this as that damn rematch!” She stopped and looked at him. “I wonder if we should’ve asked for more.”

“The counter was already ridiculous,” Felix reminded her. “And for what? A few commercials and for me to drive around in the brand new top-of-the-line car they’ll provide me with, free, every six months. Before the new smell even wears out of the first one?”

“Yes, please!” she said, laughing.

“Good deal,” he said, looking down at his phone.

It was almost time for his call to Ella. He didn’t want to be rude, but he wasn’t cutting into his talk time with her, and the snow was starting to come down anyway. They needed to get out of the cold.

“So what now? You staying up here tonight?”

She gave him a sly look. “I wasn’t planning on it. Is that an invite?” She smiled, lowering her lashes halfway. “Do you feel like celebrating?”

“Nope,” he said quickly, “and maybe it’s best that I make this clear now since you’ll probably hear about this soon anyway. I’m in a relationship now, one I’m taking real seriously, so don’t expect any more of those kinds of invitations from me from here on.”

She stared at him for a moment, a bit stunned. “Wow,” she said then pressed her lips together, stretching her mouth down. “She must be pretty special to have you talking this way.”

“She is.”

“Fair enough,” she said with a smile. “No hard feelings here especially if we’re gonna keep closing deals like today. I’m good with keeping this strictly business.” She reached out and shook his hand. “Congrats on this deal, sir. And thanks for being such a trooper and letting me bring them up here so we could make this happen, but you have to admit it was worth it, right?”

Felix smiled, relieved. “Yes. Thank you for pushing. That was totally worth it.”

“You bet your ass it was.” She winked at him as she started down the stairs of his porch. “But I better get going. The drive down is gonna be scary enough in the dark. I’ll have to take it slowly, and I’d like to get home tonight.”

“What? Wait. You’re driving down?”

“Yeah,” she said, stopping at the bottom of the stairs and looking up at him. “It was only an hour drive or so. I’ve done way longer.”

“You do realize they don’t plow at night, right?”