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“Seriously? You barge in, physically assault a man—”
“He grabbedyou! Who knows what else he might have done.”
“I’ve been grabbed in worse places by scarier people than him.” Lauren pointed at him using the carrots she’d just taken out of the bag. “I am not some damsel in distress you need to save. You barge in and take over—then talk over me like I’m not even there? That’s bullshit.”
She could see the conflict on Danny’s face. Lauren understood why he did what he did, that he only wanted to keep her safe. But he was going to have to learn to handle situations like that differently.
“He could have hurt you.” Danny’s tone moderated an iota.
“Anyone could. I know your intent was good, but you need to trust my judgment. He was overzealous, not dangerous.” She put the last container of raspberries on the counter and folded the bag.
“Overzealous can turn dangerous pretty goddamn fast,” Danny said. “I’ve seen the results of that first-hand!”
Lauren conceded the point. “I know you have. I’m not trying to be dismissive, but I’ve dealt with this for a long time. My instincts are solid.”
“So are mine.” Danny folded his arms, his jaw set in a stubborn, angry line.
“Look, I appreciate that it spooked you,” she said. “But asking if everything was okay would have worked just as well. Danny, I know being a cop makes you see trouble everywhere, but you can’t swoop in like that every time a guy wants to talk to me.”
“If I see them grabbing you—”
“You arenotmy bodyguard. If someone’s behavior scares me, believe me, you’ll know. And then you are free to handle it, but otherwise you need to keep a leash on it.” She slammed a cabinet closed.
They stared at each other until Danny dropped his eyes away. “It won’t happen again.”
Lauren knew a lie when she heard it, but she chose to ignore it.
Her cell phone’s buzz interrupted any more discussion on the subject. She picked it up. “Hi, Augie.”
“Hey, up for a couple visitors? Me and Ox are in the lobby.”
“Sure. C’mon up.” She tossed the phone back on the counter before she opened the raspberry container, then picked out a couple berries.
“You should wash those,” Danny said.
She very deliberately ate them both without so much as a drop of water.
By the time Ox and Augie got off the elevator, Lauren had two bottles of beer open and ready for them. After several stories about Lauren and Augie when they were teenagers that had Ox howling, and another round of beer, the conversation turned to the following weekend’s event: Bruno Cardoso’s launch party.
“Who is this Bruno guy?” Danny asked.
“Record exec. A littleloco, but most of ’em are. Started a boutique label, and this party is to promote his two new bands,” Ox said.
“Dude, I heard he invited every big name he could find,” Augie said.
“Why do that? Won’t that overshadow the new bands?” Danny asked.
“Because the more stars, the more press,” Augie answered. “The more press, the more chances to promote his new bands.”
“I’m so glad you’re coming to the party,” Lauren said to Danny. “It’ll be a blast.”
“Yeah, should be something.” Danny didn’t sound enthusiastic, but Lauren’s phone rang again, distracting her. She excused herself to take the call. Ox took the opportunity to raid the pantry for beer-friendly snacks.
“Can I ask you something?” Augie said.
“Sure.” Danny felt his guard go up. He and Augie had come to a quiet détente, but they were far from good friends.
“That was a pretty lukewarm response. Do you not want to go to Bruno’s party?”
