Jules pushed a button on her key chain, making a shiny, silver Mercedes beep back at them. “You make sure Clay wins this fight, and he can buy them one. Get in.”
Jules had a very demanding nature. It was easy to see why she was such a successful lawyer. Melody got into the Mercedes, feeling awkward when she was still in her waitress uniform. Jules jumped into the driver’s side and was pulling out of Hal’s parking lot before Melody got her seat belt on.
“He doesn’t make that much, does he?” Melody asked, rather than focus on Jules driving, which was a little intense for her tastes. “Just for one fight?”
“One fight?” Jules gave Melody a bewildered look. “This is a title fight, and he’s the UFC’s top-earning fighter. You really have no clue, do ya? It ain’t a lie. You really like Clay for Clay, bad attitude and all.”
Melody prickled, feeling defensive as she glared at Jules. “I think his attitude’s just fine, and if you don’t know that, then maybe you ain’t really his friend.”
Jules eyebrows rose, shock showing on her face for one brief moment, before a smile tugged at her lips. “Darling, for Clay’s sake, I sure hope things between you two work out, ’cause I think you might actually be one worth keeping.”
Chapter Seven
“He doesn’t know I’m here?”
Jules took a deep breath, looking up from the rapid texting she was doing on her phone. “He could get nervous. It’d be terrible for you to watch him get knocked out. Wyatt’s holding it as his trump card. If Clay gets in trouble, he’ll use it. But right now he’s not certain if it’ll throw his game. He’ll play it if he needs to.”
“But he wanted me to come,” Melody reminded her, speaking loudly over the throb of people and music reverberating inside the dome. “He asked me himself.”
“Did he invite you to watch the fight?”
Melody considered that, looking around at the massive crowd. She’d honestly had no idea Clay did something that attracted the enthusiasm and adoration of this many people. Clay’s fight being the main fight of the evening thankfully bought them a little time. It was exciting, but it was also terrifying. She wasn’t real sure coming to this fight had been a great plan. If she had to watch Clay get beaten and hurt in front of this many cheering people, she might get sick all over Jules’s shoes.
“No,” she finally said, feeling her heart in her throat. She wished she had better success with praying, because she’d never been more scared in her life than she was for Clay at that moment. “He said I didn’t have to watch the fight. He thought I’d like Las Vegas.”
“Yeah, I thought so.” Jules sighed, sitting back against her seat, looking out to the octagon. “I’m gonna hear it later ’bout bringing you.”
They fell into a tense, awkward silence after that. They were both uneasy. The pulse of adrenaline in the room was sky-high, and it was making Melody so nervous her knees were shaking. She pulled at the sleeve of the sweater she’d thrown on in the mad rush to gather her things before they left for the airport. It was a sure bet she’d forgotten 90 percent of what she really needed. As it was, a sweater for a sold-out arena in Las Vegas was a very bad decision. She was sweating like crazy. To ease the uncomfortable heat, she pulled out her hastily done ponytail and worked on tying it tighter and higher to keep her thick hair off her neck.
She was glad she did when the room burst to life. Lights flashing, announcer’s voice echoing over the intercom, the music pumping with the bass beat of excitement. There was so much going on in so many different places it made Melody’s mind reel.
“This is him.” Jules pointed to the side of the arena where a group of men were making their way down a path that led to the cage in the center of the arena. “That’s Wellings.”
“They said his name’s Romeo,” Melody shouted over the throb of sound beating at her ears, the scream of the crowd deafening.
Jules pulled a face. “That’s his first name.”
Melody turned to watch the progression of the group. It was easy to spot the other fighter among his entourage. Walking at the center of the group, with obvious bodyguards flanking him on each side, he seemed handsome, sharp, and intense. Strangely enough, he reminded her a lot of Clay, with his cap pulled low over his eyes and his big, broad body. Only this fighter was more outspoken. He gave fans high fives and talked to the cameraman in front of him. There was a lot of male posturing, throwing out his chest, trying and succeeding in looking very intimidating. When he got to the ring and pulled off his cap, Melody had to admit he was very handsome.