Page 9 of Perfect Together

Sam turned back to his brother. “What?”And make it quick,he thought.

“I meant it when I said be careful. You don’t know anything about her except for—”

“Her crazy sister? I heard you loud and clear.” But Sam wasn’t listening. He was more concerned with not allowing the single guys at Joe’s to take in the new girl without him staking some kind of claim first.

He made his way to where Macy had finished her introductions, and the men were eyeing Nicole with interest.

“Hey, Sam,” Macy said with a welcoming smile.

“Macy.” He greeted her with a grin before turning to Nicole. “Good to see you again.”

Her gaze warmed, and his entire body sizzled in reaction. “What’s up?” he asked.

“Just meeting the new girl in town,” Rob said, immediately making himself a part of the conversation. “Isn’t that right, honey?” He lifted Nicole’s hand and kissed her smooth skin.

Sam’s fingers curled into a fist, itching to hit his friend. Rob was always too smooth with the ladies, and the result went one of two ways. Either they were desperate and fell for his fake charm, or they found him over-the-top ridiculous.

Nicole pulled her hand back quickly, and Sam relaxed.

“Everyone has been very welcoming,” she said, not singling out Rob or acknowledging his interest.

“Some more than others,” Sam muttered, noticing that his other cop buddies were engaged in a conversation with each other.

“Want to go get a drink?” Sam asked Nicole, eager for time to get reacquainted.

“Why don’t you go get this round and one of us will grab the next one,” Rob not so smoothly suggested.

Sam forced a smile. “Since I can’t remember the last time you actually put your hand in your pocket to cover any of us, why don’tyouget this round for the guys? I’ve got Macy and Nicole covered.”

Macy raised her eyebrows, and an amused smirk lifted her lips.

“I’ll go hang with the boys. Go on, Rob. Fetch our drinks,” she said with such a silken laugh that no man in his right mind would deny her.

Flirting and teasing were part of Macy’s charm, but no man ever got past her walls, which didn’t stop even those who knew her best from wanting to please her.

Burnett scowled but realized he’d been caught in his own noose. “Beer for everyone?” he bit out.

Even the other two guys nodded at that.

“Works for me,” Macy said, placing her hand on the other man’s shoulder. “Thanks.”

“Yeah,” he muttered and stalked off.

Sam shook his head and laughed. “Subtle, Mace.”

“You’re no better.”

He did his best not to flush. He knew damn well he’d been proprietary, knew how out of character his behavior had been. And he couldn’t control it worth a damn.

Nicole watched his byplay with Macy but remained silent. Sam wasn’t sure if she’d caught on to his intent or if she thought he was just giving Burnett a hard time.

“I got rid of Rob,” Macy said, leaning close so she could whisper for Sam’s ears only. Obviously,shehadn’t missed a thing. “Now go take my new friend and show her a good time.”

No sooner had Macy spoken than Joe grabbed a microphone and announced the start of karaoke night. He hadn’t had the theme in a while and obviously thought with the bar full of regulars, it was a good time to start.

“Karaoke isn’t my thing,” Sam muttered.

Nicole met his gaze. “Mine either.”