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“Thanks. He’s the real deal. Dream client.”
“That’s what Abby says.” Mick’s eyes narrowed as he stood back and squared his shoulders.
Tucker shoved his hands into his front pockets. “Where is your sister?”
“Around.” The answer was pointed. Closed off. And was underlined with a healthy dose of pissed off.
Ah, Tucker thought. It’s on.
“Is there something you want to say to me, Mick?”
All around them people moved, the crowd fluid as they approached the bar for drinks or met friends at already crowded tables. Tucker didn’t give a shit. He would throw down right here if he had to.
“I got a lot that I want to say to you, pretty boy, but I’m not so sure that this is the time and place.”
The woman sitting on the stool in front of Tucker twirled around in her seat. She was an attractive brunette, dressed professionally—lawyer type if Tucker was to guess. Her blouse was unbuttoned a little too low and the loopy look in her eyes told Tucker she’d been sitting in his spot for a couple hours. The woman was half-lit and on the prowl.
With an appreciative smile on her face, she looked Tucker up and down. “Damn, you are pretty. Buy you a drink?”
Tucker ignored her and clenched his hands together. He and Mick got along—or they had when Tucker had obeyed the older brother’s command to stay the hell away from his sister. But there was always something there, some kind mistrust that Tucker didn’t like. Mick Mathews didn’t know Tucker, not really, and he sure as hell had no right to stare him down as if he’d done something wrong.
But what if he had? A sliver of unease slid through him.
Just then Abby appeared from nowhere, her ponytail swinging around her neck, her warm eyes shiny when she spied Tucker. Shoving her brother out of the way, she leaned across the bar.
“Where the hell have you been? You’re late, Mr. Simon.”
The tension in him eased and he smiled. “Sorry. I’ve been running late ever since I got back from Florida.”
Abby glanced to her side. “I see Mick’s already got your beer?”
Her brother plunked his hands onto the bar beside his sister. None of them seemed to care that they were in the middle of a bar. None of them seemed to care that the woman on the stool was still very much interested in their conversation. As were the two men on the other side.
The third bartender, Pete, however, shook his head and moved to the other end of the bar.
“What the hell is going on between the two of you?” Mick growled.
“Jesus, Mick.” Abby swore u
nder her breath and shoved her brother again. “Will you stop being such an asshole?”
“I know about your trip to Florida,” Mick replied.
“How?” But Abby didn’t have a chance to finish.
Mick jerked his head, and they all turned to Lisa, who seemed a bit flustered and more than a little embarrassed.
“Whatever, Mick,” Abby replied, grabbing a rag from underneath the bar. “It’s none of your business. It’s not like I’ve ever checked in with you before. What am I? Fifteen?”
This was not the way Tucker wanted things to be with her brother. He nodded to Mick. “Why don’t we have a chat?”
Tucker knew the guy was only looking out for his sister. He got that. But he also wasn’t going to put up with the kind of bullshit that Mick Mathews thought he could spread around.
“A chat?” Abby looked like she was going to explode. Her eyes moved from Tucker back to her brother. “Seriously?”
“Sounds good to me,” Mick replied. “I’ll be back,” he barked to no one in particular, though the blonde woman raised her glass in cheer.
“Tucker,” Abby said. “What the hell?”
