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But he couldn’t spare any time for her. His attention was snagged on Mia. Mia was what was important. Mia was a Malone. More than that, she was a female Malone. And she was his responsibility.
“Mia?” he asked. “You okay? You need to see Doc?”
“I just feel a little tired and nauseous,” she said quickly. “Nothing that lunch won’t fix. A grilled cheese sounds great. I’ll have the same please, Doris.”
“Sure, you wouldn’t rather have a plate of mushrooms on toast?” Doris asked her.
West turned his gaze on Doris, giving her a warning look. Grown men have pissed themselves at that look. The older woman just snapped her gum and gave him an unimpressed look. “She’s sure. She wants a grilled cheese. And she’ll be over in the back booth.” He nodded his head over towards the back of the room. No way was she sitting on one of the stools at the counter. What if she got dizzy and fell off?
“Flick, you want to join me?” Mia asked her.
Great, his day was complete.
“Yep.” Flick slid herself off the stool, but she moved too fast, and would have fallen forward had West not turned and grabbed her around the waist. He held her until she was steady. Mia reached over for her crutches and handed them to her. As soon as she was good, he pulled his hands back.
“Watch what you’re doing, will you?” he growled at her. “You need to be more careful. You could have knocked into Mia.”
Around him, everyone went quiet. The diner wasn’t that full, it was early for lunch yet. But he could still feel the censure in people’s gazes. And especially on Mia’s face. No one here really knew him, which was how he liked it. But it was very obvious they knew and liked Felicity.
“West,” Mia hissed at him. “Don’t be so rude.”
He scowled down at her.
“It’s okay,” Felicity said cheerfully. “He’s right, I need to be more careful. I’m such a klutz.”
“West, I think you better go get those bags.” Mia reached over for Felicity’s plate of food and carried it towards the back booth. “You can call me when you’re ready.”
West had been dismissed. Something he wasn’t entirely happy about, even though he’d been itching to leave as soon as Felicity had walked through that diner door. But he didn’t like leaving Mia unless he knew she was going to be okay.
Felicity moved past him, swinging her crutches. “Don’t worry, I’ll look after Mia,” she said quietly. She didn’t look over at him as she made her way to the back both. But, somehow, that made him feel like even more of an asshole.
Well, his aim had been to wipe that rosy glow from her eyes when she looked at him. He figured he’d probably succeeded in doing that.
“I’m so sorry about West, Flick,” Mia said as they settled in the booth. Flick managed to rest her crutches in next to her without hitting anyone in the head or tripping them. A minor miracle.
Why did she have to be such a klutz? Especially around him. Perfect, gorgeous, sexy West Malone. He was a fantasy come to life.
Oh, she got that he wasn’t perfect. Nobody could ever accuse him of that. He was moody. Grumpy. Kind of nasty. From what she’d seen the only people he cared about were his family. But she was looking for someone with a touch of mean in them.
Well, maybe West had more than a touch. But he also had a lot of admirable qualities. He was loyal. She knew he’d just snapped at her because he was watching out for Mia. She really liked that about the Malones. They could all fight amongst themselves. And they did, frequently, often physically. But, at the end of the day, they had each other’s backs.
And they treated Mia like she was precious. She loved that for her friend. Mia was the best thing that had ever happened to her. The first time she’d met her had actually been outside this diner when she’d nearly bowled her over. After discovering they were neighbors, Mia had invited her over for coffee. Flick had made the mistake of baking some cookies to take with her. The cookies had been shit. She probably should have followed the recipe. Mia had just laughed and offered to teach her to bake. Flick didn’t have much interest in baking, though, so she usually sat and drank coffee while Mia made gorgeous creations in her kitchen.
That coffee date was also the first time she’d laid eyes on West. Unfortunately, he’d come into the kitchen as she and Mia were talking and picked up one of the cookies, eating it before she or Mia could say anything. His face had immediately turned red before he’d spat it into the rubbish bin. Then he’d actually accused her of trying to poison him with her shit cookies before storming back out of the kitchen. Mia had apologized for his behavior. He hadn’t really grown any friendlier towards her. Mostly, he avoided her. However, over these last few months she’d discovered that while he might have his social shortfalls, he was also a man you didn’t mess with. He was loyal to his brothers and protective of Mia.
“It’s okay. He was right. I could have crashed into you.”
“Not the first time,” Mia said with a grin, clearly remembering the first time they’d met. “Flick, you’re about thirty pounds lighter than me. Even if you did crash into me, I think I could catch you.”
“He was watching out for you. It’s sweet.”
Mia snorted, and Flick grinned at the sound. Mia was gorgeous, with long, strawberry-blond hair and a perfect, creamy complexion. She and Alec together were breathtaking.
Alec Malone had scared the shit out of her when she’d first met him. She’d never met anyone so controlled and cold—until he looked at Mia. Then his whole face softened. He became gentler. She’d come to realize he was one of the good guys. He was used to being in charge and didn’t take any bullshit. But, then, she guessed you had to be tough when you were the head of a family like his.
The Malones were known throughout the county as crazy, wild, and out-of-control. When they weren’t fighting with each other, which happened frequently, they were out causing chaos, adding notches to their bedposts, and using their charm and good looks to get out of trouble. She absolutely adored them.
“It’s not sweet. There’s nothing sweet about West. It’s just that Alec has become a bit protective since he learned I was pregnant, and he’s put all the boys on high alert. If anything were to happen to me under West’s ‘watch,’” she raised her hands and made quote marks with her fingers, “Alec would have a shit fit.”
