Pride (Bareknuckle Boxing Brotherhood Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

next quarter’s edition of the Review.”
    “Thank you! That’s phenomenal news.”
    “You’ll be receiving an e-mail with the details in a day or two, but go ahead and tell your family!” the woman said encouragingly.
    “Thank you. Have a good evening now.” He rang off.
    His family. As if the Dolans would be pleased to hear he had a paper in the Law Society Review. It was an honor, a boost for his career, even in this rural place. All they would care about would be that he wasted time on scribbling away about tenants’ rights when he ought to have been training for the fights. It seemed topsy-turvy at best that he would have to hide his academic accomplishments and talk about his underground fights at dinner tomorrow, and not the other way round. But the Dolans were no average family.
    He stared at his phone for a minute or two and finally called his seventy-three-year-old secretary, Bobbie, the only legal secretary in town. , When he called to tell her about his publication and his call went to voicemail, he felt oddly deflated. When he went back in the Cheek, it was already filling up with the after-work crowd. Camila was behind the bar pouring Guinness well enough, and he ordered one himself just to watch her turn and pull the lever and then top it off.
    “Anyone take you up on the menu special yet?”
    “No, I’ve even stooped to asking if anyone’s hungry, wants to try the pasta. They should be begging for it.”
    “This is a fish and chips crowd, more like. They’re not used to eating noodles with their Guinness.”
    “So I wasted my time? There’s no reason to try to serve them good food. Lot of woolheaded drunks who wouldn’t know a good meal if it bit their ass,” she fumed.
    “That escalated quickly.” e chuckled. “From the fact no one’s ordered it in a quarter of an hour to the utter condemnation of their intelligence and taste.”
    “I have a temper.” She shrugged. Even her shrug was surly.
    “Truly? I’d not have guessed.” Bronny smiled at her, thinking what a handful she was, how feisty—her moods and her perfectionism with that chalk sign, the rich unexpected food she cooked, her full bottom lip. His mind wandered a path up the stairs, littered it with their clothing.
    “Another half hour of this and I’m just taking down the sign.”
    Bronny sat at the bar, watching her for a while. She served customers, and he finally turned to chatting with an old schoolmate, Dillon Carstairs, about the tourney..
    “My money’s riding on you, ya know,” Dillon told him.
    “There’s no better bet in the county,” Bronny agreed.
    “’S it true the first chap’s fought in Dublin?”
    “True enough. And handed an Englishman his arse for the title.”
    “Can you take him?”
    “I’m a Dolan, aren’t I? Been training for this lot my whole life.”
    “What’s your dad say?”
    “Same as ever. I’d better win or I’m out of the family.”
    “Nothing like the love and loyalty in the bosom of the family, right?”
    “Yeah.” Bronny said, his laugh faltering.
    As more people filed in and ordered their drinks, he noticed Camila kept up with the orders, managed to smile at the patrons. Her guard was down, just slightly, and she was actually talking to Tommy Fallon, the baker. She laughed at something the baker had said, and Bronny found his hands clenched into fists.
    Instead of enjoying her laughter, her evident happiness, he wanted to punch Tommy Fallon, who was married with four kids and had no interest in Sammy Saunders’ daughter. But he had made her laugh, which was more than Bronny had managed, and it made him mad. Mad enough to hit someone, but he cracked his knuckles instead.
    “Didn’t your Ma ever tell you that’s a bad habit?” Dillon asked.
    “My ma ran off when I was a kid. I don’t think she was much concerned with my habits.”
    “Lord, I forgot, Bronny. I’m sorry.” Dillon said.
    “It’s nothing.” Bronny brushed it off. One more thing to be mad