“Don’t be silly, Ty.” The words were said with a breathless awe even as she frowned up at him.
“It’s not silly. Nothing about this is, and I’m going to show you,” he vowed. “I’m going to make sure you don’t even remember Michael Novack’s name.”
“If your kiss can wipe out her memory, we should probably talk to someone about that.”
Lucy gasped and pushed against Ty’s chest at the sound of that deep voice. “Michael.”
Sure enough there was the cranky asshole who’d waltzed in and screwed up his whole life. He wouldn’t have fumbled this had it not been for Michael Novack. He would have been able to play it cool and avoided this fiasco.
He wore his normal uniform of a black T-shirt, jeans, and boots that had seen far better days. His dark hair was in need of a cut, but it was easy to see why some women might be attracted to him. He had that broody, fix-me-up vibe women tended to go for.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Michael said in a tone that let him know he wasn’t sorry at all. “The new guy let me in. I stopped by to see if you needed a ride or a walk to your car. Now I can see that I’m not needed here at all.”
“No, you’re not.” It was time to start staking his real claim. Michael needed to understand that Lucy wasn’t without options. He’d been protecting her for a long time, and he didn’t need some fly-by-night guy around. Except he knew that wasn’t the proper way to describe Michael. He was more like a cautious wolf stalking his prey, and if he ever got his hands on Lucy, Ty was worried he wouldn’t let her go. “Luce and I are fine on our own.”
“Are you? Because I haven’t seen you here every night making sure she’s safe.” Michael’s body straightened, puffing up to show his full height.
“I’ve called her every day,” he countered. “Unlike some people I have to work for a living. I’ve been on call saving lives.”
“Yeah, I heard you had an emergency call with Mel. Was it about aliens?” Michael asked in that deeply sarcastic tone of his.
“Hey, he fell out of a tree and twisted his ankle.” Though that wasn’t what Mel had said happened. Mel claimed he’d fallen out of an alien light that was trying to pull him up into the spaceship. It had been odd since there hadn’t been a ladder around, so he wasn’t sure how the old guy had managed to get up in that tree, but that wasn’t the point. It had been an actual emergency.
“Both of you stop it.” Lucy moved to get in between them.
She was small compared to them. She would be swallowed up if she got in between them.
“I’ll stop if that little shit does,” Michael vowed.
“Hey, I’m not exactly little.” He wasn’t taking crap from this guy. “Just because you’re a giant doesn’t mean I can’t take you.”
Michael snorted, an inelegant sound. “Sure you can, buddy.”
“I mean it. Stop.” Lucy put a hand on each of their chests. “Stop right now. You are both acting like children.”
Michael’s face went a stony blank, and he stepped back. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend. I can see plainly that you don’t need any help.”
“I didn’t…” Lucy stopped, a frown coming over her face. She backed off, going as cold as Michael had. “No, I don’t.”
Michael merely tipped his head, turned, and walked out.
Well, at least that was one problem solved. If Michael wanted to be an asshole, he was fine with that. He turned back to Lucy. “I’m sorry about that. Why don’t we head to your place and I’ll make us something to eat and we can talk about this. I’ve got a bottle of wine in my truck.”
Lucy turned away from him, walking the few steps to where a broom was hanging neatly on the wall. She picked it up and when she faced him again, he knew he was in trouble.
“No, Luce,” he began.
“Out. Get out. I can’t talk to you right now.” She swung the broom his way.
He barely managed to get out of the way. He backed up, finding himself stumbling into the bar again. “Luce, this is ridiculous.”
She waved the broom his way again, getting way too close to his head for comfort. “No, what’s ridiculous is expecting me to think this play of yours is anything but the actions of a jealous little boy.”
“You didn’t kiss me like I was a little boy.” He had to duck to avoid that one. He moved into the dining room.
“I didn’t kiss you at all. You kissed me and you did it so he couldn’t have me.” She waved the broom toward the door.
That was when he realized Van was standing there, holding the damn thing open, and he had Ty’s coat in one big hand.