He walked around the side of a large, busted up SUV and opened the passenger door. “Come on. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes, and then you’ll have even more time to win.”

I made a show of really considering my options but in the end, flounced on over and hopped inside. “I’ll admit that this is one of those leap before I look moments. But for the record, I should say that impulsive fun is best served with as little planning as possible.”

“That sounds like my nightmare,” he said. That happy, amused expression hadn’t left his face. “I do know a little bit about running. Being a pro athlete and all.”

I laughed as he shut the door, rounded the car. Those definitely-not-first-date jitters rippled under my skin like a frothy, stormy sea. As he buckled in and started the car, I scanned my immediate surroundings for visible clues about Dean. But the car was neat inside, practically pristine, even though from the look—and sound—of it, it was old as shit.

“Let me get this straight,” I said. “You’re giving up your South Philly parking spot for me?”

He slowed at a stop sign. “Yeah, because of your poor planning. I’ve been parked there for three fucking months.”

That had me laughing again as I stared out the window, watching rows of tidy brick houses fly by. “I think my dad parked his old Buick under the freeway in the early nineties. Hasn’t been back to pick it up since. This wouldn’t happen to be the truck that Eddie taught you to drive in, would it?”

Dean’s focus flicked to the rearview mirror. “Rowan got it when he was sixteen from some friend of an uncle in Jersey. We’ve been sharing it since school, but it rarely gets used. Rowan mostly uses it for transporting donations for the center.”

We turned right down Broad Street, heading straight toward City Hall, the William Penn statue directly next to it.

“Can I ask how last night went when you told everyone about the Vegas gig?”

His hands flexed on the steering wheel. “It was hard, like you said. And they were surprised. I don’t talk about boxing that much anymore. Rowan was pretty quiet, which isn’t like him. Mom and Midge were stunned. Sad, I think. But they kept their real opinion to themselves.”

I pursed my lips. “And Eddie and Alice?”

“Told me not to take it because I should never, ever leave this city.”

“That sounds about right.”

He was quiet for a moment, nostrils flaring. “It’s not only the leaving-home thing. They all have the same concerns I have about brain injuries.”

My stomach churned as I thought about seeing Dean take hits to the temple, the chin, the side of his face.