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  And now she was back, intruding in his space, everyone else acting as if she belonged there. Zachary stared, and suddenly Kenzie was staring back, her large eyes keyed in on him, her entire face pulled into a bright smile. He abruptly snatched his gaze from hers, and in that same instant, his brother nailed him in the chest with an easy right cross, the blow knocking the wind out of his sails.

  “Humph,” Zachary gasped, the guttural sound rising from deep in his midsection.

  Alexander laughed as he stepped back. He shook his head as he pulled off his boxing gloves. “You’re not going to win any fights like that.”

  Zachary sputtered. “It’s . . . a good . . . thing . . . I . . . already won . . . the fight . . . I needed to win.” He gulped air, filling his lungs and then blowing his breath out slowly.

  The current heavyweight MMA champion had successfully defended his title just weeks earlier. He had his brother to thank for getting him fight-ready. The two men had been estranged for many years, and it had taken some serious intervention from Zachary’s best friend, Sarai, who was now his brother’s wife, to bring them back together. The duo was once again back in sync—A to Z, the bad boys of Boulder, Colorado, looking to conquer the world side by side. Together they were a childhood dream come true and then some.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Alexander asked as the two exited the fight ring. “What’s going on with you? You’re not usually so distracted.”

  Zachary shrugged his broad shoulders, shifting his gaze back to Kenzie, who was standing in conversation with his friend and manager, Gamon Montri. Gamon, who was usually stone-faced, was smiling at her eagerly, seeming to enjoy whatever was being said. “It’s nothing,” he answered, shifting his silver-gray eyes back to meet his twin brother’s bright blue stare.

  “Like hell it’s nothing! You’ve been acting funny for a few days now.”

  Zachary gave his brother a slight shrug. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind, a million things to do, and I’m trying to get back into a routine that makes sense.”

  Alexander stood staring at his brother. The two were as close as any two siblings could possibly be, but it hadn’t always been that way. For too many years, there had been a bitter rift between them, based on their fight over a woman who hadn’t been worth either’s energy. Back then, they’d vowed to never speak another word to the other. That had been a lifetime ago, and now the two were grateful that things had changed for the better, unable to fathom any kind of life without each other.

  Alexander persisted. “You’re holding something back, and you and I both know that’s not a good thing, Z,” he said, calling his brother by the nickname that only they used for each other.

  “I’m good, A. Just leave me alone.”

  “And you know that’s not going to happen, so you might as well tell me what the problem is so I can help you solve it.”

  Zachary shifted his gaze back to Kenzie again, hesitating for a brief second as he watched her jot notes into her notebook. Alexander’s eyes followed his twin’s, turning to see what Zachary was so focused on. When he turned his attention back to his brother, Zachary was shaking his head at him.

  “I said to let it go.”

  “Let what go?” Sarai Montri-Barrett asked, suddenly interjecting herself into their conversation. “What are you two talking about?”

  The twins both jumped.

  “Where’d you come from?” Alexander asked as he looped an arm around his wife’s waist and kissed her cheek.

  The woman grinned as she bumped her hip slightly against his. Sarai laughed. “That’s not important. What are you two whispering about?”

  Alexander shot his brother a quick look, his twin exchanging eye contact with him. A little white lie spilled out of his mouth. “We were just talking about this interview. Zachary’s not feeling it, but he didn’t want to say anything to you.”

  “Why? What did Kenzie do?” Sarai glanced to where her father and the young journalist were in deep conversation. “Because I know you called the magazine trying to get her fired!” she added.

  Zachary rolled his eyes skyward. “I wasn’t trying to get her fired! And who said Kenzie did something? She didn’t do anything. Why does this have to be about her? I’ve just changed my mind about the damn interview is all!” His tone was terse, just a breath shy of being hostile. “Can’t a man change his mind?”

  Sarai and Alexander exchanged a look, both trying to make sense of the situation.

  Zachary changed the subject abruptly. “I need a shower. I’ll talk to you two later,” he said. He turned to scurry off in the opposite direction.

  “Zachary, wait!” Sarai called after him, stalling his steps.

  “What?”

  “Family dinner tonight. Don’t be late!”

  Zachary narrowed his gaze, a gust of air blowing past his full lips. “What time?”

  “Seven o’clock. We’re eating at Sam’s,” Sarai said referring to the popular grilled steak restaurant in Patong.

  Nodding his head, Zachary turned back around and disappeared across the courtyard.

  “What’s going on with him?” Sarai asked, turning her attention back to her husband.

  Alexander laughed. “I don’t have a clue.” He shifted his gaze across the courtyard, staring after Kenzie, who was headed into the main building. “But something tells me it might be about her.”

  Sarai frowned, concern twisting her expression as she watched her husband watching the other woman. “You need to talk to him. I don’t know if I like her.”

  “You don’t have to like her. Besides, I don’t think you like any woman Zachary is interested in. You’re worse than our mother is.”

  “I just want your brother to be happy.”

  Alexander grinned. “He would be,” he said as he winked an eye at her. “Even if it was only for one night.”

  Shaking her head, Sarai gave her husband a look. She rose up on her toes to kiss his mouth, the gesture short and sweet as she tossed a look over her shoulder to insure no one was paying them any attention.

  “You have jokes,” she said as Alexander grabbed her hand, leading her across the compound toward the offices. “But your brother needs to settle down and find what we have. Then he’ll be very happy!”

  * * *

  Kenzie gestured toward the young man behind the desk. He was slight in build, looking like he was barely out of his teens and far too young to be handling business behind a reception desk. He eyed her warily before giving her a nod, a wide grin pulling full and bright across his face.

  “How I help you?” he asked, his broken English broken just good enough to be understood.

  “Hi! Do you by chance know where I can find Mr. Barrett?”

  The young man looked confused, eyeing her with wide eyes and a furrowed brow as he visibly struggled to decipher her Brooklyn accent.

  She sighed softly. “Zachary Barrett? Do you know where he is?”

  The bright smile widened, his head bobbing up and down eagerly. “Mr. Zachary, he say he gone for the day. Be back tomorrow.”

  Kenzie nodded. “Thank you,” she said as she turned, moving in the direction of the cafeteria.

  Frustration painted her expression as she hurried toward the other end of the building. She had tried earlier to catch up with the man, hoping to catch him off guard, but each time she’d gotten within reach, he’d disappeared out a side door, slipping past her as if he didn’t want to be found. It wasn’t rocket science for Kenzie to know that Zachary was purposely avoiding her. Sooner or later she was going to find out why.

  Not paying attention, she took the corner at the end of the hallway at lightning speed and abruptly collided with Zachary, the two slamming into each other harshly. Instinctively, he reached out his arms and grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her into his chest to prevent them both from falling to the floor.

  The moment was suddenly surreal as Kenzie fell against his broad body, his large hands drawing her close. As recognition s
wept between them, a wave of heat followed, the eruption feeling volcanic. The intensity of it surprised them both.

  Kenzie cussed. Loudly. The expletive echoed through the space. Zachary frowned as he took a quick step back, snatching his hands down to his sides. She was the last person he had wanted to see. He mumbled an apology, the words barely audible. Both were stunned into silence, eyeing each other reservedly.

  He took a deep breath and held it briefly before blowing it out. “Are you okay?” he finally asked, his eyes sifting back and forth to avoid hers.

  “No!” Kenzie exclaimed, rubbing a soft palm against her shoulder. She snapped. “You really need to look where you’re going!”

  “Me? Do you think maybe you need to pay more attention? I wasn’t the one running down the hallway!”

  “Running?”

  Zachary ranted. “That’s what I said! This isn’t a playground, Ms. Monroe. For safety reasons we don’t allow running in the hallways! We have a track outside for that. If you can’t get it together, we will ask you to leave!”

  Kenzie bristled, her hands falling to the line of her lean hips. She clutched the waistband of her shorts with a tightened fist. Before she could fix her mouth to tell him what she thought, he pushed abruptly past her and headed toward the building’s front door. Minutes later, Kenzie was still standing with her mouth open, completely dumbfounded by the exchange.

  Chapter Two

  The outdoor shower was just warm enough. With high temperatures permeating the deep blue sky, the flow of moisture over Zachary’s shoulders was a welcome relief.

  He found himself in a bad mood and unable to explain it if his life depended on it. He was angry at no one, bitter about nothing, and surly for no reason. He bit back the rancor that twisted his heart, his chest feeling as if he were choking on stagnant bile. Kenzie Monroe had his emotions twisted, and he was feeling some kind of way. But there was no explanation that made any kind of sense.

  The last time he’d felt so discombobulated was when his marriage was falling apart, his now ex-wife purposely riding roughshod across his heart. Felicia Wells Barrett had been his brother Alexander’s college sweetheart. Back then the two had planned to spend forever together. The day Zachary and Felicia had been introduced, all that changed, and the direction of all their lives took a serious nosedive.

  Sibling rivalry had often pitted one brother against the other, but being highly competitive reached a whole other level with Felicia deep in the mix. In the beginning, Zachary hadn’t taken the young woman seriously. She wasn’t the first girl the two had fought over, and back then he’d imagined she wasn’t going to be the last.

  But Felicia fell hard for Zachary’s bad-boy personality. Zachary was more laid-back and impetuous than his brother; trouble followed him everywhere he turned. Alexander was the more conservative twin, rarely willing to take any unnecessary risk. His no-nonsense demeanor could be a touch rigid, and he second-guessed each step. Zachary would act on impulse, rarely considering the consequences of his actions. And he hadn’t been thinking when he fell for his brother’s girlfriend seducing him.

  Before he could get a handle on what was happening, Felicia had them engaged, and right after graduation, she was dragging him down the matrimonial aisle. The day he and Felicia exchanged vows had been the last day his brother would talk to him. Months later, the newlyweds moved from Colorado to Thailand so that Zachary could pursue his business and athletic dreams, which would eventually make him a household name in the sporting world.

  The honeymoon had been over before they landed. Felicia had been a viper in high heels and too-tight dresses. She’d been manipulative, condescending, a habitual liar, and a cheat. The lie that had hurt him most was when he believed he was going to be a father, only to discover that she’d been having an affair with her gynecologist and both had lied to his face. There had been a host of red flags that had given him fair warning about the kind of woman Felicia was. He’d closed both eyes to her deceit, and his relationship with his family had suffered the brunt of it. Then one day he’d come home to find Felicia gone, his house and bank accounts empty. She had charmed one of his clients, a wealthy expat from England, into whisking her away to a whole other life that didn’t include him. Through all of it, the chasm between him and his brother had been voluminous.

  It had taken an act of nature to fix what had been broken. Hurricane Sarai drew the two brothers together, twisting and turning them about until letting go of each other was no longer an option. Reconnecting with Alexander had given Zachary a new lease on life, his twin brother’s support a much-needed lifeline. The past few months had been the best he’d had in years, everything falling into place and fitting neatly. And now he was suddenly feeling out of sorts and blaming another woman for causing his angst.

  But Zachary knew that finding fault with Kenzie made no sense to anyone but him. She was a stunning woman, and it seemed as if she was exceptionally professional. She hadn’t done or said anything to offend him because he hadn’t given her any opportunity to. He understood that from the outside looking in, most would assume that he knew absolutely nothing about her except what he’d learned the first time they’d been introduced. She had told them all that she’d been born in Bangkok to a black American mother and a Thai father but had been raised in New York. That initial conversation hadn’t been enough for him to form any kind of character assessment. But he knew things about Kenzie that she herself probably had no awareness of. Things he’d been sworn to keep to himself. A promise that he had no plans to break.

  Those secrets had him on edge. So much on edge that he could barely find himself within ten feet of the woman without his emotions getting away from him. Desperate to maintain control, he’d been avoiding her like the plague despite her efforts to engage him in conversation. And just like that he’d barked at her about running.

  Zachary shook his head from side to side. He was suddenly feeling foolish and embarrassed, hoping that the way he had acted would be dismissed without prejudice, that Kenzie would not hold it against him that he had acted like someone had stolen his candy. An air of contrition suddenly washed over his spirit. His family had often admonished him about acting impulsively and allowing his emotions to sway his actions. He had honestly never seen it himself, nor believed it, earlier. Now, he was completely convinced that he needed to do better. He had no doubt that Kenzie Monroe would probably agree.

  He stepped out of the shower and reached for one of the plush white towels monogramed with the Revolution name. He swiped the moisture from his skin, the soft cotton gently massaging his body. There were only a few remaining bruises from his last MMA title bout, the flesh barely tinged black and blue beneath the pattern of tattoos that decorated his body. He was in the best physical condition of his life, every sinewy muscle a hardened line of rock-solid steel. It had been months of pre-fight preparation, a stringent diet, and the emotional support of those he loved most that had gotten him to this point. He worked extremely hard to be in shape, and he was determined to lead by example those who sought him out for training. He also knew that there was a host of young men and boys wanting to one day steal his belt from him, and he had no intentions of letting that happen easily.

  He imagined that his last fight would probably be one of few that remained, so he was grateful that it had been memorable, going down in the record books as one of the best in history. Truth be told, he was tired, physically and mentally, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before he would have to announce his retirement. The fighters gunning for him now were getting younger and younger, some as young as half his thirty years, and had twice his stamina. Right now he was riding a winner’s high, enjoying the luxury of being number one in the game. He didn’t look forward to the day when a win might come only after a lucky punch. Because luck had never been his friend.

  Moving into his bedroom, he threw his large body across the bed, drawing his arm up over his eyes. He had a few hours before anyone would be looki
ng for him, and he was grateful for the time. As he relaxed, he found himself reflecting back on his career and the people who had contributed to his success, and then he thought of Kenzie Monroe, and his mood suddenly shifted back to brooding.

  Kenzie Monroe being there in the flesh wasn’t a good thing, and there was no way he could say so without exposing his hand and another man’s secret. Kenzie’s connection to his past was why he was bothered in the present. And as he lay there reflecting on the wealth of it, he couldn’t even begin to imagine what it might mean for his future.

  * * *

  When Zachary entered the restaurant, his brother and sister-in-law were already seated across the table from Kenzie Monroe. He came to an abrupt halt. Sarai had said family dinner, he mused. When had Kenzie become family?

  He was just about to turn on his heels and head for the door when a loud cheer erupted through the room. All the staff and some of the patrons came to their feet to salute him, the applause heartwarming. He lifted a hand to wave, a slight smile pulling at his full lips. The restaurant’s owner rushed to his side to greet him.

  From where she sat, Kenzie watched as Zachary paused to sign a few autographs and pose for a selfie or two with fans. He was well loved in Phuket, and it was obvious he didn’t let the accolades go to his head. He genuinely appreciated the love and support, and for a brief moment she detected an air of shyness about him.

  “He’s really not fond of all the attention,” Sarai suddenly interjected. Kenzie shifted her gaze to meet the look the other woman was giving her. She continued, “Zachary’s a great showman for the sport, but on his own time he really likes to keep to himself.”

  “I never got that impression about him,” Kenzie said.

  “Neither did I,” Alexander added with a soft chuckle.